X-bit labs

Fast and Faster: MSI GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB vs. GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB

Category: Video

by Alexey Stepin , Yaroslav Lyssenko, Anton Shilov

[ 04/12/2007 | 11:42 AM ]

No doubt that it will be close to 6 months soon that Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTX 768MB graphics adapter retains the title of the world’s fastest solution. However its price of $599 will hardly let it become really popular. But these days the GeForce 8 family has already welcomed its new members - the 8800 GTS 640MB and 8800 GTS 320MB, which are significantly less expensive: $449 and $299 respectively. Let’s find out how they compare with the today’s leader and if it makes sense to go for a solution with 640MB of onboard memory these days.

Table of contents:

• GeForce 8800 GTS Specification
  
• Closer Look at MSI NX8800GTS-T2D640E-HD-OC Graphics Card
  
• Package and Accessories
  
• PCB Design
  
• Cooling System
  
• Noise and Power Consumption
  
• Overclocking
  
• Testbed and Methods
  
• Performance in First-Person 3D Shooters
  
• Battlefield 2142
  
• Call of Juarez
  
• Far Cry
  
• F.E.A.R. Extraction Point
  
• Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter
  
• Half-Life 2: Episode One
  
• Prey
  
• Serious Sam 2
  
• S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl
  
• Performance in Third-Person 3D Shooters
  
• Hitman: Blood Money
  
• Tomb Raider: Legend
  
• Performance in RPG
  
• Gothic 3
  
• Neverwinter Nights 2
  
• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
  
• Performance in Simulators
  
• X3: Reunion
  
• Performance in Strategies
  
• Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars
  
• Company of Heroes
  
• Supreme Commander
  
• Performance in Synthetic Benchmarks
  
• Futuremark 3DMark05
  
• Futuremark 3DMark06
  
• Conclusion
  

Flagship graphics cards from the top price category are known to be the public demonstration of the developer’s technological achievements in the first place. Such solutions are deservedly popular among wealthy gamers but they never make up a substantial share in the general picture of sales.

After all, there are few people who are ready to shell out some $600 – the price of the most expensive modern game console! – for a graphics card, and it is less expensive, but more widespread graphics cards that earn most money for AMD/ATI and Nvidia.

November 9, 2006, Nvidia announced the world’s first consumer graphics processor with a unified architecture and support of DirectX 10. Scrutinized in our Directly Unified: Nvidia GeForce 8800 Architecture Review, the new GPU made the heart of two graphics cards, GeForce 8800 GTX and GeForce 8800 GTS. The senior model performed brilliantly in our tests and is surely the best choice for a gamer who does not care about the money factor (for details see our article called 25 Signs of Perfection: Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTX in 25 Benchmarks). The junior model took its seat in a price range from $350 to $500.

$449 is not big money for a new-generation product with full support of DirectX 10 and capable of offering highest performance in modern games. However, Nvidia didn’t stop at that and February 12, 2007, introduced a more affordable GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB with an official price tag of $299, thus strengthening its position in this price sector even more.

It’s about these two cards we are going to talk today. We’ll also find out how critical the amount of graphics memory is for the GeForce 8800 series.