Overclocking tests
OverclockingOur analysis has shown that ASUS' GeForce FX 5200 video card can run each and every benchmark thrown at it. The main problem has been identified as a lack of, for want of a better expression, pure grunt. We alluded to ASUS not running with a passively-cooled design. The GPU's fan isn't loud but should help in pushing the card some way beyond the default 250MHz core. Samsung's DDR400, once overclocked, could also provide a nice performance boost.
That's from a default speed of 250MHz core and 405MHz memory. Let's see how that plays out with UT2003 and AquaMark3 run at 1024x768 4x AA 8x AF.
Therein lies a large problem. We can substantially raise the clock speeds on the v9520/TD but it won't do much in certain benchmarks/games. The percentage increase is excellent, yet the overclocked card still looks poor in comparison to the other, more expensive, cards. This is precisely why a lack of lossless compression is a huge performance inhibitor.
A very similar story in UT2003. A decent percentage increase from default speeds but still way off what midrange cards are capable of.
