Has there ever been a more confusing time to buy a video card?  ATI cards are still pretty straight forward, even after their dual card. It was team nVidia that threw us for a loop, spiking the 8800 series cards with a new GPU core and moving things around within the model naming scheme.  nVidia gave us a sneak peak at the new G92 core on two cards; the 8800GTS and the 8800GT. At the same time, there are also cards available that use the original G80 core with the same name.

     Generally, a new card lineup also means a backlash in prices that bargain hunters can take advantage of. It also means that some of the older cards will be cut from the lineup. So far, the only cards that are going to get are the G80 series. So that means that the 8800GTX is on the chopping block and cards with the newer G92 GPU will continue to be pressed.

    Why shouldn't they? They are still very good cards capable of delivering the kind of performance that budget minded consumers need. Gigabyte's "GV-NX88T512HP/Revision 1" is a GeForce 8800GT based on the G92 GPU coupled with 512 Megabytes of on board GDDR3. With this card, the Windows Vista Aero Desktop will be no problem! Let's take a look at what the NX88T has to offer. 

     Out of box experience...

     Once we get the box open and get inside, here's what we've got.  We'll start with the shiny new GeForce 8800GT that Gigabyte has fitted with a Zalmon VF850 heat-pipe VGA cooler. We've also got some standard accessories like a twin Molex to 6-pin PCI-E power adapter and two DVI to VGA D-sub adapters. Gigabyte also throws in an analog video adapter with Component and S-Video outputs. In addition to the printed manual and driver disc, this card also comes with a complimentary copy of the game Neverwinter Nights 2.

    Here's a quick rundown on some of the other NX88T512HP features;

     Gamer Hud* A Heads up display software utility which allows the user to tweak and overclock the graphics core, texture engines, and memory of the NX88T512HP.

     Ultra Durable 2* The video card is manufactured with individual components that meet the highest quality standards such as Ferrite Core Chokes, Low RDS (on) MOSFET and Lower ESR Solid Capacitors.

      ROHS Compliant*  Whether or not you believe in the whole Global Warming thing, many technological advances are being done to reduce the amount of energy we use. RoHS is one of many energy saving proclamations.

     Dual Link DVI* Each DVI output on the video card is Dual LInk DVI capable, meaning it can drive displays with up to 2560x1600 resolution.

     CineFX 4.0 Engine* A developer tool that allows complex scenes to be rendered with a specific instruction set to reduce GPU utilization to increase frame rate on high polygon models.

     Intellisample 4.0* Visual quality is taken to new heights through a new rotated grid sampling pattern, advanced 128 Tap sample coverage, 16x anisotropic filtering, and support for transparency supersampling and multisampling.

     Support for OpenGL 2.0 and its optimizations along with full DirectX 10*

     PCI Express 2.0* Allows up to twice the throughput of current PCI Express cards. Doubles the bus standard's bandwidth from 2.5 Gbit/s (PCIe 1.1) to 5 Gbit/sec. 

     High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection* Nobody likes it, but we all have to deal with it.

      Gigabyte Turbo Force Technology*  Proprietary technology that comprises T3 technology and V-tuner2 software overclocking application. T3 technology comprises a series of performance tuning process that ensure maximum stability and enhance over 10% performance. 

Intro & Specs The 8800GT Up Close The Test System Testing Part 1 Testing Part 2 Testing - 3DMark06 Testing - 3DMark Vantage Overclocking Conclusion