obviously they are all using nvidia's reference design for the pcb and most for the cooling setup. now when a company like evga orders their multi-thousand gpu order, do they spec out what exact ram chips they want vs msi, asus or xfx? to me the cards look identical to even the purple on the solid caps we can see coming out the back. is this for the memory ics too?
would i be correct in saying that you are basically picking a brand based strictly on customer service and warranty as the cards are all pretty close in performance since they are just using the nvidia design and are not designing the cards in house?
I just bought a EVGA 8800GTS 320mb that came at the stock 500/1600 speeds for $260USD. I would've got the 640mb version but since I only game at 1280X1024 I didn't see the need. This card rips through games at stock but I have OC'd(600/1900) it anyway since EVGA's Lifetime warranty covers it so long as you don't physically damage the card. If you're looking for a great mid range card this is it.
quote: If you're looking for a great mid range card this is it.
I dont know if I would consider ANY 8 series cards right_now "mid-range". Mid-range, in my head, that would be a 7 series card, with 6 series cards being botttom feeders.
Do stock 8800 GTS cards readily overclock to the same range of speeds that these factory overclocked cards offer? Do these factory overclocked cards have the potential for more overclocking than what you can accomplish with the standard clock speed cards? In particular, didn't you guys want to know whether the Sparkle cooler offers the potential for even more overclocking, beyond what it is set to at the factory?
Is there any chance of getting a case mounted temp sensor for these reviews?
It seems to me that you would have to make a tradeoff with the Sparkle. Sure, you get lower GPU temps, but that heat and the heat from the TEC has to go somewhere, and that somewhere is going to be "somewhere else inside the case", since it doesn't appear to have any kind of exhausting fan setup.
Having read the article, I must say that I much rather get a stock card than pay 20+ (minimum) just to get 15 or 20 FPS at the most! all of this owning a 19" LCD wich BTW is what most people have and not 1920x1200 stated here, and at these resolutions you won´t see a difference in real life situations.
There is info at 1280x1024 provided, but there is a much more important point to be made. No doubt 1280x1024 is the most common res around, but WHY WOULD YOU BUY A $325 GPU WHEN YOU HAVE A $250 DISPLAY? Also, at that res a X1900 card will play any game just fine.
Honestly, and personally, I really do not think there is really an option to buy anything other than eVGA these days. The reason for me, are simple:
XFX, their cards have had mixed reviews on multiple fronts, ranging from plain user reviews on newegg, to other well known sites. I have read multiple times also, their customer support still needs a lot of work, and more than once I have also read their rebate plans, are not always honored ( Of course, we AL need to take this with a grain of salt, but it seems to be mentioned enough, that I tend to 'listen' )
Asus, what can I say, I will probably never buy one of their motherboards again, why would I want one of their cards, especialy one that that does not see mto be reviewed well . . .
Sparkle, costly / cutting edge technology, that does not seem to be embraced by anyone else but them, and has no proven track record.
MSI, well this is one of the tougher ones. MSI undoubtedly makes some very good motherboards, but has proven to me many times in the past, that anything other than motheboards purchased from them is a gamble, which really is a shame in my opinion. I wont name the part, , but as recent as about a year and a half ago, I purchased one of their non motherboard items, and was thouroughly disgusted with it after a few months, when it died a very painfull death, and whats more, I still feel the reverberations of this to this day, because it was a DVD burner ( Yeah, yeah, I know, not a video card, but still . . .), and the data DVDs I burnt with it, will not read on any player I have purchased to date. Again, I would really like to trust their non motherboard type products, but this recent incident, and a few others in the past, have ruined the reputation with me, although, not quite as badly as Asus has.
In contrast, I have not even have had the option to replace any of my eVGA parts, ever. However, from what I have read, in many reviews, all over the web, it would probably be about as pleasant as RMAing an item could be. Not to mention the fact that every item I have purchased from them, seems to function very well, seems very overclockable ( even though, after loads of testing, I really dont even see the point of overclocking any video card period ). I know that every company makes their dogs, and eVGA is probably no exception, but I have yet to purchase a part from them that has let me down, and let us hope that day never comes. I suppose you could say I am a fan of the company, but seriously, if any other company left me with the impression that eVGA has, I would feel the same way about them as well ( actually Leadtek has left a very good impression on me also, but their cards typically seem to cost more by comparison ).
I've been using eVGA almost exclusively in my system builds for nearly a year (that's well over 250 builts) and I have yet to have to RMA a single one, with the exception of the 7900GT KO I purchased for myself.
