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Summary

The following is a summary of the more detailed analysis of the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX G80 GPU. For all the in-depth analysis and testing you'd expect from us, be sure to click this link to get all the details!

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DirectX 10 is sitting just around the corner, hand in hand with Microsoft Vista.  It requires a new unified architecture in the GPU department that neither hardware vendor has implemented yet and is not compatible with DX9 hardware.  The NVIDIA G80 architecture, now known as the GeForce 8800 GTX and 8800 GTS, has been the known DX10 candidate for some time, but much of the rumors and information about the chip were just plain wrong, as we can now officially tell you today.

Well, we've talked about what a unified architecture is and how Microsoft is using it in DX10 with all the new featurs and options available to game designers.  But just what does NVIDIA's unified G80 architecture look like??

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All hail G80!!  Well, um, okay.  That's a lot of pretty colors and boxes and lines and what not, but what does it all mean, and what has changed from the past?  First, compared to the architecture of the G71 (GeForce 7900), which you can reference a block diagram of here, you'll notice that there is one less "layer" of units to see and understand.  Since we are moving from a dual-pipe architecture to a unified one, this makes sense.  Those eight blocks of processing units there with the green and blue squares represent the unified architecture and work on pixel, vertex and geometry shading.

The new flagship is the 8800 GTX card, coming in at an expected MSRP of $599 with a hard launch; you should be able to find these cards for sale today.  The clock speed on the card is 575 MHz, but remember that the 128 stream processors run at 1.35 GHz, and they are labeled as the "shader" clock rate here.  The GDDR3 memory is clocked at 900 MHz, and you'll be getting 768MB of it, thanks to the memory configuration issue we talked about before.  There are dual dual-link DVI ports and an HDTV output as well. 

The runner up for today is the 8800 GTS, though it is still a damn fast card.  Expected to sell for $449 and should be ready for launch today, the 8800 GTS runs at a core clock speed of 500 MHz and has 96 SPs that run at 1.2 GHz, compared to the 1.35 GHz on the GTX model.  The 640MB of GDDR3 memory runs at 800 MHz and the same dual dual-link DVI ports and HDTV output connections are included. 

Here are some of the impressive benchmarks:

In the games I played where we kept score (i.e. benchmarked) there wasn't a single time in which the ATI X1950 XTX was able to compete with the 8800 GTX, though it was the closest of the three competitors.  The 7950 GX2 card, that essentially is equipped with dual 7900 GT GPUs, was next in line behind the ATI card in most cases, followed by the 7900 GTX.  NVIDIA's previous single GPU flagship card simply doesn't stand a chance, and frequently was seen to be less than half the speed of the 8800 GTX!  I don't know if that should make new buyer's laugh out loud or current 7900 GTX owners weep. 

Looking at prices on the X1950 XTX, I spotted them for sale in the $450 range today, making them noticeably cheaper than the 8800 GTX.  The GeForce 7950 GX2 cards can be found from $510 up to $600, depending on the brand and vendor.  This certainly puts the X1950 XTX in a better position than it might otherwise have been, had the prices been above the $500 mark, but if $599 stays put, and in a couple weeks I'd expect to find them lower than that, then the GeForce 8800 GTX is going to be a big hit for hardcore gamers.

NVIDIA should be commended once again for being able to pull off a successful hard launch of a product that has been eagerly awaited for months now.  Only time will tell us if supply is able to keep up with demand, but I'll be checking in during the week to find out!

Update: Our pricing engine is now being updated with some 8800 GTX and GTS models and pricing:

• BFG Tech 8800 GTX
• BFG Tech 8800 GTS
• XFX 8800 GTX
• XFX 8800 GTS

Update: Newegg has some 8800 GTX cards for sale right now!  The EVGA 8800 GTX is selling for $649; the BFG 8800 GTX model is also selling for $649.  I've also found four different 8800 GTS cards for sale at Newegg, all priced at $499: Asus, BFG Tech, EVGA and XFX.  Enjoy!!

Update: ZipZoomFly also has the 8800 GTX and 8800 GTS cards in stock -- just do a search for 8800 on their site!

Final Thoughts

If I was in the market for a new graphics card, the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX would be my first choice.  I don't know any better way to give a recommendation for this card than that.  I used to say that $600 for a graphics card was crazy, and while that still is probably true, the fact that the performance of this 8800 GTX card is over 100% faster than the last generation in many cases surely makes the purchase seem more reasonable.  NVIDIA's G80 architecture is a performance king and is the first and only DX10 ready graphics hardware; what else do you need?  Maybe two of them...

If you have any questions about the review, or would like to see what others are saying about the GeForce 8800 GTX, come into our graphics card forum to discuss it!  We have also had a GeForce 8800 GTX thread going for some time now that you might want to catch up on!

Be sure to use our price checking engine to find the best prices on the NVIDIA 8800 GTX and GTS, and anything else you may want to buy!

Click here for the Detailed Review