Zotac GeForce 8800 GT

[W1zzard]

[page=Introduction & Specifications]
Introduction

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/logo.jpg

Today NVIDIA announced their new GeForce 8800 GT Series using the all-new G92 GPU. The GPU is made on a 65nm process, based on the G80 of the 8800 GTS/GTX/Ultra. The card is set to replace the 8800 GTS 320 MB which will be phased out soon (the 640 MB version will stay for now). A 65nm process allowed NVIDIA to manufacture the chip cheaper, with less heat output and to add additional features. For example the display output logic, which was on a separate chip on the 8800 GTX has been integrated into the GPU core. Also the new HD video decode acceleration features have been ported over from the G86, so you can now benefit from full VC-1 and H.264 decode acceleration. HDMI + Audio is not part of the NVIDIA reference design, but this can be added by 3rd party vendors easily. Unlike the 8500/8600 Series, the GPU uses a 256-bit memory bus which doubles the available memory bandwidth for applications. The number of shaders has been set to 112 compared to 96 on the 8800 GTS. This should increase performance in modern games which use a lot of shaders.

Zotac as one of NVIDIA's premier vendors took the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT reference design and increased the clock speed by 60 MHz - for no extra price. Actually all Zotac 8800 GT cards will have those higher clocks which will give a nice performance advantage over the competition. An "AMP! Edition" card will also be available which uses even higher clocks of 700 MHz core and 1000 MHz memory for a price premium of $10.

<table border="1" class="resulttable" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3">
<tr>
<th></th>
<td>Radeon HD 2600 XT</td>
<td>GeForce 8600 GTS</td>
<td>GeForce 8800 GTS</td>
<td><strong>Reference GeForce 8800 GT</strong></td>
<td><strong>Zotac 8800 GT</strong></td>
<td>Radeon HD 2900 XT </td>
<td>GeForce 8800 GTX </td>
<td>GeForce 8800 Ultra </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Shader units </th>
<td align="right">120</td>
<td align="right">32</td>
<td align="right">96</td>
<td align="right">112</td>
<td align="right"><strong>112</strong></td>
<td align="right">320</td>
<td align="right">128</td>
<td align="right">128</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>ROPs</th>
<td align="right">4 x2 </td>
<td align="right">8</td>
<td align="right">20</td>
<td align="right">16</td>
<td align="right"><strong>16</strong></td>
<td align="right">16 x2 </td>
<td align="right">24</td>
<td align="right">24</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>GPU</th>
<td align="right">RV630</td>
<td align="right">G84</td>
<td align="right">G80</td>
<td align="right">G92</td>
<td align="right"><strong>G92</strong></td>
<td align="right">R600</td>
<td align="right">G80</td>
<td align="right">G80</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Transistors</th>
<td align="right">390 M </td>
<td align="right">289M</td>
<td align="right">681 M </td>
<td align="right">754M</td>
<td align="right"><strong>754M</strong></td>
<td align="right">700 M </td>
<td align="right">681 M </td>
<td align="right">681 M </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Memory Size</th>
<td align="right">256 MB</td>
<td align="right">256 MB </td>
<td align="right">320 MB<br />
640 MB </td>
<td align="right">512 MB </td>
<td align="right"><strong>512 MB </strong></td>
<td align="right">512 MB</td>
<td align="right">768 MB</td>
<td align="right">768 MB</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Memory Bus Width </th>
<td align="right">128 bit </td>
<td align="right">128 bit </td>
<td align="right">320 bit </td>
<td align="right">256 bit </td>
<td align="right"><strong>256 bit </strong></td>
<td align="right">512 bit </td>
<td align="right">384 bit </td>
<td align="right">384 bit </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Core Clock</th>
<td align="right">800 MHz </td>
<td align="right">675 MHz </td>
<td align="right">500 MHz </td>
<td align="right">600 MHz </td>
<td align="right"><strong>660 MHz </strong></td>
<td align="right">742 MHz </td>
<td align="right">575 MHz </td>
<td align="right">612 MHz </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Memory Clock</th>
<td align="right">1100 MHz </td>
<td align="right">1000 MHz </td>
<td align="right">800 MHz </td>
<td align="right">900 MHz </td>
<td align="right"><strong>900 MHz </strong></td>
<td align="right">825 MHz </td>
<td align="right">900 MHz </td>
<td align="right">1080 MHz </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Price</th>
<td align="right">$105</td>
<td align="right">$149</td>
<td align="right">$260<br />
$350</td>
<td align="right">$249</td>
<td align="right"><strong>$249</strong></td>
<td align="right">$380</td>
<td align="right">$530</td>
<td align="right">$650</td>
</tr>
</table>