At the time I purchased it, there was a bad batch of Samsung memory installed into many of them. It was a widespread problem, and eVGA took care of it. When I submitted my RMA, I was informed that they were going to be receiving a new batch of the cards with an updated SKU and new memory, and that they were going to wait until they had that before they sent me the new card. They then told me that many users had success in underclocking to keep their system stable. I did this, and everything worked fine. About a week and a half later, I received an email saying my new card shipped. They overnighted me a new card with a pre-paid return shipping label. The new card has given me exactly 0 problems and I've been running it at about a 10% overclock since.
The only exception is low-profile cards. I sell a lot of low-profile book-end PCs and eVGA doesn't really make them. So, I use XFX, which is nice because XFX sells a low-profile bracket kit which makes everything extremely easy.
I believe I will continue to use eVGA for a long time coming. They are, perhaps, the best reference card manufacturer and their support is second-to-none.
Sounds very simular to my one time bad stick of Crucial memory. ALthough, they did not send me a pair back in advance, because I did not purchase dirrectly form them. That being said, a week after Isent my memory off to them, they sent me back a better pair, and I havent had a single problem since.
It is a shame that companies like these are the exception in the 'business' and not the rule. Even my motherboard manufacter of choise, does not offer this level of customer support, albiet, most of the time, their 'support' is not needed.
Eh. Crucial. I'm feeling kind of bitter about them. We've given them probably hundreds of thousands of dollars in business over the last three years, but their sales person being a complete dick can change that pretty much instantly. I had an order for about 10 systems for which I needed 2gb DDR2-667 kits. What do they send me? Laptop memory. The SKUs aren't even close to the same, so there's no way my purchaser screwed it up. Yet, my sales rep refused to give me an advanced RMA and actually try to fix the issue. My order was two days late in fulfillment.
Needless to say, on the 40 systems I've built this month, there's been no Crucial, and I don't really have any plans to use it again. They gave us fairly good pricing, but I did not have good luck with their Ballistix performance memory. Kingston I can get from my regular supplier, it's closer, and ordering is much more flexible. It's a win-win for me, really.
Well, to get advanced replacement, you have to buy directly from them. However, I would contact Crucial, and notify them what this sales reps name is, and what he did to 'piss' you off. Crucial is VERY customer oriented, and one of the few computer companies inside the USofA (Idaho).
We also build systems here, and I have yet to experience this sort of meltdown with them. That being said, we usually order from the cheapest etailer out there, because buying directly from Crucial can be pretty expencive (like a 33%-50% mark up it seems). Which is wierd, becasue Micron OWNS Crucial, and Crucial usually uses their own chips . . .
yeah same here, my first evga purchase was a 7800gt over a year ago and the next month the 7900gt came out so I sent my card to evga and they upgraded to a 7900gt at no extra charge. Shipping was fast and have had 0 problems with the card ever since. Now all I buy and recommend is evga.
quote: We should also mention that the ASC3 solution from EVGA didn't have that much of an impact on temperature. We do see slightly better than average cooling performance, but it's just not enough to sell us on it for cooling alone. We would once again submit that it looks cool even if it doesn't cool much better than the stock HSF.
From Page 12.
I don't quite agree with your conclusion here. Sure, the temperatures are only a few degrees cooler than the other stock cards, but the ACS3 card is also clocked higher than the rest of the cards. I think when you take that into account, the fact that the ACS3 solution cools better than nearly every other card is pretty impressive.
Other than some of the conclusions, very informative article. Definitely considering the eVGA card as an upgrade for my "aging" 7900GS KO.
I usually enjoy AT's video card reviews, but this one seemed very rushed and with not much effort put into it at all. It reminded me of reviews you'd find from newbie review sites run by high-school kids.
Sorry to say, but it's the truth. The whole "review" seemed like it only took you an hour to test the cards and post the review. :( Which is fine I guess, if that's what you were going for, but I expect more from Anandtech.
You would probably be better served by waiting until nVidia irons out their drivers for these cards. However, I also must admit, I am tempted myself to buy one of these 8800GTS cards ( Titan Quest on my 7600GT does not seem to perform 'optimaly'). This being said, the games I play, for the most part play well enough, I think, for me to wait until nVidia gets their act together. Still, it IS tempting . . .
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24 Comments
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bob4432 - Wednesday, March 28, 2007 - link
obviously they are all using nvidia's reference design for the pcb and most for the cooling setup. now when a company like evga orders their multi-thousand gpu order, do they spec out what exact ram chips they want vs msi, asus or xfx? to me the cards look identical to even the purple on the solid caps we can see coming out the back. is this for the memory ics too?would i be correct in saying that you are basically picking a brand based strictly on customer service and warranty as the cards are all pretty close in performance since they are just using the nvidia design and are not designing the cards in house?
