W1zzard
12-09-2007, 03:54 PM
[page=Introduction & Specifications]
Introduction
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/logo.jpg
Today NVIDIA released their new 8800 GTS 512 MB. Unlike the "old" 8800 GTS, which was based on the G80 GPU, the 512 MB version features the new G92 which is already used on the 8800 GT. The new GPU brings a larger number of shaders in a smaller process which allows higher clocks at a reduced power consumption. Compared to the 8800 GT, the clock speeds and the shader count have been increased.
Zotac as one of NVIDIA's premier add in board partners today also launched their 8800 GTS 512 MB. The card we reviewed today follows the NVIDIA reference design specifications exactly, but a more powerful version is probably in the works. With a price point of around $300 the card is only marginally more expensive than the GeForce 8800 GT.
<table border="1" class="resulttable" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3">
<tr>
<th></th>
<td>Radeon <br />
HD 2600 XT</td>
<td>GeForce <br />
8600 GTS</td>
<td>Radeon<br />
HD 3850 </td>
<td>Radeon <br />
HD 3870 </td>
<td>GeForce<br /> 8800 GTS</td>
<td>GeForce <br />
8800 GT</td>
<td><strong>GeForce <br />
8800 GTS</strong></td>
<td>Radeon <br />
HD 2900 XT </td>
<td>GeForce <br />
8800 GTX </td>
<td>GeForce <br />
8800 Ultra </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Shader units </th>
<td align="right">120</td>
<td align="right">32</td>
<td align="right">320</td>
<td align="right">320</td>
<td align="right">96</td>
<td align="right">112</td>
<td align="right"><strong>128</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">16</td>
<td align="right">16</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">RV670</td>
<td align="right">RV670</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">390M </td>
<td align="right">289M</td>
<td align="right">666M </td>
<td align="right">666M</td>
<td align="right">681M </td>
<td align="right">754M</td>
<td align="right"><strong>754M</strong></td>
<td align="right">700M </td>
<td align="right">681M </td>
<td align="right">681M </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Memory Size</th>
<td align="right">256 MB</td>
<td align="right">256 MB </td>
<td align="right">256 MB </td>
<td align="right">512 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">256 bit </td>
<td align="right">256 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">670 MHz </td>
<td align="right">777 MHz </td>
<td align="right">500 MHz </td>
<td align="right">600 MHz </td>
<td align="right"><strong>650 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">828 MHz </td>
<td align="right">1126 MHz </td>
<td align="right">800 MHz </td>
<td align="right">900 MHz </td>
<td align="right"><strong>970 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">$179</td>
<td align="right">$249</td>
<td align="right">$260<br />
$350</td>
<td align="right">$249</td>
<td align="right"><strong>$299</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 capable
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
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 1080p resolution
10-bit display processing
High Speed Interfaces
Designed for PCI Express® 2.0 x16 (Note: PCIe 2.0 devices are backwards compatible with PCI Express 1.x devices)
Designed for high-speed GDDR3 memory
Operating Systems
Windows Vista /Windows Vista 64
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 & Contents]
Packaging & Contents
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/package1_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/package1.jpg) http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/package2_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/package2.jpg)
Zotac's orange box will definitely catch some attention in shops. All the major specs are listed on the front, while the back has additional detail in several languages.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/contents_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/contents.jpg)
You will receive:
Graphics card
Instruction Manual + Driver CD
DVI Adapter
TV out cable
PCI-E power cable
[page=The Card]
The Card
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/card1_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/card1.jpg) http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/card3_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/card3.jpg)
The Zotac GeForce 8800 GTS has the same PCB size as the 8800 GTS and is shorter than the 8800 GTX. Exact length of the card is 9". I would also like to mention that the PCB is exactly the same as on the 8800 GT, down to the PCB part number. This also means that you could exchange coolers between the 8800 GT and the GTS without any problems.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/card2_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/card2.jpg)
Just as expected, the card uses a dual-slot cooling design. Hot air is blown outside of the case.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/outputs_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/outputs.jpg)
The output configuration follows today's standard. Two DVI ports are available, both are dual link capable, so you can run two 2560x1600 displays at once. In case you still have an old analog VGA monitor you can connect it using the included DVI to VGA adapter.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/front_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/front.jpg) http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/back_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/back.jpg)
Here are the front and the back of the card, high-res versions are also available (front (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/front_full.jpg), back (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/back_full.jpg)). If you choose to use these images for voltmods etc, please include a link back to this site.