Complete Specifications

NVIDIA® Unified Architecture

Unified shader architecture
GigaThread™ technology
Full support for Microsoft® DirectX® 10
Geometry shaders
Geometry instancing
Streamed output
Shader Model 4.0
Full 128-bit floating point precision through the entire rendering pipeline


NVIDIA Lumenex™ Engine

16x full screen anti-aliasing
Transparent multisampling and transparent supersampling
16x angle independent anisotropic filtering
128-bit floating point high dynamic-range (HDR) lighting with anti-aliasing
32-bit per component floating point texture filtering and blending
Advanced lossless compression algorithms for color, texture, and z-data
Support for normal map compression
Z-cull
Early-Z


NVIDIA Quantum Effects™ Technology

Advanced shader processors architected for physics computation
Simulate and render physics effects on the graphics processor


NVIDIA SLI™ Technology

Patented hardware and software technology allows two GeForce-based graphics cards to run in parallel to scale performance and enhance image quality on today's top titles.


NVIDIA PureVideo™ HD Technology

Dedicated on-chip video processor
High-definition H.264, VC-1, MPEG2 and WMV9 decode acceleration
Advanced spatial-temporal de-interlacing
HDCP capable3
Spatial-Temporal De-Interlacing
Noise Reduction
Edge Enhancement
Bad Edit Correction
Inverse telecine (2:2 and 3:2 pull-down correction)
High-quality scaling
Video color correction
Microsoft® Video Mixing Renderer (VMR) support


Advanced Display Functionality

Two dual-link DVI outputs for digital flat panel display resolutions up to 2560x1600
One dual-link DVI outputs for digital flat panel display resolutions up to 2560x16004
Dual integrated 400MHz RAMDACs for analog display resolutions up to and including 2048x1536 at 85Hz
Integrated HDTV encoder provides analog TV-output (Component/Composite/S-Video) up to 1080i resolution
NVIDIA nView® multi-display technology capability
10-bit display processing


Built for Microsoft® Windows Vista™

Full DirectX 10 support
Dedicated graphics processor powers the new Windows Vista Aero 3D user interface
VMR-based video architecture


High Speed Interfaces

Designed for PCI Express® x16
Designed for high-speed GDDR3 and DDR2 memory


Operating Systems

Built for Microsoft Windows Vista
Windows XP/Windows XP 64
Linux


API Support

Complete DirectX support, including Microsoft DirectX 10 Shader Model 4.0
Full OpenGL® support, including OpenGL 2.0


[page=Packaging & The Card]
Packaging & Contents
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/package1_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/package1.jpg) http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/package2_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/package2.jpg)
Zotac uses their typical orange packaging which will definitely scream "buy me" when standing on a store shelf next to other VGA cards. The back has a list of specifications and a small window where you can take a closer look at the merchandise.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/contents_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/contents.jpg)
You will receive:


Graphics card
Instruction Manual + Driver CD
DVI Adapter
TV Out cable
PCI-E power adapter


Please note: Because of a mistake on Zotac side we have received the GeForce 8800 GT in an AMP! Edition packaging and cooler design. The card we tested today is the Zotac GeForce 8800 GT with 660 MHz core and 1800 MHz memory clock.

