Discount XFX ATI Radeon HD 5770 1 GB DDR5 2DVI/HDMI/DisplayPort PCI-Express Video Card HD577XZNFC

I just got this after waiting for it for about a month (not Amazon's fault though, it just sucks to purchase things from outside the U.S.), and got right to installing it. Packaging (of the product itself) was great; the box is made so that the card does not get any sort of damage from shipping. Now, I have some cabling issues in my rig, so upon opening the case, I had to sort the mess of cables first but after that was done, I removed my previous card (a Geforce 8600 GTS), installed it in the PCI-E slot next to it, and placed this new card in its place. Now, upon powering up, my board (680i SLI from EVGA) complained about the placement of the cards for non-SLI operation, so I ended up removing the old card altogether. The length of the card is a nice plus -- I didn't have to move my drive cage to install it -- although said cabling issue is because of the cage, so I'm waiting for another cage I bought Thermaltake iCage A2309 HDD Module with 12cm Blue LED Fan -that goes in the 5 1/4 bay instead- to sort the mess once and for all).

After BIOS had booted and Windows (7) as well, I installed the drivers (had to register my card first, which was good since I was going to do it anyway) through the CD (note that most people recommend against this, but XFX's CD gives the option to automatically look for the latest drivers on the site), rebooted, and it was done. I upgraded the Windows Experience Score and it went from 6.3 to 7.4 in the graphics area (maximum score is 7.9). I use Linux too (Ubuntu 10.04), but haven't tested to see how it works.

Now, for gaming. I only tested with Microsoft Flight Simulator X Deluxe DVD and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and went from having to play at 1024x768 with most options at medium or high, to playing at MW2 with everything set in High at my monitor's native resolution of 1680x1050, and everything set at Ultra High for FSX, also at the same resolution.

Also, I am a donor for EVGA's team for Folding@home - the old card had heat issues (even when it had a 90mm fan aimed right at it) and so was displaying artifacts and delivering EUEs almost every time, so I couldn't fold for a while. After getting this card, it completed its first WU in just under 4 hours. At stock settings, HFM.NET tells me that the card got, for that first WU, a score of 2034.6 PPD. Not bad.

Overall, I'm really quite happy with my purchase. It's not a top-of-the-line high-end card, but for the price and performance, it's great.Get more detail about XFX ATI Radeon HD 5770 1 GB DDR5 2DVI/HDMI/DisplayPort PCI-Express Video Card HD577XZNFC.