Temperature testing was performed similar to the MSI NX8800GT, which has a stock cooler. Although the default fan speed on the Inno3D GeForce 8800 GT i-ChiLL is 100%, it was throttled down to 29% to compare against the stock cooler. Installed in a closed case, the temperature of the GPU at idle with the fan speed at 29% was 56 °C.
With the Real-Time High Dynamic Range Image Based Lighting (rthdribl) demo running in an 800x600 window, the GPU reached a peak temperature of 95 °C with the room temperature at 22.7 °C / 73 °F. With NVIDIA's nTune, the fan speed was increased in increments of 10% and the GPU temperatures as reported by NVMonitor were recorded. The results are shown in the following graph.
Temperature Test Results
Compared to the results from the stock cooler, the Accelero X1 fan lowered temperatures four additional degrees at half the RPM. Better cooling with less fan noise.
DVD/HD PLAYBACK
The GPU assumed most of the processing duties during DVD playback as CPU usage generally ranged from 4-8%. DVD playback was done using NVIDIA's nStant Media application along with PureVideo.
DVD Playback
CPU utilization increased to 15%-20% during during playback of 720p WMV HD Content (Step Into Liquid) and ranged from 25%-30% at 1080p. HD content was played back using nStant Media and Windows Media Player 10.
OVERCLOCKING
With RivaTuner, clock speeds of 750MHz, 1675MHz, and 2300MHz were achieved, all of which are higher than the already overclocked core, shader, and memory clock speeds of 700MHz, 1500MHz, and 2000MHz.
In Doom 3 at a resolution of 2560x1600 performance rose from 116 fps to 127 fps at the overclocked settings. This turns out to be an increase of 9.4%, which is a surprisingly welcome boost in performance.
CONCLUSION
Depending on market conditions, the GeForce 8800 GT could turn out to be NVIDIA's most successful GPU to date. Graphics cards based on the GeForce 8800 GT remain in high-demand and consumers are sometimes purchasing two graphics cards for an SLI configuration. During the launch of the GeForce 8800 GT, TigerDirect reported that 25% of orders were for two GeForce 8800 GTs.
Inno3D and their i-ChiLL product line are a winning combination and have answered enthusiasts' demands for better cooling solutions for the GeForce 8800 GT. In this sense, Inno3D is one of the few NVIDIA add-in manufacturers that is adding value to their products. The Inno3D GeForce 8800 GT i-ChiLL is highly recommended by nV News.
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