Tag : warranty with, ddr3 pci, evga e, geforce 8800, card lifetime, game 512

Company : EVGA List Price : $379.99 Amazon Price : Used Price : Average customer review :

• Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Quad-Core Processor, 2.40 GHz, 8M L2 Cache, LGA 775
• Western Digital WD5000KSRTL Caviar 500 GB SATA Hard Drive
• Zalman CNPS9700LED Ultra Quiet Cpu Cooler
• Western Digital WD1500AHFDRTL Raptor X 150GB SATA/150 Hard Drive
• EVGA 132-CK-NF78-A1 nForce 780i SLI 3xPCI-Express x16 PCI-Express 2.0 Socket 775 A1 Version Motherboard

• Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition FULL VERSION with SP2
• Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007
• Windows Live OneCare 2.0 (Up to 3 Users)
• Nero 8 Ultra Edition [OLD VERSION]
• Norton Internet Security 2009

Features

• PCI Express x-16
• 256-bit GeForce 8800 GTS with 650MHz clock
• 512MB 256-bit 1 ns GDDR3 memory
• 970 MHz clock/1.94 GHz effective memory rate
• Includes Free Crysis Game

Customer reviews

Amazing!
This is the most reliable VGA ever.
Works great on every game, even crysis at 1280x1024 High with 4x AA and no lag...(I Have q6600, 4gb ddr2 800 and winXP)
Without any doubt, evga 8800 GTS is THE card for gaming!

Amazing Video Card
For the money, this is one of the best values in the graphic card industry. eVGA did one heck of a job with the G92 8800 GTS. I am running an 8600 GTS, which is a great card, on my other computer. For $50 more, the 8800 GTS is a huge step up from the 8600. I am running my computer on Vista Home Premium 64-bit, and this card really does the job with everything there. If you're into gaming and don't want to spend a ludicrous amount of money, then I suggest you go with this card. I have played World In Conflict and Call of Duty 4 while running this card, and with Vista's DirectX 10, nothing could be better...the graphics are unbelievable and incredibly realistic. There are better - and astronomically expensive - graphic cards out there, but for the price, I believe that you can't beat this card.

Best value for the money
This card is the best VC I ever owned. It is running faster than 8800GTS 640MB and even the 8800GTX at fraction of the money. After this price drop for 8800GTS/512MB, this card and 8800GT/512MB are offering the best value for the money. However GTS runs cooler and quieter than GT. I am playing my games at 1600x1200, 4xAA, AF and maximum details with no problem except for Crysis I have to lower the res and the details. I got this card for a very good price from Amazon marketplace. and I am so happy to own this card!

nVidia makes everything so hard....,
Confusing is the most common reaction when looking at nVidia's 8800 product line. Since 8800 is still the best GPU available on today's market, there's no need to emphasize that. This review will focus primary on the difference between each lines and how to make an intelligent decision.

The complexity of the 8800 product line leads to the two most frequent questions from customers; A: which card is the best option? and, if you own 8800 already, B: should I upgrade? Below is a list of 8800 product lines ordered by of performance from 8800GTX and below and most recent price available in the market.

8800 GTX $400+
8800 GTS 512mb A3 $285
8800 GTS 512mb AR $250
8800 GT 512mb $200
8800 GTS 640mb $300

The GTS 640mb was the second best graphic card last year and the best card in dollar/performance perspective. nVidia, than, released GT 512mb which marketed around $200 early this year. If you heard people saying that GT is faster than old GTS, you better believe that. Even with less aggressive look (single slot for GT), cheaper price, and reduced amount of memory, GT outperformed old GTS roughly by 26%. It is simply because the architecture of the GPU. The GT is based on G92 while old GTS and GTX are based on G80. The price though doesn't make any sense in terms of reflecting that and I believed nVidia intentionally leaves that to the market to decide the fate of old GTS. Keep in mind that Graphic card is the most competitive component in the PC industry. In order to penetrate and gain market share, nVidia has to have an aggressive plan including killing its own product.

The differences between new GTS and GT are subtle. Some report shows that the new GTS can even outperform GTX in several games (remember that's the result of new architecture of G90.) In general, it is very close but not as good as GTX. Why not GTX? When you factor in the retail price, you'll know why. You won't get a GTX lower than $400 but you can easily find a GT for $200 and an AR version GTS for $250. A gap of $200 I believe is sufficed to eliminate the GTX decision. So scope really narrows down to GT vs. new GTS.

Pro
New GTS outperforms in almost every aspects (10%-15% gain)
New GTS looks as aggressive as old GTS

Con
GT is cheaper than GTS
GT has best dollar/performance ratio

For price/performance perspective, GT is a no brainier. But I have to tell you that GTS 512mb is an extremely nice looking card and I believe most hardcore gamers do pay attention to "the look" of each component in their rigs. In another word, if you can justify $50 - $85 for more performance (not too much) and sexier looking, get a GTS. If not, than GT.

Finally, for people who have 8800 already, is it time to upgrade?

For GT owners, I already addressed the $50 - $85 dilemma above so I won't repeat. For old GTS owners though, they have a lot to think. Many online reviews tell you that it's not worth to upgrade. It is true when you look at the price and trouble you have to go through. However, old GTS is still holding $300 + line today. It means that the market still hasn't reflected the GT factor. When it does, in theory, the old GTS price will drop below $200 or nVidia will simply discontinue the line. Whatever the outcome is, you're old GTS is losing its value faster than GT and new GTS. To offset that, the best way I'd suggest is to sell your old GTS and replace with a new one. The new GTS will continue to hold the value or, I should say, it will bleed way slower than old GTS and I believe that's what the only thing that a costumer could ask for right?

But don't anticipate you'll see a huge gain if you do so. I ran a 3DMark on both cards and the new one gains only couple hundreds. But I was able to run Crysis in high setting and 16X AA in new GTS. It is also good to know that the new GTS consumes less power than old GTS. Again, that's the result of new GPU architecture. The swap is only an action that makes your investment depreciate slower. And remember that, once market has figured out the price, you won't have the advantage to swap those two cards.