GeForce FX 5900 XT vs 7900 GT

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Primary details

GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.

Place in the ranking1176not rated
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Power efficiency0.97no data
ArchitectureCurie (2003−2013)Rankine (2003−2005)
GPU code nameG71NV35
Market segmentDesktopDesktop
Release date9 March 2006 (18 years ago)12 May 2003 (21 year ago)

Detailed specifications

General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Core clock speed450 MHz400 MHz
Number of transistors278 million135 million
Manufacturing process technology90 nm130 nm
Power consumption (TDP)48 Watt35 Watt
Texture fill rate10.803.200
ROPs164
TMUs248

Form factor & compatibility

Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).

InterfacePCIe 1.0 x16AGP 8x
Width1-slot1-slot
Supplementary power connectors1x 6-pin1x Molex

VRAM capacity and type

Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.

Memory typeGDDR3DDR
Maximum RAM amount256 MB128 MB
Memory bus width256 Bit256 Bit
Memory clock speed660 MHz350 MHz
Memory bandwidth42.24 GB/s22.4 GB/s

Connectivity and outputs

Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.

Display Connectors2x DVI, 1x S-Video1x DVI, 1x VGA, 1x S-Video

API compatibility

List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX9.0c (9_3)9.0a
Shader Model3.0no data
OpenGL2.11.5 (2.1)
OpenCLN/AN/A
VulkanN/AN/A

Pros & cons summary


Recency 9 March 2006 12 May 2003
Maximum RAM amount 256 MB 128 MB
Chip lithography 90 nm 130 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 48 Watt 35 Watt

7900 GT has an age advantage of 2 years, a 100% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 44.4% more advanced lithography process.

FX 5900 XT, on the other hand, has 37.1% lower power consumption.

We couldn't decide between GeForce 7900 GT and GeForce FX 5900 XT. We've got no test results to judge.


Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GT
GeForce 7900 GT
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5900 XT
GeForce FX 5900 XT

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Community ratings

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2.5 41 vote

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4.4 14 votes

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Questions & comments

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