KCjoker - Tuesday, March 27, 2007 - link
I just bought a EVGA 8800GTS 320mb that came at the stock 500/1600 speeds for $260USD. I would've got the 640mb version but since I only game at 1280X1024 I didn't see the need. This card rips through games at stock but I have OC'd(600/1900) it anyway since EVGA's Lifetime warranty covers it so long as you don't physically damage the card. If you're looking for a great mid range card this is it.yyrkoon - Tuesday, March 27, 2007 - link
I dont know if I would consider ANY 8 series cards right_now "mid-range". Mid-range, in my head, that would be a 7 series card, with 6 series cards being botttom feeders.
bigpow - Tuesday, March 27, 2007 - link
do what I did, skip all the PC upgrades and just buy an Xbox 360mkruer - Tuesday, March 27, 2007 - link
I assume that the power is for the whole system. I did not read anything explicitly stating this.SleepyItes - Tuesday, March 27, 2007 - link
On the XFX page, "The XFX GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB Extreme is bundled with Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter just like the MSI card."Should be "...just like the Asus card."
DerekWilson - Tuesday, March 27, 2007 - link
thanksSpacecomber - Tuesday, March 27, 2007 - link
Do stock 8800 GTS cards readily overclock to the same range of speeds that these factory overclocked cards offer? Do these factory overclocked cards have the potential for more overclocking than what you can accomplish with the standard clock speed cards? In particular, didn't you guys want to know whether the Sparkle cooler offers the potential for even more overclocking, beyond what it is set to at the factory?Lonyo - Tuesday, March 27, 2007 - link
Is there any chance of getting a case mounted temp sensor for these reviews?It seems to me that you would have to make a tradeoff with the Sparkle. Sure, you get lower GPU temps, but that heat and the heat from the TEC has to go somewhere, and that somewhere is going to be "somewhere else inside the case", since it doesn't appear to have any kind of exhausting fan setup.
metalfan49 - Tuesday, March 27, 2007 - link
I was thinking about this too. Especially as summer is coming and I won't have the weather to help keep my stuff cool.leousb - Tuesday, March 27, 2007 - link
Having read the article, I must say that I much rather get a stock card than pay 20+ (minimum) just to get 15 or 20 FPS at the most! all of this owning a 19" LCD wich BTW is what most people have and not 1920x1200 stated here, and at these resolutions you won´t see a difference in real life situations.Sunrise089 - Wednesday, March 28, 2007 - link
There is info at 1280x1024 provided, but there is a much more important point to be made. No doubt 1280x1024 is the most common res around, but WHY WOULD YOU BUY A $325 GPU WHEN YOU HAVE A $250 DISPLAY? Also, at that res a X1900 card will play any game just fine.Carfax - Tuesday, March 27, 2007 - link
N/TDerekWilson - Tuesday, March 27, 2007 - link
yesVisual - Tuesday, March 27, 2007 - link
Say now, why do you still keep a 7900 GT, at a higher price, in the Anand's Picks section instead of this beauty?yyrkoon - Tuesday, March 27, 2007 - link
Honestly, and personally, I really do not think there is really an option to buy anything other than eVGA these days. The reason for me, are simple:XFX, their cards have had mixed reviews on multiple fronts, ranging from plain user reviews on newegg, to other well known sites. I have read multiple times also, their customer support still needs a lot of work, and more than once I have also read their rebate plans, are not always honored ( Of course, we AL need to take this with a grain of salt, but it seems to be mentioned enough, that I tend to 'listen' )
Asus, what can I say, I will probably never buy one of their motherboards again, why would I want one of their cards, especialy one that that does not see mto be reviewed well . . .
Sparkle, costly / cutting edge technology, that does not seem to be embraced by anyone else but them, and has no proven track record.
MSI, well this is one of the tougher ones. MSI undoubtedly makes some very good motherboards, but has proven to me many times in the past, that anything other than motheboards purchased from them is a gamble, which really is a shame in my opinion. I wont name the part, , but as recent as about a year and a half ago, I purchased one of their non motherboard items, and was thouroughly disgusted with it after a few months, when it died a very painfull death, and whats more, I still feel the reverberations of this to this day, because it was a DVD burner ( Yeah, yeah, I know, not a video card, but still . . .), and the data DVDs I burnt with it, will not read on any player I have purchased to date. Again, I would really like to trust their non motherboard type products, but this recent incident, and a few others in the past, have ruined the reputation with me, although, not quite as badly as Asus has.
In contrast, I have not even have had the option to replace any of my eVGA parts, ever. However, from what I have read, in many reviews, all over the web, it would probably be about as pleasant as RMAing an item could be. Not to mention the fact that every item I have purchased from them, seems to function very well, seems very overclockable ( even though, after loads of testing, I really dont even see the point of overclocking any video card period ). I know that every company makes their dogs, and eVGA is probably no exception, but I have yet to purchase a part from them that has let me down, and let us hope that day never comes. I suppose you could say I am a fan of the company, but seriously, if any other company left me with the impression that eVGA has, I would feel the same way about them as well ( actually Leadtek has left a very good impression on me also, but their cards typically seem to cost more by comparison ).
