8800GT Personal Review

I finally switched from my 7900GTX to the 8800GT by EVGA. I got the cheapest model which doesnt come with any stock ocing. I thought if i needed to OC i can do it myself. At first I was stoked as i take one pci slot. And it plays all the games like butter. Now I looked at the temps and i am getting over 90c while under load, and like 60c idle. I wonder what the oc'ed cards are like!

It is a very very quiet card, but I noticed that the fan out of the box is at 29% speed. So I tuned it up using nTune. Now the small fan really gets loud at about 50%. Like its screaming. So I keep it at about 40% where its still silent. I get like 55c idle, and 85 load on the highest games. I get like 65 load on other games like Dawn of war or something in that range.

In conclusion I don't regret buying this card, but at the same time my pc is very quiet and cool, and this didint help it in the cool department. Though this card is supposed to handle harsh amounts of heat (the threshold is at 160c) I like things to be cool. I might go with GTX series next time.

Thanx for that VERY helpful, im actually very concerned about heat with my PC and in my Noobish way im taking steps to cool my PC further. Im using a 7800GTX at the moment and it performs well, but OC this card is next to immpossible seeing as the card is already pushed to the limits it seems to hate being pushed anyfurther! Now this 7800 Gets quite Hot about 70c under heavy intensive use, my actual Case Temp even under heavy load is about 40 - 38c and my CPU gets a bit to hot for my liking 60c + .

So im taking steps to fix this but while im doing this i have decided on a new GPU a 8800 now im concerned about the Temp it reaches and im getting angry about the fact i can not adjust the speed of my fans in my computer through the Nvidia Software (Help)! but i have decided to purchase a GPU cooler and an Exhaust for my PC fitting both in at the same time and im hoping for at least 10c knocked off my GPU and 10c off my Case Temp the CPU well i hope i can cool this down more im looking into EASY TO INSTALL Overclocking freindly Fans for this.

It doesnt really matter how hot it is aslong as its designed so its heat wont ruin the card, so it runs great, very close to GTX for half the price, and the only downside is being hotter.. which doesnt really matter because it doesnt effect it :P

hm.. my you should put with rivatuner the card on 100 in load, the noise from games anyway will cover up the "screaming", and u can OC it quite well..

Just how big of a difference was it going from a 7900GTX to an 8800GT? Like did you play CoD 4 with the 7900GTX?

I ordered my Evga 8800GT KO edition last night; I'm not gunna have to worry about sound seeing as its going to be watercooled right after it comes out of the box. :)

Also maybe you should get some sort of aftermarket heatsink, one that has a larger fan that pushes more air while spinning slower resulting in lower temps and sound.

Just how big of a difference was it going from a 7900GTX to an 8800GT? Like did you play CoD 4 with the 7900GTX?

I ordered my Evga 8800GT KO edition last night; I'm not gunna have to worry about sound seeing as its going to be watercooled right after it comes out of the box. :)

Also maybe you should get some sort of aftermarket heatsink, one that has a larger fan that pushes more air while spinning slower resulting in lower temps and sound.

damstr

Yeah. It was a big diffrence. This card is very powerful. I couldnt even play UT3 on Max settings without it lagging here and there, but now it plays like butter. Same with all my other new games. I couldnt max out Quake wars before. Now I can. I havent tried COD4 yet. I am also thinking about a after market cooler, but i dont think many are out yet for this card.

[QUOTE="damstr"]

Just how big of a difference was it going from a 7900GTX to an 8800GT? Like did you play CoD 4 with the 7900GTX?

I ordered my Evga 8800GT KO edition last night; I'm not gunna have to worry about sound seeing as its going to be watercooled right after it comes out of the box. :)

Also maybe you should get some sort of aftermarket heatsink, one that has a larger fan that pushes more air while spinning slower resulting in lower temps and sound.

LaNoOm

Yeah. It was a big diffrence. This card is very powerful. I couldnt even play UT3 on Max settings without it lagging here and there, but now it plays like butter. Same with all my other new games. I couldnt max out Quake wars before. Now I can. I havent tried COD4 yet. I am also thinking about a after market cooler, but i dont think many are out yet for this card.

