G80: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX

DirectX 10 changes a lot of things behind the scenes as the API was starting to be a bottleneck. It mandates more features as standard and introduces the geometry shader. Nothing was introduced to improve image quality as everything done in DirectX 10 can be done in DirectX 9. DirectX 10 is about bringing about high quality images faster in games and easier to create for developers.

i wonder if theyll make an 8950GX2 *creams* now that would be something, and with 3xPCI-16 as the new boards will supposedly have, you could have sex(tuple)-core ;) no doubt youd need like a 2K power supply but heck =P

Originally Posted by Kevin_G
DirectX 10 changes a lot of things behind the scenes as the API was starting to be a bottleneck. It mandates more features as standard and introduces the geometry shader. Nothing was introduced to improve image quality as everything done in DirectX 10 can be done in DirectX 9. DirectX 10 is about bringing about high quality images faster in games and easier to create for developers.

That's true, but the benefit of being a faster API means you can add more detail to scenes and get the same frame rate, which will ultimately mean more detailed games and a more believable image quality.

Are you not able to test this card with Windows Vista + DirectX10 Tim? Or are there no drivers available for this card for Vista? Or is DirectX10 not available for Vista yet? Or maybe there are no applications that use DirectX10 that you can test with?

There are no DirectX 10 games yet, Vista is not final, neither are the DX10 libraries. I don't think there's a driver yet either.

However, that's not to say that we won't be testing GeForce 8800-series again once some DirectX 10 games come out, and Vista/DX10 are final and shipping to customers. The thing we're trying to highlight here is that even with DirectX 9, this card simply kicks ass and based on the fact that Nvidia and Microsoft have been working together since almost the start of DX10 (and the fact that there are no cap bits in the DX10 specification), I believe it'll be a good DirectX 10 performer too.

It just wouldn't make sense for Nvidia to take so many risks with an architecture, only for it to be such a poor performer. The days of GeForce FX are gone and I think Nvidia learned a lot from that era. :)

Just wondering, is there really any point in this card for games such as wow, hl2 css dods, bf2142 etc @ 1280 X 1024.

Im looking to build a new system soon, and just wondering.

I mean, surely with features like HDR + AA with hl2, dods, css etc, i will see the benefit of such a powerful card...

At 1280x1024, you'll be able to run everything at 16xQ AA with maximum details (providing the app works fine with CSAA) - it'll give a fantastic experience, but personally I think the real benefits show up at the higher resolutions, hence why we came to the decision to say that you're better with a 24" - 30" widescreen. :)

I've been using a GTS at home over the weekend, and I can't help but feel I need a bigger monitor (I run 2x 17" TFT's) to really get the most out of it. I'm already considering buying a 24" Dell or a Samsung 215TW so that there's more resolution to play with. :)

Originally Posted by DrewBear11

I mean, surely with features like HDR + AA with hl2, dods, css etc, i will see the benefit of such a powerful card...

certainly no point with source games.. i could max out hl2 completely on a x1800xt 256mb using a 17" 1280x1024 monitor.

Alright cheers guys...

........... buys lottery ticket..

I was wondering, does the chip which is basically the RAMDAC need to be cooled with a heatsink?

I'm planning on getting a GTS and currently have a chrome Danger Den Maze4 that I just bought a month ago.

Of course I'll call DD and ask their opinion on it, as well.

Well..

if it has a heatsink it will proberly need a heatsink i guess

I think it will need to be cooled - BFG Tech's watercooler covers it.

Tim, just like to say thanks for the case advice, couldnt quite aford the 830 but got the older 810 or what ever it is :) bags of rooom. and its not too big to go on the desk so all's good.

Originally Posted by phat-ant
Tim, just like to say thanks for the case advice, couldnt quite aford the 830 but got the older 810 or what ever it is :) bags of rooom. and its not too big to go on the desk so all's good.

no problem ;)

I too was wondering why it needs cooling, but what else does this RAMDAC do that previous ones don't?

The NVIO chip could be doing quite a number of things. It looks to be handling HDCP for the dual link DVI connectors and SLI connectivity (the traces for the SLI connectors appear to run into this chip) besides RAMDAC functionality. The chip may have a digital audio pass through functionality for HDMI connectors. There is a spot at the end of the board where a 6 pin header can be soldered on, this could easy be for digital audio in for HDMI (or many other things).

Replacing this chip alone could easily add video in/out and audio functionality to the card without having to redesign the entire GPU. There are two other digital display technologies on the horizon - Unified Display Interface and Display Port. Having an external chip control what connector is used allows for a bit of flexibility instead of wasting precious silicon space on the GPU itself to support all the various display technologies. By having an external chip for display out put should also for the main GPU to clock higher by not having to deal with as much noisy analog circuitry on chip.

The downside to the NVIO is the additional cost of another chip and a more complex board layout. The GF 8800GTX board layout is insanely complex with a 384 bit wide memory bus anyway so that is pretty much a null point.

I have a question how loud is this card I couldnt find anything in the articale but I might have missed it.

The card itself is absolutely massive: we're talking 7900 GX2 length here - it's just over 27cm in length, so it's not going to fit in every case. The cooler is obviously dual-slot, and has a very odd fan design, with fins around the outside of the of the unit rather than spoking out from the middle. The great thing is that while it looks odd, it's incredibly good at it's job - this is one of the quietest coolers we've ever come across.

Found on page 1. :)

Ah stupid me thanks

I notice that the Battlefield 2142 (BF2142) test show it running at 1920x1280, how did they do that? AFAIK, 1600x1200 is the maximum resolution allowed. Trying to force 1920x1200 does not work as a command line option as it did in BF2. :?

Hi and welcome to the forums. :)

We used the widescreen hack described on widescreengamingforum - it doesn't enable "true" widescreen because it doesn't change the field of view, but it does allow you to run the game at your screen's native resolution: http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6240

Hope this helps

Tim