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You have learned by now NVIDIA developed the GeForce 8800 series under graphics core codename G80. The CeBIT 2006 exhibit in March is drawing near so expect a LOT of new products in 2007 as this core is the new base architecture for things to come. Think about products like a GeForce 8600 GT and Ultra or a 320MB version of the GeForce 8800 GTS. When launched these will be the cheapest DirectX 10 compliant cards on the market. Lovely for sure.
I expect the first mid range product already in mid-February, close to the CeBIT and obviously somewhat merged together with the public release of the ridiculously priced Microsoft's Windows Vista.
Until February however we'll have two Series 8 products available followed by a good number of series 7 cards, the two cards are as speculated the 640MB GeForce 8800 GTS and the big daddy graphics card called the GeForce 8800 GTX that comes with no less than 768MB memory. So how does the GeForce product line shape up until February/March 2007 ? Have a look:
- GeForce 8800 GTX - $599
- GeForce 8800 GTS - $449
- GeForce 7950 GT - $299
- GeForce 7900 GS - $199
- GeForce 7600 GT - $159
- GeForce 7600 GS - $129
- GeForce 7300 GPUs - <$99
The graphics core of the 8800 is a 681 million transistor accounting MONSTER (G70 had ~300 Million transistors). This is the top of the line product.
It has the (on 90nm fabricated) G80 core and ALL technology features you can think of to date. It has the 128 streaming cores (Unified Shader processors), it comes with 768 MB of gDDR3 memory that theoretically can push 86 GB/second of memory bandwidth.
So this is the card with a total of 768 MB of gDDR3 memory at 384-bit (actually 12 pieces of 16Mx32 memory) with that memory clocked (reference model) at 2x 900 MHz, and a "core" clock (reference model) at 575 MHz with it's 128 Unified Shaders running at 1350 MHz. An impressive card with a large long PCB and two 6-pin power connectors.
The 6-pin connector on future high-end graphics cards will slowly be replaced as we are moving towards a new 8-pin solution.
Size then, indeed the card is very long. The GeForce 8800 GTX graphics card is 27 CM long, you could say well hung. But note that the power connectors are now routed off the top edge of the graphics card instead of the end of the card, so there is no extra space required at the end of the graphics card for power cabling. You might want to measure before buying though.
Okay, let's have a look at the XFX card specifically.
XFX GeForce 8800 GTX, the XXX edition
In today's review we'll actually include a good number of results from other G80 brands as well. Fact is, pretty much most boards are supplied by NVIDIA to the manufacturers and that's a bit of a shame. This means that all 8800 cards are roughly the same. What do you need to remember when you buy the product ? Well you should not focus on the actual hardware itself. As stated look at other things such as additional software, special coolers, extended warranty, faster clocked models and so on. Look at the little extra's if you are going for that reference cooled model.
Obviously the card is ready for anything: HDCP Ready , SLI ready , Dual DVI Out , HDTV ready , TV Out.
In the XFX box we'll find such a 100% reference NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX 768MB with strangely enough a green PCB color. Other then that the only thing different is a sticker saying it's an XFX product.
Bundle wise XFX did a mediocre job, they include:
- GeForce 8800 GTX 768 MB
- Driver CD
- HDTV block (3-way RCA component)
- SVideo cable
- 6-pin to Molex power cable
- VGA->DVI dongle x2
- Manual
XFX offers a two years warranty here in Europe, whereas in the USA they have a different policy which is extremely confusing and annoying for the end-user.
Overall this is a complete kit to get you started.
Since the card is the XXX edition, it follows higher specs as mentioned earlier. The core is clocked at 621 MHz and the memory at 2x 1 GHz. The XFX GeForce 8800 GTX XXX can be bought for roughly 599 USD/EUR.
Some generic GeForce 8800 facts:
- All NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX- and GeForce 8800 GTS-based graphics cards are HDCP capable.
- The GeForce 8 Series GPUs are not only the first shipping DirectX 10 GPUs, but they are also the reference GPUs for DirectX 10 API development and certification and are 100% DirectX 9 compatible.
- GeForce 8800 GPUs deliver full support for Shader Model 4.0.
- All graphics cards are being built by NVIDIAs contract manufacturer.
- All GeForce 8800 GPUs support NVIDIA SLI technology.
- At this time there are no 256MB models of the cards
- The NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX has a 24 pixel per clock ROP. The GeForce 8800 GTS has a 20 pixel per clock ROP.
- GeForce 8800 GTX requires a minimum 450W or greater system power supply (with 12V current rating of 30A).
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