I couldnt be more happier with my 8800GT. A noticeable improvement over my GTS.Especially at a price of 230CAD after taxes. Miguel16

Mine has been delayed :( from 07-11 to 13-11 . seems like all of sweden is having this . No shop at all has it!dannenissan2

Yeh supply is extremely limited inholland also. I got one for 215 euro's... will take some time before I get it though. Possibly not untill December. Its a good price though. The best I could find...

[QUOTE="dannenissan2"]Mine has been delayed :( from 07-11 to 13-11 . seems like all of sweden is having this . No shop at all has it!PullTheTricker

Yeh supply is extremely limited inholland also. I got one for 215 euro's... will take some time before I get it though. Possibly not untill December. Its a good price though. The best I could find...

futureshop

staff discounted (stockpriceplus 10%)

Nice short review of the card. Lets me know what I'm getting into. I don't have many of the newer games for the PC, I stopped getting them right around the end of 2006, but it looks like I'm in for a very bright future as far as PC gaming goes, if that card is just THAT darned good. :)

I also got the stock clock speed model, so I'll see how it runs. Who knows, maybe I'll write my own review in that blogspace on here I have, someone might just read it.

I'm not sure why people spend money on aftermarket GPU coolers and watercooling and all this stuff to get temps down when they're not having any problems with overheating? I mean I like stuff to run cool and quiet but the components in a computer are designed to run at the stock temps, and if it's not overheating why would you spend money on making it cooler? You're not going to get a perofmance increase unless you're overclocking so really you just spent that money so you can see lower numbers on your temp monitor...?zepp1

Aftermarkter coolers often are quieter and offer lower temps which results in increased stability.

People with air cooling will never reach the OC speeds I will get with watercooling. 850mhz on an 8800GT has been easily acheived on watercooling withvolt modding while keeping temps below 40C @ load.

I don't know if you know this, but watercooling, while spending a lot at first, allows you to buy cheaper parts and OC them to the same speeds as models 3 or 4 times the price.

Like with my X2 3800+ when AMD's were the thing to have a couple years ago. Stock speeds it was2.0ghz, I got it up to 2.9 perfectly stable. At that time I gota $900 CPU for the price of $300. Watercooling allows you to keep buying cheaper parts and eventually pays for itself with the first major hardware upgrade.

Techinally I dont have overheating isssues. Since the threshhold for this card is 160c, but keep in mind if i do decide to overclock then I should probably invest in either an aftermarket cooler or some more case fans or both to keep temps down.

You shouldnt be playing at that resolution. I know you might think its your native resolution, but there is no point. You will get better fps if you turn that res down.

just cover up the "screaming" with your own screams.Works wonders.

[QUOTE="zepp1"]I'm not sure why people spend money on aftermarket GPU coolers and watercooling and all this stuff to get temps down when they're not having any problems with overheating? I mean I like stuff to run cool and quiet but the components in a computer are designed to run at the stock temps, and if it's not overheating why would you spend money on making it cooler? You're not going to get a perofmance increase unless you're overclocking so really you just spent that money so you can see lower numbers on your temp monitor...?damstr

Aftermarkter coolers often are quieter and offer lower temps which results in increased stability.

People with air cooling will never reach the OC speeds I will get with watercooling. 850mhz on an 8800GT has been easily acheived on watercooling withvolt modding while keeping temps below 40C @ load.

I don't know if you know this, but watercooling, while spending a lot at first, allows you to buy cheaper parts and OC them to the same speeds as models 3 or 4 times the price.

Like with my X2 3800+ when AMD's were the thing to have a couple years ago. Stock speeds it was2.0ghz, I got it up to 2.9 perfectly stable. At that time I gota $900 CPU for the price of $300. Watercooling allows you to keep buying cheaper parts and eventually pays for itself with the first major hardware upgrade.

That said, I'm not a believer in overclocking the crap out of a chip using watercooling and crazy case modding. Unless you are just into that type of thing. In terms of money AND time put together, I really think it's more effective to just buy a faster chip in the first place. Or take the money you're going to spend on all that watercooling, extra fans, heatsinks etc, apply it to a better chip and overclock it to a less extreme degree that doesn't require such extreme modifications to your PC. I think overall you get better stability that way. You still get the speed, as you have a faster chip, and you're still overclocking, but you're not going to be pushing the chip to the end of its limits, thus overall being more stable in the long run.

