Just over a year ago or an eon when we're talking computer technology, NVIDIA introduced the beginning of what might well be the longest running series of graphics solutions in history, the GeForce 8800. Initially the GeForce 8800 GTX reference card took center stage in November of 2006 and totally rocked the gaming world by being the fastest card the world had seen up until this time. In what most would call brilliant business strategy NVIDIA then began to fill in the void created beneath the GeForce 8800 GTX with many different iterations of both lesser and overclocked cards all then based on their 90nm fabrication process also termed the G80 technology. - Bjorn3D

ASUS Extreme N8800 GTS TOP Version Card Review

Almost a year later when rumors were abounding about an even faster series of graphics solutions in the offing, NVIDIA again came through. This time it wasn't a new series of cards, but a die shrink of their 90nm wonder to 65nm and a new moniker, the G92. There is most certainly a solution available for any consumer's needs. The only real problem is trying to keep up with all the model numbers as many of them have been used with both the G80 and G92 versions. Alas, we're a consumer enthusiast minded and we're not focusing our attention on anything but the fastest and best in show, and so also today.

As with the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT, the GeForce 8800 GTS is manufactured with a die shrink of their chipset from the previous 90nm standard with the other GeForce 8800 graphics down to 65nm used in G92 chip onboard. This die shrink process has allowed the G92 chip to utilize more transistors as opposed to its G80 counterpart. It is also our understanding that the GeForce 8800 GTS follows in the GT tradition by relegating much of the video processing to the GPU thus being somewhat less demanding of the CPU. There are some other new and innovative processes at work that will maintain higher frame rates.

With the most recent graphics cards we received we have noted that many of the manufacturers have opted for a smaller, less bulky container to house their product. ASUS continues to ship their products in a larger more robust package that is no less protective of the containers valuable contents. Unlike the GeForce 8800 GT which occupies only slot, the ASUS Extreme N8800 GTS TOP returns to the dual slotted architecture that we have grown to know in previous iterations of the card which utilized the 90nm G80 GPU. The graphics on the card's exterior are quite beautiful although these won't be viewed much.

One can almost certainly question the logic of attempting to further overclock and already factory overclocked graphics card. We pursued this endeavor to primarily find out how much headroom this card actually had. We realized that our results would be somewhat limited primarily by the fact that we are using Windows Vista as our operating system of choice. That being said were able to reach a core clock of 775MHz and a memory clock of 2210MHz effective. Another completely awesome video card has hit the market and we're sure that it will titillate both the general consumer and computer enthusiast alike.

The ASUS Extreme N8800 GTS TOP retails for $379 but our search revealed that the stock is currently low in most of the online vendors. This price is on a par with other overclocked G92 based GeForce 8800 GTS graphics solutions and from our research the Extreme N8800 GTS is the fastest of the lot currently available. One negative we found with this card was that ASUS only offers a three year warranty as opposed to a lifetime and even double lifetime warranty offered by their competitors. We do however heartily recommend this card to the general consumer and enthusiast wanting the best currently available.