ANyhow, that is how I feel about the situation.
drebo - Tuesday, March 27, 2007 - link
I've been using eVGA almost exclusively in my system builds for nearly a year (that's well over 250 builts) and I have yet to have to RMA a single one, with the exception of the 7900GT KO I purchased for myself.At the time I purchased it, there was a bad batch of Samsung memory installed into many of them. It was a widespread problem, and eVGA took care of it. When I submitted my RMA, I was informed that they were going to be receiving a new batch of the cards with an updated SKU and new memory, and that they were going to wait until they had that before they sent me the new card. They then told me that many users had success in underclocking to keep their system stable. I did this, and everything worked fine. About a week and a half later, I received an email saying my new card shipped. They overnighted me a new card with a pre-paid return shipping label. The new card has given me exactly 0 problems and I've been running it at about a 10% overclock since.
The only exception is low-profile cards. I sell a lot of low-profile book-end PCs and eVGA doesn't really make them. So, I use XFX, which is nice because XFX sells a low-profile bracket kit which makes everything extremely easy.
I believe I will continue to use eVGA for a long time coming. They are, perhaps, the best reference card manufacturer and their support is second-to-none.
yyrkoon - Tuesday, March 27, 2007 - link
Sounds very simular to my one time bad stick of Crucial memory. ALthough, they did not send me a pair back in advance, because I did not purchase dirrectly form them. That being said, a week after Isent my memory off to them, they sent me back a better pair, and I havent had a single problem since.It is a shame that companies like these are the exception in the 'business' and not the rule. Even my motherboard manufacter of choise, does not offer this level of customer support, albiet, most of the time, their 'support' is not needed.
drebo - Wednesday, March 28, 2007 - link
Eh. Crucial. I'm feeling kind of bitter about them. We've given them probably hundreds of thousands of dollars in business over the last three years, but their sales person being a complete dick can change that pretty much instantly. I had an order for about 10 systems for which I needed 2gb DDR2-667 kits. What do they send me? Laptop memory. The SKUs aren't even close to the same, so there's no way my purchaser screwed it up. Yet, my sales rep refused to give me an advanced RMA and actually try to fix the issue. My order was two days late in fulfillment.Needless to say, on the 40 systems I've built this month, there's been no Crucial, and I don't really have any plans to use it again. They gave us fairly good pricing, but I did not have good luck with their Ballistix performance memory. Kingston I can get from my regular supplier, it's closer, and ordering is much more flexible. It's a win-win for me, really.
yyrkoon - Thursday, March 29, 2007 - link
Well, to get advanced replacement, you have to buy directly from them. However, I would contact Crucial, and notify them what this sales reps name is, and what he did to 'piss' you off. Crucial is VERY customer oriented, and one of the few computer companies inside the USofA (Idaho).We also build systems here, and I have yet to experience this sort of meltdown with them. That being said, we usually order from the cheapest etailer out there, because buying directly from Crucial can be pretty expencive (like a 33%-50% mark up it seems). Which is wierd, becasue Micron OWNS Crucial, and Crucial usually uses their own chips . . .
gus6464 - Tuesday, March 27, 2007 - link
yeah same here, my first evga purchase was a 7800gt over a year ago and the next month the 7900gt came out so I sent my card to evga and they upgraded to a 7900gt at no extra charge. Shipping was fast and have had 0 problems with the card ever since. Now all I buy and recommend is evga.drebo - Tuesday, March 27, 2007 - link
From Page 12.
I don't quite agree with your conclusion here. Sure, the temperatures are only a few degrees cooler than the other stock cards, but the ACS3 card is also clocked higher than the rest of the cards. I think when you take that into account, the fact that the ACS3 solution cools better than nearly every other card is pretty impressive.
Other than some of the conclusions, very informative article. Definitely considering the eVGA card as an upgrade for my "aging" 7900GS KO.
RaistlinZ - Tuesday, March 27, 2007 - link
I usually enjoy AT's video card reviews, but this one seemed very rushed and with not much effort put into it at all. It reminded me of reviews you'd find from newbie review sites run by high-school kids.Sorry to say, but it's the truth. The whole "review" seemed like it only took you an hour to test the cards and post the review. :( Which is fine I guess, if that's what you were going for, but I expect more from Anandtech.
Anyone else feel this way?
yyrkoon - Tuesday, March 27, 2007 - link
You would probably be better served by waiting until nVidia irons out their drivers for these cards. However, I also must admit, I am tempted myself to buy one of these 8800GTS cards ( Titan Quest on my 7600GT does not seem to perform 'optimaly'). This being said, the games I play, for the most part play well enough, I think, for me to wait until nVidia gets their act together. Still, it IS tempting . . .