The Card
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/card1_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/card1.jpg) http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/card2_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/card2.jpg)
The 8800 GT design looks extremely sexy, the whole card is covered by the heatsink which uses round edges and curves to make it look more sleek. Please also note that the print on the cooler is real print covering the whole heatsink, not just a sticker. This increases the perception of build quality quite a bit.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/card4_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/card4.jpg)
The NVIDIA 8800 GT is using a 1 slot cooler design, making it ideal for smaller cases too. While it is not a long as the 8800 GTX, it is still a pretty big card with 22.5 cm PCB length (add a few cm for the power connector).

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/card3_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/card3.jpg) http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/card4_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/card4.jpg)
On the back you find the usual warranty stickers and product information labels, all memory chips are located in the side of the GPU.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/outputs_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/outputs.jpg)
Having two DVI outputs is standard nowadays for anything that is not a low-end budget card. Should you need to use the card with an older CRT, you can use the included DVI to VGA dongle.

[page=A Closer Look]
A Closer Look
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/cooler1_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/cooler1.jpg) http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/cooler1a_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/cooler1a.jpg) http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/cooler1b_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/cooler1b.jpg)
Zotac has chosen to use the NVIDIA reference cooler as base for their cooler. The top orange metal cover seems to be made exclusively by Zotac.
On the cooler we see a large array of tightly packed fins which are fed with cool air by a cooler to the right.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/cooler2_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/cooler2.jpg) http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/cooler3_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/cooler3.jpg)
You can clearly see the eight thermal pads cooling the individual memory chips and the large copper area which makes contact with the GPU core. Further to the right on the picture is another thermal pad which is used to cool the voltage regulation circuitry of the card.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/sli_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/sli.jpg)
SLI is possible by combining this card with any other 8800 GT card from any manufacturer. Using the SLI bridge is mandatory for using this card together with SLI. Before you ask, you can not use the 8800 GT with another 8800-non-GT card in SLI.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/power_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/power.jpg)
A high-performance card will definitely need some power, so you will find one PCI-E 6 pin power connector on the back of the card. Zotac was kind enough to leave a small indent in the metal cover to make it easier to plug the power connector in and out.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/card_naked_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/card_naked.jpg)
Eight GDDR3 memory chips are arranged neatly around the G92 GPU. Further to the right you can see a few empty pads near the card's power circuitry. To me this looks like we could even see a higher powered card using a similar PCB design.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/memory_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/memory.jpg)
The GDDR3 memory chips are made by Qimonda (formerly Infineon) and carry the model number HYB18H5123221BF-10. With a rated speed of 1.0 ns the card should be good for 1000 MHz at least.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/gpu_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/gpu.jpg)
The GPU is the NVIDIA G92 Revision A2, which is made in 65nm technology by TSMC. On the GPU 754M transistors can be found. Compared to the G80 (8800 GTX/Ultra) this is a "small" increase by 73 million. A reason for that is that NVIDIA has included the display output logic and new HD video decode features into this chip.

[page=Test Setup]
Test System
<table border="1" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" class="ramtable" width="450">
<tr align="center">
<th colspan="2" scope="row" style="font-size:larger;text-align:center">Test System</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th width="150" scope="row">CPU:</th>
<td scope="row">Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 2.33 GHz<br />(Conroe, 2x 1024 KB Cache)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th scope="row">Motherboard:</th>
<td scope="row">Gigabyte P35C-DS3R<br />Intel P35</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th scope="row">Memory:</th>
<td scope="row">2x 1024MB A.DATA DDR2 1066+ CL4</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th valign="top" scope="row">Harddisk:</th>
<td valign="top" scope="row">WD Raptor 740ADFD 74 GB</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th valign="top" scope="row">Power Supply:</th>
<td valign="top" scope="row">OCZ GameXStream 700W</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th valign="top" scope="row">Software:</th>
<td valign="top" scope="row">Windows XP SP2</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th valign="top" scope="row">Drivers:</th>
<td valign="top" scope="row">NVIDIA: 162.18<br />ATI: Catalyst 7.7<br />We used ForceWare 169.01 for all our 8800 GT testing as recommended by NVIDIA.</td>
</tr>
</table>


All video card results were obtained on this exact system with the exact same configuration.
All games were set to their highest quality setting


