My 8800 Ultra vs 8800 GTS comparison (33 games tested!)

[lopri]

I just started reading the threads @Ars and couldn't believe the kind of comments over there. (especially the guy with a 'mod' title) I stopped reading after a few posts and failed to understand what they were trying to say. There really isn't much to say about BFG's post indeed since his original posts are mostly numbers. Such a shame at such a respected site.

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: apoppin
Finally, did you ever consider GTS sli - or didn't want to deal with noise/heat issues?

I think the bigger concern is driver/game support for SLI, not to mention a lot of titles still don't benefit as much from SLI as going with a single beefier card. Also, SLI would've required him to move to a different mobo and to be perfectly honest, that has the potential of introducing a whole new set of headaches.

As for the OC'd GTS vs. stock GTX comparisons, I believe FiringSquad did a very good comparison shortly after the G80 was released. They found that a highly OC'd GTS could pull close to a stock GTX in some titles, but in newer shader intensive games and higher resolutions, the GTX still maintained a healthy lead. In any case, you should be able to find some more recent reviews with an OC'd GTS variant with comparisons to reference GTX benches, although they're not quite as good because the GTX figures are typically taken at a different time (and potentially different drivers/hardware etc).

 

[LittleNemoNES]

I've owned both SLI and currently Crossfire and I can say that if things remain the way they are with drivers, I'd rather have a water cooled single card than a dual card solution

 

[CP5670]

My experience with SLI was pretty bad due to various driver bugs and game compatibility issues. It was a while ago and things may have improved since then, but I would still a take a single card any day even if it looks a bit slower in the benchmarks.

 

[BFG10K]

Firstly a big thanks to all the positive feedback here - you guys make it worthwhile. :thumbsup:

Is it possible to add FSx or even Silent Hunter 4 into your benchmarking efforts?

Sorry, I don't have those games.

Does the GTS see any texture thrashing at those rezs/AA levels due to the difference in RAM (640/768)?

I don't believe so.

i am guessing if one runs at 16x12 or below, the GTS is the best bang-for-buck ... at higher resolutions, the GTX or Ultra is a "must", price be damned.

I would tend to agree with your assessment. If you stick to 1600x1200 with 4xAA (or lower) the GTS should be fine in most situations but if you want to go higher the more power the better, especially if you use the more exotic AA modes.

Finally, did you ever consider GTS sli - or didn't want to deal with noise/heat issues?

No, I cannot justify Crossfire/SLI on any level. Even if my motherboard supported SLI instead of picking up a second GTS it was far better for me to sell my existing GTS and put the money towards the Ultra. Even if a pair of GTSes are a bit faster than the Ultra I'd still much rather have a single card solution.

Did you every try OCing your GTS and testing it against the stock Ultra?

No (and I can't do it now because I've sold it) but even with overclocking I'd imagine the Ultra would still be far ahead. In particular its massive memory bandwith advantage is what's providing such astonishing 16xS performance.

 

[videopho]

"Is it possible to add FSx or even Silent Hunter 4 into your benchmarking efforts?"

Sorry, I don't have those games.


FSx...Yes you can download the demo from...

FSx

 

[LittleNemoNES]

Originally posted by: videopho
"Is it possible to add FSx or even Silent Hunter 4 into your benchmarking efforts?"

Sorry, I don't have those games.


FSx...Yes you can download the demo from...

FSx

I'm willing to bet that FSX is almost completely CPU bound

 

[videopho]

The FSx's new service pack one is supposed to be dual core optimized and it seems like it has.
My frame rate almost doubles after the upgrade.
Both of my 7900GTX & 8800gts seem to handle the game (fps) way better than prior to Service Pack 1 release i.e. from almost slide-show frame rate before the upgrade and now is high 20 & 30 fps after SP1 installed.

 

[BFG10K]

FSx...Yes you can download the demo from...

Sorry, but even if I downloaded it I'd need to find out how to benchmark it.

Besides, I don't have my GTS anymore and I don't really want to download a game I have no interest in playing.

 

[videopho]

Originally posted by: BFG10K

FSx...Yes you can download the demo from...

Sorry, but even if I downloaded it I'd need to find out how to benchmark it.

Besides, I don't have my GTS anymore and I don't really want to download a game I have no interest in playing.

That's okay.
Keep it in mind for future consideration.
:beer:

 

[BFG10K]

FYI - I'm finding the 8800 Ultra is significantly louder than the GTS during gaming; it dumps more hot air into the case so it spins up more.

Most reviewers likely use an open system for testing so they wouldn't have noticed it.

 

[HannibalX]

Superb Test! Thanks!

I have been searching for quite a while to find someone that tested these cards side by side with more than a few games.

 

[nullpointerus]

Originally posted by: BFG10K
FYI - I'm finding the 8800 Ultra is significantly louder than the GTS during gaming; it dumps more hot air into the case so it spins up more.

Most reviewers likely use an open system for testing so they wouldn't have noticed it.

Thermalright makes a heatpipe cooler for the 8800GTX that supposedly dramatically lowers temperatures. Instead of trying to dump hot air out the PCIe slot area, the fins are positioned near the rear case fan so that heat does not have the chance to build up. So in a sense it is using a DHES.

Here's a review showing that this cooler is compatible with the 8800 Ultra:

Pros: Great cooling. Temps on my 8800 Ultra dropped by over 30C! I was able to OC to 720/1200 using this cooler, a 92mm Panaflo, and Arctic Silver 5 and thermal epoxy.

Cons: As nearly everyone else has stated, the thermal tape that comes with the ramsinks is no good. It's a little pricey for a VGA cooler.

Other Thoughts: Will dramatically increase the overclocking capabilities of your 8800 series card - or provide better stability, which I needed in the case of my XFX XXX edition.

 

[BFG10K]

Thanks for the link but there's no way I would risk modding such an expensive video card.