ZOTAC 8800 GT AMP! Edition

When you think of discrete graphics, your probably don't think low-end. It's very common, as with most things we can buy, for people to immediately shoot for the stars. In the video card world, this usually means discussing only the best money can buy, and this is the start of a bigger mistake. Very recently NVIDIA released their newest addition to the GeForce family: the 9600 GT. While it offers solid performance for the lower mid-range of discrete graphics, NVIDIA's 9th generation of video cards has only one offering thus far. Essentially, the latest is by far not the greatest.

Since the remaining heavyweights are soon to be replaced by the upcoming GeForce 9800 GTX and 9800 GX2 in just another month, there seems to be a gaping hole left in the new lineup. This is where the market will continue to cling onto the tried and true mid-range solution: the GeForce 8800 GT. Not so long ago here at Benchmark Reviews, we offered a very unique comparison of the GeForce 8800 Graphics Performance: GT vs GTS vs GTX. In this article, it was shown that a more affordable 8800 GT could easily beat an overclocked 8800 GTS and compare to the far more expensive 8800 GTX. Well now we can do one better because ZOTAC offers an 8800 GT that not only directly competes with the 8800 GTX, but it goes places nobody else in the 8800 series can: HDMI digital audio and video output.

Powered by NVIDIA's G92 graphics processor, the ZOTAC GeForce 8800 GT 512MB AMP! Edition HDMI output ZT-88TES3P-FCP video card takes performance to another level by boosting core clock speed to 700 MHz and GDDR3 memory to 2000 MHz. For that extra performance boost in intense gaming situations, ZOTAC has 112 supercharged 1700 MHz stream processors to offer unmatched performance-per-dollar.

The new PCI Express 2.0 interface delivers 5.0 GBps of graphical bandwidth; twice the data throughput offered in the older PCI Express x16 bus which it replaces. In the new generation PCI Express 2.0 compatible motherboards, such as the Gigabyte GA-X48T-DQ6 we used for testing, while remaining backwards compatible with existing PCI Express x16 motherboards. The new PCI Express 2.0 interface sends data to the graphics card‘s 512MB of GDDR3 video memory for smooth performance and realistic textures in current and next-generation PC games. The 512MB of GDDR3 video memory communicates with the graphics processor through a wide 256-bit memory interface.

The new ZOTAC GeForce 8800 GT AMP! Edition with HDMI output features S/PDIF audio input to connect to any sound card. ZOTAC includes all necessary adapters and cables in the package for easy HDMI connectivity. The ZOTAC GeForce 8800 GT and GeForce 8800 GT AMP! Edition includes a DVI-to-HDMI adapter and S/PDIF audio input cables. HDMI audio and video output is a unique ZOTAC feature to its GeForce 8 series of graphics card. No other NVIDIA AIC, or add-in card, partner implements this feature across its entire GeForce 8 series product lineup.

"With our new ZOTAC GeForce 8800 GT AMP! Edition, we further differentiate ourselves from our competitors," Carsten Berger, marketing director, said. " Our unique PCB design with HDMI audio and video output features are a ZOTAC exclusive that provides greater value and exclusivity to our graphics cards."

Benchmark Reviews tests the new ZOTAC GeForce 8800 GT 512MB AMP! Edition ZT-88TES3P-FCP discrete graphics card against the most widely used NVIDIA product: the GeForce 8800 GTS and 8800 GTX.

About the company: ZOTAC International (MCO) Limited

ZOTAC International (MCO) Limited was established in 2006 with a mission to deliver superb quality of NVIDIA graphic solutions to the industry. It has strong backup from parent group, PC Partner Ltd. Headquartered in Hong Kong, factory in Mainland China and regional sales offices in Europe, Asia Pacific and North America. The support ZOTAC provides is currently the largest of its kind around the world.

With 40 SMT lines, 6,000 workers and 100,000 square-feet meter, ZOTAC features a full array of state-of-the-art facilities and machinery. In addition, ZOTAC has over 130 R&D professionals in Hong Kong, China and warranty and service center in strategic countries to enable effective and efficient worldwide as well as localized sales and marketing supports.

ZOTAC with NVIDIA not only means superb quality, it also means high performance, absolute reliability and great value. In the past year, ZOTAC was compared and tested by several influential members in the media and have proven its products are good quality, worth-to-buy graphic cards in the market. With the product features of overclocked performance, excellent cooling properties and unique packaging ZOTAC products definitely exceed users' expectations.

ZOTAC's commitment to our user is to bring the latest products quickly to the market with the best value. Doubtless to say ZOTAC is the right choice for those who require high-quality graphic solutions. For additional information please visit the ZOTAC website.

Backed by NVIDIA's Lumenex Engine, the ZOTAC GeForce 8800 GT AMP! Edition delivers true 128-bit floating point high dynamic range (referred to as HDR), lighting capabilities with up to 16x full-screen anti-aliasing. Second-generation NVIDIA PureVideo HD technology with HDCP compliance delivers the ultimate high-definition video viewing experience to the ZOTAC GeForce 8800 GT 512MB AMP! Edition HDMI output ZT-88TES3P-FCP graphics card.