Each benchmark was tested at the following settings and resolution:

1024 x 768, No Anti-aliasing, No anisotropic filtering. This is a standard resolution without demanding display settings.
1280 x 1024, 2x Anti-aliasing, 8x anisotropic filtering. Common resolution for most gamer flatscreens today. A bit of eye candy turned on in the drivers.
1600 x 1200, 4x Anti-aliasing, 16x anisotropic filter. Highest non-widescreen resolution available to a wide range of users. Very good looking driver graphics settings.
2048 x 1536, 4x Anti-aliasing, 16x anisotropic filter. Highest non-widescreen resolution available to any consumer video card. Very good looking driver graphics settings.


[page=Company Of Heroes]
Company Of Heroes

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The real-time strategy game Company of Heroes (http://www.companyofheroesgame.com) is set during World War II where you take two American companies through several fights all over France to liberate the country from German occupation. Company of Heroes is the first game to use Relic's next-generation engine "Essence Engine" which includes support for HDR lighting, Shader Model 3.0, normal mapping, dynamic lighting and shadows. You are able to zoom in from the tactical view of the battle field to see the individual units fighting. Often you catch yourself admiring the detailed animations of the soldiers while the fight around you is raging. We tested the DX9 version of the game at maximum details.

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[page=Far Cry]
Far Cry
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Far Cry (http://www.farcry-thegame.com) was released in early 2004 by the new development studio Crytek. It quickly became a massive success because it was one of the first titles to take you in a beautiful 3D outdoor world. Far Cry was one of the most demanding games at its time. Even with today's video cards you can still see big differences in frame rates, especially at the higher resolutions.

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[page=FEAR]
FEAR

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The first person shooter F.E.A.R (htttp://www.whatisfear.com), developed by Monolith Game Studios, was released in Fall 2005 and has a great 3D engine that uses a large number of shading and shadow effects to accurately model the game world. In addition to that it features a realistic physics engine that lets you interact with many objects in the game world. The game was voted game of the year by several publications.

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[page=Prey]
Prey
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Prey (http://www.prey.com) is based on a highly modified 3D engine made by id Software. This first person shooter brought a completely new way of gaming to the genre. In many levels you find yourself walking upside down or on the walls. This adds a completely new aspect to the gaming experience in this genre.

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[page=Quake 4]
Quake 4
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The Quake titles are among the most successful first person games. Developed by id Software, the famous game studio that brought you DOOM, you find yourself in a scifi world that is full of aliens and shocking effects. The main focus of the game is the single player story line. Quake 4 (http://www.quake4game.com) puts you on the home planet of the Strogg. In a number of missions you and your fellow marines will encounter all sorts of enemies, including some really huge aliens.

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[page=Splinter Cell 3]
Splinter Cell 3: Chaos Theory

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The Splinter Cell Series is endorsed by popular book author Tom Clancy. In the 2005 title Splinter Cell 3: Chaos Theory (http://www.splintercell.com) you play the NSA agent Sam Fisher who has to use stealth and finesse to make his way through a number of levels mainly set in eastern asia. The game is based on a modified Unreal 2 engine with support for HDR, normal mapping, parallax mapping and soft shadows. A patch added Shader Model 2.0 support for ATI in addition to the Shader Model 3.0 support which was already part of the original shipping game.

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[page=STALKER]
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

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Before its release in 2007, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl (http://www.stalker-game.com) was one of the most hyped games of the last years. This RPG/FPS hybrid game is set a few years in the future, after a nuclear disaster occurs at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. The release of radiation causes strange things like mutations in the nearby area. You take the role of a Stalker who seeks fame and riches in the contaminated area around Chernobyl. The game engine features all the latest buzzwords like HDR, bullet physics, skeletal animation, soft shadows and weather effects. Stalker's vast outside world is richly modelled, you can interact with a large number of objects in the game thanks to the physics engine.

