Performance of the XFX GeForce 8800 Ultra XXX Edition was compared to EVGA's GeForce 8800 GTX ACS³, MSI's GeForce 8800 GTX OC Edition and with both cards in a mixed-vendor SLI configuration under Windows XP and Windows Vista.

As the XFX GeForce 8800 Ultra XXX Edition is around 10.5 inches long, consideration should be given to the size of the case that will accommodate the graphics card.

XFX GeForce 8800 Ultra XXX Edition

A noteworthy event occurred while working on this review. For some unknown reason, the Intel-based test system, which featured EVGA's nForce 680i SLI motherboard, shut down. Upon the subsequent power up, the motherboard failed to accept input from the keyboard with the message "CMOS checksum error - defaults loaded, F1 to continue, DEL to enter SETUP" being displayed. A day of unsuccessful troubleshooting led me to the local CompUSA where I picked up the last nForce 680i motherboard they had in stock.

Hardware and Operating Systems

• Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 - 2.66GHz Conroe Core - 4MB L2 Cache
• BFG nForce 680i LT SLI Motherboard
• 4GB Corsair XMS PC8500 DDR2 SDRAM 5-5-5-18-2T @ 400MHz
• Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZX
• Dell 3007WFP LCD Monitor
• 32-Bit Color / Vsync Disabled / 60Hz Refresh Rate
• Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2 / DirectX 9.0c
• Windows Vista 64-bit / DirectX 10

• AMD Athlon X2 4800+ - 2.4GHz Toledo Core - 1MB L2 Cache per Core
• Asus A8N-SLI Premium Motherboard
• 2GB Corsair PC3500LLPro DDR SDRAM 2-3-2-6-2T @ 200MHz
• Realtek ALC850 Onboard Audio
• Dell 3007WFP LCD Monitor
• 32-Bit Color / Vsync Disabled / 60Hz Refresh Rate
• Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2 / DirectX 9.0c

Graphics Cards, Drivers, and Driver Settings

• EVGA e-GeForce 8800 GTX ASC³ - 576MHz Core/1350MHz Shader/900MHz Memory
• MSI GeForce 8800 GTX OC Edition - - 612MHz Core/1350MHz Shader/999MHz Memory
• XFX GeForce 8800 Ultra XXX Edition - 675MHz Core/1674MHz Shader/1152MHz Memory
• Windows XP - ForceWare WHQL 158.22
• Windows Vista - ForceWare Beta 158.45
• High Quality Texture Filtering
• Gamma Correct Antialiasing
• Supersampling Transparency Antialiasing

Applications Benchmarked

• Age of Empires 3
• Colin McRae DiRT Demo
• Company of Heroes
• Dark Messiah
• Doom 3
• Far Cry
• F.E.A.R.
• Gothic 3 Demo
• Half-Life 2: Lost Coast
• Lost Planet: Extreme Condition
• Neverwinter Nights 2
• Oblivion
• Quake 4

Notes

• Antialiasing and anisotropic filtering were application-controlled unless otherwise noted.
• In-game graphics settings were configured to their highest quality unless otherwise noted.

Can you name the game that is being used in each comparison? Click on an image for the answer or to learn more about the feature.

1. Antialiasing Comparison (2x Magnified)

2. Antialiasing Comparison (2x Magnified)

3. Transparency Antialiasing Comparison

4. Texture Filtering Comparison

5. Texture Filtering Comparison

6. High Dynamic Range - Off vs. On

7. Higher Quality In-Game Settings

Answers are also provided following the conclusion of the review.

Next Page: Antialiasing Image Quality