With hardware decoding for Blu-ray and HD DVD formats, PureVideo HD technology lowers CPU utilization when watching high-definition video formats by decoding the entire video stream in the graphics processor, freeing up the processor for other tasks. In addition to low CPU utilization, PureVideo HD enhances standard definition video content with de-interlacing and other post-processing algorithms to ensure standard DVD movies look their best on the PC screen and high-definition television sets. High definition content protection, or HDCP, technology ensures a secure connection between the ZOTAC GeForce 8800 GT AMP! Edition graphics card and an HDCP capable monitor for viewing protected content such as high-definition Blu-ray or HD DVD movies.

Coupled with PureVideo HD technology, the ZOTAC GeForce 8800 GT AMP! Edition deliver the ultimate multimedia experience. HDMI technology allows users to connect PCs to high-definition television sets with a single cable, delivering high-definition surround sound audio and video with resolutions up to 1080p. PureVideo HD technology scales video in the highest quality up to resolutions of 2560x1600 - from standard and high-definition file formats -- while preserving the details of the original content. PureVideo HD technology also accelerates high-definition video decode, freeing up CPU cycles while watching high-definition Blu-ray and HD DVD movies or other VC-1 and H.264 encoded file formats.

NVIDIA Unified Architecture

• Unified shader architecture
• GigaThread^TM technology
• Full support for Microsoft DirectX 10
• Geometry shaders
• Geometry instancing
• Streamed output
• Shader Model 4.0
• Full 128-bit floating point precision through the entire rendering pipeline

NVIDIA Lumenex Engine

• 16x full screen anti-aliasing
• Transparent multisampling and transparent supersampling
• 16x angle independent anisotropic filtering
• 128-bit floating point high dynamic-range (HDR) lighting with anti-aliasing
• 32-bit per component floating point texture filtering and blending
• Advanced lossless compression algorithms for color, texture, and z-data
• Support for normal map compression
• Z-cull
• Early-Z

NVIDIA Quantum Effects Technology

• Advanced shader processors architecture for physics computation
• Simulate and render physics effects on the graphics processor

NVIDIA SLI Technology

• Patented hardware and software technology allows two GeForce-based graphics cards to run in parallel to scale performance and enhance image quality on today's top titles.

NVIDIA PureVideoTM HD Technology

• Dedicated on-chip video processor
• High-definition H.264, VC-1, MPEG2 and WMV9 decode acceleration
• Advanced spatial-temporal de-interlacing
• HDCP capable3
• Spatial-Temporal De-Interlacing
• Noise Reduction
• Edge Enhancement
• Bad Edit Correction
• Inverse telecine (2:2 and 3:2 pull-down correction)
• High-quality scaling
• Video color correction
• Microsoft Video Mixing Renderer (VMR) support

Advanced Display Functionality

• Two dual-link DVI outputs for digital flat panel display resolutions up to 2560x1600
• One dual-link DVI outputs for digital flat panel display resolutions up to 2560x16004
• Dual integrated 400MHz RAMDACs for analog display resolutions up to and including 2048x1536 at 85Hz
• Integrated HDTV encoder provides analog TV-output (Component/Composite/S-Video) up to 1080i resolution
• NVIDIA nView multi-display technology capability
• 10-bit display processing

Built for Microsoft Windows Vista

• Full DirectX 10 support
• Dedicated graphics processor powers the new Windows Vista Aero 3D user interface
• VMR-based video architecture

High Speed Interfaces

• Designed for PCI Express x16
• Designed for high-speed GDDR3 and DDR2 memory

Operating Systems

• Built for Microsoft Windows Vista
• Windows XP/Windows XP 64
• Linux

API Support

• Complete DirectX support, including Microsoft DirectX 10 Shader Model 4.0
• Full OpenGL support, including OpenGL 2.0

ZT-88TES3P-FCP Specifications

Coupled with PureVideo HD technology, the ZOTAC GeForce 8800 GT AMP! Edition deliver the ultimate multimedia experience. HDMI technology allows users to connect PCs to high-definition television sets with a single cable, delivering high-definition surround sound audio and video with resolutions up to 1080p. PureVideo HD technology scales video in the highest quality up to resolutions of 2560x1600 - from standard and high-definition file formats -- while preserving the details of the original content. PureVideo HD technology also accelerates high-definition video decode, freeing up CPU cycles while watching high-definition Blu-ray and HD DVD movies or other VC-1 and H.264 encoded file formats.

• ZOTAC GeForce 8800 GT AMP! Edition now with HDMI audio and video output
• DVI-to-HDMI adapter and S/PDIF cable included
• HDMI 480p/720p/1080i/1080p resolutions
• PCI Express 2.0 interface
• Backwards compatible with PCI Express x16
• DirectX 10 with Shader Model 4.0 compatible
• 112 stream processors
• Single-slot active cooling solution
• 512MB GDDR3 memory
• 256-bit memory interface
• PureVideo HD technology with hardware decoding of high-definition video formats
• Dual dual-link DVI - up to 2560x1600
• HDTV output - 480p/720p/1080i/1080p
• S-Video output

Graphics Processing Unit

• NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT @ 660MHz engine clock
• 112 Stream Processors
• Dual 400 MHz RamDAC
• Max. Resolution @ 2560 x 1600
• True 128-bit floating point high dynamic-range (HDR) lighting with 16x full- screen anti-aliasing

Memory

• 512MB GDDR3
• 1800MHz memory clock
• 256-bit memory bus

Bus Support

• PCI Express x16 2.0 (compatible with PCIe x16)

3D Acceleration

• Microsoft DirectX10 support
• Unified Shader Model 4.0
• OpenGL 2.0

External Connectors

• Dual DVI-I Connector
• TV-Out (S-video) Connector

Others

• HDTV Ready
• Vista Ready
• SLI Ready
• HDCP Ready
• DVI Audio
• Dual Link Dual DVI
• RoHS Compliant

The ZOTAC GeForce 8800 GT AMP! Edition features greater performance tweaking to extract even greater performance. Starting with an NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT graphics processor clocked at 700 MHz, the ZOTAC GeForce 8800 GT AMP! Edition is all about performance

ZOTAC engineers took performance even further by supercharging the shader and memory clock speeds. The ZOTAC GeForce 8800 GT AMP! Edition features highly optimized shaders running at 1700 MHz -- up 100 MHz from stock. Memory is also tweaked to 2000 MHz -- a 10 percent boost -- for the ultimate out-of-box gaming experience.

