Currently on the market, you can find two cards based on NVIDIA's G92 graphics processor, and you know them as GeForce 8800 GT and GTS. NVIDIA's G92 chip is made in 65nm and it's a great processor with excellent bang for the buck ratio. We've already checked out numerous cards based on this chip, but since Gainward has been kind enough to supply us with a GeForce 8800 GTS at reference speeds, we shall remind you, as well as ourselves, of what you should expect from NVIDIA's latest offspring. The card follows the standard Gainward looks and feel, but isn't much more than a standard GeForce 8800 GTS graphics card following the reference design. - FudZilla

Gainward BLISS 8800 GTS 512MB Video Card Review

The BLISS 8800 GTS core runs at 650MHz, memory is clocked at 1940MHz and shaders at 1625MHz. Compared to the old G80 based GeForce 8800 GTS with 96 stream processors, the new GeForce 8800 GTS packs 128 of these babies, while the GeForce 8800 GT has 112 shaders. The new graphics chip is also much better for playing HD Video content, because the new G92 based cards feature the VP2 engine for HD Video processing, and they're the first PCI Express 2.0 cards coming from NVIDIA. New GeForce 8800 GTS cards feature a 256-bit memory bus, and comes with 512MB memory running at 1940MHz.

The old GeForce 8800 GTS had 320-bit memory, so the cards came with an odd 640MB of GDDR3 memory, or 320MB for the cheaper version, and the memory ran at 1600MHz. Looks wise, Gainward didn't change anything. The cooler is still the same reference one that performs silently. We've seen Gainward's cooler specially designed for the GeForce 8800 GT cards, but they didn't incorporate it into their first version of G92 based GeForce 8800 GTS. Although the cooler is the reference one, it performs quite well. During regular work and gaming it's almost inaudible, but after increasing the fan speed, it became quite loud.

If you've heard GeForce 8800 GT's fan noise, then you know what we're talking about. Our overclocking went well and we reached 800MHz core speed, and the card ran stable. We probably could have gone even further, but due to stability we decided to stay on the 800MHz mark. The large copper base is positioned on the graphics processor, and three heatpipes stretch from it to help with cooling. The fan is much better than the one on the GeForce 8800 GT cards, on the GeForce 8800 GTS it blows the heat out of the case. The fan is angled and it's rear is a bit elevated, which probably helps better cool the card.

We checked the Gainward BLISS 8800 GTS 512MB card running at reference speeds. This is a standard GeForce 8800 GTS but with a lot of overclocking potential. The 65nm G92 graphics chip is good enough to run at 800MHz, maybe even higher. It is cool and quiet during gaming, and that really matters. At certain resolutions, overclocked GeForce 8800 GT cards can match a GeForce 8800 GTS performance, but once you overclock a GeForce 8800 GTS there's no way that a GT card can catch up. The price of a GTS starts at $300, whereas you can find a GeForce 8800 GT for around $200.

It's hard to find cards costing this much, but we've found Gainward BLIS 8800 GTS version for about $325. This is not the lowest priced GTS around, but its overclocking potential is good. If you're impatient and want to make a fresh start in 2008 with a brand new card, then just reach out and grab yourself a Gainward because we heartily recommend it.