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Introduction
Let's take a look at how the GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB compares against a selection of other NVIDIA graphics cards.
GeForce 8800 GTX |
GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB |
GeForce 8800 GTS 640/320MB |
GeForce 8800 GT |
GeForce 8600 GTS |
|
Architecture |
G80 |
G92 |
G80 |
G92 |
G84 |
Manufacturing Process |
90 nm |
65 nm |
90 nm |
65 nm |
80 nm |
Transistor Count |
681 Million |
754 Million |
681 Million |
754 Million |
289 Million |
DirectX Support |
10 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
Interface |
PCI Express |
PCI Express 2.0 |
PCI Express |
PCI Express 2.0 |
PCI Express |
Stream
Processors |
128 |
128 |
96 |
112 |
32 |
Vertex
Shader Version |
4.0 |
4.0 |
4.0 |
4.0 |
4.0 |
Pixel
Shader Version |
4.0 |
4.0 |
4.0 |
4.0 |
4.0 |
ROPs |
24 |
16 |
20 |
16 |
16 |
Core
Speed |
575 MHz |
650 MHz |
500 MHz |
600 MHz |
675 MHz |
Fill
Rate |
36,800 MTexels/s |
41,600 MTexels/s |
24,000 MTexels/s |
33,600 MTexels/s |
10,800 MTexels/s |
Memory
Bus Width |
384-bits |
256-bits |
320-bits |
256-bits |
128-bits |
Memory
Type |
GDDR3 |
GDDR3 |
GDDR3 |
GDDR3 |
GDDR3 |
Memory
Speed |
900 MHz |
972 MHz |
800 MHz |
900 MHz |
1000 MHz |
Memory
Bandwidth |
86.4 GB/s |
62.2 GB/s |
64.0 GB/s |
57.6 GB/s |
32.0 GB/s |
The new NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS offers a tremendous performance advantage over the older GeForce 8800 GTS models. It boasts a fillrate that is 73% higher than the GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB/320MB. In fact, its fillrate is actually 13% higher than the GeForce 8800 GTX!
However, because it uses a narrower 256-bit memory bus, it has slightly less memory bandwidth than the older GeForce 8800 GTS cards even though its memory chips run at a higher clock speed. The 640MB and 320MB models of the GeForce 8800 GTS has a slight 3% advantage in memory bandwidth over the new GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB. The GeForce 8800 GTX has a more significant 39% advantage in memory bandwidth.
New Silicon
The NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB is based on the new NVIDIA G92 GPU. This is basically an improved G80 silicon die-shrinked using the 65 nm process technology. This allows NVIDIA to cramp even more transistors into the die and yet produce a smaller chip.
The NVIDIA G92 GPU has 754 million transistors, which is 73 million (10.7%) more transistors than the NVIDIA G80 GPU's 681 million transistors. Yet, the G80 GPU has the same number of stream processors as the G92. So, why so many more transistors?
The graphics core in the new G92 GPU remains essentially unchanged from the G80. The increase in transistor count in the NVIDIA G92 GPU is actually due to the new VP2 PureVideo HD video processor integrated into the new GPU, as well as support for PCI Express 2.0.
Models & Pricing
The NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS will be available in two "flavours" - the standard 512MB model and a higher-end 1024MB model. Both models will retain the same clock speeds and 256-bit memory bus. So, the only real difference is the size of the memory buffer.
At launch, the standard NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS with 512MB of GDDR3 memory will be priced from US$299 to US$349, depending on the vendor and value-added features. There is no official price range for the 1024MB model but it will certainly come with a significant price premium over the standard 512MB model.
With the GeForce 8800 GT priced about US$50 less, many gamers are wondering which they should really go for. This is what we will be examining later in this review, when we compare the GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB against the GeForce 8800 GT. For those who are eager to get their hands on a new graphics card in time for some Christmas gaming though, availability will probably be of greater importance and right now, it is much easier to source the GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB than the GeForce 8800 GT.
