At the conclusion of our GeForce 8800 GT article, we openly wondered why NVIDIA would continue to offer the GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB in their product lineup? The GeForce 8800 GT consistently outperformed the GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB in our benchmarks, all while residing in a single slot package and officially carrying a price tag that was $100 lower to boot. In our opinion, there was just no good reason for the GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB to continue to exist. Outside of a few very demanding situations, the GeForce 8800 GT was the faster card and simply outclassed the GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB. And, the GeForce 8800 GT sold out at online within hours of the release. - FiringSquad

EVGA GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB SSC Edition Review

With the instant popularity of the GeForce 8800 GT, the question remains, why continue to offer the GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB at all? It turns out that NVIDIA and their board partners had one additional trick up their sleeve for the GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB. Rather than sticking with the original GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB specifications, which call for 96 stream processors running at 1.2GHz and a 500MHz graphics core, a second, more powerful GPU has been concocted that equips newer GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB cards with 112 stream processors, just like the GeForce 8800 GT graphics card.

These newer generation GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB cards also ship with higher speeds than the original GeForce 8800 GTS. Both BFG and EVGA have announced cards built around this enhanced GeForce 8800 GTS GPU and they're both clocked at speeds considerably higher than the original GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB specifications called for. The EVGA card is clocked significantly faster than the BFG board though, sporting 1.35GHz stream processors versus 1.2GHz on the BFG, as well as 1.8GHz memory while the memory on the BFG card is clocked at just 1.7GHz, so we were eager to see how it performed.

We had a tough time scoring EVGA's e-GeForce 8800 GTS SSC edition graphics card. On one hand, thanks to its 112 stream processors and supercharged clock speeds, this is the fastest GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB card we've ever tested. On paper no other GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB card boasts better specifications, including BFG's own GeForce 8800 GTS EE OC edition, which also features 112 stream processors. EVGA also prices this board very aggressively in comparison to other GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB cards, already Newegg carries the card for $360 after $30 mail-in rebate.

Among GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB cards, the EVGA e-GeForce 8800 GTS SSC edition is clearly in a class of its own. On the other hand, the GeForce 8800 GT at stock speeds performs awfully close to the e-GeForce 8800 GTS SSC graphics card. Sure, the EVGA e-GeForce 8800 GTS SSC edition is the faster card overall, but the GeForce 8800 GT definitely gives it a run for its money. A factory overclocked GeForce 8800 GT would likely outrun the e-GeForce 8800 GTS SSC edition. Considering that the GeForce 8800 GT 512MB starts at $250, it's clearly the better overall value if you're on a budget.

Clearly this isn't EVGA's fault, by clocking the board as high as they did they've done all they can to make the e-GeForce 8800 GTS SSC edition into a contender. The problem is they have to walk a fine line where the board needs to best the GeForce 8800 GT without coming too close to the performance of the GeForce 8800 GTX. Based on our performance benchmarks it looks like they've accomplished that mission admirably, but with the SSC's $400 price tag and faster G92 cards rumored to be on the way shortly, we have to wonder if it was all worth it.