Specifications:

ZOTAC 8800 GT AMP! Closer Look

Just as I mentioned in the article introduction, NVIDIA is now enjoying it's ninth generation of GeForce offspring. This leaves most people wondering what becomes of the eighth generation of products, since they have become the cornerstone of any gamers system over the past two years. Since the October 27th, 2007 when NVIDIA lifted the embargo on their much-anticipated G92 and launched the GeForce 8800 GT video card, there has been a whirl-wind of success behind the product

The GeForce 8800 GT is the first graphics card to transition to the more efficient 65nm process, and the first to support PCI-Express 2.0. When NVIDIA originally released the GeForce 8800 series back on November 8th, 2006 the gaming industry was stunned. The performance yielded by the newly minted top-level 8800 GTX nearly doubled that of the next best offerings prior to their launch. Even the slightly less powerful 8800 GTS managed to post similarly astonishing results, making their release a double-whammy for an already trailing competition. At that particular time, the high price tag seemed acceptable for a narrow majority. But here we are a generation later, and the product line may still have some deep roots.

ZOTAC improves upon NVIDIA's reference design with their own versions of the GeForce 8800 GT video card. The featured product for our review is the ZOTAC GeForce 8800 GT 512MB AMP! Edition HDMI output ZT-88TES3P-FCP. ZOTAC presently offers four variations of the GeForce 8800 GT, to include this extremely overclocked AMP! Edition boasting performance at the very edge of the G92's capabilities. NVIDIA released a 256MB version of the 8800 GT with lower memory speeds (1.4 GHz as opposed to 1.8 GHz) but the same reference core clock, however benchmarks have shown that the 256 MB version of the 8800 GT performs noticeably worse than its 512 MB counterpart, especially in newer games such as Crysis.

In the image above, look closely at the exhaust area of the GT, where there is a small white connection recepticle. This connection is for the digital audio cable which comes with the ZOTAC GeForce 8800 GT AMP! video card kit. Combined with the included HDMI-to-DVI adapter, you can transmit fully digital audio and video signal through your entertainment system or home theater.

The image below is of the included HDMI audio output cable. This connects between the video card, and either your motherboard or sound card digital input pins. Not all motherboards and sound cards support this option, so make sure it's available before you make your purchase.

Because the HDMI audio functionality is controlled at a hardware level, there is no need for additional drivers or software. Much like the SPDIF connection on the back of a motherboard, the video cards audio out function is plug-n-play. This feature worked perfectly with the HT Omega Claro Plus+ AD8620BR Op Amp Sound Card it was tested with. Once I figured out the polarity of the S/PDIF input port on the sound card, both pins fit in nicely.

The 8800 GT, unlike other 8800 cards, is equipped with the PureVideo 2 engine for GPU assisted decoding of the H.264 and VC-1 CODEC's. Performance benchmarks of family products at reference stock speeds place it above the 8800 GTS (640MB and 320MB versions) and slightly below the 8800 GTX. This in an important NVIDIA factoid that plays well into our own benchmarks later on in this article.

NIVIDA has designed the GeForce 8800 GT to be a more efficient (and more powerful) addition to the 8th Generation of GeForce products. While the performance may be on-par with the power-hungry GeForce 8800 GTX, it should please you to learn that the ZOTAC GeForce 8800 GT AMP! Edition graphics card consumes almost half the power under high-power full 3D load.

In comparison to our (extremely) overclocked G80-based GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB which consumes 72 additional watts of power when switching from low to high-power mode, the G92-based GeForce 8800 GT AMP! Edition only raises the level 59W under full load.

Please continue on to the next section as Benchmark Reviews literally uncovers the ZOTAC GeForce 8800 GT AMP! Edition for a closer inspection.

ZT-88TES3P-FCP Detailed Features

So now that you're up to speed with the many features NVIDIA has loaded into the GeForce 8800 GT, it's time to take a closer look into the inner-workings of this add-in card partner. ZOTAC designs the ZT-88TES3P-FCP from the reference NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512MB video card, however there are many area's where ZOTAC has gone above and beyond the call of duty.

Ever since the GeForce 8800 GTX and GTS were first released, the double-size graphics card was adopted as a standard for design by both NVIDIA and ATI/AMD. Very few enthusiasts ignored the potential at the time, and many were quick to put the new G80 GPU into action. When NVIDIA returned to a single card-slot design with the G92, the improved cooling would have to make some physical sacrifices to play along with the plan.