Also, you have to factor in the time of putting together and tweaking the setup. No doubt, if you are an PC/OC'ing enthusiast that just enjoys tweaking and overclocking his rig, it absolutely is the better value, because you enjoy doing that type of thing and have the time and motivation to do it. But I myself just want my rig to fly and I don't want to spend hours upon hours tweaking and testing just to get it there.

To each his own. :)

can anyone tell me if 2 8800GT's are better than the 8800GTX ? I cant find the 8800GT any where:xGTSaiyanjin2

Search pricegrabber.com to find a couple

can anyone tell me if 2 8800GT's are better than the 8800GTX ? I cant find the 8800GT any where:xGTSaiyanjin2

Look on Evga's website. Prices are really nice and there in stock. I bought an 8800GT KO yesterday and it shipped today.

[QUOTE="damstr"]

[QUOTE="zepp1"]I'm not sure why people spend money on aftermarket GPU coolers and watercooling and all this stuff to get temps down when they're not having any problems with overheating? I mean I like stuff to run cool and quiet but the components in a computer are designed to run at the stock temps, and if it's not overheating why would you spend money on making it cooler? You're not going to get a perofmance increase unless you're overclocking so really you just spent that money so you can see lower numbers on your temp monitor...?zepp1

Aftermarkter coolers often are quieter and offer lower temps which results in increased stability.

People with air cooling will never reach the OC speeds I will get with watercooling. 850mhz on an 8800GT has been easily acheived on watercooling withvolt modding while keeping temps below 40C @ load.

I don't know if you know this, but watercooling, while spending a lot at first, allows you to buy cheaper parts and OC them to the same speeds as models 3 or 4 times the price.

Like with my X2 3800+ when AMD's were the thing to have a couple years ago. Stock speeds it was2.0ghz, I got it up to 2.9 perfectly stable. At that time I gota $900 CPU for the price of $300. Watercooling allows you to keep buying cheaper parts and eventually pays for itself with the first major hardware upgrade.

That said, I'm not a believer in overclocking the crap out of a chip using watercooling and crazy case modding. Unless you are just into that type of thing. In terms of money AND time put together, I really think it's more effective to just buy a faster chip in the first place. Or take the money you're going to spend on all that watercooling, extra fans, heatsinks etc, apply it to a better chip and overclock it to a less extreme degree that doesn't require such extreme modifications to your PC. I think overall you get better stability that way. You still get the speed, as you have a faster chip, and you're still overclocking, but you're not going to be pushing the chip to the end of its limits, thus overall being more stable in the long run.

Also, you have to factor in the time of putting together and tweaking the setup. No doubt, if you are an PC/OC'ing enthusiast that just enjoys tweaking and overclocking his rig, it absolutely is the better value, because you enjoy doing that type of thing and have the time and motivation to do it. But I myself just want my rig to fly and I don't want to spend hours upon hours tweaking and testing just to get it there.

To each his own. :)

Well you only have to put it together once. After that it takes no time what so ever to "tweak." I haven't "tweaked" any of my watercooling stuff since from the first time I put it together.

The part where you said taking the money that you would spend on watercooling and putting it towards a new CPU/GPUonly works ONCE. After that your paying full price for higher end for CPU's when you could spend a couple hundred less, and have a faster clock speeds most of the time if you know what your doing. I spent $300 TOTAL for all my watercooling stuff.

I understand what your saying about it not really making sense to get an aftermarket cooler just to see lower temps. Take into consideration that some of these graphic cards can heat up the inside of thecase raising temps even more. So having an aftermarket cooler benifits everything inside the computer not just the graphics card.

just cover up the "screaming" with your own screams.Works wonders.

CoolFX

:lol: :lol:

they have4 version of the 8800GT witch one should I get :?GTSaiyanjin2

Go for which one's price suits you the best. Really won't be THAT much of a difference between them.

