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Introduction
The NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX is the first of the future of graphics processors. It is the first GPU to feature a massively-parallel unified architecture, as well as the first DirectX 10 GPU to hit the market.
If you have not already read about the technology behind the GeForce 8800 GTX, and its brother the GeForce 8800 GTX, do take a look at our GeForce 8800 GTX/GTS Tech Report before proceeding further. This review will deal primarily with the GeForce 8800 GTX card and its performance.
But first, let's take a look at how the GeForce 8800 GTX compares against its predecessors. Here's a comparison table of NVIDIA's top GPUs of the past and present.
GeForce 8800 GTX |
GeForce 7950 GX2 |
GeForce 7900 GTX |
GeForce 7800 GTX |
GeForce 6800 Ultra |
|
| Architecture |
G80 |
G71 |
G71 |
G70 |
NV40U |
| Manufacturing Process |
0.09 Micron |
0.09 Micron |
0.09 Micron |
0.11 Micron |
0.13 Micron |
| Transistor Count |
681 Million |
278 Million x 2 |
278 Million |
302 Million |
222 Million |
| DirectX Support |
10 |
9.0c |
9.0c |
9.0c |
9.0c |
| Interface |
PCIe |
PCIe |
PCIe |
PCIe |
AGP/PCIe |
Vertex Pipelines |
- |
16 |
8 |
8 |
6 |
| Stream Processors |
128 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| Vertex
Shader Version |
4.0 |
3.0 |
3.0 |
3.0 |
3.0 |
| ROPs |
24 x 1 |
48 x 1 |
24 x 1 |
24 x 1 |
16 x 1 |
| Pixel Shader Version |
4.0 |
3.0 |
3.0 |
3.0 |
3.0 |
| Core
Speed |
575 MHz |
500 MHz |
650 MHz |
430 MHz |
400 MHz |
| Fill
Rate |
36,800 MTexels/s |
24,000 MTexels/s |
15,600 MTexels/s |
10,320 MTexels/s |
6,400 MTexels/s |
| Memory
Bus Width |
384-bits |
512-bits |
256-bits |
256-bits |
256-bits |
| Memory Type |
GDDR3 |
GDDR3 |
GDDR3 |
GDDR3 |
GDDR3 |
| Memory
Speed |
900 MHz |
600 MHz |
800 MHz |
600 MHz |
550 MHz |
| Memory Bandwidth |
86.40 GB/s |
51.20 GB/s |
51.20 GB/s |
38.40 GB/s |
35.20 GB/s |
The new GeForce 8800 GTX boasts 53% more fillrate and 69% more memory bandwidth than the GeForce 7950 GX2. But that tremendous increase in performance came at the expense of transistors.
The GeForce 8800 GTX had almost 2.5X as many transistors as the GeForce 7900 GTX. Even the dual GPU GeForce 7950 GX2 could not come close to matching the number of transistors. With all that transistors, it's inevitable that the GeForce 8800 GTX is a massive chip. In fact, it might actually be the biggest GPU out there!
Specifications
Here are the GeForce 8800 GTX's specifications.
Architecture |
• G80 |
Process Technology |
• 90 nm |
Number of Transistors |
• 681 Million |
Die Size |
• Est. 484 mm2 |
Stream Processors |
• 128 |
ROPs |
• 24 ROPs |
Core Clock |
• 575 MHz |
Shader Clock |
• 1350 MHz |
Fillrate |
• 36.8 Gigapixels / sec. |
Memory Interface |
• 384-bits memory interface |
Memory Buffer |
• 768 MB GDDR3 |
Memory Clock |
• 900 MHz |
Memory Bandwidth |
• 86.4 GB/s |
Power Consumption |
• 145.5 W |
Graphics Bus |
• PCI Express |
Shader Model Version |
• SM 4.0 |
NVIDIA IntelliSample Technology |
• 4.0 |
NVIDIA SLI Technology |
• Yes (Two SLI connectors) |
NVIDIA Quad SLI Technology |
• NA |
NVIDIA TurboCache Technology |
• No |
64-bit Texture Filtering and Blending |
• Yes |
DVI Support |
• Two dual-linked DVI, both integrated into the GPU |
For more information on the GeForce 8800 GTX, please take a look at our GeForce 8800 GTX Technology Report. Now, let's take a look at the card!