ZOTAC changes the landscape with their new GeForce 8800 GT 512MB AMP! Edition HDMI output ZT-88TES3P-FCP graphics card which is based on the more efficient G92 GPU and fits into a single slot expansion footprint. The efficient G92 GPU allows manufacturers to utilize a single expansion-unit height heatsink, which in turn takes away the ability to exhaust heated air outside of the case. Very few manufacturers, ZOTAC included, have improved upon NVIDIA's G92 reference cooler design, In the image above, the larger blower fan and heatpipe underbelly are exposed as a ZOTAC add-in improvement.

The underside of nearly every GeForce 8800 video card I have seen look identical. With the exception of a few manufacturer decals, the ZT-88TES3P-FCP is very much the same as NVIDIA's reference design. Once you remove the collection of twelve fine-threaded screws the heatsink portion of the graphics card can be separated from the PCB.

By design, the cast-aluminum heatsink is complimented with a copper insert where the base and G92 GPU mate together. Additional thermal conductive pads are strategically placed between key components such as DDR3 vRAM modules and the heatsink. ZOTAC also uses a pre-applied thermal interface material (TIM) between the GPU and the copper base inset into the heatsink. Even though NVIDIA ditched the heatpipes in their G92 refernce design, ZOTAC offers better cooling performance in their AMP!'ed GeForce 8800 GT with finsink-over-heatpipe design.

After a nice cleaning, the bare GeForce 8800 GT 512MB video card was a lot more photogenic. Since the circuit board design offers such an ergonomic layout, aftermarket coolers have already become more available than the actual graphics card. Digressing for just a moment, I really want to see Arctic Cooling offer a rear-exhausting cooler for the GeForce 8800 GT. There are at least ten aftermarket cooling solutions for the GT after only two months past the launch date, and not one of them removes the heat from inside the case.

ZOTAC makes good use of the hardware NVIDIA offers them. In the image below you get a good (clean) look at the 65nm process G92 GPU, which in my opinion is as much an improvement to the industry as the 90nm process G80 was when the GeForce 8800 series launched. Offering 112 Stream processors, the ZOTAC factory overclocked G92 GPU operates at 660MHz.

A 256-bit memory bus allows the GeForce 8800 GT to offer 512MB of usable video frame buffer. Qimonda supplies the DDR3 vRAM modules; a part that looks very similar to the Aeneon PC3-10666 we recently reviewed as part of our High-Speed DDR3 Overclocking and Review Series. ZOTAC did not overclock this portion of the product, which could indicate that it's already running near the maximum stable range of 1800MHz. However this could be great news for gamers and hardware enthusiasts wanting to get more out of their purchase, and Benchmark Reviews even has a step-by-step How-To Guide for such a project.

In our next section, Benchmark Reviews begins testing on the ZOTAC GeForce 8800 GT 512MB AMP! Edition video card after we explain how it's all done here in our lab.

Video Card Testing Methodology

One day, Benchmark Reviews will be so giant and world famous that I will have the top ten video cards available to the consumer market ready and on-hand to test in the same system during the same testing perod. For now however, Benchmark Reviews is going to test and compare the FOXCONN GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB and MSI NX8800GTX-T2D768E-HD OC GeForce 8800 GTX against the ZOTAC ZT-88TES3P-FCP GeForce 8800 GT AMP! Edition 512MB Video Card. The GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB version is currently the the most widely used video card since the introduction of the GeForce 8 series, and is considered the most direct competition to the 8800 GT. The 8800 GTX is a step ahead, but with the extremely high factory-overclock the AMP!'ed ZOTAC 8800 GT gives it a close run for the money.

The synthetic benchmark tests in 3DMark06 will utilize shader models 2.0 and 3.0. Every test was conducted at the following resolutions: 1600x1200 (20.1/21" Standard LCD's), 1280x1024 (19" Standard LCD), and 1024x768 (17" Standard LCD). Each program will run after a system restart, and the the first benchmark for every test will be ignored. This process proved extremely important in the World in Conflict and Crysis benchmarks, as the first run served to cache maps; subsequent tests performed much better than the first. Each test will be run in succession three times, and the final results will be averaged.

Since all of these benchmarks represent different gaming engine technology and graphic rendering processes, I feel that this battery of tests will provide a diverse range of tests for you to gauge performance. Since most gamers and enthusiasts are still using Windows XP, it was decided that DirectX 9 would be used for all tests.

Using the GPU-Z utility available for free from our affiliate website techPowerUp!, we can verify the internal specifications for the ZOTAC GeForce 8800 GT 512MB Video Card ZT-88TES2P-FSP PN:151-01080-076VU.

Note that the default GeForce 8800 GT core clock is 600MHz, while the ZT-88TES3P-FCP receives a factory overclock to 700MHz. The standard GeForce 8800 GT vRAM clock remains is raised to 1000MHz, while the shader clock is overclocked from 1500MHz to 1700MHz.

The GeForce 8800 GTS is the direct competition for the GeForce 8800 GT 512MB video card. Although NVIDIA released a new 256-bit version of the card, the older 320-bit version (offered with either 640 or 320MB) is still the most widely used video card by PC gamers today. Note that the default GeForce 8800 GTS core clock is 500MHz, while the FOXCONN GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB has been carefully overclocked to 600MHz. The standard GeForce 8800 GTS vRAM speed is 800MHz and has also been overclocked to 1030MHz while the shader clock remains at the standard 1200MHz.

