WinFast A350 Ultra TDH - GFFX 5900 PC LeadTek $499.99 Click Here Sean Gibson - email

Introduction

We were lucky enough to check out Leadtek's nForce II Motherboard, which won an Editor's Choice for quality of design and usefulness. This time around however, we look at what has to be one of the most innovative, interesting, and down right ridiculous video cards in the history of upgrades.

The LeadTek WinFast A350 Ultra is an nVIDIA GeForceFX 5900 Ultra video card sporting 256MB of on-board RAM. Powered with this top flight GPU, it uses the advanced 0.13 micro process technology for higher levels of integration and higher operating clock speeds. The GeForce FX 5900 boasts the fastest memory with speeds up to 850MHz DDR. For added value, LeadTek has included a Support Hardware monitor, bundled WinFastDVD, WinFox II software, Cult 3D , Coloreal Embedded , Coloreal Visual , Coloreal Bright , Gun Metal and Big Mutha Truckers games.

the first thing to catch your eye

Alright - what makes this GeForceFX 5900 Ultra board different than other vendors who offer it up to consumers? It's very simple, and it's very VERY obvious - the heatsink on this sucker is like no other you'll ever see. In what is officially called the "WinFast Twin Turbo-II Cooling System" you get what has to be the most intimidating, insane, and downright awesome cooling system for a video card. This thing is something to be shown off at a freak show in a carnival, something that small children will run away from in fear, something that every gamer or hardcore upgrader will drool with envy for.

Combining Leadtek’s patented technology and the aerospace industry’s wind tunnel technology, the Twin Turbo-II can dissipate the same amount of heat in half the time of a conventional active cooling module. Some features of the cooling system:

• Component-matched, well-through-out, well-designed cooling system.
• High quality double sided copper heat sink and dual fan cooling module.
• Wind Tunnel design, control air flow direction and circulation controlling front and back airflow direction and circulation.
• High quality 5cm low noise high-power cooling fan.
• Built-in reliable metal dust covering for easy cleaning.

Specifications & Features

nVIDIA, with it's GeForceFX line, is trying to reclaim it's mastery of the gamer market. Although the FX line has some hiccups with early release boards, the 5900 Ultra is really the knock-you-out heavyweight of the video card industry with only one true rival (the ATI 9800 Pro). Let's get into the specs...

Features

• nVIDIA GeForce FX5900Ultra GPU
• 256MB DDR Unified Memory Frame Buffer
• Digital DVI-I output supports nView Multi-display
• Leadtek feature rich MyVIVO & WinFast PVR for Video-in and video-out
• Leadtek patented WinFast TwinTurbo-II Cooling System
• High value ($266.85) free S/W bundled
• Hassle free accessories bundled

Service & Warranty

• Direct Hot Line Support (1-888-LEADTEK) to End Users
• 3 Years Warranty.
• Real time RMA service with new product replacement.
• EOL RMA product will be replaced by upgraded product.

Bundled:

• Winfast A350 Ultra TDH myVIVO
• S-Video Cable
• RCA Video Cable
• Y-Power Cable
• MyVIVO Cable
• DVI-VGA Dongle
• WinFast Driver CD
• Ulead DVD Movie Factory
• Ulead VideoStudio 7SE
• Cool 3D SE
• Big Mutha Trucker
• Gun Metal

LeadTek has put together a fantastic bundle for nVIDIA fans everywhere. There's a ton of good software here, all the cables you'll ever need, and of course, the top of the line GeForceFX 5900 Ultra board.

Test System

Test System Specifications:
- AMD 2100+XP Processor
- GigaByte GA-700N nForce2 Motherboard
- 512 MB RAM
- Windows XP
- DirectX 9.0

We used the following benchmarking utilities to the fullest:

- 3DMark 03
- AquaMark 3 (just released!)
- Gunmetal 2
- Quake III (32-bit color, everything maxed out)

3DMark 03 benchmark

3DMark 03 is the latest installment in the popular 3DMark series. 3DMark03 sets the new standard for easily and objectively measuring and comparing modern PCs’ 3D graphics performance. It supports the latest Microsoft DirectX9.0 and contains four new mind blowing real-time 3D game tests as well as advanced DirectX9.0 feature tests.



Showing the breakdown on the numbers...

Aquamark 3 Benchmark

AquaMark3 is a powerful tool to determine reliable information about the gaming performance of a computer system. Because the benchmark extensively utilizes DirectX9, DirectX8 and DirectX7 functionality, it represents the requirements of typical gaming applications in 2003 and 2004. The "total scores" benchmarking results:



Showing the breakdown on the numbers...

AquaMark3 demonstrates that the GFFX5900 and the ATI AIW 9800Pro are close in performance, with ATI edging out for the win.

Quake III benchmark

If you haven't heard of the Quake III benchmark, well, come out of your hole. It's a decent benchmark that's increasingly becoming obsolete, but nevertheless good for checking out what new cards offer against the old.

At 1280x1024 resolution level , numbers represent Frames Per Second (higher is better!) ...



And at the much more impressive 1600x1200 resolution level , numbers represent Frames Per Second (higher is better) ...

Gun Metal Benchmark 2

We used the latest Gun Metal Benchmark 2 version 1.20S and used the default quality settings of the benchmark. This equates to 2XAA was enabled by the game and AF was disabled. We tested at 1024x768. This benchmark is one that seems to be wavering in popularity because it's rumored to heavily favor nVIDIA chipset cards, but we wanted to see how things performed ... so ...



Once again we're seeing GeForceFX 5900 Ultra from LeadTek win out on the benchmarks.

Overclocking

Well , we were just dying to see what kind of ridiculous score we could get on 3DMark 03 by overclocking this sucker. LeadTek has very kindly included an overclocking software utility with the board, so even the neophyte to the overclocking world can check it out. Unfortunately more times than not 3D Mark 03 has yielded ... well ... inconsistent results. However for the sake of argument and to satisfy this reviewer's curiosity, lets look at the numbers... And while we're at it, we'll put it into our system of a P4 2.4GHz, 1GB of Dual DDR PC3200 RAM, and a GigaByte 875P chipset motherboard.

LeadTek A350 UltraTDH myVIVO Score: 5260

LeadTek A350 UltraTDH myVIVO Overclocked Score: 5679

That's a very nice increase. The settings:

conclusion

There's a lot of loyal nVIDIA customers out there that have been taking a beating lately because of the recent rise of ATI. Well, nVIDIA people can once again rejoice in the fact that there's now a chipset that is a true heavyweight in the world of video card technology.

The extras included with the video card are top flight - it's important to remember the myVIVO aspect of this card. You can watch TV and do all the things you normally are accustomed to do with other video capture cards. Factor in a hell of a bundle for software, and a state-of-the-art wind tunnel cooling technology, and you have yourself a real winner.

LeadTek's Winfast A350 TDH Ultra myVIVO card, which sports the dynamically fast GeForceFX 5900 Ultra chipset, is the true behemoth of video cards on the market today. With an attractive bundle and top marks for benchmarking, this is the nVIDIA card of choice for gamers and enthusiasts.

10 / 10 OVERALL SCORE 96% 10 / 10 9 / 10 10 / 10 9 / 10 9.6 / 10