Andifyouownedoneofthesein 2006 well, let's justsayyou'd have a prettydecenttimewhenitcametorunninggamestoday.
I wanttotake a lookbackatthislegend.
Explainwhy I thinkit's oneofthemostinfluentialandbestgraphicscardreleasesofalltimeandseewhatitcandoin a fewmodernishtitlesdespiteitsage.
Sowithoutfurtherado, let's getintoit, take a tripdownmemorylaneandexplorethepowerandtheoverallbeSteenisofthisoncelegendaryGPUfromTeamGreen.
Sothe 8800 GTX, launchedinNovemberof 2006 andwasthefirsttoprimarilyimplementMicrosoft's new A P I directtakes 10 alongwiththecheaperandweaker 8800 GTs, whichwe'vetaken a lookatinthepast.
Withthelaunchpriceof 600 U.
S.
Dollars, itcoststhesameasthecompany's previousgenerationflagshipthe 7900 GTX, thoughthe 8800 wassuch a beastbackinthedaythatsomereviewsitesevenconcludedthat a singleoneofthesewasaspowerful, ifnotmoreso, thantwoaforementioned 79 hundredsinSL I.
A cardlikethismeantthateventhemostdemandinggamesouttherewouldrunmaxedoutwiththeresolutionsuptoandincluding 25 60 by 1600.
Thispowercameat a cost, though, and I'm notjusttalkingprice.
Whileit's notuncommontodaytoseetwoormaybeinsomeinstances 36 beenconnectors, a topographicscarredbackthenthepresenceof 2 75 whatconnectorswouldhavecertainlybean a newsitetosome, demonstratingjusthowthirstythis 155 WhatTDPcardwaasAestheticallyspeaking, Thiscardisalsoverylongwiththisparticularmodelhavingbeenpulledfromanoldschooldel X p s for 20 gamingsystem, likelymeaningitspentmostofitslifepairedwith a courttoquad.
Beforewecheckouttheperformance, let's lookunderthehood, sotospeak, removingthemassiveheatsinkrevealsthehugeGI 80 graphicschipandalsogivesusanopportunitytoremoveanydustfromtheboldandreapply a freshcoatofthermalpaste.
EssentialmaintenanceforanysecondhandPCcomponent.
SpecsWiseThes 8800 utxfeatures 768 megabytesofJudyDDR, three V Ram, a 576 megahertzclockspeedon a 900 megahertzmemoryclock.
Well, themoreStatayou'regoingtoexperienceingamebasically, andthatreflectswhatthe 1% in 10.1% figurescomebackouts.
Intoday's test, I startedoffwithBattlefieldthreeat 900 p andhadtoturneverythingdowntothelowsettingstoachieveitsprettystable 51 framespersecondonaverage, withdecentenough 1% on 10.1% lows.
Thatmeantwereallydidn't seethatmuchstutteritall.
Itwas a similarstoryinbioshock.
Infinite.
Althoughwewereabletoturntheresolutionherebackupto 10 80 p, though, I hadtokeepthesettingsattheirlowestafterplayingthroughthislevelinitsentirety.
Theaveragerecordedframeratewas 43 f ps.
Thiswasfollowedby a 1% lowof 31 on a 0.1% lowof 26 meaningthatthroughoutmygameplaytodaywiththisgame, I sawnorealstutter.
Therewere a coupleofdropshereandthere, butnothingthathinderedtheoverallgameplayexperienceoffthistitle, and I couldhappilyplayedBioShockinfinitefromstarttofinishon a systemthatfeaturedthenow a 12 yearold 8800 GTXGPU.
Nextstop, I jumpedintotheoriginalcallofdutyBlackOps, oneofthebestintheseries.
Inmyopinionagain, wewereabletoleavethingsat 10 80 p fullHD, and I wasevenabletoturnthesettingsuptonormalheretoachieve a prettycloseto 60 framespersecondaverage.
The 1% lowsof 42 the 420.1% lowof 33 againindicatethattherereallywasn't muchstuttersofar, sogood.
And I wasseeing a lotlesshiccupsthan I wasexpectingtowiththisold 768 megabytecard.
46 framespersecond, however, wasprettyrespectableforthisancientGPU, althoughyouwillseesomestutterhereandthere, asindicatedbythose 1% on 10.1% figures.
Buthowcould I testthesequelwithouttestingout?
Theoriginalwaswell, sohereitistheoriginalcrisis.
Thisactuallyran a verysimilartoitssuccessorwitharound 45 framespersecond, althoughintheoriginalcrisis I wasabletoturnthingsupto 10 80 p withthemediumpreset.
Sowearerunningat a highresolutionthanIrancrisis.
Toaddonforthe 8800 GTX.
Well, itseemstobe a prettyeasytask, though.
Don't expect 60 framespersecondunlessyou'rewillingtoturnthingsdowntooloworyouwanttodroptheresolutiontosay 900 oreven 7 20 p.
Astheactiondoesheatupinthisgameindifferentareas, someareasarerelativelyquiet, andsomeyouwillsee a bitmoreactiongoingon.
Ofcourse, a relativelymoderntitlethatalsorunsondirectextentisGrandTheftAutofive.
Although I didhavetoturnthingsdownto 7 20 p, wewereabletoachieveanaverageframerateof 47 f p s, whichwasactuallyquitesurprisingconsideringthehardware.
Andconsideringthatweonlyhad 768 megabytesofIrantoplaywithevenonthelowestsettings, allthenormalingamesettings, accordingto D.
D A.
Wedidexceedthat V RAMlimit, sowecouldn't reallyturnthingsuphigherthannormal, although I expectyoucouldturnthingsup a littlemoreandstillachievecloserto 30 framespersecondat 7 20 p.
But I foundthatkeepingeverythingonlowherewasdefinitelythebestwaytogo.