The Open Radar Data Acquistion (ORDA) system receiver path is significantly different than the legacy NEXRAD Radar Data Acquisition (RDA) receiver path. The ORDA system realizes improved performance and reliability through the integration of the SIGMET 72Mhz IF digital receiver that greatly reduces system component count. This paper will discuss system performance parameters including minimum detectable signal, dynamic range, matched filtering and other intrinsic receiver characteristics. The inter- elationship between these parameters and procedures for optimization will be discussed. A comparison against legacy performance will also be provided where appropriate.