Benchmark Applications

• 3DMark06 v1.1.0 (8x Anti Aliasing & 16x Anisotropic Filtering)
• World in Conflict v1.0.0.5 Performance Test (Very High Setting)
• Supreme Commander Forged Alliance (Fidelity High, 8x AA)
• Crysis v1.0.0.1 Benchmark (High Settings, No Anti Aliasing)
• Lightmark 2007 v1.3

Test System

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-X48T-DQ6 (Intel X48 Chipset) with version E1 BIOS
System Memory: Corsair PC3-14400 DDR3 1800MHz (Overclocked to 1844MHz)
Processor: Intel E6550 Core 2 Duo 2.33GHz (Overclocked to 3.23GHz)
Cooling: Xigmatek HDT-S1283 Exposed Copper Heatpipe CPU Cooler
Video: ZOTAC GeForce 8800 GT 512MB PCI-Express 2.0
Audio: HT Omega Claro Plus+ AD8620BR Op Amp Sound Card
Disk Drive 1: Western Digital 74GB WD740ADFD 10,000 RPM SATA
Disk Drive 2: OCZ 64GB SATA 2.5" Solid State Drive OCZSSD64GB
Disk Drive 3: (Paging File): Mtron MOBI 3000 2.5-Inch 16GB SSD MSD-SATA3025
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-S203 SATA 20x DVD R/W
Enclosure: Lian Li PC-B25B Black Aluminum Mid-Tower ATX Case
PSU: ePower Technology EP-1200P10 xScale 1200W PSU
Monitor: SOYO 24-Inch Widescreen LCD Monitor DYLM24D6
Operating System: Windows XP Professional SP-2 (optimized to 16 processes at idle)

Test Tools

• Extech Instruments EX-450 IR Non-Contact Thermometer
• ATITool v0.26 Graphics Card Utility for NVIDIA/ATI Products
• MSI NX8800GTX-T2D768E-HD OC GeForce 8800 GTX
• FOXCONN FV-N88SMBD2-OD GeForce 8800 GTS

3DMark06 Benchmark Results

3DMark is a computer benchmark by Futuremark (formerly MadOnion) to determine the DirectX performance of 3D game performance with graphics cards. 3DMark06 uses advanced real-time 3D game workloads to measure PC performance using a suite of DirectX9 3D graphics tests, CPU tests, and 3D feature tests.

3DMark06 tests include all new HDR/SM3.0 graphics tests, SM2.0 graphics tests, AI and physics driven single and multiple cores or processor CPU tests and a collection of comprehensive feature tests to reliably measure next generation gaming performance today.

Here at Benchmark Reviews, we believe that synthetic benchmark tools are just as valuable as video games. Since the same test is applied in the same controlled method with each test run, I believe 3DMark is a very reliable tool for comparing graphic cards against one-another.

Low-resolution testing allows the graphics processor to plateau maximum output performance, which thereby shifts demand onto the system components. At the lower resolutions 3DMark will reflect the GPU's top-end speed in the composite score, indicating full-throttle performance with little load. This makes for a less GPU-dependant test environment, is is helpful in measuring the maximum output performance in the test results.

Using a 1024x768 resolution as a starting point, the maximum settings were applied which included 8x Anti-Aliasing and 16x Anisotropic Filtering. At this level, the GeForce 8800 GT AMP! Edition video card performed almost 15% better than the heavily overclocked FOXCONN 8800 GTS in the SM 2.0 tests and nearly 10% better in the HDR/SM 3.0 tests. Conversely, the MSI GeForce 8800 GTX shows a 3% lead over the AMP!'ed GT in SM 2.0 tests, and almost 13% in the HDR/SM 3.0 tests.

While this AMP! Edition GT video card is PCI Express 2.0 compatible and the older G80-based GPU's are not, there doesn't seem to be any immediate advantage shown these first tests on the Gigabyte GA-X48T-DQ6 moptherboard.

Bumping the GPU strain up a notch with 1280x1024 resolution the scores remain relatively comparable in terms of performance ratio. The ZOTAC 8800 GT AMP! Edition maintained the same general performance ration as it displayed in the 1024x768 tests, largely outperforming the GTS but still playing second-best to the GTX.

Finishing our series of synthetic benchmark tests the ZOTAC 8800 GT AMP! Edition video card showed a prevailing strength against the aging GeForce 8800 GTS in the shader model 2.0 tests, but it tapered out in the more demanding SM 3.0 tests. In these 1600x1200 tests the AMP!'ed GT was outperformed the GTX by only 2% in the shader model 2.0 tests and nearly 11% in the high dynamic-range / shader model 3.0 tests.

If you take the 3DMark06 tests at face value, the 8800 GT still falls between the GTS and GTX. But in our next section we begin real-world testing on a cadre of popular video games known for taxing the graphics processor, and this lineup might change. Our first up is World in Conflict, so please continue on...

Lightsmark Frame Rates

Stepan Hrbek is the mastermind behind Lightmark 2007, a program that allows you to benchmark real-time global illumination. Natural lighting makes artificial graphics life-like and real. Computers get faster, but rendering more polygons doesn't add value if lighting still looks faked, so insiders know that the next big thing is proper lighting; aka Realtime Global Illumination.

Typical workloads in real-time rendering will shift, and Lightsmark simulates it. Global Illumination renders often take hours, so is your computer fast enough for real-time?

Before Lightsmark, real-time global illumination was limited to small scenes, small resolutions, small speeds, specially crafted scenes with handmade optimizations. Lightsmark breaks all limits at once, running in reasonably sized scene (220000 triangles) in high resolutions at excellent speed.