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[page=Supreme Commander]
Supreme Commander
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If you hear people talk about a real-time strategy game with "massive numbers of units fighting" you can be sure they are talking about Supreme Commander (http://www.supremecommander.com). The unofficial successor to the Total Annihilation Series completely redefined some aspects of the RTS genre. In Supreme Commander you can zoom out so far that you can see the whole map on your screen and units are just little blips. This is much needed in fights when several hundred units go at each other. Supreme Commander is also one of the most demanding RTS games with support for up to four CPU cores - a dual-core system with high-end graphics is recommended for optimum game play.

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[page=X3]
X3
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X3 (http://www.egosoft.com) is a space combat/trading simulation game with beautiful graphics. The game world is gigantic and there is always something new to see. Even though the user interface is not that great, the title has found many fans that love to explore the rich content. When you are flying in your spaceship you are sometimes tempted to just stop the action to take a look at the highly detailed ships and planets.

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[page=3DMark03]
3DMark03
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/3dmark03.jpg
Futuremark Corporation (http://www.futuremark.com) is the number one player in the world of synthetic benchmarking. The 3DMark series is the most popular test suite for video card testing and is used by gamers, overclockers and manufacturers alike to determine how fast their hardware is. Even though it is a few years old, 3DMark03 can easily stress today's video cards.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/3dmark03_1024_768.gif

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/3dmark03_1280_1024.gif

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/3dmark03_1600_1200.gif

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/3dmark03_2048_1536.gif

[page=3DMark05]
3DMark05
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/3dmark05.jpg
Another benchmark from Futuremark (http://www.futuremark.com) is 3DMark05 which comes with four completely new game tests that make massive use of shaders and lighting effects. 3DMark05 is a great test for modern video card architectures - in some tests you are often close to the 30 fps mark, below which your games will feel sluggish.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/3dmark05_1024_768.gif

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/3dmark05_1280_1024.gif

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/3dmark05_1600_1200.gif

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/3dmark05_2048_1536.gif

[page=3DMark06]
3DMark06
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/3dmark06.jpg
Even though it's based on Futuremark's 3DMark05, the new 3DMark06 adds new tests for Shader Model 3.0 and HDR rendering. It is also the first 3DMark to incorporate a CPU score into the final 3DMark score. All tests have received an overhaul, for example in the Canyon Flight test you can now see beautiful sun glare effects with the help of High Dynamic Range rendering.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/3dmark06_1024_768.gif

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/3dmark06_1280_1024.gif

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/3dmark06_1600_1200.gif

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GT/images/3dmark06_2048_1536.gif

[page=Value & Conclusion]
Value and Conclusion
<table width="100%" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" id="result">
<tr><th>http://www.techpowerup.com/images/dollar.gif</th>
<td>
The Zotac 8800 GT will be sold for around $249 which the same price as the NVIDIA reference design.</td>
</tr><tr>
<th>http://www.techpowerup.com/images/thumbup.gif</th>
<td>
Factory overclocked by Zotac
Great performance
Affordable
Single slot cooling solution
256 bit memory interface
DirectX 10 + Shader Model 4.0 Support
HD Video decoding capabilities
SLI capable
PCI-E 2.0 support
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>http://www.techpowerup.com/images/thumbdown.gif</th>
<td>
No HDMI+Audio support on reference design
No DirectX 10.1 support - who cares?
Flaky SLI support with current drivers
</td></tr>
<tr><th>9.7</th>
<td>It seems NVIDIA has done everything right with the GeForce 8800 GT. The card offers plenty of power for all games, even at higher resolutions. Thanks to the 65nm fabrication process, the GPU has a lower heat output which allows the use of a cooler that uses only one slot. However it tends to be a little bit noisier than the other GeForce 8800 cards with dual-slot coolers.<br />
NVIDIA has not only done a great job in building a fine card, but it is also sold at a very affordable price point. Personally, I would never spend more than 300$ or so for a video card, if a game is good it will be lots of fun on slightly reduced details settings too. Even though the price is great, ATI has a new product coming up too and if everything goes like in the recent past, ATI will offer their product cheaper than NVIDIA.<br />
Last Friday NVIDIA issued a new SLI driver to reviewers which enabled SLI on the 8800 GT. Since this is the first set of released drivers, SLI is not running that good yet on the GT. But I am confident NVIDIA is working hard on this and can resolve the problems in short time.<br />
The support for PCI-Express 2.0 and the lack of DirectX 10.1 are both so unimportant for the near future that they should not affect your buying decision. What is more important for the Media PC segment is that there is no HDMI+Audio support out of the box, which ATI does have. Other than that I really can't find anything wrong with the card. Let's hope there is enough stock to satisfy the huge demand that will be there for this card.</td></tr>
<tr><th></th><td>http://www.techpowerup.com/images/editorschoice.gif</td></tr>
</table>

