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Nvidia 8800GTX Roundup
[Abstract]
'Tis the Season to SpendIf you have been wondering why we have had no reviews on the top graphics card now, the GeForce 8800 GTX, besides our initial in-depth article on the new GeForce 8 serie...
[Content] PCDigitalMobileGame
'Tis the Season to Spend
If you have been wondering why we have had no reviews on the top graphics card now, the GeForce 8800 GTX, besides our initial in-depth article on the new GeForce 8 series, the short answer is that we have been hoarding them in our lab (our precioussss!). The long answer is today's article, where we have gathered a number of GeForce 8800 GTX cards available now and put them to the test. Specifically, overclocking and temperature tests. Since all the GeForce 8800 GTX cards are running at standard clocks, we felt that there was little utility in showing you minor and negligible differences in performance figures between them. You should be able to get all the information you need, including the relevant comparisons of the GeForce 8800 GTX against other graphics chipsets in our previous detailed article. Hence, only overclocking and temperature results will be shown in this guide.
On such a level playing field, what separates a Brand X GeForce 8800 GTX from a Brand Y quickly boils down to the bundle, the warranty and service, and probably the most important factor - price. First, we shall show you the various GeForce 8800 GTX models from different vendors and what you can expect to pay for the complete package. So without further ado, we have the first candidate (in alphabetical order), the ASUS EN8800GTX 768MB:
ASUS EN8800GTX 768MB
Appropriately, we start with one of the big names in hardware, ASUS. The company had a King Kong theme for its older cards, but the gorilla has since been displaced by the fighting fit soldier of Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter. Along with sporting one of the nicer decals so far, the ASUS EN8800GTX also commands its usual premium. At the recommended retail price of S$1029 (US$665), it is slightly more expensive than the competition. However, for that price, you do get an excellent bundle including a copy of Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter. A local three-year warranty also ensures that your 'investment' will be safe for quite a while.
As usual, ASUS' packaging is gigantic and it is easily the largest of the lot. Most of it is just foam and cardboard but the Ghost Recon Advacned Warfighter theme and tieup is a nice treat for gamers. Now if only they made the box easier to carry. |
A nicely illustrated decal on the ASUS featuring Ghost Recon breaks the monopoly that pretty babes or NVIDIA's nondescript green markings have enjoyed when it comes to decals. |
1 x DVI-to-VGA adaptor
2 x 6-pin PCIe Molex power connectors
9-pin mini-DIN to Component dongle
User manual
Quick Installation guide
Leather CD wallet
Driver CD (including ASUS utilities like Video Security Online, GameFace Messenger, etc)
3DMark06 (with serial key)
GTI Racing (full game)
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (full game)
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