There is no doubt about it, the GeForce 8800 GT might be the fastest selling card that NVIDIA has ever produced. The price versus performance ratio is ideal for the enthusiast community and the feature set is impressive. The GeForce 8800 GT 512MB video card series fills the $199-259 price points, but what about those that want to spend less and still have all the same features? NVIDIA didn't forget about you guys and has just recently released the GeForce 8800 GT 256MB video card that is aimed at the $179-199 price points. The GeForce 8800 GT 512MB is in such high demand the price has remained above $270, so the need for a more budget friendly card is a welcomed addition. - Legit Reviews

XFX GeForce 8800 GT 256MB XXX Video Card Review

With the XFX GeForce 8800 GT 256MB XXX Alpha Dog edition and XFX GeForce 8800 GT 512MB Alpha Dog graphics card sitting side by side, they are impossible to tell apart. The clock frequencies on the reference 256MB cards are 600/1400MHz, but XFX overclocked their XXX edition up to 650MHz on the core and 1600MHz on the memory for even more performance. Since the card we are looking at today it is the XXX edition it has the XXX sticker on the front of the box and a sticker showing that the core clock is 650MHz and not the standard 600MHz core clock frequency.

The GeForce 8800 GT 256MB video card was never designed to compete with higher end graphics card as it only has 256MB of memory. When NVIDIA briefed the media they showed performance charts with standard resolutions when it came to the performance numbers. That right there, goes to show you that this video card is aimed at those with 20" or less monitors running 1600x1200 and lower resolutions. Even at smaller resolutions the GeForce 8800 GT 256MB had a hard time keeping up with the Radeon HD 3850 and Radeon HD 3870, which are priced at or under what the GeForce 8800 GT 256MB is available at.

XFX has done a wonderful job with their XXX edition video card for the GeForce 8800 GT 256MB series. Their improved cooler is a nice touch that makes their GeForce 8800 GT video cards stand out from the rest. It's tough to make a video card stand our from the crowd, but XFX has been finding ways to make it happen. The black PCB makes it by far one of the sexiest video cards we have ever seen, which is a plus for those that want their system to look as good as it performs. The bundle with the XFX GeForce 8800 GT 256MB XXX Alpha Dog edition was solid and it was nice to see the game Lost Planet included with it.

XFX also has a great warranty program where they will repair and service your GeForce 8800 GT series graphics card for as long as you live. Even for those of you who know how to push our cards to the limits, if anything goes wrong, XFX will service it free of charge. All you have to do is register the card with XFX online. If you ever decide to sell or give the card away to someone, XFX will still honor the protection plan for the second owner as well. They just need to register the card with XFX. You get the protection and the added value of being able to pass along a full warranty.

When it comes to pricing the XFX GeForce 8800 GT 256MB XXX Alpha Dog edition that we checked out today runs $230 plus shipping over at Newegg and is in stock at the time of writing. It also has a $10 mail-in rebate right now, so that brings the price down to $220 plus shipping. If you're looking for a graphics card with the latest DirectX 10 features and only play games at lower resolutions then this card should be on your short list of cards to consider. The XFX GeForce 8800 GT 256MB XXX Alpha Dog edition is factory overclocked and features a sexy black PCB that performs just as good as it looks.