Okay, make sure your seatbelt is fastened when you are ready to read about this extremely fast graphics card from MSI. So, the GeForce 8800 Ultra is, without doubt, the fastest and most expensive video card that we've looked at. MSI sent us their fastest card for testing, the GeForce 8800 Ultra with overclocked speeds. Easily, the scores posted in most games by this card are the fastest we've seen so far in our labs for an out-of the-box product. Playing with it feels like having a pair of Gatling guns at your disposal. This is certainly a setup up the chain with again topping all other high-end video cards, but does come at a high price tag. But if you are in for the fastest accelerator currently, this is it! - t-break

MSI GeForce 8800 Ultra 768MB Graphics Card Review

A big box houses all the cables and components present with the card. MSI writes all the features and specifications on both sides of the box. The Ultra version has the same size as the GeForce 8800 GTX which by itself is the largest single GPU graphics card we've seen. The fan is relocated on the Ultra with an NVIDIA logo around it which certainly looks cool. Underneath the fan, NVIDIA uses a new GPU which is clocked higher than the stock GeForce 8800 GTX graphics card. Just like the GeForce 8800 GTX, the Ultra uses features two SLI connectors, which is to connect to another GeForce 8800 Ultra card.

We removed the top black plastic cover from the heatsink to see the cooling function and then the complete heatsink to reach the GPU. After cleaning the thermal paste, you can see the Ultra GPU is modeled as G80 A3 revision. Even the memory chips used on the Ultra, the Samsung BJ08 are faster, and running at 0.8ns compared to the GTX's 1.0ns chips. These are mainly responsible for the high memory clock speed that is set for these Samsung chips and running at an impressive 2160MHz effective speed. And which can even be increased to over 2200MHz, if required for those hardcore gamers looking for a bit extra.

We don't need to tell you that the MSI GeForce 8800 Ultra is the fastest graphics card in our labs at the moment. The massive round-up of games that we benchmarked the card under speaks for itself. The GeForce 8800 Ultra managed to stay on top of the GeForce 8800 GTX as well as the Radeon HD 2900 XT comfortably under most games. The only game it was bested in by the Radeon HD 2900 XT is World in Conflict beta under DirectX 10. The card does run hot but is extremely silent. MSI does a good job by bundling Company of Heroes which is one of the best games of last year.

The only downside to the GeForce 8800 Ultra is the pricing. In Dubai, the card runs for about $900. For that amount, you can get two Radeon HD 2900 XT's and run them in Crossfire for possibly better performance. Still, the GeForce 8800 Ultra remains the fastest graphics card for now.