ASUS EN8800Ultra 768MB (GeForce 8800 Ultra)
The graphics card market is flooded with competing companies all offering the same version of a product. Many times, though, these graphics cards are identical to each other with the only differences being the video card company selling the card and the sticker that has been placed on the card's cooler. The reason behind this similarity in products is quite simple; many of today's video card companies are simply buying the parts pre-assembled from the GPU vendor.
In today's article, we are zeroing in on the ASUS GeForce 8800 Ultra, a card which turns out to be identical to the reference NVIDIA 8800 Ultra board. We really are starting to wonder when we will begin seeing more unique graphics cards from NVIDIA's partners. We wonder if NVIDIA's partners really believe that their products actually differ from each other's, since all that most of the partners are doing is buying pre-assembled graphics cards from NVIDIA, pasting their stickers on the cooler, and putting them in boxes. A trend we have been seeing in the video card market is many so-called graphics card manufacturers buying pre-assembled video cards instead of manufacturing them, and then simply sprinkling some magic marketing sauce on the product, all the while claiming their card offers the highest grade of quality, performance, and unique features.
But what can we say other than this is what we like to call smart marketing! Now we aren't going to place all of the blame on the video card manufacturers. The graphics business is now more competitive than it has ever been, and NVIDIA and ATI are delivering their next-generation GPUs to companies on very short notice. What this means is that at the launch of a GPU, it is much more efficient and wise to simply buy pre-assembled cards instead of attempting to assemble the parts. The latter method may result in not having a product out on the market in time for the launch. Despite this, we still do feel that it is important for video card companies to add some level of uniqueness to their cards. If not at launch, then surely add the uniqueness a few months later. Unfortunately, this isn't something that we have recently seen companies doing.
Video card vendors are showing that they are very comfortable with NVIDIA assembling the cards for them. Many of the 8800 GTS/Ultra cards that different companies are selling are actually manufactured at the same plant according to NVIDIA's orders. NVIDIA assembles ALL the cards, certifies them, and then sells them to its partners. It is not simply GPUs or GPU + Memory chip kits being sold, but ready-made cards. All partners need to do is apply their sticker to the cooler, create a nice box, and then add some marketing to the mix. Taking this into consideration, it is a pity that NVIDIA doesn't sell its graphics cards directly to consumers, as it might provide for some price reductions, although we aren't sure what the actual profit margins in the video card market are. Naturally, NVIDIA likes to keep its partners close to itself, primarily because it makes other companies dependant on it and allows for it to focus less on marketing and more on creating the actual product. The lesson taught by 3dfx's failure is probably also fresh in the mind of NVIDIA; never corner yourself in a market by abandoning your partners.
The reason we went on this explanation, which might be considered by some as a mini-rant, is to explain to potential buyers of high-end video cards that it doesn't make much sense to ask "which 8800GTX card is more stable or offers higher quality?" We have been asked this question many times, and our only response is that they come from the same production line. The cards passed the same quality control tests, and even if a card is defective, it is not the result of the manufacturing efforts of ASUS, MSI, or Palit. The simple explanation is that the defect was overlooked at the factory and the companies we mentioned have nothing to do with it.
You can ask, however, which 8800 GTX is faster, as some NVIDIA partners select cards that can operate at higher frequencies. This selection, naturally, costs them extra money, and so the premium is passed on to the user and such cards are 20-30% more expensive than standard cards.
Let's return to the graphics card under review today. After our introduction you should probably be able to understand that this card is the reference GeForce 8800 Ultra. ASUS provides only the box, the bundle, and stickers. And that's it. By the way, in case you are still looking for a famous ASUS quality video card, we suggest re-reading the above paragraphs and trying to understand that there is nothing to pay extra money for. ;)
