BFG 8800 Ultra VS Leadtek Winfast GTX260 Extreme+ ~ Dogfight !!!

~ Monster showdown ~

Hello all,as for today I shall be doing a mini review on two cards who can be said as Mammoth in terms of size,performance and price tag as well =).The 8800 Ultra is one of the old G80 GPU which dated back in 2006 where it makes its presence felt in the world of graphics.However the the 8800 series has been continued and be given a facelift thru the die shrink from 90nm (G80) to 65nm(G92) and the 8800 series has been renamed to 9800 series,which in fact originates and uses the 8800 technology and now the 9800 Series has again be renamed to GTS250(9800GTX+) and GTS150 (9800GT)..dont ask me why,ask nVidia,but its all down to marketing strategies and to those unaware potential buyers,these trick works on them as the basic rules is

bigger number = better performance

*yes that rule is true,but not in this case =)

As for the GTX260+,it is the latest GT200 GPU and fear not,it has nothing to do with 8800 series architecture and uses the smallest die from nVidia(55nm) if compared to ATI's(40nm).But today we are not going to compare die sizes.The purpose of this test is to compare the 8800 Ultra which is top of the line 8800 series and the GTX260+(216SP) which is the smallest brother of the GTX2xx series,though it may be the "weakest" GTX2xx series,this babe's raw power can't be denied.

Enough of introduction lets see what we have today =)

Purpose of test : the 8800 Ultra is more than 3 years old and the GTX260+ is less than 1 year old,but does new technology really means superb performance boost if compared to the old technology?lets find out...

- Card 1 -

Graphics card name : Leadtek Winfast GTX 260 Extreme+

GPU : GT200

DIE Size : 55nm

Shader : 216 Unified Shadow Processor

Clock (GPU/Memory) : 602MHz/999MHz
Memory bandwith : 448 bit
Memory size : 896 MB GDDR3

Current market price (new/used) : RM800/RM700~RM600

- Card 2 -

Graphics card name : BFG 8800 Ultra OC Edition

GPU : G80

DIE Size : 90nm
Shader : 128 Unified Shader Processor
Clock (GPU/Memory) : 630MHz/1110MHz

Memory bandwith : 384 bit

Memory size : 768 MB GDDR3

Current market price (new/used) : Discontinued/RM600~RM500

- Test Bed -

CPU : Intel Core 2 Duo E8200 OC @ 3.2 GHz (400MHz x 8)

Motherboard : Biostar T-Power I45

RAM : Corsair Twin 2x XMS2 DDR2 OC @ 860MHz

HDD : Seagate Barracuda 250GB 7.2K RPM

PSU : Corsair TX650W ~ 52A Single Rail

Monitor : Samsung T220 (1680x1050)
OS : Windows Vista Ultimate SP1
Software : 3Dmark06 (preset 1280x1024,no AA)

Driver : nVidia WHQL 185.85 (Quality preset)

8800 Ultra VS GTX260+ ~ 3DMark06 Results

BFG 8800 Ultra OC Edition

3DMark06 Overall Score : 13175

3dMark06 SM 2.0 Score : 6016

3dMark06 HDR/SM 3.0 Score : 6285

Min/Max Temperature (Celcius) : (71c / 91c)

Leadtek Winfast GTX260 Extreme+

3DMark06 Overall Score : 14083

3dMark06 SM 2.0 Score : 6577

3dMark06 HDR/SM 3.0 Score : 7019

Min/Max Temperature (Celcius) : (51c / 67c)

Comparison

In terms of performance :

As to compare this,the GTX260 beats the 8800 Ultra by 908 points which is a mere 6.8% increase only ! To be honest,I was shocked to see that the GTS260+ GC is only a little faster than the 8800 Ultra when taking in mind that the GTX260+ uses the GT200 and is 2 years old later than the 8800 Ultra,so my say is that does new technology necessarily means loads and gives huge boost of performance ? I say no..as the bechmark scores does not lie =)

In terms of heat :

In this comparison,it is significant that the GTX260+ runs way cooler than the 8800 Ultra thanks to the DIE shrunked to 55nm if compared to the 90nm of the 8800 Ultra

In terms of power usage :

Haha good question,I do not have the right tools to measure the exact wattage but as recommended by nVidia,you need at least 550 Watt PSU to power these GC's (Depends also on other hardware used and overclocking)

In terms of pricing :

The GTX260+ graphics card is now priced at MYR(RM) 750.00 to MYR(RM) 850.00 depending on package and factory overclocking and for used and second hand you can get around MYR(RM) 650 and above. As for the 8800 Ultra,its a discontinued product (3 years old,what do u expect =) ),nonetheless,it was sold for almost RM2000 when it reached Malaysian shores.and even after 3 years,the performance of this card is very impressing,so it sure fits the pricetag it had in 2006.For 2nd hand 8800 Ultra,can be bought around RM500~RM600.

FINAL VERDICT ~ Which one should you choose ?

The conclusion would be,if you love classic and rare gems,go for the 8800 Ultra coz even after 3 years,its still superb and can be said as nearly as fast (only a mere 6.8% slower) as the GTX260+ considering that the GTX260+ has much higher bandwith,more memory,latest technology and much higher pricetag.But if you just hate searing heat and wana grab latest stuff,the GTX260+ isnt a bad choice.

But as been said earlier,the purpose of this test is not mainly to test who is faster,but rather to say that even after 3 years,the 8800 Ultra is still a beast and will always be =)