GeForce 7950 GX2 Retail Round-up

MSI NX7950GX2-T2D1GE

Core Clock: 500MHz
Memory Clock: 1200MHz
Warranty: 2 years limited (parts and labour)
Price: £400.68 inc VAT - Scan.co.uk

Much like Leadtek's box, MSI advertises the fact that its GeForce 7950 GX2 is HDCP compliant on its box. The box follows the same theme as the one that its NX7900GTX-T2D512E came in. The bundle includes a reasonable set of additional extras; there is one game - Peter Jackson's King Kong - and a second disk with CyberLink PowerDVD and PowerCinema software. There was no driver/utility CD in the box.

Along with the software suite, there is a selection of cables in the box. These include a six pin PCI-Express power adapter, a HDTV-Out to S-Video and YPbPr Component combination cable and an S-Video extension cable. There was only one DVI-to-VGA converter. Hopefully, this isn't intentional; however, if it is intentional, we believe it is a bit of an oversight.

The final elements that make up the rest of the bundle are a pair of quick install guides and an MSI case badge. There isn't a hard copy manual included and we feel that this is an intentional omission - there wasn't one included with the NX7900GTX-T2D512E, either. Of course, you can download the manual from MSI's website.

MSI has not changed anything on the video card physically, but there have been some aesthetic changes made to it. There is custom MSI art work on the cooling solution, and MSI also included a pair of plastic DVI covers. These don't really add anything to help protect the video card from damage any more, but they do advertise the fact that the DVI-I ports on the back of the card are dual-link.

Packing wise, the card is packed well inside a foam enclosure that is seated in a plastic-moulded packing tray. Software and manuals are packed under the tray, while the cables all fit nicely in a trough on the top of the packing tray.

Warranty: MSI offers a two-year limited warranty in Europe. Both years are covered with a parts and labour service. The point of contact during the first year of ownership is the retailer, while the second year is covered by MSI themselves. However, if for some reason you are unable to get support from the retailer, MSI will pick up the slack in the first year too.