HEXUS.reviews :: ASUS EN8800GTS GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB graphics card

[Tarinder]

If your wallet's alarm goes off at the GeForce 8800 GTX's £375+ price tag, help is at hand. ASUS steps up to the plate with its GTS model that's £100 cheaper. Is it a ton well-saved or is the GTS pricing a false economy?

Find out more.

[koocha]

If you can't stretch that far, and that will be the case for most regular folk, NVIDIA's GeForce 8800 GTX is a fine buy. It has all the features trimmings of the GTX but with a range of snips that limit performance to three-quarters of the range-topping model, its performance should be good enough for Average Joe Gamer.

GTS?

[Tarinder]

I'm glad someone's awake.

Thanks, edited.

I scoured that article to see if I could find any contradicting references. Must have nodded off on the last page

[chrestomanci]

How big is this card? I am trying to work out if it will fit in my case.

Your original 8800 GTX review said that it is 267mm long. You have said that the GTS is smaller, but not it's actual size.

[Tarinder]

chrestomanci,

The PCB is around 230mm long, so 40mm or so shorter than the GTX.

[koocha]

I'm glad someone's awake.

Thanks, edited.

I scoured that article to see if I could find any contradicting references. Must have nodded off on the last page

Pleasure. Nice article, although at work none of the images for hexus appear. That's why I apy more attention to the text then look at the pictures when I get home

[YorkieBen]

interesting that the 1950XT is generally faster - I wouldnt count the 7950GX2 as faster as in games without a SLI profile it would be much slower.

I would like to see the X1950XT v the GTS in something shader-heavy like FEAR - the X1950's architecture is geared towards shader-heavy titles anyway is it not?

It might be in a short-to-medium term the X1950XT is the better buy - it all depends on how hungery the DX10 titles are - if crysis et al can't run DX10 features at a decent res on the GTS then the X1950 (unlikely but it is definitely a wait and see thing imo) would be the better buy?

[sawyen]

... the X1950's architecture is geared towards shader-heavy titles anyway is it not?...

So is the G80..

[s_kinton]

That article reinforces my view that the 8800 series arent quite worth the upgrade yet, unless you game at mega resolutions.

The cards need to be seen in dx10 titles to really tell if theyre worth buying. Anyone remember the FX series' performance in dx9? Im sure that wont happen again from nvidia, but i myself will be waiting to see dx10 performance and probably for the 2nd gen dx10 cards before any money leaves my wallet.

[koocha]

That article reinforces my view that the 8800 series arent quite worth the upgrade yet, unless you game at mega resolutions.

The cards need to be seen in dx10 titles to really tell if theyre worth buying. Anyone remember the FX series' performance in dx9? Im sure that wont happen again from nvidia, but i myself will be waiting to see dx10 performance and probably for the 2nd gen dx10 cards before any money leaves my wallet.

The money already left my wallet in preperation for Vista OEM

[Tarinder]

It all depends upon how you look at it.

If you're in the market for a high-end card now and are looking to spend around £250, the GeForce 8800 GTs is, on balance, the best card to buy. It's going to be more future-proof than the X1950 XTX and GeForce 7950 GX2 and its relative performance will only rise with the release of games with taxing engines.

I, for one, would love to see how the cards handle something like Crysis.

On the other hand, as YorkieBen states, the short-term fix is something else. High-end DX9 cards have seriously tempting pricing atm. But would you buy a £250 graphics card for the short term?

[chrestomanci]

chrestomanci,

The PCB is around 230mm long, so 40mm or so shorter than the GTX.

Thanks

According to formfactors.org ATX and mATX boards are 244 mm deep so any case that takes a full depth board (ie almost all of them) and does not have any drives overlapping the board should take this card.

[iamtheoneneo]

thats interesting as its the first benchmarks iv seen the say the 8800gts is less capable then the older dx9 cards. have to say tho im getting myself a palit 8800gts , pretty cheap and i rarely upgrade so thought i better get me a dx10 card now otherwise id never get one.

[podman]

First page:

We took a look at ASUS' GeForce 8800 GTX - priced at a more palatable £275 - to see if the reduced entry fee into the G80 club is worth it. Read on to see what we found out.

It's pretty late, but I'm sure that should be GTS?

[madmobile]

£251 for asus 8800gts at scan. That's the cheapest so far amount all 8800gts before discount.

[moogle]

But would you buy a £250 graphics card for the short term?

it would be the long term actually. sure crysis is coming out, making it dx10 only will limit its players only. not everyone is going to be able to get a dx10 card. plus newer games like ut3 will still support dx9.

£251 for asus 8800gts at scan. That's the cheapest so far amount all 8800gts before discount.

i got an XFX 8800GTS in my basket for £246, just wish my dad would pay the bills so I can buy it