ASUS EN8800Ultra 768MB (GeForce 8800 Ultra)
Installation and Drivers
Testbed configuration:
- Intel Core2 Duo (775 Socket) based computer
- CPU: Intel Core2 Duo Extreme X6800 (2930 MHz) (L2=4096K)
- Motherboard: EVGA nForce 680i SLI on NVIDIA nForce 680i
- RAM: 2 GB DDR2 SDRAM Corsair 1142MHz (CAS (tCL)=5; RAS to CAS delay (tRCD)=5; Row Precharge (tRP)=5; tRAS=15)
- HDD: WD Caviar SE WD1600JD 160GB SATA
- PSU: Tagan 1100-U95 (1100W).
- Operating system: Windows XP SP2 DirectX 9.0c
- Monitor: Dell 3007WFP (30").
- Drivers: ATI CATALYST 7.7; NVIDIA Drivers 162.18.
VSync is disabled.
Test results: performance comparison
We used the following test applications:
- Splinter Cell Chaos Theory v.1.04 (Ubisoft) DirectX 9.0, shaders 3.0 (with/without HDR), maximum settings.
- Call Of Juarez (Techland/Ubisoft) DirectX 9.0, shaders 3.0 (HDR), demo (demo. Tests were run with maximum quality. The batch file is included.
- S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 1.003 (GSC Game World/THQ) DirectX 9.0, demo. You should unpack the files into the game folder with savegames (Documents and settings). When the game starts up, load ixbt3, open the console and start the demo: demo_play ixbt3. Test settings maximum
(DYNAMIC LIGHTS are ENABLED).
- PREY 1.01 (3D Realms Entertainment / Human Head Studios / 2K Games) OpenGL, shaders 2.x,
demo003 (40MB!). Tests were run with maximum quality. The batch file is included.
- 3DMark05 1.20 (FutureMark) DirectX 9.0, multitexturing, trilinear filtering.
- Serious Sam II 1.068 (Croteam/2K Games) DirectX 9.0, shaders 3.0 (with/without HDR),
batch file to start the test. It's the standard demo0002 that comes with the game. Tests settings maximum.
We express our thanks to our reader, Vozniuk Valery AKA Px, for his batch file to run this game.
- F.E.A.R. v.1.08 (Multiplayer) (Monolith/Sierra) DirectX 9.0, shaders 2.0, maximum test settings, Soft shadows disabled.
- Company Of Heroes (Relic Entertainment/THQ) DirectX 9.0, shaders 2.0,
startup batch file.
When you start the game, you should go to options, choose the graphics
section, and press the test button. Tests were run with maximum
quality.
- 3DMark06 1.02 (FutureMark) DirectX 9.0c, multitexturing, trilinear test settings.
Graphics cards' performance
If you have a decent understanding of 3D graphics, you may draw your own conclusions for the diagrams below. However, if you are interested in our comments on test results, you may read them after each test. Anything that is important to beginners and those who are new to the world of video cards will be explained in detail in the comments.
First of all, you should look through our reference materials on modern graphics cards and their GPUs. Be sure to note the operating frequencies, support for modern technologies (shaders), as well as the pipeline architecture.
ATI RADEON X1300-1600-1800-1900 Reference
NVIDIA GeForce 7300-7600-7800-7900 Reference
If you have just begun realizing how large the selection to choose a video card is, don't worry, our 3D Graphics section offers articles about 3D basics (you will still have to understand them - when you run a game and open its options, you'll see such notions as textures, lighting, etc) as well as reviews of new products. There are just two companies that manufacture graphics processors: ATI (the graphics department of AMD) and NVIDIA. So most of the information is divided into these two sections. We also publish monthly 3Digests that sum up all comparisons of graphics cards for various price segments.
All of our tests are currently run on Windows XP. This is because it is currently the main OS for PC gaming. Later on we'll examine RightMark DX10 on Windows Vista. To be frank, the problem with Vista right now is that it is still buggy. But since it is the only operating system to support DirectX 10, sooner or later we will have to turn to it. These results, however, will be published in a different article. We will start using DX10 benchmarks hopefully sometime in August. Right now, though, we are still waiting for more stable drivers, anything less would skew performance results.
We are not going to analyze each test in this article, primarily because for us it makes sense to draw a bottom line in the end of the article. We will, however, make sure that we make our readers aware of any special circumstances or extraordinary results.
You may download the results in Excel spreadsheet (Office 2003) in RAR 3.0 or ZIP format.
- 1. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
- 2. Splinter Cell Chaos Theory (No HDR)
- 3. Splinter Cell Chaos Theory (HDR)
- 4. Call Of Juarez
- 5. Prey
- 6. 3DMark05 MARKS
- 7. Company Of Heroes
- 8. F.E.A.R.
- 9. Serious Sam II (No HDR)
- 10. Serious Sam II (HDR)
- 11. 3DMark 06, Shader Model 2.0 MARKS
- 12. 3DMark 06, Shader Model 3.0 MARKS
Conclusions
You might have noticed that we also tested the GeForce 8800 Ultra under SLI mode. This powerful configuration, in our opinion, is only justified if it is used with the highest resolutions along with Anti-Aliasing and Anisotropic-filtering enabled. Unfortuantely, NVIDIA has slowed down its development of SLI drivers this year. This means that the drivers still don't support a number of popular games as far as SLI is concerned, even though these games are available in driver profiles. For example, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. actually has lower performance in SLI mode. Users who have paid over $1500 for this SLI solution should be rightfully rather indignant with these results. Although there is a small group of people who can afford one GeForce 8800 Ultra card, let alone even thinking about two, it is still important in our eyes for the NVIDIA to deliver what it promises. Until these issues are resolved, we see no point for a SLI 8800 Ultra configuration.
The ASUS EN8800Ultra (GeForce 8800 Ultra) 768MB PCI-E is the fastest and the most expensive graphics card to date. For emphasis, we repeat that this specific model is the same as the NVIDIA reference card. It doesn't differ from the 880 Ultra cards from other vendors. The only thing that might potentially set it apart is its bundle.
The largest drawback of the 8800 Ultra cards is its cooling system, particularly its wide and large housing, which makes the graphics card incompatible with some motherboards.
Going back to the NVIDIA drivers, we notice some improvements in single-card performance, but it's still far from perfect. Despite this, the current situation is still far better than what we saw at the beginning of the year. See the ulterior details here.
As always, the final choice is up to the reader. We can only inform you about products and their performance, but can't make a buying decision. In our opinion, that should solely be in the hands of the reader, and possibly their budget. ;) If you want the fasted graphics card, than the 8800 Ultra would suit you well, but remember that the price premium is also quite high.
To find more information regarding the current video card market and the performance of various cards, feel free to read our monthly special 3Digest. In the monthly article, you will be able to find detailed comparison of various graphics cards along with in-depth comparisons and price-point breakdowns.
You can find more detailed comparisons of various graphics cards in our 3Digest.
ASUS EN8800Ultra (GeForce 8800 Ultra) 768MB PCI-E gets our Excellent Package award (August):
We express our thanks to
ASUS Russia
for the provided graphics card.
PSU was kindly provided by TAGAN
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The Dell 3007WFP monitor was kindly provided by NVIDIA
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