Also you wanted to see some SLI'd 8800GT's vs 8800GTX check out this link http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3140&p=12

I was getting temps like that. Then I installed 2 new case fans to exhaust air out of the PCI slots under my card and out of the top of my case, and now my card doesn't even touch 60 degrees load, overclocked to 720/2000 (From 600/1800)Graedien

so how did you get taht pentium 4 in that amd motherboard? must have a used a jackhammer muahahaha

Yeah I got mine from the evga website. I got the chepeast one for $269. It came to $300 with tax and shipping. I got the cheapest shipping, and it came the next day. i have very happy with this card. It perfoms almost as good at the gtx for a lot less. It is very quiet, runs very hot, but the threshold is 160c so it dosent matter, and it only takes one pci slot!

I didint think that it would be worth upgrading from the 7900gtx to this, but I was wrong. This card pwns it. This is the card to get for the next 5 to 6 months!

LaNoOm

You shouldnt be playing at that resolution. I know you might think its your native resolution, but there is no point. You will get better fps if you turn that res down.

i have a 22inch, and if its not at native it looks all funny, so i have to play @ 1680 x 1050 like the person above

I couldnt be more happier with my 8800GT. A noticeable improvement over my GTS.Especially at a price of 230CAD after taxes. Miguel16

Where did you get a deal like that?? I can't find them anywhere for under $250.

It was a huge rumor for the card to be priced at $200-$250. The card is going from around $270-$330, and everything is sold out. I wouldnt be suprised if the prices went up higher.

the cards were sellinga t $200-$240 in Canada for about a day or two. Now theyre all $260-$300cdn. Since our dollar is kicking some serious butt right now, things have gotten a lot cheaper up here, except for cars :(9mmSpliff

Then buy a car lol.

[QUOTE="9mmSpliff"]the cards were sellinga t $200-$240 in Canada for about a day or two. Now theyre all $260-$300cdn. Since our dollar is kicking some serious butt right now, things have gotten a lot cheaper up here, except for cars :(LaNoOm

Then buy a car lol.

Got a new car coming in the Spring time. I have to wait till my new place is done and that way I get a mortgage rate.

[QUOTE="damstr"]

Just how big of a difference was it going from a 7900GTX to an 8800GT? Like did you play CoD 4 with the 7900GTX?

I ordered my Evga 8800GT KO edition last night; I'm not gunna have to worry about sound seeing as its going to be watercooled right after it comes out of the box. :)

Also maybe you should get some sort of aftermarket heatsink, one that has a larger fan that pushes more air while spinning slower resulting in lower temps and sound.

LaNoOm

Yeah. It was a big diffrence. This card is very powerful. I couldnt even play UT3 on Max settings without it lagging here and there, but now it plays like butter. Same with all my other new games. I couldnt max out Quake wars before. Now I can. I havent tried COD4 yet. I am also thinking about a after market cooler, but i dont think many are out yet for this card.

You will be able to max out Call of Duty 4. It's got nice eye candy since the developers use a lot of nifty techniques (look up bloom) that look good and don't strain the system.

[QUOTE="LaNoOm"][QUOTE="damstr"]

Just how big of a difference was it going from a 7900GTX to an 8800GT? Like did you play CoD 4 with the 7900GTX?

I ordered my Evga 8800GT KO edition last night; I'm not gunna have to worry about sound seeing as its going to be watercooled right after it comes out of the box. :)

Also maybe you should get some sort of aftermarket heatsink, one that has a larger fan that pushes more air while spinning slower resulting in lower temps and sound.

drucom

Yeah. It was a big diffrence. This card is very powerful. I couldnt even play UT3 on Max settings without it lagging here and there, but now it plays like butter. Same with all my other new games. I couldnt max out Quake wars before. Now I can. I havent tried COD4 yet. I am also thinking about a after market cooler, but i dont think many are out yet for this card.

Yeah I have been playing Call of Duty 4 latley. It looks great maxed out.

You will be able to max out Call of Duty 4. It's got nice eye candy since the developers use a lot of nifty techniques (look up bloom) that look good and don't strain the system.

[QUOTE="Miguel16"]I couldnt be more happier with my 8800GT. A noticeable improvement over my GTS.Especially at a price of 230CAD after taxes. keither_04

Where did you get a deal like that?? I can't find them anywhere for under $250.