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Leadtek WinFast PX 8800 GTS TDH Review
[Abstract]
IntroductionChristmas is slightly more than a month away but if you're fixed on getting NVIDIA's new GeForce 8 graphics cards, you're in luck. Stocks seem adequate on the online stores we check...
[Content] PCDigitalMobileGame
Introduction
Christmas is slightly more than a month away but if you're fixed on getting NVIDIA's new GeForce 8 graphics cards, you're in luck. Stocks seem adequate on the online stores we checked and even the flagship GeForce 8800 GTX was available despite a manufacturing error that led to a mini recall from vendors. However, we did notice that generally, the prices for the GeForce 8800 GTS were higher than the stated launch price of US$449. For example, the cheapest GTS on popular online retailer Newegg was US$459, a slight premium over the recommended retail price while on price comparison sites like Pricewatch.com, the cheapest GTS was listed at around US$482.
In short, be prepared for possible price gouging from retailers or vendors when shopping around for a GeForce 8 card. It is likely that stocks are not as plentiful as they may appear, given these higher prices. Then again, we doubt that most early adopters are overly concerned about a slightly higher retail price, compared to the prospects of getting the fastest graphics card now. So, to help these determined buyers choose the 'right' GeForce 8800 GTS, we give Leadtek's version the run-through today:
Yes, you're not imagining the shimmer on the packaging for the Leadtek WinFast PX8800 GTS TDH. The whole box has a reflective shimmer that makes reading the text on the box a headache. A bad way of grabbing attention in our opinion. |
You should know that currently, all NVIDIA GeForce 8800 cards are outsourced by the chipmaker to a third party contract manufacturer. NVIDIA retains control over the process as it sells the finished hardware to the many graphics vendors, who proceed to ready them for retail. While NVIDIA mentioned that this would be their main model of populating their GeForce 8 series to the market speedily, they didn't rule out that vendors could introduce their own variants, though in our opinion it's quite unlikely to happen anytime soon. This means that all the GeForce 8 cards now are clones of each other. They are all reference models, featuring the same specifications and hardware, like the two-slot cooler. Here then are the specifications of Leadtek's WinFast PX8800 GTS TDH, where the difference between it and any other GeForce 8800 GTS probably lies in the contents of the package:
Leadtek WinFast PX8800 GTS TDH Technical Specifications
| GraphicsEngine | - NVIDIA GeForce 8800GTSGPU (G80)
- 681 milliontransistors
- Stock 3D GPUclock = 513MHz
- 96 StreamProcessors at 1200MHz
- NVIDIA UnifiedArchitecture
- GigaThreadtechnology
- Full support forMicrosoft DirectX 10
- Geometryshaders
- Geometryinstancing
- Streamed output
- Shader Model4.0
- Full 128-bitfloating point precision through theentire rendering pipeline
- NVIDIA LumenexTechnology
- 16x full screenanti-aliasing
- Transparentmultisampling and transparent supersampling
- 16x angleindependent anisotropic filtering
- 128-bit floatingpoint high dynamic-range (HDR) lightingwith anti-aliasing
- 32-bit percomponent floating point texture filteringand blending
- Advanced losslesscompression algorithms for color,texture, and z-data
- Support for normalmap compression
- Z-cull
- Early-Z
- NVIDIA Quantum EffectsTechnology
- Advanced shaderprocessors architected for physicscomputation
- Simulate and renderphysics effects on the graphicsprocessor
- NVIDIA SLI Technology
- NVIDIA PureVideo HDTechnology
- Dedicated on-chipvideo processor
- High-definitionH.264, VC-1, MPEG2 and WMV9 decodeacceleration
- Advancedspatial-temporal de-interlacing
- HDCP capable
- Spatial-TemporalDe-Interlacing
- Noise Reduction
- Edge Enhancement
- Bad Edit Correction
- Inverse telecine(2:2 and 3:2 pull-down correction)
- High-qualityscaling
- Video colorcorrection
- Microsoft VideoMixing Renderer (VMR) support
- Advanced DisplayFunctionality
- Two dual-link DVIoutputs for digital flat panel displayresolutions up to 2560x1600
- Dual integrated400MHz RAMDACs for analog displayresolutions up to and including 2048x1536 at 85Hz
- Integrated HDTVencoder provides analog TV-output(Component/Composite/S-Video) up to 1080i resolution
- NVIDIA nViewmulti-display technology capability
- 10-bit displayprocessing
- Built for Windows Vista
- Full DirectX 10support
- Dedicated graphicsprocessor powers the new Windows VistaAero 3D user interface
- VMR-based videoarchitecture
- Designedfor PCIExpress x16
- Designed forhigh-speed GDDR3 memory
- Advanced thermalmonitoring and thermal management
| | GraphicsMemory | - 320-bit memoryinterface
- 640MB Graphics DDR3SDRAM
- Default clock rate of792MHz (effective speed of 1584MHzDDR)
| | DisplayCapabilities | - Dual 400MHz RAMDACsthat support resolutions of2048x1536@85Hz
- Dual-link DVIcapability to drive displays of up to2560x1600
| | Connectors | - 1 x mini-DIN connector(for Video-out)
- 2 x DVI-I connector(HDCP Ready)
| | Drivers& Software | - Driver support forMicrosoft Windows Vista/9x/ME/2000/XP/XPMCE/XP Pro x64, Linux and Macintosh OS (including OS X)
- CyberLink Power DVD 6.0
- Orb
- SpellForce 2: ShadowWars
- TrackMania Nations
| | OtherInformation | - PCI Express x16slot required
- Dedicated 6-pin PCIeMolex power connector required (notshared or split)
- Power supply rated for450W or higher recommended byNVIDIA
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