Lighting is computed fully automatically in an original unmodified scene from 2007 game World of Padman. This benchmark is not tweaked for Lightsmark, and contains all sorts of geometrical difficulties with extra rooms hidden below the floor.

This scene places medium to low demands on graphics cards and tests the maximum speed with which the scene can be properly displayed at each resolution.

Similar to the low resolution tests, Lightsmark doesn't favor the 8800 GTX. In fact, our GeForce 9800 GTX was outperformed in every single test by the snappy ZOTAC GeForce 8800 GT AMP! Edition video card.

After all of the Lightsmark tests were complete, I wasn't sure what to make of the results. Each test was performed with identical variables on the same day and in the same system. With the only difference being the video card, it's hard for me to understand how the MSI 8800 GTX was outperformed by the lightweight of the bunch. Apparently, G92 is more powerful than the G80 GPU at the low demand level.

World in Conflict Benchmark Results

The latest version of Massive's proprietary Masstech engine utilizes DX10 technology and features advanced lighting and physics effects, and allows for a full 360 degree range of camera control. Massive's MassTech engine scales down to accommodate a wide range of PC specifications, if you've played a modern PC game within the last two years, you'll be able to play World in Conflict.

World in Conflict's FPS-like control scheme and 360-degree camera make its action-strategy game play accessible to strategy fans and fans of other genres... if you love strategy, you'll love World in Conflict. If you've never played strategy, World in Conflict is the strategy game to try.

World in Conflict offers an in-game benchmark; which records the minimum, average, and maximum frame rates during the test. Very recently another hardware review website made the assertion that these tests are worthless, but we couldn't disagree more. When used to compare video cards which are dependant on the same driver, the in-game benchmark works very well and comparisons are apples-to-apples.

First tested was the 1024x768 resolution. Based on the test results, it's clear that WiC doesn't place a limit on the maximum frame rate (to conserve wasted power). The average frame rate showed that the ZOTAC ZT-88TES3P-FCP could noticeably outpace the overclocked GeForce 8800 GTS and GTX in the minimum frame rate results, but with the settings on Very High the GeForce 8800 GTX comes back around to level out the performance.

A cautionary word about maximum frame rates is necessary, however. Although these readings are worth noting, the maximum framerate is nearly worthless in determining GPU power. The reason for this is simple: those maximum frame rates are collected from scenes with little to no movement and practically no graphical processing demand. Obviously this shifts the importance over to the minimum framerate, which will indicate how smooth the performance will remain under heavy demand.

With a balanced demand for CPU and GPU power, the 1280x1024 resolution proved to be the turning point for performance. While not powerful enough to outperform the 8800 GTX, the average frame rate gave the ZOTAC GeForce 8800 GT AMP! graphics card more than a 14% performance advantage over the highly overclocked 8800 GTS. Also notice how the GeForce 8800 GTX posts much higher maximum frame rates compared to the others, which proves that in low-demand rendering it still reigns supreme.

At the highest settings the World in Conflict Masstech engine begins to strain the two mid-range GeForce 8800 series products, but the 8800 GTX manages to push ahead. The ZOTAC GeForce 8800 GT AMP! 512MB graphics card offers a substantial advantage over the GeForce 8800 GTS with a five frame per second difference (FPS) in the average frame rate, however the GeForce 8800 GTX still proves that it has game with an 8 FPS advantage over the AMP! GT.

Much like 3DMark06, World in Conflict seems to place the GT firmly between the GTS and GTX. This is all good and fine for now, but both of these applications lack any real strain or technical demand on the GPU like the next tests will. Continue onto the next section where we begin testing with Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance.

Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance Results

Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance is a standalone real-time strategy computer game expansion to Supreme Commander, developed by Gas Powered Games and published by THQ. Because it is a standalone expansion, it is possible to play without owning Supreme Commander. Forged Alliance adds new game play features to the game, several new units for the three preexisting factions, and is further optimised for increased performance beyond that of the original game.

Supreme Commander makes extensive use of two technologies relatively unused in video games prior to its release, namely multi core processing and multi monitor displays. When detecting a multi-core processor, the game assigns a specific task, such as AI calculations, to each core, splitting the load between them. Supreme Commander is one of the first games to specifically support dual and quad core processors in the game.

Unlike World in Conflict, Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance does not use a short in-game benchmark to determine a score. In these tests, Supreme Commander plays an entire round of the game from start to finish and generates composite scores based on this lengthy test. This composite score is based on two factors: sim and render.

Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance may not offer the first-person shooter experience that many gamers prefer, but the graphics are among the most demanding possible. Even so, there seems to be a large difference in scores across the board. In the average of five tests, it seems that AMP!'ed GeForce 8800 GT shows its worthiness as it prevails over the GT and matches the GTX. In our next section, we shall see if the equally-demanding video game Crysis will help strengthen this position.

World in Conflict did its best, and Supreme Commander proved to be a harsh gaming engine for video cards, but Crysis will certainly apply the pressure needed to create a noticeable difference between the GTS, AMP! GT, and GTX video cards in the next section.

Crysis Benchmark Results

Crysis uses a new graphics engine: the CryENGINE2, which is the successor to Far Cry's CryENGINE. CryENGINE2 is among the first engines to use the Direct3D 10 (DirectX 10) framework of Windows Vista, but can also run using DirectX9, both on Vista and Windows XP.

