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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DukeN - Monday, October 29, 2007 - link
This is unreal price to performance - knock on wood; play oblivion at 1920X1200 on a $250 GPU.Could we have a benchmark based on the Crysis demo please, how one or two cards would do?
Also, the power page pics do not show up for some reason (may be the firewall cached it incorrectly here at work).
Thank you.
Xtasy26 - Monday, October 29, 2007 - link
Hey Guys,If you want to see Crysis benchmarks, check out this link:
http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2007/1...">http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/.../2007/10...
The benches are:
1280 x 1024 : ~ 37 f.p.s.
1680 x 1050 : 25 f.p.s.
1920 x 1080 : ~ 21 f.p.s.
This is on a test bed:
Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6800 @2.93 GHz
Asetek VapoChill Micro cooler
EVGA 680i motherboard
2GB Corsair Dominator PC2-9136C5D
Nvidia GeForce 8800GT 512MB/Zotac 8800GTX AMP!/XFX 8800Ultra/ATI Radeon HD2900XT
250GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 16MB cache
Sony BWU-100A Blu-ray burner
Hiper 880W Type-R Power Supply
Toshiba's external HD-DVD box (Xbox 360 HD-DVD drive)
Dell 2407WFP-HC
Logitech G15 Keyboard, MX-518 rat
Xtasy26 - Monday, October 29, 2007 - link
This game seems real demanding. If it is getting 37 f.p.s. at 1280 x 1024, imagine what the frame rate will be with 4X FSAA enabled combined with 8X Anistrophic Filtering. I think I will wait till Nvidia releases there 9800/9600 GT/GTS and combine that with Intel's 45nm Penryn CPU. I want to play this beautiful game in all it's glory!:)Spuke - Monday, October 29, 2007 - link
Impressive!!!! I read the article but I saw no mention of a release date. When's this thing available?Spuke - Monday, October 29, 2007 - link
Ummm.....When can I BUY it? That's what I mean.EODetroit - Monday, October 29, 2007 - link
Now.http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Sub...">http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi...18+10696...
poohbear - Wednesday, October 31, 2007 - link
when do u guys think its gonna be $250? cheapest i see is $270, but i understand when its first released the prices are jacked up a bit.EateryOfPiza - Monday, October 29, 2007 - link
I second the request for Crysis benchmarks, that is the game that taxes everything at the moment.DerekWilson - Monday, October 29, 2007 - link
we actually tested crysis ...but there were issues ... not with the game, we just shot ourselves in the foot on this one and weren't able to do as much as we wanted. We had to retest a bunch of stuff, and we didn't get to crysis.
yyrkoon - Monday, October 29, 2007 - link
Yes, I am glad instead of purchasing a video card, I instead changed motherboard/CPU for Intel vs AMD. I still like my AM2 Opteron system a lot, but performance numbers, and the effortless 1Ghz OC on the ABIT IP35-E/(at $90usd !) was just too much to overlook.I can definitely understand your 'praise' as it were when nVidia is now lowering their prices, but this is where these prices should have always been. nVidia, and ATI/AMD have been ripping us, the consumer off for the last 1.5 years or so, so you will excuse me if I do not show too much enthusiasm when they finally lower their prices to where they should be. I do not consider this to be much different than the memory industry over charging, and the consumer getting the shaft(as per your article).
I am happy though . . .