Just went 8800GTX! Pics & Lots of Benchmarks

[Eliminator]

Well recently an EVGA rep (jAkUp) contancted me about trying to refund my import tax payments on the numerous broken cards I kept receiving. So instead I asked if I could do the Step-up program again. He said yes and here I am. Also it arrived by Purolator in 4 days and no import taxes.

Anyway I did a lot of testing and benchmarking to see just how much this card pwns the 7950GX2. For those of you that don't know, the 7950GX2 is the flagship card of the 7 series and it's basically two 7950GT 512MB cards stuck on one board with lower clock speeds.

Test Setup:
Core 2 Duo E6400 @ 3.4GHZ
Asus P5B Deluxe
2GB Corsair XMS2 6400C4 @ 850MHZ 4-4-4-12
eVGA 7950GX2 1024MB w/ Forceware 93.81 beta (imported SLI profiles from 162.18)
eVGA 8800GTX 768MB w/ Forceware 162.18 WHQL
Dell 2405FPW 24" 1920x1200
Creative Audigy 2 ZS
Windows XP SP2 32bit

Clocks & Settings:
CPU: 3.6GHZ (3DMark06: 7950GX2)
CPU: 3.5GHZ (Games: 7950GX2)
CPU: 3.4GHZ (3DMark06, Games: 8800GTX)
7950GX2 Stock: 500/1200, Overclocked: 594/1566
8800GTX Stock: 575/1800, Overclocked: 630/2100
- all gaming tests are run at 1920x1200
- all in-game settings are set to maximum unless specified

The reason the 8800GTX tests are done at 3.4GHZ is due to first the recent summer heat lowered my stable OC to 3.4GHZ and due to even more heat from the 8800GTX my stable is now 3.3GHZ )

Pics:





I love the design. However, the card may look small but actually its gigantic. In fact I must be the luckiest person because I'm clearing the drive tray holders by only 2-3 mm. Card also runs pretty hot at about 65*C idle with fan at 100%.

Benchmarks:

3DMark06:
- default settings


Not too shabby at all.


Chronicles of Riddick:
- in-game AF
- Softshadows ON


- in-game AF
- Softshadows OFF


Wow, suprised to the see the overclocked 7950GX2 keeping up with the stock 8800GTX.


Tomb Raider: Anniversary:
- 4xAA


Yet again the 7950GX2 is keeping up nicely here.


Medieval II Total War:
- 2xAA, 4xAF
- Shadows on extreme


Now the tables are starting to turn in more modern games. 63% improvement between the stock cards.


Call of Juarez DX9:
- in-game AF


A good 47% improvement on the stock cards.


Rainbow Six: Vegas:
- Motion blur OFF
- Shadows on HIGH


- Motion blur OFF
- Shadows on VERY LOW


8800GTX pulling ahead by 71/77% here between the stock clocks.

[Eliminator]

Splinter Cell: Double Agent:
- 8xAF


WOW! Now THAT'S an improvement! The game is finally playable. A giant 171% improvement here on the stock levels. The 7950GX2 had SEVERE mouse lag here while the 8800GTX barely any.


FEAR Stress Test:
- 4xAA, 16xAF
- **Softshadows OFF



- 0xAA, 16xAF
- **Softshadows ON



Well here we see the 7950GX2 about on par with the 8800GTX with AA/AF and no softshadows, but the 8800GTX pulls ahead a bit with softshadows and no AA.
**NOTE: In FEAR you can't enable AA and softshadows at the same time.


Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2:
- 8xAF
- **Dynamic Shadows OFF


A modest 45% increase on the stock levels.
**NOTE: Dynamic shadows are disabled due to the fact that current drivers after 158.xx have broken shadows in GRAW2.


Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion:
- Self shadows OFF
- Shadows on grass OFF



Now this is amazing. Outdoors we see a 91% improvement on the stock levels. The game runs like a dream on the 8800GTX. Not just because of the framerate but because it's so incredibly smooth. On the 7950GX2 it was pretty jerky outdoors and had some mouse lag as well.


Lost Planet Benchmark DX9:
- 8xAF



A nice boost here. About 20% more in the snow level compared to the caves.


Colin McRae Dirt Demo:
- Motion blur OFF
- Shadows on LOW


- Motion blur OFF
- Shadows on ULTRA


Roughly a 60% boost on average between the stock cards. This game really brings modern hardware to its knees. Although apparently the latest patch fixes some performance issues with Ultra shadows. The demo never received this patch.


Overlord:
- Forgot to run the stock 7950GX2 here


A nice increase but interesting to see overclocking does almost nothing here.


Conclusion:
Overall I'm very pleased with the card. I'm happy that I don't have to bother with those SLI profiles anymore. Also mouse lag is gone now although that wasn't much of a problem with SLI but it was there. The card doesn't overclock as well as my 7950GX2 did in terms of gain but 630/2100 is not too shabby considering how hot this thing runs. I'm positively sure that it can go higher without volt mods if it had some better cooling.

[Bman212121]

*scratches head*

Glad you like the card, but I think most everyone around here knows how well it performs.

[Eliminator]

well theres so many reviews but none of them seem consistent and in depth... its always the same games too... so the only way to truly see how it performs was for me to thoroughly test it in a variety games and settings

[Bman212121]

Originally Posted by Eliminator

well theres so many reviews but none of them seem consistent and in depth... its always the same games too... so the only way to truly see how it performs was for me to thoroughly test it in a variety games and settings

I'd have to agree with you on that one. The only way to truely know for yourself is to do some benchmarking on your pc and see how well it runs. Hope you enjoy the card, I've loved mine.

[SLippe]

Welcome to the G80 World!

[Eliminator]

Originally Posted by Bman212121

I'd have to agree with you on that one. The only way to truely know for yourself is to do some benchmarking on your pc and see how well it runs. Hope you enjoy the card, I've loved mine.

thanks and i was going to record the test results anyway so i figured i might as well show it to everyone else

Originally Posted by SLippe

Welcome to the G80 World!

thanks!

[DRen72]

I give you super props for the awesome review. Even if its late to the show, thats an excellent review. Its clear you put time and effort into it and I respect that. Nice work!

[Eliminator]

Originally Posted by DRen72

I give you super props for the awesome review. Even if its late to the show, thats an excellent review. Its clear you put time and effort into it and I respect that. Nice work!

Thanks! yea it took me almost 2 hours to put the all the charts and comparisons together

[mullet]

Eliminator, good job dude!!!!! Thanks for posting well detailed benchmarks.

[shteve]

Nice work. I've made the same move myself, from a 7950GX2 to an 8800GTX and felt it was better (same monitor too ) but cba to stick the old card back in to actually prove it.

[breathemetal]

Awesome review

My move from the ATI x850xt to the Foxconn 8800GTX OC was the best move I've made in a while