With Microsoft Vista and DirectX 10 poised to flood the mainstream market, those looking to take advantage of all of the new OS's capabilities will need a quality graphics solution to appreciate new graphical features and eventually next generation gaming. Currently, the only DirectX 10 ready graphics cards available come in the form of NVIDIA's GeForce 8800 series, while ATI's DirectX 10 solution is still looming off in the distance. At this stage of the game, NVIDIA's GeForce 8800 series comes in two flavors, the high-end GeForce 8800 GTX and the slightly scaled down GeForce 8800 GTS. And, following NVIDIA's reference design, ASUS brings a potent graphics solution to market. - HotHardware

ASUS Extreme N8800 GTX HDCP Compliant Review

The ASUS Extreme N8800 GTX comes with a GeForce 8800 GTX GPU (G80) at its core and doesn't deviate from NVIDIA's reference design. This PCI Express based graphics card comes clocked at 576MHz and is backed by a hefty 768MB of GDDR3 memory. With the memory clocked at 1.8GHz effective, over its 384-bit memory interface, the Extreme N8800 GTX can deliver an impressive 86.4GB per second of bandwidth. The power requirements of the Extreme N8800 GTX may be demanding for some, with a minimum of a 450W being recommended that can deliver 30A to two 12V rails.

The Extreme N8800 GTX comes with two dual link DVI connectors and also support for both TV and HD outputs as well. Another item of question, was the card's two SLI connectors. At this stage of the game, either connector will work while the second is reserved for potential future technology where NVIDIA may implement enhancements that require a second bridge connection. Starting out with a core speed of 576MHz, we manage to add 49MHz, topping out at a stable 625MHz. With the card's GDDR3 memory, we also had good luck, managing to raise the speed from a default of 1800MHz up 100MHz to 1900MHz effective.

As we bring to a close, there are a couple of things to consider. First and foremost, there is no arguing that the ASUS Extreme N8800 GTX is built with the most powerful GPU currently available on the market today. This card barely broke a sweat in a mainstream system, and when it did appear to slow down a bit, all cards performed on roughly the same level, showing other factors were coming into play. At first we were ambivalent about these results, questioning whether a more powerful CPU should have been used or a monitor capable of higher resolutions. In the end, we decided that these tests do have merit.

Selling in the ballpark of $595-629, the ASUS Extreme N8800 GTX doesn't come cheap, and we've see similar models for up to $80 less. Regardless, this card will pay handsome dividends when installed in a system with the power to complement it. On the flip-side of the equation, if the video card costs more than the hardware in your system, you might be throwing cash away. In that case, it may be wise to save a few dollars and set your sights on a card that might be more suited to your current hardware, such as a GeForce 8800 GTS which sells for $200 less and will still bring potent DirectX 10 capabilities to your system.