Roy Taylor, Vice President of Content Relations at NVIDIA, has spoken on the subject of the engine's complexity, stating that Crysis has over a million lines of code, 1GB of texture data, and 85,000 shaders. To get the most out of modern multicore processor architectures, CPU intensive subsystems of CryENGINE 2 such as physics, networking and sound, have been re-written to support multi-threading.

Crysis offers an in-game benchmark tool, which is similar to World in Conflict. This short test does place some high amounts of stress on a graphics card, since there are so many landscape features rendered. For benchmarking purposes, Crysis can mean trouble as it places a high demand on both GPU and CPU resources.

The smaller resolutions are used to concentrate the testing and place demand onto the GPU, thus offloading some dependency on system resources. Even still, Crysis appears to have a preference for the new graphical interface; even if it only hints at it in our results.

Even without Anti-Aliasing turned on, Crysis keeps both of the G80-based GPUs well below 60 FPS. It's clear that the CryENGINE2 is a heavy hitter, as the ZOTAC 8800 GT AMP! Edition outperforms the GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB by almost 27% and the GTX by just over 3%. Even with more vRAM available to them, the older 8800 GTS and GTX just cannot offer the performance of the G92 GPU paired with the PCI Express 2.0 graphics bus.

At 1280x1024 resolution, the results are still excellent but nearing the 30 FPS performance threshold for acceptability for both G80 units. In terms of performance, all products maintain the same performance ratio, which still gives the ZOTAC GeForce 8800 GT 512MB AMP! Edition a very big frame rate improvement.

Surprisingly, the three GeForce 8800 series products maintained a constant performance ratio between one-another throughout the Crysis benchmark testing, which is a good thing in terms of test consistency.

At the end of our real-world testing, ZOTAC's 8800 GT AMP! Edition outperformed the overclocked G80 GTS by a significant margin, and nosed out the GTX. Perhaps the new G92 core architecture is to be credited, or the new PCI Express 2.0 interface which allows twice as much graphics data bandwidth. Or perhaps MSI's 8800 GTX isn't much more than the overclocked GTS. Either way, our benchmarks certainly indicate that while the GTX beat the AMP!'ed GT in the other tests, it doesn't come close in Crysis.

EDITORS NOTE: After many months of using the Crysis demo for testing with the MadBoris Benchmark Tool, we recently started using the full retail version. Our initial tests have discovered that non-AA results were identical, but the 16x Q AA test produced very different test results. All of our previous results are still good for product comparison, but using the patched retail version of the video game (v1.21) has demonstrated that post processing effects (offered up to 16x Q AA) were not fully incorporated into the demo (limited to 8x AA). We have decided to address this matter in our Crysis performance comparison: demo vs retail forum discussion and welcome your comments.

In the next section Benchmark Reviews gives a detailed look into the operating temperatures of the GPU and component zones for the Geforce 8800 GTS.

ZOTAC 8800 GT AMP! Temperatures

This section is probably the most popular for me, as a reviewer. Benchmark tests are always nice, so long as you care about comparing one product to another. But when you're an overclocker, or merely a hardware enthusiast who likes to tweak things on occasion, there's no substitute for good information.

Benchmark Reviews has a very popular guide written on How To Overclock the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 Series, but it was published shortly after the 8th generation of GeForce products was launched. Currently we are preparing for a more updated article, with additional information on shader overclocking and temperature control as the newest 9th generation GeForce products are made available.

Once published, you can expect more information like you see below for several different video cards. In the image below, the ZOTAC GeForce 8800 GT 512MB AMP! Edition HDMI output graphics card is depicted with core and exhaust temperatures at idle and under load.

To begin my testing, I used ATITool v0.26 to record GPU temperatures at idle and again at high-power 3D mode. The ambient room temperature was a cool 18.3°C and the inner-case temperature hovered around 30°C. The ZOTAC GeForce 8800 GT AMP! Edition video card recorded 49°C in idle 2D mode, and increased to only 67°C in full 3D mode. After recording the GPU temperatures as reported by ATITool, I used my Extech Instruments EX-450 IR Non-Contact Thermometer to capture the exhaust vent temperatures. At idle, the ZT-88TES3P-FCP produced 34°C and under full load it increased to a mere 49°C.

While heated air still an issue because it gets re-circulated back into the case, the improved cooling on this AMP! Edition video card offers results almost twice as cool as the reference design. This works out very well for those who plan to include this HDMI-capable video card in their HTPC build.

Even so, recirculated air is still exactly that, and the unfortunate truth is that it's exhausted into an area close to the expansion slot mounting plate, where very few fans can cool. Fortunately for me however, the Lian Li PC-B20A Aluminum Mid-Tower ATX Case I used to record these results has the BS-03 kit (included optional patent cooling slot kit) which mounts directly in front of the exhaust port on the graphics card and draws the heated air directly out of the case.

8800 GT AMP! Edition Heat Zones

Using the non-contact IR thermometer to record temperatures on the "top" side (when mounted into the motherboard) I discovered several hot spots in unlikely locations. If you study the image above, which uses the reference NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT circuit board layout, you'll discover that the right side of the video card is seriously under-cooled.

The detailed high-resolution temperature zone image is available to anyone who wishes to request it via e-mail only, but the image above should give an excellent idea as to where an overclocker may want to give extra attention in their next project.

Continue to the conclusion in the next section, where I share my thoughts on the ZT-88TES3P-FCP and give more comparative details between the new mid-level king.

