Final Words
While all of the factory overclocked NVIDIA cards managed to offer more value than stock hardware, some will provide more use for certain users than others. For those who want the highest out-of-box performance out there EVGA's E-GeForce 8800 ACS3 is the cream of the crop. While its HSF is only slightly modified from the reference design and doesn't offer an incredible amount of extra cooling, the black metal fan shroud really does look cool. The down side is that this is one of the most expensive cards that we looked at today.
Readers interested in the card with the best cooling will have no other option but Sparkle's Calibre P880+ OC edition, which makes use of MACS Technology's thermoelectric cooler. The down side of this card is that the TEC draws 20W to 30W more power than the other 8800 GTX cards and the heatsink feels a little flimsy. In spite of the fact that this card offers the best cooling it doesn't come with the highest clock speeds, which is a bit of a disappointment especially for the most expensive card of this roundup.
To look at this practically, with stock GTX cards coming in at about $550, is it worth paying a 15-20% premium in order to attain a less than 10% performance gain? We are certain there are those out there who will say yes, and for them we heartily recommend the EVGA e-GeForce 8800 GTX ACS3.
The XFX card is a little cheaper than the EVGA and comes in at slightly lower clock speeds, and the Calibre card has even lower out-of-the-box performance for a much higher price. To be fair, the Sparkle may offer the most overclocking potential should you choose to further overclock on your own, given the lower temperatures we measured, and the noise levels are the best in this roundup. 8800 GTX cards are already expensive, however, and supply of the Sparkle cards is such that prices can range widely from $700 to as much as $800 or more. Should the card begin to appear in the North American market, however, the prices may drop to the point where it becomes more attractive.
Finally, for those out there who are choosing to decrease their food budget in order to afford the most graphics card for the buck, we've got to give the nod to the BFG GeForce 8800 GTX OC. These are not the fastest cards, but they are the least expensive and in most cases the minor differences in speed aren't particularly noticeable.
Editors' Choice Awards
The BFG GeForce 8800 GTX OC is only slightly more expensive than other stock hardware out there, and the slight bump in clock speed is at least something. On top of that, it comes with a t-shirt, and who doesn't need another one of those? The lifetime warranty is also an added bonus.
As for the GTS, the boost in clock speeds offers a much greater return on investment in general. BFG and EVGA both offer good performance boosts for not that much more money. As the performance increase matters more on the GTS side, we put more weight on the performance of our GTS cards in order to come up with a recommendation.
EVGA's e-GeForce 8800 GTS ACS3 is the performance leader here, and in this case price/performance goes up instead of down with the upgrade. While it doesn't come with a shirt, it does come with Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, which is a fair trade. Also offering a lifetime warranty, EVGA takes the cake when it comes to overclocked GTS hardware.
We are looking forward to the spring refresh hardware NVIDIA is sure to launch at some point in the near future. Anticipation is also very high for AMD's entry into the DX10 arena. Until the new hardware comes out, the 8800 cards we tested today remain the fastest graphics parts available.
While all of the factory overclocked NVIDIA cards managed to offer more value than stock hardware, some will provide more use for certain users than others. For those who want the highest out-of-box performance out there EVGA's E-GeForce 8800 ACS3 is the cream of the crop. While its HSF is only slightly modified from the reference design and doesn't offer an incredible amount of extra cooling, the black metal fan shroud really does look cool. The down side is that this is one of the most expensive cards that we looked at today.
Readers interested in the card with the best cooling will have no other option but Sparkle's Calibre P880+ OC edition, which makes use of MACS Technology's thermoelectric cooler. The down side of this card is that the TEC draws 20W to 30W more power than the other 8800 GTX cards and the heatsink feels a little flimsy. In spite of the fact that this card offers the best cooling it doesn't come with the highest clock speeds, which is a bit of a disappointment especially for the most expensive card of this roundup.
To look at this practically, with stock GTX cards coming in at about $550, is it worth paying a 15-20% premium in order to attain a less than 10% performance gain? We are certain there are those out there who will say yes, and for them we heartily recommend the EVGA e-GeForce 8800 GTX ACS3.
The XFX card is a little cheaper than the EVGA and comes in at slightly lower clock speeds, and the Calibre card has even lower out-of-the-box performance for a much higher price. To be fair, the Sparkle may offer the most overclocking potential should you choose to further overclock on your own, given the lower temperatures we measured, and the noise levels are the best in this roundup. 8800 GTX cards are already expensive, however, and supply of the Sparkle cards is such that prices can range widely from $700 to as much as $800 or more. Should the card begin to appear in the North American market, however, the prices may drop to the point where it becomes more attractive.
Finally, for those out there who are choosing to decrease their food budget in order to afford the most graphics card for the buck, we've got to give the nod to the BFG GeForce 8800 GTX OC. These are not the fastest cards, but they are the least expensive and in most cases the minor differences in speed aren't particularly noticeable.
Editors' Choice Awards
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As for the GTS, the boost in clock speeds offers a much greater return on investment in general. BFG and EVGA both offer good performance boosts for not that much more money. As the performance increase matters more on the GTS side, we put more weight on the performance of our GTS cards in order to come up with a recommendation.
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We are looking forward to the spring refresh hardware NVIDIA is sure to launch at some point in the near future. Anticipation is also very high for AMD's entry into the DX10 arena. Until the new hardware comes out, the 8800 cards we tested today remain the fastest graphics parts available.
