Nvidia is well known for pouring firepower into performance – oriented markets with their obsession for the best and the fastest. Besides the well-documented and well covered 8800 Ultra and GTX videocards by the company representing the highest end products, Nvidia is also bringing out the performance in their mainstream products, the newest of which is the 8800GT.

                                             The Zotac 8800GT: On fire!

We have in our possession the Zotac 8800GT 512MB Amp! Edition videocard, and this card being a product from a relative newcomer in the videocard market, and having a very new videocard chipset from Nvidia, we absolutely did not know what to expect. Rumors abound of course, about how it would beat the pants off the current GTS series, about those who contend that it would approach the GTX and Ultra in performance, or about how it would overclock like something out of the DFI factory.

                                             A nice combination of specs.

We are glad to report that most of these rumors prove to be less exaggeration and more factually based, as performance from the get-go is phenomenal for the expected $250 price range. Although we say this, some clarifications are in order. Performance is concurrent with the stated price, meaning this is considered a mid-level card meant for mid-level performance. Yet at the same time the rumors are to a certain extent true – GTX card owners need to look over their shoulders for the GT snapping at their heels. How is this so? Read on to find out.

                                             The GT is hot on the GTX's heels - at least in some applications.

The Zotac 8800GT has a 700MHZ core clock speed, compared to the stock 600MHz of a “regular” GT (we’re still getting used to the fact that the GT is already 25MHZ up from a vanilla GTX and just a dozen clock rotations from the ultra’s 612MHZ stock) – 700MHz is already higher than the Ultra’s! The memory clock is similarly beefed up, with the Amp version having an even 2000MHz compared to the 1800MHz stock GT. A GTX has a similar 1800MHz Memory clock, while the Ultra is pumped up to 2160MHz. The GTS, which is to be replaced (maybe temporarily) by the GT has 500MHz core and 1600MHz memory clocks.

                                             Overclocked to better specs than the GTX.

The balancing specifications are the cache memory and memory interface, both directly affecting total memory bandwidth and fill rate of the video chips. Specifically, the GT has a smaller memory interface than any of its stable mates, at 256 bits. The closest Nvidia chip, the GTS, has a 320 bit interface, resulting in memory bandwidth nearly 20% higher than the GT. Another specification is the number of stream processors, or in other words the “engines” that process the raw output from the core into visible pixels on your screen. The GT has 112, as opposed to 128 on the Ultra and the GTX, and 96 on the GTS.

                                             The GT upsets the table but pleases the customers.

We tested using 3DMark 05 and 3DMark 06, at the resolutions most gamers here in the Philippines would be using, that is, at 1280 x 1024 and 1600 x 1200 (with the matching widescreen resolutions of 1280 x 800 and 1680 x 1050), plus some testing at 1024 x 768. Here are some numbers:

Alternate fields are achieved with no AA or AF; fields with "AA" are tested on 4x Max quality AA and 8x anisotropic AF. All tests were done on an E6550 @ 2.33GHz, 2 x 512MB Kingston HyperX  DDR2, MSI P35 Platinum, 250GB Hitachi SATA II, and a 480W Antec Neo Power.

As with many videocards with specs along the same lines as the GT (high clock / memory speed plus lower total bandwidth), the GT does not show any weaknesses until it reaches the higher end of the resolution range. At lower resolutions, it beats the GTS handily, which does not have as many stream processors and has lower clock speeds to boot. The GT performs almost at par with the highest end at 1280 x 1024, especially with image enhancements and eye candy disabled. So in this regards the rumors prove true.

                                             Standard connectivity on an extraordinary card.

On the other hand, at higher resolutions, the GT starts to lose ground against its big brothers because of the limited bandwidth available to it. High resolution gaming will always favor the highest end of the spectrum, so this leaves the mainstream or more-than-casual gamer. If pixels were cars, more pixels on screen = a larger required road for the pixels to pass through (without rush-hour crowding). No wonder the Philippines has a traffic problem. Memory bandwidth of 57.6 GB/sec compares favorably with the GTS at 64GB/sec, but is around half the performance of the Ultra and GTX flavors. Do note also that the Amp! Edition by Zotac pumps up the core and memory clocks, so will give performance that is all the more enticing for the mainstream gamer.

                                             Nice looking fan and heatsink combo. A bit noisy though.

The Zotac, like most cards based on newly-introduced core chips, is basically the reference design with the Zotac colors on it. To add a bit of zest, Zotac uses a amber – led colored fan and the fan cut-outs differs a bit from the reference design. I’m not too keen on the color scheme though, temperature is as high as the high end offerings from Nvidia, and I don’t need another reminder from the flamin’ color scheme. The other testers like it though. Noise is a concern with the GT since it uses a small, undersized (relative to the size of the heatsink assembly) fan mounted in a tight looking shroud, as opposed to the GTX and Ultra’s two-slot solutions. Of course the upshot here is the size of the card, although it is as long as the previously mentioned cards, it is a single slot solution. Unless you’re particularly sensitive to noise from your PC, the ambient noise should cover up the somewhat noisier fan on the GT.

                                             Three amber leds adorn the fan.

Where does this leave the owners (or the potential buyers) of other, contemporary cards? This would primarily include ATI’s 2900XT, and Nvidia’s own 8800GTS 320 and 640MB versions. GT performance outstrips all these cards, at least according to 3DMark 06, even at higher resolutions. Do note however that there may be games that will perform better on a certain collection of specs offered by a competing card, and there are tests that favor faster clock speeds over higher memory throughput.

                                            
Overall though, the Zotac 8800GT is a dream come true for those who are limited of budget but unbridled from reaching the absolute pinnacle of budget (or at least lower than the ever-dear high-end) gaming. The 8800GT 512MB is the best bet for the smart buyer, giving precision firepower that’s not as powerful as the highest end but accurately strikes into the heart of the performance budget buyer and only adds more reason to buy into Zotac with its Amp! Edition.

Look out for our in-depth review on HWM this coming december issue! More pictures follow.

                                             Golden finger for SLI connectivity.

                                              Slot is PCI 2.0 compatible, but will still work with PCI 1.0.

                                              Supplementary power.