Been waiting for the OC3D to take a look at the 8800 GTS 512mb G92?

http://www.overclock3d.net/gfx/artic...205838708s.jpg

Well I've been working hard

Take a look!

Great insight into the higher end of the gpu spectrum.

I have to be fair, even tho u`ve got a 1 to 4 positioning, I don`t think there`s that much in it for any of them. I know the Ati slides in the rankings, but it does show itself to be a fine card.

An interesting comparison would have been performance versus costing, seeing as they`re as close as they appear to be.

I`m a bit at odds with the oc results too. I simply can`t achieve the memory overclock on my GT without it having fits. But I can clock the gpu to around 720 (from 670).

What would impress me is some1 buying the cheapest GT, putting it under water, and claiming back those clock hertz with their superior cooling. Sounds nice.

Suprizes me a bit tho that the GTS isn`t launched as a bigger performer. Although pricewize, it does seem to start from stock where the GT limit starts. Leaving u further to climb

Nice review m8, think every1s doing the "going to bed early to get up early" trick

Nice to see this review is finally up

Shame I cant view it as 128k is painfully slow :sleep:

Thing is though there is a BIOS voltmod for the 8800GT that GREATLY increases its overclockability. If there isn't one for the 8800GTS I see them both reaching high limits but so far the 8800GT seems to OC better. With good cooling and the volt mod this thing easily passes 800mhz core, I've seen some at 850+.

What you also go to look at as well is shaders, they seem to be the key thing atm if the shaders OC much better on the 8800GT, which I guess they kinda should since they could simply lock the worst performing ones to get it top out better, it could impact performance in certain titles a lot.

Nice review though I was surprised the 8800GT didn't clock more, there wasn't a heat issue was there?

It should also be said about the supposed problems of the memory modules on the 8800GT, seems that long term use of the memory at 2ghz+ and it brakes. Thats why some companies like Zotac use better memory modules for their cards.

Great review Kempez, can't wait to open my GTS tomorrow

The GT was a little hot yes, but I will never change the cooling or take off the heatsink prior to running any tests. I test every card as it would be when it appears on your doorstep

Volt-modding is not part of the overclocking testing as the percentage of users who do that is small and it voids any warranty you have.

An overclock is dependent on what RAM is used, what cooling is like and also what luck you get with the silicon...the overclocking gods didn't smile on me this time

@Rast: I agree, the ATI card is a great card as I said in the ATI review, but this review was for these two cards. Having said that: would I buy the HD3850 personally? No, I'd go for an 8800 GTS 512mb G92 or an 8800 GT 512 G92 It's simply not fast enough with every game, I'm afraid.

I've just got my hands on one of those new GTS's and was achieving much higher frames in Crysis than you were quoting there, could you tell me the AA levels it was running on and was it DX9 or DX10?

DX10 settings high with no AA

Well done Kemp!

I loved that read, very interesting.

great review. very informative

Great review!

I'm looking to get a new graphics card within the next 3 months or so, and I'll spend up to about £200 (although £180 is more preferable). What would you recommend? I was thinking an 8800GT (which this review makes me think would be a good choice!) or, well, something else, like the ATi 3850.

Thoughts?

What a crap excuse! :P I have 37.2kb/s. Where there's a will there's a way damnit!!

Go for a low end GTS, it'll last longer than a GT.

Wow, that was quick!

You mean the new GTSs or old GTSs? And by last longer, do you mean futureproofness or physically last longer?

I just looked on Dabs and Ebuyer for GTSs (where I would nearly certainly buy from), and they were all >£200 (apart from a Dabs Extra Value one).

I've just been doing some research and came across the Sapphire HD3870.

I've never been a fan of Sapphire - Always been an XFX/BFG person. Sapphire just seem cheap, and cheap scares me. I've read a lot of reviews (well, 3) though, and each time it's got 9/10. So, it seems pretty damn good, and £40 cheaper than the XFX 8800GT. Plus it has higher clock speeds, and DDR4.

I said I would go up to £200, which I will, just ATM I have nothing, so the less it is the sooner I can get it, and £40 cuts off a couple weeks at least.

HD3870 - http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx...1137,415920000

8800GT - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/138713/show_product_specifications

Thoughts?

EDIT: I've just heard about ATi drivers being crap. Are they? There are always custom drivers I suppose, like those at TweakForce.com.

