Test Rig & Configuration

That's it about the card itself, from a hardware and design point of view. Leaving you with all with this impression on the Gainward BLISS 8800 GT 1GB Golden Sample we are going to move to the performance you can expect from this graphics accelerator. The system used to compile and analyze the gaming performance figures is build around the high-end Intel Core 2 Duo technology, which will provide extensive central processing power supporting the G92 visual and processing capabilities. We are using our new and high performing system based around the Intel 975X Express chipset powering our mainboard. So, let's go through the system specifications...

• Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 2.66GHz Dual Core Processor
• ASUS P5W Digital Home Deluxe (i975X) Mainboard
• G.Skill Extreme 2GB PC2-6400 Dual Channel Memory
• Gainward BLISS 8800 GT 1GB Golden Sample Edition
• Point of View GeForce 8800 Ultra 768MB Graphics Card
• Western Digital 320GB Caviar SE 8MB Cache Hard Disk
• Speeze RockeTeer 600W (SLI Ready) Power Supply
• Cooler Master Stacker 832 (RC-832) Tower Case
• Arctic Cooling MX-2 Performance Thermal Compound
• Dell UltraSharp 30" 3007WFP (Black) LCD Flat Display
• Microsoft Windows XP Professional incl. SP2 Edition

As you can see we have used the some high performance components, and we would like to express our thanks to Gainward, G.Skill and Point of View for their generosity on supplying us with some excellent hardware. The ASUS mainboard is based around the Intel 975X chipset supporting the Intel Core 2 Duo processor and DDR2 memory. We will be using our modest Core 2 Duo E6700 but running at 2.66GHz to support the high-end graphics cards. So both the mainboard and CPU are fine tuned for the best optimal settings but running at their default clock speeds. Currently the Core 2 Duo processors are the top of the market, if you looks past the Core 2 Quad series that is, with AMD trailing behind.

Additional Specifications

First we will grab some information from Everest Ultimate Edition and get some feedback on the video card sub system. Lavalys was nice enough to allow us to evaluate their software for our reviews. We really like the wealth of information this utility gives us and we thank Lavalys for their support. Everest Ultimate Edition 2007 is the cutting-edge benchmarking and diagnostics tool to maximize security, performance, and troubleshooting capabilities for home and office PC environments, PC professionals and consulting firms as well as OEM partners and configuration centers worldwide. We ran some analyzing tests using Everest and this is what we got.

Well, the GeForce 8800 GT is not at all so different as to what we have seen previously with the GeForce 8 series cards from NVIDIA. In fact since the GeForce 8 series all the processing logic is based around the unified shader technology. The GeForce 8800 GT is based upon the same technology and architecture to redefine the shader technology as the previously introduced first G80 based GeForce 8800 series. We don't speak anymore about fixed vertex and pixel shaders but about stream processors that can be used according to what is required. So these stream processors are capable of being dynamically allocated to the vertex, pixel, geometry or physics operations. The Gainward BLISS 8800 GT Golden Sample comes clocked at 650/1900MHz with a shader clock of 1625MHz, and these are actually pre-overclocked speeds. The GeForce 8800 GT edition is powered by the G92 core and features 112 stream processors and 16 raster operations units.

One thing we didn't mention yet is what is included in the Gainward bundle, so just to briefly mention that you get a Driver CD, Gainward Quick Start manual, CyberLink PowerDVD software, S-Video cable, DVI to VGA converter, DVI to HDMI converter and a PCI Express power cable. So a very decent bundle with all items included, with on top one game title included. Yes, we must admit it is an older game, but still it is present and the bundle as such is coming at a very attractive price tag. So everything is present even a HDMI converter which is one off the first times to see that delivered with a graphics accelerator. Before going further, we would like to show of the Gainward BLISS 8800 GT Golden Sample card being placed in our system. Let's do that and see how this GeForce 8800 GT graphics card fills up our free PCI Express expansion slot.

Yeah installed and ready to power our system. But before we go on, this card looks good in our system, what are we saying it looks awesome! We can already notice that the cooling does not interfere with any surrounding motherboard components. Now, due to the fact that the Gainward BLISS 8800 GT Golden Sample edition is a dual slot design it takes up a bit more space than the reference single slot design. So you are right, the reference design by NVIDIA for the GeForce 8800 GT doesn't take much roam, but then again the Gainward version comes with a superior decent cooling solution. That's it folks, time to hit up some synthetic benchmarks. We used the ForceWare 169.21 drivers from NVIDIA and will be using Futuremark and AquaMark benchmark utilities and stack up some popular game titles. Let's hit the road...