[page=A Closer Look]
A Closer Look
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/cooler1_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/cooler1.jpg) http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/cooler2_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/cooler2.jpg) http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/cooler3_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/cooler3.jpg)
NVIDIA's cooler is a fairly complex design. In addition to the GPU and the memory, it also cools the voltage regulation circuitry, all in one cooler. This makes it a bit more difficult for 3rd party companies to design their own solutions because of the complex and expensive design.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/sli_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/sli.jpg)
The GeForce 8800 GTS 512 MB can be used with a second card in SLI. Also NVIDIA will be announcing a future SLI configuration very soon, for their 780i Chipset Series, so stay tuned.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/power_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/power.jpg)
A powerful card like this definitely needs some juice. The power connector is located on the back of the card, under the top of the heatsink. I found this a bit hard to use in a small case since you can not see where exactly you have to plug in the power connector. Even though the card supports PCI-Express 2.0, which has a higher power delivery capability, it will not work without power connected, even in 2.0 mode.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/memory_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/memory.jpg)
The GDDR3 memory chips are made by Qimonda (formerly Infineon) and carry the model number HYB18H512321BF-10. With 1.0 ns latency (= 1000 MHz) they should have some headroom left for overclocking.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/gpu_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/gpu.jpg)
Just like on the GeForce 8800 GT, the GPU is the NVIDIA G92. It is fabricated in a 55nm process, with 756 million transistors.
[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 2048 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: 169.04<br />ATI: Catalyst 7.11</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
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/companyofheroes.jpg
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=Crysis]
Crysis
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/crysis.jpg
After the tremendous success of Far Cry, the German game studio Crytek released their latest shooter Crysis (http://www.ea.com/crysis/) in 2007. The game was by far the most hyped and anticipated game in 2007, the forums were full of "Can my system run Crysis?" threads because of the high hardware requirements of this game. Just like in Far Cry the plot evolves on a small island with a thick and richly detailed jungle world. A lot of attention has been given to small details like correct physics. For example when you fire on a tree trunk, it will shatter and the tree will fall over leaving a stump behind. Enemies in a car can be stopped by shooting the tire of the car. The game graphics are by far the best ever seen in a PC game so far, yet the game still runs well on most computers. We tested the DX9 version with graphics set to "High", which is the highest non-DX10 setting in the game.
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[page=Enemy Territory: Quake Wars]
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars
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The first-person shooter Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (http://www.enemyterritory.com) is set in the science-fiction universe of Quake and requires several classes to work together to achieve certain goals on a map. In the campaign mode you gain experience which you can use to buy upgrades for your class. The player gets to pick from five classes of either the Global Defense Force or the Strogg faction. As underlying game engine, the successful id Software Doom 3 engine has been licensed, but several features like MegaTextures have been added, giving the outdoor world a much more detailed appearance. We tested the DX9 version of the game at maximum details.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/etqw_1024_768.gif
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[page=Far Cry]
Far Cry
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/farcry.jpg
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.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/stalker.jpg
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 modeled, 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=Unreal Tournament 3]
Unreal Tournament 3
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The fourth game in Epic's highly successful Unreal Tournament Series is simply called Unreal Tournament 3 (http://www.unrealtournament3.com). It is based on the all-new Unreal 3 engine which is a major step forward from the previous engine. The game principle is centered about an arena style gameplay where several contestants try to reach a certain kill count or capture a flag for example. As you would expect from a new 2007 title, the graphics are top notch, with large and detailed textures. One major drawback of the way the engine is designed is that there is no support for Anti-Aliasing. While video card vendors like ATI have found ways to force this in their drivers we did all our testing with AA disabled in DX9 at maximum settings.
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[page=X3]
X3
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/x3.jpg
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
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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.
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[page=3DMark05]
3DMark05
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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.
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[page=3DMark06]
3DMark06
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/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.