Sorry about the thread-hijack BTW, I'll probably take it to a new thread in a minute. Post here for now though.

Obviously the new GTS

By last longer I mean it has the extra stream processors which will hold back a future upgrade just a little bit more You certainly notice the difference in Crysis imo.

I'm not sure if it's just that card but we've tested 2 of XFX's Xtreme 8800GTs and they both produced jagged coloured artifacts and had to be sent back faulty. However in comparison we've tested two of the new Xtreme GTS from XFX which will set you back £30 more and they performed flawlessly.

Personal opinion is to go for the GTS but if cash is really that tight then go for the GT. Unfortunately these are both the best value cards at the moment if you want a good price/performance ratio.

Glad you lads liked the review and that it was some use to you.

If you have a screen under 1680 x 1050 then a GT is the way to go. If you're over that then get a GTS imo

So forget about the ATi completely?

My screen is under 1680x1050.

Deshman - Where d'you get the cards? The 8800GT Extreme is £180 delivered, which isn't too bad, but I can't find a 8800GTS Extreme for ~£210.

Great review Kemp! Noticed one small correction, 5th page second para: "When the resolution was upped, the more generously stream processor endowed 8800 GTS comes out 2nd <--- Looks like it comes in 3rd to me? with it's bigger brother, the 8800 GTX taking the win."

4th paragraph after the 1st pic on the 1st page:

All this leads me to think that the G92 8800 GT should be a rather fast GPU and possibly a match for the 8800 GTX. Be aware though, it's not going to touch it's higher end predecessor the 8800 Ultra, as Nvidia's flagship model still has over 60% more memory bandwidth and 40% more pixel fillrate.

Should it say:

All this leads me to think that the G92 8800 GTS should be a rather fast GPU and possibly a match for the 8800 GTX. Be aware though, it's not going to touch it's higher end predecessor the 8800 Ultra, as Nvidia's flagship model still has over 60% more memory bandwidth and 40% more pixel fillrate.

Don't mean to be pedantic but as its actually the name of the card I thought I'd mention it .

1 more too:

Of course, we have to mention that the G92 is fabricated by TSMC on a 45nm process.

65mn??

Thats just above the table on comparing all the cards.

Now... Back to reading the review

Ok finished the reading very nicely done Kempez... Must have taken a fair while??

I think what surprised me the most was how close all 3 were.. I knew the GTX still beat the GT but I thought the gap was bigger... Its such a small gap to try and fit the new GTS into. They obviously didn't want it to come out and trash the more expensive GTX but didn't want it out and get whipped by the cheaper GT...

Oh yeah 1 more correction too

Conclusion

It's actually wrong to separate these two cards based simply on pure performance along.

Enjoyed reading that.. So again nice one!

Thanks Bungral

All corrected

And yep, it did indeed take a long time

If u do buy a Asus 8800GT then you might get it with a 2 slot cooler:

http://upload.overclock3d.net/dwn/26...0/cimg3966.jpg

I thought i was getting one with the stock cooler but hey, although there doesnt seem to be any ram sinks which worries me with ocing (I think most ram on 8800GT's are rated to run @ 1000):

http://upload.overclock3d.net/dwn/26...1/cimg3967.jpg

Just a heads up for people if they go with Asus.

Nice review Kemp, might have to oc this bad boy and get it closer to a 8800GTS 512.

I just put the EK block on mine looks sooo kl on water although I dont have any sticky pads?? Used AC5 for the ram chips but nothing 4 the mosfets on the card mmm...

Got them from specialtech but they're out of stock now.

A great and informative review as always Kemp, and one which will make a potential purchasing decision easier. Well done!

Thanks mate, that's the idea and glad you liked the review

Can please someone be more specific about the noise on the asus card ?

I mean is it really annoiing when playing games like crysis with full load ?

I guess when not playing games it should be no problem right ?

Its only loud when its at full speed which only happens when the card gets a bit warm.. You can always change at what temps the card switches speed of the fan.. Thats what I do.

My card sits at 20% fan speed up to 55 degs so you can't hear it at all when not gaming then at 57 degs it jumps to 40% still can't hear it. 60 degs and it jumps to 60% and 65 degs it would jump to 80% which you can hear...

100% is a touch annoying but you can't hear it if using a headset obviously.

Thanks Bungral !

Although i don't intend to use headset, i guess playing a game with a 5.1 surround sound wont let you notice the fan noice of the gpu, so i guess i will be ok.