ZT-88TES3P-FCP Final Thoughts

For just a short while longer, the GeForce 8800 GT is still third in line for the NVIDIA throne. While this series is squarely aimed at the upper middle-end performance segment, I believe that even as the upcoming 9800 series is launched, there is more than enough value included here to keep it popular. Some (but not many) gamers have stepped up to the overpriced GeForce 8800 Ultra, and several more went as far as the GTX, yet for over a year now the GeForce 8800 GTS has been the best selling card within the 8 Series lineup; and now it has been replaced by the GeForce 8800 GT. Unlike the GeForce 7900 GT of the past generation, the new 8800 GT offers tremendous performance and power efficiency with a slight reduction in cooling fan noise.

For most video cards, functionality is measured in video games and video rendering. However, in rare cases (this being one of them), the video card can suit more than just one purpose. The ZOTAC GeForce 8800 GT AMP! Edition includes a DVI-to-HDMI adapter and S/PDIF audio input cables, making this the only full-functioned HDMI video card available from NVIDIA. Perhaps the newly minted 9-series of GeForce cards will eventually make this a standard feature, but for now the credit is completely given to ZOTAC.

Since the days of Battlefield 2 there haven't been very many games to seriously stress mid and high-performance video cards. The Battlefield 2142 was more of a lukewarm please-all with nearly no landscape to speak of, and until EA and Crytek GmbH came along with Crysis there hadn't been any major milestones to speak of for almost three years. Company of Heroes was (and to some players it still is) one of the most popular games of 2006, but its scalable Havok game engine allowed just about anyone with a personal computer to play the game. World in Conflict could very well be characterized as the CoH for 2007, especially since CoH: Opposing Fronts offered almost nothing new to gamers in regards to performance. WiC is equally scalable, but the large world-scape can have a greater impact on frame rate. When it comes down to PC video games, there are only a handful of titles that stand out more than those which I have tested here in this review. The important message is that the ZOTAC GeForce 8800 GT 512MB Video Card ZT-88TES2P-FSP PN:151-01080-076VU can handle them all at nearly their highest settings without dropping below the acceptable 30 FPS level.

GeForce 8800 GT Conclusion

Like nearly all GeForce 8 series of graphics cards, the product presentation is inviting and informative to the consumer. Plainly stated on the retail box is everything from the basic features to the advanced details and specifications. ZOTAC has done a great job of packaging the ZT-88TES3P-FCP (PN:188-01N40-020ZT), and the colorful design (and fire-breathing dragon) add to the excitement.

I consider the entire pre-G92 GeForce 8800 series to be very attractive as a whole, primarily because of the double-height heatpipe cooling. While the general appearance of the ZOTAC 8800 GT AMP! Edition video card is attractive, I especially like the orange LED that colors the cooling fan during operation. Combined with the illustration atop the cards cover, it becomes a humoring visual effect.

I once owned the GeForce 8800 GTX, but after a errant SATA cable swiped off one of the capacitors, I learned that perhaps I was better off with a graphics card using a smaller footprint. Unlike the higher-end 8800 series GeForce products, the 8800 GT does not expose any electronic components. ZOTAC has constructed the ZT-88TES3P-FCP to sustain above-average abuse, and since there are no exposed components there is very little chance that you'll have to RMA a product that falls apart on you. The fully covered 8800 GT will work very well in cramped environments where the video card will be in contact with cables and components.

In regards to performance and functionality, the praise due to the ZOTAC GeForce 8800 GT 512MB AMP! Edition HDMI output video card is well earned. Almost half the size and power consumption, and at a third the cost, ZOTAC offers a product that easily out-performs an extremely overclocked GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB version graphics card and on select few occasions beats the GeForce 8800 GTX. If that wasn't enough, this video card comes factory overclocked to the point that risking your stability with your own hardware tweaks becomes unessary.

Presently ZOTAC is an just beginning to enter the US marketplace after a successful introduction at CES'07 and brand name launch at Cebit 2007. When you consider that the entire 8800 GTS series still sales for more the $360, the value becomes clear in a product like ZOTAC's 8800 GT AMP! Edition. I suspect this will be the next video card of choice, especially since the ZOTAC 8800 GT AMP! Edition HDMI video card is currently on sale at NewEgg. Certainly a lot of product for a very fair price, which gives the budget gamer a chance to run with the best of them.

To summarize: full HDMI audio and video output, nearly 8800 GTX performance in most tests, excellent cooling, and tremendous value. It comes as no surprise then that I can give my full recommendation to the ZOTAC GeForce 8800 GT 512MB AMP! Edition HDMI video card. If you're building an HTPC, this is the graphic platform for you. If you're a gamer, get one as soon as you can.

Pros:

+ Excellent value for performance-minded gamers
+ Supports DirectX 10 and Shader Model 4.0
+ 700MHz GPU / 2000MHz GDDR3 vRAM
+ Features NVIDIA PureVideo HD Technology
+ HDMI Audio and Video output supported
+ Extremely quiet fan under normal operation
+ Single 6-pin PCI-E power connection
+ SLi Certified graphics solution
+ Well-built durable construction
+ Power efficient 65nm G92 GPU
+ High-performance heatpipe cooling system
+ 5 GBps PCI Express 2.0 graphics interface

Cons:

- Heatsink does not exhaust out of the case

Ratings:

• Presentation: 9.25
• Appearance: 9.00
• Construction: 9.25
• Functionality: 9.75
• Value: 8.50

Final Score: 9.15 out of 10.

Excellence Achievement: Benchmark Reviews Golden Tachometer Award.

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