Published in Reviews

Gainward 8800 GTS 1GB is good, but pricey

by on26 February 2008

Index




We tested another 1GB card and it seems as if these 1GB card versions are getting more and more popular. While slower cards can’t even start to utilize this much memory, 8800 GTS does it with no problem. This strong graphics chip can utilize this memory and score better in tests with high resolution settings. Unfortunately, we don’t have a 30-inch monitor and we couldn’t test this baby at extremely high resolutions, but in the few games where we tested up to 1920x1440 we didn’t find any significant improvements compared to cards with less memory.

We overclocked Gainward 8800 GTS 1024MB cards to 780MHz core and 1100MHz memory. This was the maximum core speed we managed ,whereas the memory could have gone even higher than 1150MHz. In the tables we put our first result with 780MHz core and 1100MHz (effective 2200MHz) memory speed.

 

Testbed:

Motherboard:
EVGA 680i SLI (Supplied by EVGA)

Processor:
Intel Core 2 Duo 6800 Extreme edition (Supplied by Intel)

Memory:
OCZ FlexXLC PC2 9200 5-5-5-18  (Supplied by OCZ)
        while testing CL5-5-5-15-CR2T 1066MHz at 2.2V

PSU:
OCZ Silencer 750 Quad Black ( Supplied by OCZ)

Hard disk:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 80GB SATA (Supplied by Seagate)

CPU-Cooler:
Freezer 7 Pro (Supplied by Artic Cooling)

Case Fans:
Artic Cooling - Artic Fan 12 PWM
Artic Cooling - Artic Fan 8 PWM

ATI Driver:

Sample-R680_xp_vista_8-451-2-080123a
8-1_xp32_dd_ccc_wdm_enu_57717

Nvidia Driver:

169.21_forceware_winxp_32bit_english_whql
169.28_forceware_winxp_32bit_english_beta



Futuremarks

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Futuremark claims that Gainward’s baby is the fastest one and that it’s mostly due to the higher clocks.


Gaming

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Company of Heroes seems to like Gainward, as it scored up to 18% better than reference 8800 GTS cards. Of course, we’re talking about our overclocked card. Straight out of the box, 8800 GTS GS 1024MB beats dual-chip Radeon called HD 3870 X2. The overclocked card scored exactly 100 fps at 1920x1440.

Image

F.E.A.R. doesn’t significantly benefit from more memory and it seems that in this game it’s the core speeds that win the fight. Overclocked MSI 8800 GT is on par with reference 8800 GTS cards. Bear in mind that things might change at higher resolutions; but also bear in mind that barely anyone plays games at resolutions higher than those we tested. We’re still hoping that someone will find a way to utilize 1024MB of memory on G92 8800 GTS card that has both the strength and the potential.

In Crysis, Gainward’s 8800 GTS 1GB started showing its muscle only at unplayable 1600x1200 resolution where antialiasing got a boost from additional memory. Maybe two SLI cards would have been a blessing at these resolutions and high game settings. Gainward outperforms the reference 8800 GTS by 22%.

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Conclusion

Gainward keeps surprising us with innovative products and BLISS 8800 GTS GS card with 1GB memory deserves to be mentioned, since it’s currently among the top products in the offer. However, we can’t help but wonder what the result would have been if there were more games that use this much memory to its fullest potential. Newer titles should utilize additional memory better, but that’s not the case.

For those who need additional graphics memory for professional use, BLISS 8800 GTS 1024MB packs enough. This is a multimedia card also, and HDTV and HDMI are basic features that this card brings. You might spend a minute to connect the adapter cable to your HDMI, but in the end you’ll get excellent quality on your HDTV device.

The only thing that comes to our mind is that 1GB will be a good investment if you plan to keep this card for a while. In the long run 1GB of memory can definitely come in handy. On the other hand, though, an extra 512MB will set you back another €100 and it’s not something that every buyer might want to lay out.

We recommend this card to anyone with a clear idea of where to use it, as for the others – BLISS 8800 GTS 512MB, also from Gainward, might prove to be a more affordable and smarter solution.




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Last modified on 26 February 2008
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