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[page=Performance Summary, Perf/W, Perf/$]
Performance Summary
To create this graph we took all performance results of all benchmarks and all resolutions, threw them together and calculated the relative performance of each card, compared to our review sample.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/perfrel.gif
Performance per Watt
This graph was created by taking the relative performance numbers and putting them in contrast to the average power consumption results. To offset power consumption of the rest of the system we subtracted 50W from the average consumption.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/perfwatt.gif
Performance per Dollar
If you are looking for the best bang for the buck, then you will love this graph. We looked up the current USD price of each card on the online shop Newegg and used it and the relative performance numbers to calculate the Performance per Dollar Index.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/perfdollar.gif
[page=Overclocking]
Overclocking
To find the maximum overclocks of our Zotac 8800 GTS 512 MB we used Rivatuner to set the clocks and ATITool to check for errors. Rivatuner 2.06 will work fine with the 8800 GTS, you just have to edit rivatuner.cfg and add the device 0600 to the G92 detection list.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/gpuz_oc.gif
The final overclocks of our card are 733 MHz Core (13 % overclock) and 1086 MHz Memory (12 % overclock). Those are very impressive numbers I must say. NVIDIA's 8800 GT had reference clocks of 600 MHz with vendor overclocked versions around 700 MHz. Since our sample easily handles this clock speed it seems that NVIDIA binned the "good" G92s for the GTS and the ones which couldn't clock as well were used on the 8800 GT.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/temp.gif
Even though a two slot cooler is installed, the card gets pretty warm during heavy use. On the other hand the cooler is not too loud so it seems NVIDIA sacrificed some temperature for a quieter experience.
[page=Power Consumption]
Power Consumption
Cooling modern video cards is becoming more and more difficult, especially when users are asking for quiet cooling solutions. That's why the engineers are now paying much more attention to power consumption of new video card designs.
<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 2048 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: 169.04<br />ATI: Catalyst 7.11</td>
</tr>
</table>
In order to characterize a video card's power consumption, the whole system's mains power draw was measured. This means that these numbers include CPU, Memory, HDD, Video card and PSU inefficiency.
The three result values are as following:
Idle: Windows sitting at the desktop (1024x768 32-bit) all windows closed, drivers installed.
Average: 3DMark03 Nature at 1280x1024, 6xAA, 16xAF. This results in the highest power consumption. Average of all readings (two per second) while the test was rendering (no title screen).
Peak: 3DMark03 Nature at 1280x1024, 6xAA, 16xAF. This results in the highest power consumption. Highest single reading
In the past NVIDIA used a 2D/3D clock system which changed clocks based on GPU load. In their latest driver they are using one set of clocks for both 2D and 3D. This results in a higher idle power consumption as we can see in the idle graph. Under load the power consumption is quite low for the performance delivered. Essentially it is as fast as the 8800 GTX, but with 15% lower power consumption.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/power_idle.gif
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[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>
Zotac's GeForce 8800 GTS is available for $299, but other models can go up to $349.</td>
</tr><tr>
<th>http://www.techpowerup.com/images/thumbup.gif</th>
<td>
Top notch performance
Almost as fast as 8800 GTX
Low power draw
Affordable
PCI-E 2.0 support
9" PCB length
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>http://www.techpowerup.com/images/thumbdown.gif</th>
<td>
Two slot cooling
Could kill 8800 GTX/Ultra sales
High idle power draw
</td></tr>
<tr><th>9.0</th>
<td>Just like the GeForce 8800 GT, NVIDIA's new GeForce 8800 GTS 512 MB is a great product at a nice price. Its performance is stunning and can even beat the much more expensive 8800 GTX in many benchmarks. While overall performance is just four percent behind the 8800 GTX, it should be no problem getting the card to reach this level, when overclocked. On our sample we saw some amazing overclocks considering this is a new product launched today. While your overclocks may vary they are still a good indicator of what can be expected from these cards. Also I assume that overclocked versions will be out soon which benefit directly from the added clock headroom.<br />
When looked at it purely from a bang per buck perspective the GeForce 8800 GT would still be the better deal but with a price premium of around $50 for the GTS this may not be much of a deal for people who want more bragging rights or are looking into serious overclocking. In the segment of $300 to $350 there is really no choice other than the GeForce 8800 GTS. Actually I'm a bit worried for NVIDIA's GeForce 8800 GTX sales, because I don't see any reason to get a much more expensive, power hungry card to see only a slight increase in performance. Let's hope availability will be as promised so everyone can get a card for his Christmas Tree.
