XFX GeForce 8800 GTS XXX 320 MB Video Card
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Performance

To test the XFX GeForce 8800 GTS 320 MB XXX, I dropped it into my test bed, set up as follows:

  • Processor: AMD Athlon X2 Dual-Core 4200+ 65W
  • Motherboard: ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless
  • Memory: 2 GB of Crucial DDR2 PC2-8000 Ballistix Dual Channel RAM
  • Power Supply: OCZ nVIDIA SLI-Ready GameXStream 600W
  • Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 750 GB
  • OS: Windows XP SP2
  • Testing Software:
    • 3DMark 06 Build 1.1.0
    • Fraps, testing Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Medieval II: Total War, and Battlefield 2142
3D Mark 06

I ran 3D Mark’s basic tests with the default settings.  The results were:
  • 3DMark Score: 7,892
  • SM2.0 Score: 3,659
  • HDR/SM3.0 Score: 3,879
  • CPU Score: 1,643

Comparing those numbers with the ones 3D Mark gave me with the Foxconn 8800 GTS I reviewed last month, XFX's 8800 GTS gave me a 9 to 12 percent increase across all graphics scores, with an added bonus of two more points to the CPU score.  Clearly less memory doesn't necessarily mean lower performance.

An overhead shot of the card. From the reflection on the side you can get an idea of height: a full two expansion slots.


NVIDIA Control Panel Settings for Fraps

The Manage 3D Settings applet in the NVIDIA Control Panel gives you a lot of control over how the GPU renders graphics, which is especially useful for games like Oblivion where you can’t enable antialiasing and HDR at the same time.  On the other hand, turning on too many options can slow your system to a crawl as the computer tries to render too many objects at once; some balance is required.  Fortunately, NVIDIA also gives you the option of customizing settings by game if you like, so object-heavy games likes Medieval II don’t place as many demands on the system.  For the Fraps section of this review, all game and NVIDIA Control Panel quality settings are set to maximum, mixed-GPU acceleration is in single display performance mode and error reporting and extension limit are both off, unless specified otherwise.

That logo really does kick a lot of butt.


Fraps with Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Oblivion is starting to get a bit long in the tooth as a testing game, but after my success in dominating its visual settings last time, it’s certainly worth a look with this card.  As with my last review, I walked my character around the inside and outside of the Imperial City, to get the full effect of the water, the outside vegetation and the numerous people strolling around the city on the card’s processor.

Here’s what Fraps came back with:

  • Minimum framerate: 20 fps
  • Maximum framerate: 64 fps
  • Average framerate: 34.86 fps

I can safely say that there’s no way Oblivion will look any better than it does with this series of graphics cards.  Even better, the card had no problem rendering those beautiful graphics, with the only hiccups coming when the game needed to load new scene information from the hard drive. 



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