NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT: The Only Card That Matters
by Derek Wilson on October 29, 2007 9:00 AM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
What must AMD do? 8800 GT vs. 2900 XT
Alright, here's where things get really interesting. AMD has yet to come out with its 8800 GT competitor, but we've heard some rumors here and there. First, our understanding is that the RV670 based AMD part will not be any faster than the 2900 XT (and will likely be at least a little bit slower). While we can't confirm this, as we haven't heard from AMD on the subject or received hardware to play with yet (in fact if we had, we wouldn't even be able to bring up our speculation). But if we are right, then it makes sense to compare the 8800 GT to the 2900 XT and see what happens.
Given the performance of the 8800 GT relative to the 8800 GTS, we can expect the 8800 GT to perform on par with, if not better than, the Radeon HD 2900 XT. Our numbers, confirm this for the most part. It's also worth noting that as resolution increases, the 2900 XT really closes the performance gap. This information is quite important. Either AMD needs to pull a rabbit out of the hat and surprise us with performance higher than we expect, or they need to compete with the 8800 GT based on price. We are hearing that the upcoming part from AMD should be competitive with 8800 GT pricing, but we'd need to see availability of the RV670 based parts at prices lower than the 8800 GT to make them start looking worth while. This could be difficult for AMD if NVIDIA hits their target of $200 (or lower for the 256MB version).
Again, none of the info we have on the upcoming AMD part is confirmed by AMD. We are simply speculating based on our best guess at their direction and rumors we have heard. Regardless of what AMD does or doesn't have in the works, it will be difficult for them to afford just another moderate showing. They must either clearly out perform or out price the 8800 GT to stay in the game this generation.
Alright, here's where things get really interesting. AMD has yet to come out with its 8800 GT competitor, but we've heard some rumors here and there. First, our understanding is that the RV670 based AMD part will not be any faster than the 2900 XT (and will likely be at least a little bit slower). While we can't confirm this, as we haven't heard from AMD on the subject or received hardware to play with yet (in fact if we had, we wouldn't even be able to bring up our speculation). But if we are right, then it makes sense to compare the 8800 GT to the 2900 XT and see what happens.
Given the performance of the 8800 GT relative to the 8800 GTS, we can expect the 8800 GT to perform on par with, if not better than, the Radeon HD 2900 XT. Our numbers, confirm this for the most part. It's also worth noting that as resolution increases, the 2900 XT really closes the performance gap. This information is quite important. Either AMD needs to pull a rabbit out of the hat and surprise us with performance higher than we expect, or they need to compete with the 8800 GT based on price. We are hearing that the upcoming part from AMD should be competitive with 8800 GT pricing, but we'd need to see availability of the RV670 based parts at prices lower than the 8800 GT to make them start looking worth while. This could be difficult for AMD if NVIDIA hits their target of $200 (or lower for the 256MB version).
Again, none of the info we have on the upcoming AMD part is confirmed by AMD. We are simply speculating based on our best guess at their direction and rumors we have heard. Regardless of what AMD does or doesn't have in the works, it will be difficult for them to afford just another moderate showing. They must either clearly out perform or out price the 8800 GT to stay in the game this generation.
Getting Cocky: 8800 GT vs. the GTX
Out with the Old, In with the New: 8800 GT vs. 7950 GT and 1950 XT
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gamephile - Monday, October 29, 2007 - link
Based on benchmarks and price this card is finally in the sweet spot for me which means I can finally ditch my ATI X300! I only have one question remaining and that concerns the noise level. How does it compare to the 8800GTS? Why was this omitted from your review?Vidmar - Monday, October 29, 2007 - link
Ditto! Noise please!!!DerekWilson - Monday, October 29, 2007 - link
we didn't measure noise, as it's a reference board which doesn't necessarily reflect final boards available from OEMs.of course, since you guys want this, we'll try to add it to future GPU launch articles.
For now, it'll have to suffice to say that it isn't a loud card, and it doesn't seem any louder than the 8800 GTS.
Missing Ghost - Tuesday, October 30, 2007 - link
Theses times most retail cards are pretty much the same as the reference cards...michal1980 - Monday, October 29, 2007 - link
I want to know too. If its bettern then my 8800gts 640. I'll ebay that card now for the 8800. esspically with the smaller cooler and quiter.Dantzig - Monday, October 29, 2007 - link
Tom's Hardware did a noise comparison and found that the 8800GT was as quiet or quieter than any of the other 8800 series cards, the 8600 series, and the 2900XT.gamephile - Monday, October 29, 2007 - link
Yeah I saw that, I would just like confirmation from a source I trust.mpc7488 - Monday, October 29, 2007 - link
Lol - nice.The Tech Report did a good review, they have noise figures on page 7. http://techreport.com/articles.x/13479/7">Tech Report 8800GT Noise Levels
gamephile - Monday, October 29, 2007 - link
Also the power consumption image doesn't load for me either. I'm not behind any firewall or proxy.DerekWilson - Monday, October 29, 2007 - link
i'll look into the power graph thing