[LiNKiN]

This card is amazing. Near GTX performance in a few cases, and better than GTX performance in many cases. For the price (half the price of a GTX), this thing seems to be a Hi-Definition gaming monster. If ATI brings something better and cheaper, all I can say is "This is where the fun begins." :toast: Nicely done W1zzard.

[newtekie1]

No overclocking results W1z? I expected you to just right on overclocking this bad boy. :)

This definitely looks like the card to get right now.

[Batou1986]

very impressive im hoping to see an agp variant of this thing as the final upgrade i do to my system before going all out on a new build

[KennyT772]

Where in the hell are the overclocking tests? nTune does work for these new cards, even with shader frequencies...things need to be updated. There are also no temps, no noise levels, power consumption....come on w1zz!

[Weer]

The TRUE Triple-SLi card.

[15th Warlock]

Nice review, thanks W1zz... :)

Looks like this IS the card to get at the moment ;)

[DrunkenMafia]

Great review w1zz...

Just wondering if you managed to get any data on temps of that thing??? the cooler looks quite small...

I also noticed there were no oc'n benchies.... Is that because of software incompatibility??

This card is friggin great at the high resolutions.... 2 of these in SLI will be incredible, even on a 40in lcd... and Only $500!!!!!! ( for you guys anyways)

I reckon they will sell like hotcakes..

[Chewy]

Im some glad I got rid of my 8800gts.. lol this puppy will prob oc like mad! or so I hope..

also the Swiftech 8800series sink kit will fit on this card right? just making sure because I have them and I'll be putting this card on water :D.

layout seems a bit diff from the reg 8800 cards. :P

[Ketxxx]

Now would seem to be the time to use the benchmarks inlcluded with the crysis demo. 88GT vs 29Pro.

[OnBoard]

Good review, I love the fact that there is a x1900xt in the mix, so I see straight how much gain an upgrade would do. Even better is that those 3Dmark scores are almost exact what I get (just a bit lower as I got higher CPU clocks).
Previous revies had 3GHz quad cores and 3DMark06 score over 13k and you didn't even break 10k, way to fool the customers, when most of us don't have so beefy processors. Still it's a beast, even if it doesn't get quite the double of my 3DMark06 score :P

That's one nice looking metal shiel Zotac got going, beats nvidias reference plastic one 5-0. Temps would have been nice, but already know it runs a bit hot. Shouldn't be long that someone puts a VF900 or another aftermarket cooler there and we'll see what it does.

[nflesher87]

awesome review and all good and ready for release day
I bet that's kills you to know this stuff before release and not get to talk about it :) that or you're probably way over that now lol

[[I.R.A]_FBi]

jah know .... if amd comes with a card similar to this for less than this ... i cant swallow iut all at once .. this is a real value

[allen337]

test setup says ATI: Catalyst 7.7 ~~ why not use a p3 1000mhz to test also?

[Steve O B Have]

I think you need to update your test system - you clearly have some major benchmarking issues with the games being CPU bound. Your figures are way off pretty much every single other review out there. You should also have included the 8800GTS 640MB.

Average.

[W1zzard]

I think you need to update your test system - you clearly have some major benchmarking issues with the games being CPU bound. Your figures are way off pretty much every single other review out there. You should also have included the 8800GTS 640MB.

Average.

can you send me a 8800 gts 640?