</td></tr>
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</table>
Introduction
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/logo.jpg
Today NVIDIA released their new 8800 GTS 512 MB. Unlike the "old" 8800 GTS, which was based on the G80 GPU, the 512 MB version features the new G92 which is already used on the 8800 GT. The new GPU brings a larger number of shaders in a smaller process which allows higher clocks at a reduced power consumption. Compared to the 8800 GT, the clock speeds and the shader count have been increased.
Zotac as one of NVIDIA's premier add in board partners today also launched their 8800 GTS 512 MB. The card we reviewed today follows the NVIDIA reference design specifications exactly, but a more powerful version is probably in the works. With a price point of around $300 the card is only marginally more expensive than the GeForce 8800 GT.
<table border="1" class="resulttable" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3">
<tr>
<th></th>
<td>Radeon <br />
HD 2600 XT</td>
<td>GeForce <br />
8600 GTS</td>
<td>Radeon<br />
HD 3850 </td>
<td>Radeon <br />
HD 3870 </td>
<td>GeForce<br /> 8800 GTS</td>
<td>GeForce <br />
8800 GT</td>
<td><strong>GeForce <br />
8800 GTS</strong></td>
<td>Radeon <br />
HD 2900 XT </td>
<td>GeForce <br />
8800 GTX </td>
<td>GeForce <br />
8800 Ultra </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Shader units </th>
<td align="right">120</td>
<td align="right">32</td>
<td align="right">320</td>
<td align="right">320</td>
<td align="right">96</td>
<td align="right">112</td>
<td align="right"><strong>128</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">16</td>
<td align="right">16</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">RV670</td>
<td align="right">RV670</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">390M </td>
<td align="right">289M</td>
<td align="right">666M </td>
<td align="right">666M</td>
<td align="right">681M </td>
<td align="right">754M</td>
<td align="right"><strong>754M</strong></td>
<td align="right">700M </td>
<td align="right">681M </td>
<td align="right">681M </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Memory Size</th>
<td align="right">256 MB</td>
<td align="right">256 MB </td>
<td align="right">256 MB </td>
<td align="right">512 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">256 bit </td>
<td align="right">256 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">670 MHz </td>
<td align="right">777 MHz </td>
<td align="right">500 MHz </td>
<td align="right">600 MHz </td>
<td align="right"><strong>650 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">828 MHz </td>
<td align="right">1126 MHz </td>
<td align="right">800 MHz </td>
<td align="right">900 MHz </td>
<td align="right"><strong>970 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">$179</td>
<td align="right">$249</td>
<td align="right">$260<br />
$350</td>
<td align="right">$249</td>
<td align="right"><strong>$299</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 capable
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
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 1080p resolution
10-bit display processing
High Speed Interfaces
Designed for PCI Express® 2.0 x16 (Note: PCIe 2.0 devices are backwards compatible with PCI Express 1.x devices)
Designed for high-speed GDDR3 memory
Operating Systems
Windows Vista /Windows Vista 64
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 & Contents]
Packaging & Contents
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/package1_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/package1.jpg) http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/package2_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/package2.jpg)
Zotac's orange box will definitely catch some attention in shops. All the major specs are listed on the front, while the back has additional detail in several languages.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/contents_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/contents.jpg)
You will receive:
Graphics card
Instruction Manual + Driver CD
DVI Adapter
TV out cable
PCI-E power cable
[page=The Card]
The Card
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/card1_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/card1.jpg) http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/card3_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/card3.jpg)
The Zotac GeForce 8800 GTS has the same PCB size as the 8800 GTS and is shorter than the 8800 GTX. Exact length of the card is 9". I would also like to mention that the PCB is exactly the same as on the 8800 GT, down to the PCB part number. This also means that you could exchange coolers between the 8800 GT and the GTS without any problems.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/card2_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/card2.jpg)
Just as expected, the card uses a dual-slot cooling design. Hot air is blown outside of the case.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/outputs_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/outputs.jpg)
The output configuration follows today's standard. Two DVI ports are available, both are dual link capable, so you can run two 2560x1600 displays at once. In case you still have an old analog VGA monitor you can connect it using the included DVI to VGA adapter.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/front_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/front.jpg) http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/back_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/back.jpg)
Here are the front and the back of the card, high-res versions are also available (front (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/front_full.jpg), back (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/back_full.jpg)). If you choose to use these images for voltmods etc, please include a link back to this site.
