Today we will be reviewing a graphics card from ASUS, the EN7800 GT TOP SILENT. This card uses the 7800 GT graphics engine, which has slightly lower performance and price than the GTX series. The EN7800 GT TOP SILENT is suited to gamers that demand top performance but also want a zero noise PC, since most of the high-end or mid-level cards tend to be noisy, due to the high speed fan cooling system they are equipped with.

-Features and specs according to ASUS

Graphics Engine	GeForce 7800GT
Video Memory	256 M DDR3, -1.6ns
Engine Clock	420MHz
RAMDAC	400MHz
Bus Standard	PCI-Express
Memory Interface	256-bit
Max Resolution	2048x1536
VGA Output	Standard 15-pin D-sub
TV Output	HDTV-out
DVI Output	DVI-I
Video Input	Yes
2nd VGA Output	Yes
Adaptor/Cable bundled	HDTV out adaptor DVI-to-2nd VGA adaptor
Software Bundled	King Kong Asus GamePack1 Asus Game Pack 2 ASUS DVD XP Media Show ASUS Utilities & Driver
Memory Clock	1.24GHz(620MHz DDR3)

The ASUS EN7800 GT TOP SILENT is one of the highest stock overclocked 7800 GT cards on the market. The default core speed for the 7800 GT is 400MHz for core and 1.0GHz for the memory, but ASUS has successfully overclocked the EN7800 GT despite using a passive cooling system.

- Chipset Features

NVIDIA offers a complete top-to-bottom line up of NVIDIA® GeForce® graphics processing units (GPUs) that will take full advantage of the new Windows Vista™ features and functionality when the final OS is released.

NVIDIA® SLI™ Technology
Delivers up to 2x the performance of a single GPU configuration for unparalleled gaming experiences by allowing two graphics cards to run in parallel. The must-have feature for performance PCI Express graphics, SLI dramatically scales performance on over 60 top PC games.

NVIDIA® PureVideo™ Technology
The combination of high-definition video processors and NVIDIA DVD decoder software delivers unprecedented picture clarity, smooth video, accurate color, and precise image scaling for all video content to turn your PC into a high-end home theater. (Feature requires supported video software.)

NVIDIA® UltraShadow™ II Technology
The GeForce 6 and GeForce 7 Series GPUs feature the advanced UltraShadow technology, for the acceleration of complex shadows in immersive 3D games and applications.

NVIDIA® CineFX™ 4.0 Engine
Delivers advanced visual effects at unimaginable speeds. Full support for Microsoft® DirectX® 9.0 Shader Model 3.0 enables stunning and complex special effects. Next-generation shader architecture with new texture unit design streamlines texture processing for faster and smoother gameplay.

NVIDIA® Intellisample™ 4.0 Technology
The industry's fastest antialiasing delivers ultra-realistic visuals, with no jagged edges, at lightning-fast speeds. Visual quality is taken to new heights through a new rotated grid sampling pattern, advanced 128 Tap sample coverage, 16x anisotropic filtering, and support for transparent supersampling and multisampling.

PCI Express™ Support
Designed to run perfectly with the next-generation PCI Express bus architecture. This new bus doubles the bandwidth of AGP 8X delivering over 4 GB/sec. in both upstream and downstream data transfers.

NVIDIA® nView™ multi-display technology
Provides the ultimate in viewing flexibility and control for multiple monitors.

Microsoft® DirectX® 9.0 Shader Model 3.0 Support
Ensures top-notch compatibility and performance for all DirectX® 9 applications, including Shader Model 3.0 titles.

OpenGL™ 2.0 Optimizations and Support
Ensures top-notch compatibility and performance for all OpenGL applications. NVIDIA® nView® Multi-display Advanced technology provides the ultimate in viewing flexibility and control for multiple monitors.

High-Speed GDDR3 memory interface
Support for the world's fastest GDDR3 memory delivers fluid frame rates for even the most advanced games and applications.

- Packaging/Bundle

The retail box contains a VIVO cable, DVI to VGA adaptor, user manual, quick install guide, CD Wallet, PCI-E power cable, drivers and utilities. Unfortunately, it does not include a second DVI2VGA adaptor or any S-Video or Composite cables...

Bundled games:

• ASUS Bonus GAMEPACK
  • Second Sight
  • Chaos League
  • PowerDrome
  • Savage
  • BillyBlade
  • Mashed
• Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie

Bundled Software:

• ASUS DVD XP
• Media Show
• Power Director
• Graphic Card Mutli-language manual CD
• ASUS Utilities & Driver
  • MS DirectX 9.0c
  • WDM Capture Driver
  • ASUS SmartDoctor
  • ASUS Video Security Online
  • GameLiveShow
  • GameFace Live
  • ASUS Enhance Driver

ASUS CD Wallet...

Quick Installation Guide...

Drivers and utilities installation guide...

VIVO cable...

DVI to VGA adaptor ...

PCI Express power cable...

Now that we have covered the card's features, let's move on and have a closer look at the card itself.