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DerekWilson - Monday, March 12, 2007 - link
This launched a week ago and we were not able to get ahold of the OC2 cards for this review. We may look at them in the future though.jniles - Monday, March 12, 2007 - link
well I take evga over bfg, you compare apples to oranges (acs3 to stock)If you take the price premium for the cooler out the evga wins
same or lower price
higher oc
step up program
DerekWilson - Monday, March 12, 2007 - link
What really is the price premium for it? The XFX card is about $620 at slightly lower clock speeds with stock cooling.I'm also not a fan of the step up program the way it is now. Maybe if they extend it a year or so I'd be more impressed. As it is, it's only really valuable if you buy a card right before faster ones come out.
jniles - Monday, March 12, 2007 - link
the EVGA KO edition is $60 more @ the egg , the SUPERCLOCKED version compares with the BFG that you used and is $30 less AR with a higher oc to boot.While I agree that the step up program is short, there is no competition !!!!
And I did use this program when I purchased a 7800 gt and stepped up to a 7900 gt oc (for about $30 shipped) when they launched. Not sure if I will catch the bus this year though (8800 to 8900)
When can we expect the 8900's ?
yyrkoon - Monday, March 12, 2007 - link
I find it a bit dubious that you would give the editors award to a card based on price ?! That and the fact that eVGA does all this using stock cooling ? Why no mention of RMA / replacement 'issues' ?Look guys, I can write my own reviews, on OC'd cards, and choose the best card based on the prettiest graphics, that would not make me 'right'. I thought the whole idea was to benchmark the cards, and pick the card based on the best performer that was able to achieve these speeds stably ?
Now, since we've already been thrown askew, by the obvious 'conclusion' here why dont we talk about part replacement, or the 'gee, I'm already paying $550 for a graphics card, but another $150 is just too much for the best' factor. Why even pick any of these, and why not pick a 7600GT, because it is obviously MUCH cheaper than all these "overpriced cards' . . . Starting to see my point ?
*sigh*
JarredWalton - Monday, March 12, 2007 - link
This is a roundup of 8800 series cards. Given that the largest performance improvement over stock for the GTX was less than 10% (average of maybe 5% at 2560x1600, and less at any lower resolution), and considering the EVGA card was at best about 5% faster than the BFG (and margin of error is at least 2% in testing), would you recommend people spend $620 for the EVGA ACS3 GTX card over the $580 BFG card? We wouldn't - and both companies come with lifetime warranties.Or are you implying the Sparkle card is the "best"? Because that's not really supported by the article in any way. Cooler? Perhaps, but only with lower clocks. Quieter? Yes, but $150 for a quieter card while useful to some isn't what we would generally recommend. It's an interesting card, but with very limited availability, a higher price, and warranty/support that's a bit questionable for much of our audience, it is at best an intriguing card.
The EVGA GTS card shows much better performance improvements, simply because the system is becoming more GPU limited (in some games) at higher resolutions. In the end, the awards given out are for what we feel are the best 8800 GTX and GTS 640 cards; we certainly wouldn't recommend the GTX to many users out there, but if you're in the market for a GTX anyway, the BFG is a good card, and the EVGA is a close second (or it's first if you don't care about price and think you'll see the extra 5% performance).
yyrkoon - Monday, March 12, 2007 - link
Well, If the margin for error is truely 2%, then sure, the speed difference could only be 3% more in favor of eVGAs card vs the BFG card, however, this also works in the reverse, it could be as high as 7% faster.For me, the process of buying anything comes down to, getting the best I can possibly get for the amount of money I am prepared to spend. Speed does play a factor in my purchasing descission somewhat, but takes a back seat to things like: what is the companies reputation for dealing with their customers, how much do I really want to spend on other components that are required for the part (IE, will my current power suppy handle the added load of product I am considering purchasing, and if not, do I really want to buy another one), etc.
However, all this being said, I belived this to be an article about finding the fastest 8800 card, and praising it, not 'compromising'. You, all at anandtech, just like me are entitled to your own opinions though . . .
Personally, I would not even consider one of these cards, they cost way more than I'm willing to spend, and I consider myself a very serious gamer, BUT, if I had the cash to blow, it would most likely buy something from eVGA, and something fast. This is not to say that sparkle does not have a good reputation, because from my experiences, and what I've read, they treat their customers very well, but the combination of the TEC unit on the card (drawing too much power, and it is still relitively new technology in computers), I would probably balk at buying it. They do make very good (or have in the past) ATI cards though.
AmbroseAthan - Monday, March 12, 2007 - link
I feel the 40 extra dollars is worth it for the EVGa card. While they both have lifetime warranties, EVGa's covers overclocking. So you could buy the card and push it farther then it currently is. You are also allowed to switch the Heatsink without the warranty being voided, as long as you replace it with the stock one if you need to RMA.DerekWilson - Monday, March 12, 2007 - link
I'd also like to add that our recommendations are based on what we see as the most important aspects of the product.The EVGA GTX is absolutely the fastest card we've got. If that's what you want, the article is clear on which card you should buy.
Our goal is to provide the best information possible throughout the article so that everyone interested in the topic can make their own decisions based on the data. We hope our recommendations will be helpful to people, but they are no substitute for the rest of the article.
rallyhard - Monday, March 12, 2007 - link
Well put.