GeForce 7900 GS Group Test

Point Of View GeForce 7900 GS 256MB:

Core Clock: 450MHz
Memory Clock: 1320MHz
Warranty: 3 years (parts and labour)
HDCP Compliant? No
Price: £150 including VAT - Komplett

Point Of View is one of NVIDIA's top European board partners - it's very strong through many European countries and it is looking to break into the UK like many other NVIDIA board partners. Point Of View is also expanding into Latin America too - an emerging market in the IT sector, but a company spokesperson tells us that the potential is massive. Point Of View's box is reasonably well packaged, but we feel that the card could have been secured inside a bit more effectively.

The card wasn't broken when it arrived, but there is a high chance that some couriers may want to play football with your new graphics card purchase. It would have been good if Point Of View had packed the card in either a padded anti-static bag, or in a vacuum formed plastic mould to ensure that it doesn't get damaged during shipping.

The bundle includes a user manual, a driver/utility CD and a full version of Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. Awesome game, in my opinion, and although Point Of View has been bundling this game for some time, I still think it's worth playing if you haven't already. Along with that, you get an S-Video cable, 6-pin PCI-Express cable, one DVI-to-VGA converter and a component/S-Video combi-cable.

There are two versions of the Point Of View GeForce 7900 GS - the Standard Edition and the Gamer's Edition. We have the Standard Edition card here and it comes clocked at NVIDIA's reference clock speeds of 450/1320MHz - these are also the same speeds that Inno3D is shipping its cards at.

Much like BFG Tech, Point Of View has stuck with NVIDIA's reference cooler. This is a shame, because as already mentioned, the cooler is overly loud. It does a good job of keeping the card cool and is reasonably quiet in 2D mode, but it is just too loud when you are gaming. Admittedly, you've probably got your speakers turned up or you're wearing a pair of headphones - but it is unnecessarily loud in my opinion.

There is support for all of the standard features that come with GeForce 7900 GS, including SLI, a pair of dual-link DVI ports, and an HDTV out mini-din connector. However, it doesn't come with the optional HDCP crypto-ROM chip - whether or not this is a big deal will come down to whether you are planning to play HD DVD or Blu-ray movies on your machine when drives and content are available to buy in the UK.

Warranty: Point Of View offers a three-year parts and labour warranty with all of its video cards - this is a year longer than most NVIDIA board partners offer. It's a standard procedure where you'll send the card back to the retailer during the first year and then liase directly with Point Of View support for the remaining two years of the warranty term.