[page=A Closer Look]
A Closer Look
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/cooler1_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/cooler1.jpg) http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/cooler2_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/cooler2.jpg) http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/cooler3_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/cooler3.jpg)
NVIDIA's cooler is a fairly complex design. In addition to the GPU and the memory, it also cools the voltage regulation circuitry, all in one cooler. This makes it a bit more difficult for 3rd party companies to design their own solutions because of the complex and expensive design.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/sli_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/sli.jpg)
The GeForce 8800 GTS 512 MB can be used with a second card in SLI. Also NVIDIA will be announcing a future SLI configuration very soon, for their 780i Chipset Series, so stay tuned.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/power_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/power.jpg)
A powerful card like this definitely needs some juice. The power connector is located on the back of the card, under the top of the heatsink. I found this a bit hard to use in a small case since you can not see where exactly you have to plug in the power connector. Even though the card supports PCI-Express 2.0, which has a higher power delivery capability, it will not work without power connected, even in 2.0 mode.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/memory_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/memory.jpg)
The GDDR3 memory chips are made by Qimonda (formerly Infineon) and carry the model number HYB18H512321BF-10. With 1.0 ns latency (= 1000 MHz) they should have some headroom left for overclocking.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/gpu_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/gpu.jpg)
Just like on the GeForce 8800 GT, the GPU is the NVIDIA G92. It is fabricated in a 55nm process, with 756 million transistors.
[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 2048 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: 169.04<br />ATI: Catalyst 7.11</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
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/companyofheroes.jpg
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=Crysis]
Crysis
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After the tremendous success of Far Cry, the German game studio Crytek released their latest shooter Crysis (http://www.ea.com/crysis/) in 2007. The game was by far the most hyped and anticipated game in 2007, the forums were full of "Can my system run Crysis?" threads because of the high hardware requirements of this game. Just like in Far Cry the plot evolves on a small island with a thick and richly detailed jungle world. A lot of attention has been given to small details like correct physics. For example when you fire on a tree trunk, it will shatter and the tree will fall over leaving a stump behind. Enemies in a car can be stopped by shooting the tire of the car. The game graphics are by far the best ever seen in a PC game so far, yet the game still runs well on most computers. We tested the DX9 version with graphics set to "High", which is the highest non-DX10 setting in the game.
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[page=Enemy Territory: Quake Wars]
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/etqw.jpg
The first-person shooter Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (http://www.enemyterritory.com) is set in the science-fiction universe of Quake and requires several classes to work together to achieve certain goals on a map. In the campaign mode you gain experience which you can use to buy upgrades for your class. The player gets to pick from five classes of either the Global Defense Force or the Strogg faction. As underlying game engine, the successful id Software Doom 3 engine has been licensed, but several features like MegaTextures have been added, giving the outdoor world a much more detailed appearance. We tested the DX9 version of the game at maximum details.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/etqw_1024_768.gif
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[page=Far Cry]
Far Cry
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/farcry.jpg
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
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/fear.jpg
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
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/prey.jpg
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.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/prey_1024_768.gif
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[page=Quake 4]
Quake 4
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/quake4.jpg
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.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/stalker.jpg
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 modeled, 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=Unreal Tournament 3]
Unreal Tournament 3
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The fourth game in Epic's highly successful Unreal Tournament Series is simply called Unreal Tournament 3 (http://www.unrealtournament3.com). It is based on the all-new Unreal 3 engine which is a major step forward from the previous engine. The game principle is centered about an arena style gameplay where several contestants try to reach a certain kill count or capture a flag for example. As you would expect from a new 2007 title, the graphics are top notch, with large and detailed textures. One major drawback of the way the engine is designed is that there is no support for Anti-Aliasing. While video card vendors like ATI have found ways to force this in their drivers we did all our testing with AA disabled in DX9 at maximum settings.
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[page=X3]
X3
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/x3.jpg
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_GTS_512_MB/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.
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[page=3DMark05]
3DMark05
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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.
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[page=3DMark06]
3DMark06
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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.
