As the video card is one of the important parts that contribute to the overall performance of the computer, great care is needed choose the right one. There is no use acquiring a powerful processor and lots of RAM only to be let down by a slow performing video card. At the moment the amount of RAM for video cards isn't a issue as there is barely any noticeable difference in 128MB and 256MB. The more important issue is the speed of the RAM, DirectX9 support and the performance of the core.

NVIDIA has already attained a variety of chipsets supported by PCI Express. Some versions of the 6800, Quadro FX 3400, FX1300, FX 330, 5750, 5300 and the 5900. The PCX range deliver around the same performance of there non PCI Express equivalent. The 5900PCX is based on the FX5900XT and has similar performance, lets hope it has just as good overclocking capabilities.

The video card being reviewed is a NVIDIA reference sample 5900 PCX. The 5900 PCX is built on the new Intel Express bus architecture which doubles the bandwidth of the current AGP 8X. This will give over 4GB per second data transfer in both upstream and downstream. The card comes equipped with 128MB Hynix DDR RAM. It also has the standard TV-Out and DVI/I. A good thing no Molex connection needed!

Street Price: 219 USD

Specifications / Features:

3D Acceleration Features:

• Increased horsepower delivers faster and smoother gameplay.

• CineFX Engine Powers cinematic effects.

• Advanced vertex and pixel shader capabilities.

• CineFX 2.0 engine of the GeForce FX 5900 GPUs powers more advanced pixel shaders. 

• PCI Express 16x

• 0.13 Micron Process Technology

• Intelli sample Technology The industry’s fastest and highest quality antialiasing delivers
  ultra-realistic visuals, with no jagged edges, at lightning-fast speeds. 

• Intellisample HCT, supported in GeForce FX 5900 GPUs, extends performance and quality
  gains to higher resolutions and antialiasing levels. 

• nView hardware and software technology combination delivers maximum flexibility for
  multi-display options, and provides unprecedented end-user control of the desktop experience. 

• Unified Driver Architecture (UDA) Guarantees forward and backward compatibility with software
  drivers. Simplifies upgrading to a new NVIDIA product because all NVIDIA products work with the
  same driver software. 

• Digital Vibrance Control (DVC) Allows the user to adjust color controls digitally to compensate for
  the lighting conditions of their workspace, in order to achieve accurate, bright colors in all conditions. 

• 256-bit Memory Interface with Advanced Memory Control Delivers more memory bandwidth and
  efficiency to power the latest games and applications at blazing speeds. 

• Microsoft® DirectX® 9.0 Optimizations and Support Ensures the best performance and application
  compatibility for all DirectX 9 applications.

• OpenGL® 1.4 Optimizations and Support Ensures the best performance and application
  compatibility for all OpenGL applications.

Package:

• NVIDIA 128mb 5900 PCX

• User Manual

• General Guide

• 3-4 Games

• Driver CD

• S-Video cable, RCA Video cable, DVI connector, RCA to S-Video Cable

On the back of the video card there are no RAM modules, they are all on the front. There is also no cooling on the memory chips, hopefully some manufactures may decide to put memory cooling chips on. However there is a heat sink on the PCI Express bridge chip.