PNY Low End Video Cards

PNY Technologies has several lower priced NVIDIA video cards, those tested today are the fully DX10 compliant 8500 GT 256Mb DDR2 and DX9 7300 GT 256Mb DDR2.



The PNY 7300 GT has 256Mb DDR2 memory clocked at 333Mhz, the GPU runs at 350Mhz and is passively cooled with an aluminum heatsink:



Inside the package are drivers CD, a full game: Splinter Cell - Double Agent, Video Out cables, VGA>DVI converter and installation manual.



The passive cooled heatsink is low profile and is made from aluminum; the extruded fins are quite large in width. No extra power connector is needed; the 7300 GT gets its needed current from the PCI Express slot. Outputs are DVI, VGA and TV-Out.



The memory chips are Hynix hy5ps561621afp-28, rated at 350Mhz DDR2. So PNY has underclocked them running at 333Mhz.

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The PNY 8500 GT also comes with 256Mb DDR2, but clocked slightly higher at 400Mhz, the GPU runs at 450Mhz and is actively cooled with very low profile aluminum heatsink/fan combo.



The package contents are identical to the 7300 GT, drivers CD, Splinter Cell Game, VGA>DVI, manual and Video out cables.



The heatsink is very small and thin, only a few mm thick, with an audible fan to keep it cooled down on top. The 8500 GT is easy on power consumption, no extra power connector needed. The Outputs are VGA, DVI and TV-Out.



The memory chips on the 8500 GT are also Hynix but rated slightly faster: hy5ps561621afp-25, runs at 400Mhz DDR2.