2D Image Quality

We loaded up a 1600x1200 image we use in our video card reviews. I also pulled up several word documents with various sized fonts to judge the text rendering. The documents used white text on a black background, and vice versa. The screen resolution for all tests was 1600x1200 @ 75Hz on a Sony 21" Trinitron.

Scores are subjective, but having worked with many video cards here at the Lair, we got a pretty firm grasp on what card renders 2D better than the others. The scores will be out of 10, with 10 being excellent.

3D Image Quality

FX5950 Ultra, 4xAA/4xAF - Radeon 9700 Pro, 4xAA/4xAF

3D quality I used Call of Duty running through our in house demo, Need For Speed :Underground and the UT2K3 demos Citadel and Inferno, and I have to say I can see where Brook is coming from in his 9600XT review. I too thought that the NVIDIA card had better 3D image quality than the ATI card, which is quite a change around as traditionally ATI have always dominated in this area. End of the day the differences in 3D quality are going to be of less concern with high speed games (seriously, who stops to look at the scenery when you're fraggin?) assuming that both have a high enough image quality to begin with, and they do. For the sake of argument though, my own opinion is that the 3D image quality from the MSI GeForce FX5950 Ultra 256 VTD is slightly better than the ATI Radeon 9700 Pro.

Final Words

have created an overall package that is very complete and BIG with a lot of games and other included software all neatly stored in a gatefolding circular carry case. Everything you could need is there although I would have liked to see some more up to date games to provide a real test of the cards capabilities.

Does the card have good performance? Yes it does, but it is a bit short of where I expect a card of this day and age to be at, especially when compared with a card that is over a year old. The main area's that the performance suffers is in the high end enhancements and high resolutions. Enabling the likes of 6xFSAA and 8xAF really does bring the FX5950 Ultra to its knees, more so with a high resolution. It is especially noticeable under DirectX games. Without these enhancements the FX5950 Ultra does put out some very good numbers but with a card that is at the top end of the scale you have to figure the end user is going not only for the speed, but speed with those enhancements. You can get away with 4xFSAA and 4xAF in the majority of games and have a pleasant experience with this card, but when you consider that almost the same numbers can be had from a Radeon 9700 Pro the cost of the card makes it a poor buy.

Performance isn't the be all and end all of a card's appeal however and have got a good package with a great looking feature filled card. Software and games galore come with the FX5950 Ultra 256-VTD although an update to some of the games would be a welcome addition. Then again, dropping the dated bundle may shave a bit off the pricetag. The image quality has also improved from the days of the Ti4xxx range, and whilst 2D isn't quite up there with the ATI cards (although by no means bad) the 3D Image Quality certainly is, and with the same settings for Anti-Aliasing and Anisotropic Filtering does in my opinion beat the Radeon 9700 Pro.

The FX5950 Ultra 256-VTD overclocks very well indeed which shows that quiet and BIG design of the great looking cooler assembly works well, but even this isn't enough to put the performance up where it should be for a card of this price and stature. I would have to say that have obviously done a good job with what they have, but the FX5950 Ultra appears to lack the grunt with FSAA to make it high performance. If your looking to upgrade then the FX5950 Ultra will serve you well but don't expect huge jumps in performance.

Pros: Great looking cooling setup, Overall good package, Everything you could possibly need included, Standard 4 pin Molex for extra power, Temperatures can be monitored in the Control Panel (and with a plugin for MBM), Big number overclocks, Quiet, Image quality is high.

Cons: Price to performance ratio isn't to good in comparison with competition, Overall high end graphics performance is slightly lacking, Cooler arrangement could cause problems for watercooling.

Bottom Line: MSI have done a good job with the card and offer a good package overall. The MSI FX5950 Ultra 256-VTD certainly has sex appeal but its performance can be almost matched by a card over a year older in a lot of the tests that count.

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