[W1zzard]

test setup says ATI: Catalyst 7.7 ~~ why not use a p3 1000mhz to test also?

i cant retest 20 cards in 3 days. so better to compare the card against 4 other cards only?

[Chewy]

I think you need to update your test system - you clearly have some major benchmarking issues with the games being CPU bound. Your figures are way off pretty much every single other review out there. You should also have included the 8800GTS 640MB.

Average.

umm, you know hes not using a stock 8800gt eh?

I think showing that is card pwns a 2900xt and 8800gtx in alot of benchmarks leaves no need for a 8800gts in a review... the gts gets pwnt by this card.

[niko084]

No doubt lay off W1zzard, he tests a lot of stuff for us and is full of good information.

It's near impossible to test all the new cards in the same machine, what is he supposed to do leave 20 video cards laying around to test with a new hot machine each time?

Take it as a "general performance" mark, thats the best benchmarking can do anyways considering everyones systems differs, and that goes a VERY wide range.

[scamps]

Thank you w1izzard! Regarding drivers and the 660 MHz of the card (reference seems to be 600 MHz, but Zotac´s AMP! in Germany has 700/1000!!!) there will be a little variance in future, but: if you had this card in your hands, I really really hope Ati-Tool will OC it properly ;) - also there seems to be no need for OC at all at the moment.
ATI will have to do a divine job to be better ...

[zOaib]

umm, you know hes not using a stock 8800gt eh?

I think showing that is card pwns a 2900xt and 8800gtx in alot of benchmarks leaves no need for a 8800gts in a review... the gts gets pwnt by this card.

true that

[W1zzard]

Thank you w1izzard! Regarding drivers and the 660 MHz of the card (reference seems to be 600 MHz, but Zotac´s AMP! in Germany has 700/1000!!!) there will be a little variance in future, but: if you had this card in your hands, I really really hope Ati-Tool will OC it properly ;) - also there seems to be no need for OC at all at the moment.
ATI will have to do a divine job to be better ...

nvidia reference: 600 mhz
zotac standard: 660 mhz
zotac amp edition: 700 mhz

[DaMulta]

I wonder what it would do with the CPU set at 3.0Ghz.

[newconroer]

|No doubt lay off W1zzard, he tests a lot of stuff for us and is full of good information.

It's near impossible to test all the new cards in the same machine, what is he supposed to do leave 20 video cards laying around to test with a new hot machine each time?

Take it as a "general performance" mark, thats the best benchmarking can do anyways considering everyones systems differs, and that goes a VERY wide range.|


Or, rather than instill confusion, just do us the favor of finding reputable sources who have done a proper comparison with the cards desired and link it for us?

Because...then this > wouldn't happen :


"umm, you know hes not using a stock 8800gt eh?

I think showing that is card pwns a 2900xt and 8800gtx in alot of benchmarks leaves no need for a 8800gts in a review... the gts gets pwnt by this card."



Actually it doesn't 'pwn,' but since the GTS is getting EOL cycle, and another will be released, then I guess this little GT baby will get 'pwn3d.'

Such a pity.

[Chewy]

"umm, you know hes not using a stock 8800gt eh?

I think showing that is card pwns a 2900xt and 8800gtx in alot of benchmarks leaves no need for a 8800gts in a review... the gts gets pwnt by this card."



Actually it doesn't 'pwn,' but since the GTS is getting EOL cycle, and another will be released, then I guess this little GT baby will get 'pwn3d.'

Such a pity.

naa actually this gt will still fair well when the rev.2 gts gets released... but as computer components go.. theres always something better around the corner.. this 8800gt is a nice performance leap, especially in its price range!

I will get the new GTS since my cooling wont fit the 8800gt card. I doubt very much that its going to "pwn" the 8800gt very hard, especially when comparing that this is thier mid-range card and the gts will be a mid-high range card.... Im sure they will both do well in thier price range, main bonus is they consume less power which I like alot.

EDIT: I giver up on my editing my edit lol.. I deleted by a mistake somehow before I posted lol.

[newconroer]

Yes, always something better, hence my sardonic response :)

Silly goose.