Test Setup and Methods

Hardware Configuration

• Case: Vigor Force
• Power Supply: PCP&C Silencer 750 EPS12V
• Motherboard: Intel Desktop Board D975XBX2 (Bad Axe rev2)
• Processor: Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 (Varying MHz)
• Hard Drive: Western Digital 2500KS 7200RPM, 250GB with 16MB Cache Buffer
• Video: eVGA NVIDIA GeForce 7900GT KO Superclocked (580/1580) | NVIDIA GeForce 8800GTX (575/1800)
• Memory: 1024MB (2x512MB) Corsair XMS2 PC2 6400 (TWIN2X1024A-6400)
• Optical Drive: Lite-ON SHW160P6S05
• Cooling: Vigor Monsoon II
• Audio: Creative X-Fi XtremeMusic

Software Configuration

• Motherboard BIOS: D975XBX2 Express
• Operating System: Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2
• Video Driver: NVIDIA ForceWare Version 91.47 WHQL Certified (September 14 release) | NVIDIA ForceWare Version 96.89 (October 16 release)

We will be comparing the GeForce 8800GTX against an overclocked eVGA GeForce 7900GT KO in gaming and synthetic benchmarks. We chose the fresh off the press QX6700 Quad core processor from Intel for the sole reason that it is the same processor we most recently used with the 7900GT in the Kentsfield Performance Review. We kept the installed ForceWare 91.47 drivers for testing with the 7900GT and then used the 96.89 drivers with the 8800GTX, as these were the drivers that shipped with the card.

Methods

Testing methodology is pretty straight-forward on video cards. To test the 8800GTX we will use a sampling of synthetic and real-world gaming benchmarks. On the synthetic end, 3DMark06 will be used to get an idea of the potential performance of this card and it’s relation to the potential performance of the 7900GT. Since 3DMark06 is the only really good synthetic video benchmark available right now, with the exception of the outdated but still useful 3DMark05, it is the only synthetic benchmark we will be utilizing in this review. 3DMark06 makes extensive use of features and technologies found on modern video cards such as HDR, AA, AF, and SM3.0.

On the gaming side, we have selected six games that we feel represent the current market fairly well and are played by more than just one person in Siberia. These games will be tested at various resolutions up to 1280x1024. We know that we probably should have tested the card at a resolution of 1600x1200 and possibly above, but due to time constraints on this article and the seemingly depleted stock of 1600x1200 capable displays amongst local vendors, we were unable to do so. Rest assured: we will most definitely have a review of this card at higher resolutions for you sometime in the near future. That said, each resolution was tested in each game at least three times over, and averages were taken of the resulting scores.