NVIDIA is back with a new high-end graphics card called the GeForce 8800 Ultra which replaces the GeForce 8800 GTX as the top dog in the NVIDIA line up. We are going to take a look at the XFX GeForce 8800 Ultra XXX edition which is a factory overclocked version of the GeForce 8800 Ultra. NVIDIA is catching a lot of heat for the GeForce 8800 Ultra since it doesn't bring any new features to the table that you don't already have if you own a GeForce 8800 GTX. Really the only difference between the GeForce 8800 GTX and the Ultra are the clock speeds, the remaining technology is the same, though slightly optimized. How well does the XFX GeForce 8800 Ultra XXX edition perform? - I4U News

XFX GeForce 8800 Ultra 768MB XXX Edition Review

XFX clocks their GeForce 8800 Ultra XXX edition with a core speed of 675MHz, a shader clock of 1500MHz, and a memory clock of 2300MHz. To compare, the stock GeForce 8800 Ultra from XFX has a core speed of 612MHz and a memory clock of 2160MHz and the GeForce 8800 GTX from XFX carries a core clock of 575MHz and a memory clock of 1800MHz. All other features between the GeForce 8800 Ultra and the GTX are the same. By that it means that the GTX and Ultra are actually sharing the same G80 chip, although the version used on the Ultra edition comes from their more optimized production line.

As mentioned at the start of this article, NVIDIA was catching lots of flack from users and reviewers on the GeForce 8800 Ultra graphics cards, mostly centered around its pricing. Lots of people are comparing it to the performance of overclocked GeForce 8800 GTX cards too, which sometimes out perform the stock clocked GeForce 8800 Ultra. We can't really speak to that since we don't have a stock clocked GeForce 8800 Ultra to check. What we can say is that people didn't complain so much when the overclocked GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB cards outperformed the stock GeForce 8800 GTS cards.

Personally we think that the irritation people feel is the pricing, with a stock GeForce 8800 Ultra going for $829 and the XXX edition going for more than that price. We seem to recall the same complaints being made about most of the newest, fastest cards on the market. If you want the fastest and best card around, you are going to pay for it. We found the performance of the XFX GeForce 8800 Ultra XXX edition to be quite good, whether or not the performance is worth the price of admission is an individual question. Those having the cash and looking for the fastest card around shouldn't look any further.

As for the performance of the XFX GeForce 8800 Ultra XXX edition, there is no doubt that it is the best performing card around no matter what you think of the price. If you want the most performance you can get, the XFX GeForce 8800 Ultra XXX edition is the card you want. Look at it this way; you don't go to a Ferrari dealership looking for the fastest car on the road and gripe about price. If it's too expensive for you to justify buying, shop elsewhere.