Final thoughts, HEXUS.awards and HEXUS.right2reply

If you want the fastest single (default-clocked) graphics card in town, one that can paint the prettiest pixels (DX10) and run games smoothly at insane resolutions, look no further than the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 Ultra 768MiB SKU.

Think of it as a GeForce 8800 GTX OC Edition and you won't be far wrong. NVIDIA's massaged out any kinks in the G80 manufacturing process and released a model that is, on average, around 12 per cent fastest in most card-limited scenarios, thanks to the use of a faster core (612MHz) higher-clocked shaders (1500MHz) and faster memory (2160MHz).

What's pleasing is that NVIDIA's been able to accomplish this performance leap without sacrificing the GTX's quietness and, going hand in hand, by keeping power requirements (according to NVIDIA and not HEXUS' testing) at similar levels whilst increasing clocks. Overclocking, too, was impressive, and we expect partners to launch super-clocked Ultras featuring 650MHz+ core speeds.

The NVIDIA GeForce 8800 Ultra, then, is a drop-in performance upgrade for any PCIe-based motherboard, and will provide even better performance when coupled with another on an nForce SLI-supporting platform.

There are, however, a couple of obstacles in recommending the GeForce 8800 Ultra outright. The first is price. NVIDIA and its partners will charge close to £500 for a single Ultra. That's at least a £100 price premium over the already-expensive GeForce 8800 GTX, so whilst performance improves by just over 10 per cent, price is raised by over 20 per cent. That's what the Ultra's low HEXUS.bang4buck metric, on the previous page, demonstrates. Secondly, there are a number of overclocked GeForce 8800 GTXs already available that offer similar performance, for less money.

The high single-card price automatically brings other multi-GPU setups into play. Would it be better, in performance terms, to invest in two GeForce 8800 GTS 640 or Radeon X1950 XTX cards rather in a single Ultra? Perhaps, and we'll find out in due course. Lastly, AMD's Radeon riposte is close at hand, and any enthusiast owes it to themselves to wait and see what kind of performance/price the range-topping HD 2900 XT arrives at. Stock is due to arrive in the channel by May 15th. That'll be an important day for all concerned.

Bottom line: The NVIDIA GeForce 8800 Ultra 768MiB is the fastest single graphics card SKU on the planet and should make for the speediest multi-GPU setup, too. The question of whether it's worth the near-£500 outlay can only fully be answered in the next few weeks.

HEXUS Awards

NVIDIA GeForce 8800 Ultra 768MiB

HEXUS Where2Buy

TBC.

HEXUS Right2Reply

At HEXUS.net, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on our articles. If any of NVIDIA's representatives choose to do so, we'll publish their commentary here verbatim.

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HEXUS.net - reviews ::ASUS EN8800GTX GeForce 8800 GTX 768MiB
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Can't fault the performance…can fault the price though!!

Erm, who the hell can afford this card?

If you wanted two for sli god that would be a fortune!

Bearing in mind that it will be far from the quickest card in 6months and the cost seems even worse.

Anandtechs review sums it up:
(http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2979&p=10)

Often, when reviewing hardware, it is difficult to draw a hard line and state with total confidence that our conclusions are the only logical ones that can be drawn from the facts. We try very hard to eliminate personal opinion from our reviews and provide readers with enough information to form their own well educated opinions. We try to point out the downsides of the best products out there, as well as the niche uses for which otherwise disappointing hardware might shine. So often our job is about balance and temperance.

But not this time: The NVIDIA GeForce 8800 Ultra is an utter waste of money.

It is a pointless card though considering most overclocked GTXs come very close to it. Although the Ultra can be overclocked even further.

ROFL @ Anandtech

Anantech hit the nail with this one.

However, it's great to see Hexus produce power draw figures. Can we please start quoting them when people ask if they need a 600+W power supply?!