XFX 8800 GTS 512 and Asus 8800 GT 512 - G92 shoot out

Introduction, Overview & Specification

Published: 24th December 2007 | Source: Asus and XFX | Price: £225-£235 and £156-£177 | Author: Matthew Kemp

Introduction

Nvidia are really churning out the chips recently and turning the screws tighter on ATI. The new G92 revisions featuring the 8800 GT and the 8800 GTS are both chips that really bolster Nvidia's product line at the top of the pile.

I look upon the Nvidia naming conventions with some concern nowadays. Far from being clear we now have 8800 GT (G92), 8800 GTS 640 or 320 (G80), 8800 GTS 512 (G92), 8800 GTX (G80) and 8800 Ultra (G80). I'm know I missed off a few revs but those are the major products that the big green are sending out nowadays...if you can find them.

We've already shown you the G92 8800 GT, so here's explaining what the G92 8800 GTS 512 is made of:

8800 GTS 512 - G92...what?

So what exactly are we looking at with the 8800 GTS 512 Rev 2 G92 chip? (try saying that without getting confused!). For starters it's got an equal number of stream processors to it's big brother, the 8800 GTX at 128.

Instead of the 320bit memory interface found on the higher end 8800 GTS, the G92 8800 GTS has a 256bit interface, paired with 512mb RAM. This gives the G92 a fair bit less bandwidth to play around with than it's predecessors.

Another pleasant addition to the new 8800 GTS is that it has 128 stream processors as compared to the old 8800 GTS's 112. Texture address and filtering has been changed around by Nvidia and the stream processor clock gets a nice bump to 1625MHz.

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.

Of course, we have to mention that the G92 is fabricated by TSMC on a 65nm process.

The Nvidia family

Below is a table showing you what the members of the 8 series family look like:

Form Factor	8800 Ultra	8800 GTX	8800 GTS	8800 GTS 512	8800 GT 256MB	8800 GT	8600 GTS
Stream Processors	128	128	96	128	112	112	32
Texture Address / Filtering	32 / 64	32 / 64	24 / 48	64 / 64	56 / 56	56 / 56	16 / 16
ROPs	24	24	20	16	16	16	8
Core Clock	612MHz	575MHz	500MHz	650MHz	600MHz+	600MHz+	675MHz
Shader Clock	1.5GHz	1.35GHz	1.2GHz	1.625GHz	1.5GHz+	1.5GHz+	1.45GHz
Memory Clock	1.8GHz	1.8GHz	1.6GHz	1.94GHz	1.4GHz - 1.6GHz	1.8GHz	2.0GHz
Memory Bus Width	384-bit	384-bit	320-bit	256-bit	256-bit	256-bit	128-bit
Frame Buffer	768MB	768MB	640MB / 320MB	512MB	256MB	512MB	256MB
Transistor Count	681M	681M	681M	754M	754M	754M	289M
Manufacturing Process	TSMC 90nm	TSMC 90nm	TSMC 90nm	TSMC 65nm	TSMC 65nm	TSMC 65nm	TSMC 80nm
Price Point	$600 - $800+	$500 - $600	$270 - $450	$349+	$219 - $229	$299 - $349	$140 - $199

Note: Table courtesy of Anandtech

As you can see, the 8800 GTS 512 fits in between the 8800 GT and the the 8800 GTX in terms of price, although we are yet to see whether this is reflected in performance.

Specification - XFX 8800 GTS 512 XXX Alpha Dog Edition

Clock rate
678 MHz
Memory Clock
1.972 GHz
Dual Link DVI - Supporting digital output up to 2560x1600
Yes (Dual)
Chipset
GeForce 8800 GTS
Memory
512 MB
Bus Type
PCI-E
Memory Type
DDR3
Memory Bus
256-bit
Highlighted Features
TV Out , Dual DVI Out , RoHS , SLI ready , HDTV ready , Vista , HDCP Ready

Specification - Asus 8800 GT Top

Clock rate
700 MHz
Memory Clock
2 GHz
Dual Link DVI - Supporting digital output up to 2560x1600
Yes (Dual)
Chipset
GeForce 8800 GT
Memory
512 MB
Bus Type
PCI-E
Memory Type
DDR3
Memory Bus
256-bit
Highlighted Features
TV Out , Dual DVI Out , RoHS , SLI ready , HDTV ready , Vista , HDCP Ready

Both SKU's we have today are overclocked, with XFX sending us their XXX Alpha Dog Edition and Asus sending us their speedy Top Edition.

Now we've taken a look at both specifications, let's take a look at both cards in turn and see what we're actually looking at today

Most Recent Comments

26-12-2007, 14:02:42

Bungral

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!

26-12-2007, 14:16:24

Kempez

Thanks Bungral :)

All corrected :)

And yep, it did indeed take a long time :)

26-12-2007, 19:25:46

!TIMMY!

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

[IMG]http://upload.overclock3d.net/dwn/261919555140/cimg3966.jpg[/IMG]

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):

[IMG]http://upload.overclock3d.net/dwn/261921444681/cimg3967.jpg[/IMG]

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.

26-12-2007, 19:54:52

Hatman

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...

27-12-2007, 01:56:51

Deshman

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.

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

08-01-2008, 13:22:49

PV5150

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

08-01-2008, 19:28:38

Kempez

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

17-01-2008, 13:32:54

Paradisos

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 ?

17-01-2008, 14:12:20

Bungral

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.

17-01-2008, 14:24:54

Paradisos

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.