The new Nvidia landscape, where confusion reigns supreme


To say that the new Nvidia naming scheme is confusing is an understatement of titanic proportions. We have only focused on the mid to high end here but gone are the “old” 8800GTS 640MB and 320MB cards; Nvidia has replaced them with a “new” 8800GTS 640MB and the 8800GT-series.

While this fact has flown under many people's radar, November is supposed to mark the release of the new and improved 8800GTS 640MB as well. Yet, from the rumors we have heard, the new and improved 8800GTS may be launching in limited numbers today. Believe it or not, from the information we have seen, there is absolutely no way to determine the new “96+” stream processor 8800GTS from the older, now EOL one. So watch out which 8800GTS you pick up if you swing that way. The best thing to do is to refer to the manufacturer’s product page since this new GTS promises to perform very close to the 8800GTX.

There seems to be good reason why Nvidia decided to do away with the older 8800GTS 640MB and 320MB cards since the 8800GT’s paper specs look like an almost even match for the two G80-based cards. Aside from the lower 256-bit bus, Nvidia has equipped this card with 112 of the all-important stream processors and a shader clock running at a blistering 1500Mhz. Like most of the higher-end Nvidia products, the 8800GT is HDCP compliant but this one is unique as it is PCI-E 2.0 compliant as well. By looking at the specs, it looks like anyone buying this card will get phenomenal value for their money.

Something that should be noted is that for now the 8800GT works with a different driver set than the other cards in Nvidia’s lineup. It ships with the 167.26 drivers which do not seem to be compatible with G80 or G86-based cards.

The rest of the scene ends up looking pretty much the same aside from the inclusion of the 8800GT cards and the death of the 8800GTS 320MB.


The EVGA 8800GT 512MB Superclocked Edition



Today we are going to be looking at the EVGA 8800GT 512MB Superclocked Edition which is pre-overclocked and offered at about $270CAD. With this card you get a 50Mhz overclock on the core, an additional 100Mhz on the memory and the shader clock is bumped up 125Mhz. These are by no means trivial overclocks but EVGA will also be offering their additionally overclocked KO and brand new, insanely overclocked SSC edition in the very near future.

Like with most EVGA cards, you get a Lifetime Warranty and 90-day Step-Up program as well as top-notch tech and RMA support. EVGA’s warranty is modder friendly so it will not be voided by installing a different heatsink. The 90-day Step-Up program provides a very unique opportunity for you to trade in your graphics card within 90 days towards the purchase of a brand new EVGA graphics card. Since both the warranty and the Step-Up program have too many particulars to go into, I would invite you to visit.

EVGA’s website:
Lifetime Warranty: EVGA | EVGA Limited Lifetime Warranty
Step-Up Program: EVGA | Step-Up Program