The Stage is Set…sort of


Like I mentioned in the EVGA 8800GT review about a week ago, the current lineup of Nvidia graphics cards is about as clear as muddy water. While the EVGA 8800GTS SSC is one of the new kids on the block, it looks very much like the older (now discontinued) 8800GTS 640MB. Just to confuse you a little bit more, Nvidia and their board partners are calling this “refreshed” card the same thing as the card it replaces which is….you guessed it!! The 8800GTS. Buyer beware at retailers because it can be very easy to mix up the older 96-shader processor equipped 8800GTS with the new 112 shader processor (which we will call “SP”) 8800GTS. Here are the three products which we know to currently use the 112SP G80 core:

EVGA 8800GTS 640MB SSC Edition
XFX 8800GTS 640MB Alpha Dog
BFG 8800GTS 640MB Extreme Edition

There may be others but they haven’t made it to retail yet or they are not coming at all.

The 112 shader processors put this 8800GTS in-line with the count on the new G92-equipped 8800GT yet on paper the less expensive GT has faster clocks across the board and a core that generates less heat and ultimately consumes less power. The new 8800GTS on the other hand has the edge in the amount of memory and in the bus width as well. This should benefit it quite a bit at higher resolutions.


The EVGA 8800GTS 640MB SSC Edition


Compared to one of the EOL 8800GTS 640MB cards, the EVGA SSC Edition reigns supreme in every category. The additional stream processors and increase in clock speeds should allow it to perform nearly on-par with an 8800GTX in a few categories. This means it may also be direct competition for the 8800GT as well. Since this is the (I kid you not) Super Super Clocked Edition, it may already be running near redline so it will also be interesting to see how far it will overclock.

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


G80…..NOT G92


Since our first teaser post was put live, the forums have been afire with speculation that this is the new G92-based 8800GTS and it will be on sale “in a few weeks time”. Nothing could be further from the truth since this is a G80-based card with a few unlocked Stream Processors and it is already being sold by various online retailers. The 112 SPs do put it neck and neck with the 8800GT in this department but it is still the “older” G80-A2 GPU core powering this card.