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[page=Performance Summary, Perf/W, Perf/$]
Performance Summary
To create this graph we took all performance results of all benchmarks and all resolutions, threw them together and calculated the relative performance of each card, compared to our review sample.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/perfrel.gif
Performance per Watt
This graph was created by taking the relative performance numbers and putting them in contrast to the average power consumption results. To offset power consumption of the rest of the system we subtracted 50W from the average consumption.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/perfwatt.gif
Performance per Dollar
If you are looking for the best bang for the buck, then you will love this graph. We looked up the current USD price of each card on the online shop Newegg and used it and the relative performance numbers to calculate the Performance per Dollar Index.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/perfdollar.gif
[page=Overclocking]
Overclocking
To find the maximum overclocks of our Zotac 8800 GTS 512 MB we used Rivatuner to set the clocks and ATITool to check for errors. Rivatuner 2.06 will work fine with the 8800 GTS, you just have to edit rivatuner.cfg and add the device 0600 to the G92 detection list.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/gpuz_oc.gif
The final overclocks of our card are 733 MHz Core (13 % overclock) and 1086 MHz Memory (12 % overclock). Those are very impressive numbers I must say. NVIDIA's 8800 GT had reference clocks of 600 MHz with vendor overclocked versions around 700 MHz. Since our sample easily handles this clock speed it seems that NVIDIA binned the "good" G92s for the GTS and the ones which couldn't clock as well were used on the 8800 GT.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/temp.gif
Even though a two slot cooler is installed, the card gets pretty warm during heavy use. On the other hand the cooler is not too loud so it seems NVIDIA sacrificed some temperature for a quieter experience.
[page=Power Consumption]
Power Consumption
Cooling modern video cards is becoming more and more difficult, especially when users are asking for quiet cooling solutions. That's why the engineers are now paying much more attention to power consumption of new video card designs.
<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 2048 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: 169.04<br />ATI: Catalyst 7.11</td>
</tr>
</table>
In order to characterize a video card's power consumption, the whole system's mains power draw was measured. This means that these numbers include CPU, Memory, HDD, Video card and PSU inefficiency.
The three result values are as following:
Idle: Windows sitting at the desktop (1024x768 32-bit) all windows closed, drivers installed.
Average: 3DMark03 Nature at 1280x1024, 6xAA, 16xAF. This results in the highest power consumption. Average of all readings (two per second) while the test was rendering (no title screen).
Peak: 3DMark03 Nature at 1280x1024, 6xAA, 16xAF. This results in the highest power consumption. Highest single reading
In the past NVIDIA used a 2D/3D clock system which changed clocks based on GPU load. In their latest driver they are using one set of clocks for both 2D and 3D. This results in a higher idle power consumption as we can see in the idle graph. Under load the power consumption is quite low for the performance delivered. Essentially it is as fast as the 8800 GTX, but with 15% lower power consumption.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_8800_GTS_512_MB/images/power_idle.gif
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[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>
Zotac's GeForce 8800 GTS is available for $299, but other models can go up to $349.</td>
</tr><tr>
<th>http://www.techpowerup.com/images/thumbup.gif</th>
<td>
Top notch performance
Almost as fast as 8800 GTX
Low power draw
Affordable
PCI-E 2.0 support
9" PCB length
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
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Two slot cooling
Could kill 8800 GTX/Ultra sales
High idle power draw
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<td>Just like the GeForce 8800 GT, NVIDIA's new GeForce 8800 GTS 512 MB is a great product at a nice price. Its performance is stunning and can even beat the much more expensive 8800 GTX in many benchmarks. While overall performance is just four percent behind the 8800 GTX, it should be no problem getting the card to reach this level, when overclocked. On our sample we saw some amazing overclocks considering this is a new product launched today. While your overclocks may vary they are still a good indicator of what can be expected from these cards. Also I assume that overclocked versions will be out soon which benefit directly from the added clock headroom.<br />
When looked at it purely from a bang per buck perspective the GeForce 8800 GT would still be the better deal but with a price premium of around $50 for the GTS this may not be much of a deal for people who want more bragging rights or are looking into serious overclocking. In the segment of $300 to $350 there is really no choice other than the GeForce 8800 GTS. Actually I'm a bit worried for NVIDIA's GeForce 8800 GTX sales, because I don't see any reason to get a much more expensive, power hungry card to see only a slight increase in performance. Let's hope availability will be as promised so everyone can get a card for his Christmas Tree.
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