MSI vs. ZOTAC: shootout at the GeForce 8800 GTS 512 Corral

Final thoughts

The GeForce 8800 GTS 512 provides near-GeForce 8800 GTX performance but does so with less power-draw, a lower street price, and a fuller 2D feature-set. It beats out the erstwhile 320MiB and 640MiB cards in practically every way but does so at a similar price-point.

The basic architecture is an expansion of the already-popular GeForce 8800 GT 512, although the extra performance lead that it should enjoy over the GT is eroded by a slew of super-overclocked cards such as the ZOTAC AMP! Edition we included in our benchmarks.

Given the lack of competition from ATI in the £200 market, the GeForce 8800 GTS 512 could have been absolutely stonking if it wasn't for the presence of a multitude of highly-clocked GTs that offer similar performance. As it is, it's merely good, partly because NVIDIA limits partner-based overclocking and has passed the SKU over for three-way action.

Turning our concluding attention to the ZOTAC package first, the GeForce GTS 512 AMP! doesn't provide enough of a performance benefit over its GT brethren to garner a recommendation, especially at the £229 price-point. The bundle is relatively weak, which doesn't help matter, and the warranty, obviously, is identical.

The MSI NX8800GTS-T2D512E-OC clocks in at the same frequencies as the ZOTAC - down from the initial highly-overclocked shipment - but offers a better bundle and a much sharper street price of £202.

Got £200 in your pocket and are looking at a modern, feature-rich GPU with lots of overclocking potential? If so, the MSI NX8800GTS-T2D512E-OC fits the bill very nicely indeed.

HEXUS.certification

The ZOTAC GeForce 8800 GTS 512 AMP! Edition successfully passed all of our stringent tests without failure. However, in isolation, this is not an overall recommendation to buy.

ZOTAC GeForce 8800 GTS 512 AMP! Edition

HEXUS Awards

MSI GeForce 8800 GTS 512 OC

HEXUS Where2Buy

The ZOTAC GeForce 8800 GTS 512 AMP! Edition ZT-88SES2P-FCP is currently available for £229.29 here.

The MSI GeForce 8800 GTS 512 OC NX8800GTS-T2D512E-OC) is currently available for £202.06 here