8800 ultra review

Not for $250+ more.

Not even close. No value to this at all.

Yeah and because of that vacuum they decided to rush the Ultra out at a ridiculous price no one would buy, just at the time the R600 launches. Doesn't sound like there will be a vacuum by the time you can buy one.

But for those who like to imagine that nV is launching something new every 6 months they need this card for PR purposes, so here's their 6 month product launch, just don't expect to see any ro anyone non-nVidia related pretend this is anything new. Heck they didn't even upgrade the memory or anything at least the GF7800Ultra was a physical change.

If the 2900XT is released on the 14th, releasing this 8800Ultra with nothing more than some increased clockspeed is a marvellously cheap way for Nvidia to have a go at crowing about the new card beating ATI.

Good marketing tactics - it doesn't really matter if many people buy them because they've cost bugger all extra to introduce.

Oh my not another should I buy this post...

It's not worth it... you can buy 2x8800GTS

Surely anyone with a decent amount of money to burn or going for bragging rights already has at least one 8800gtx, if theyve only got one they will be looking at a bigger hike in performance by getting a second one and going SLI, If theyve already got 2 are they going to pay for 2x8800ultras for the small headroom? Thats a LOT of money for a very minor upgrade.

If someones stretched for money building their new system they'd be a mug to go for this card instead of more ram or a better processor or a disk upgrade.

No doubt there will be a few takers. But come upgrade time in October Im more likelly to look at a second 8800gtx as the most economical way to push my performance.

I am also thinking if this is a minor silicon refresh that allows more overclocking headroom, will this silicon find its way into the standard 8800GTX? will Nvidia be making two different G80 cores at once, or will the GTX quietly get the same silicon before too long?

lol....where in that did i mention i was going to buy it?

I was just posting a valid review...which hadnt been posted in this forums yet. Also, note that i myself said no its not worth it, so why would i want to get one some people just dont see the bigger picture..

the only other performance review here was one of a 8800GTX being oc'd to the ultra specs.

useless...i would rather buy 8800 GTX and overclock it myself...

If i had the money then yes it is worth it

Is the performance edge of a QX6800 worth twice as much as an Q6600?
People buy 1000$ cpus, why not 800$ graphics?
If you want the cherry on top it's always at a premium.

Personaly i think everything above 400$ for 1 component is insane.
But then again I bought a 24inch LCD for 1000$.

The better question would be "What should NVIDIA have offered for the 250$ price premium over the GTX to make it interesting?"

650MHz factory clock?
Software shader overclocking?
No warranty void on overclocking?

where do u get 2X8800 GTX for £600?? The cheapest i can find is about £340 going upto £520 for the watercooled option.

No.

1) The 8800Ultra has a 612MHz factory clock
2) The core to shader speed ratio isn't written in stone, and could be changed with the right software
3) eVga's warranty covers overclocking as long as the card is not visibly damaged or missing parts.

Sure you would need a volt mod to hit the memory speeds of an 8800Ultra, but it doesn't matter as that little extra bit of memory bandwidth won't show for anything, even in SYNTHETIC benchmarks.

No it's not, unless you have the money to burn and want to claim bragging rights.
But it is a brillant marketing strategy at precisely the right time.
If they wanted it to become a mainstream product, it would be priced $80-$120 above the GTX.
It's meant to keep Nvidia's name as king of the GPU market, and sell more 8800gtx's. That is all it is meant to do right now.
How many threads have you already seen like "I'll just buy another 8800gtx and SLI them". Or, the "8800gtx is ONLY 10-15% slower and still better than any other card availble". The 8800gtx cards are maturing, the manufacturing process is becoming more profitable. Releasing a new top of the line card with an huge price tag is exactly the right move to ensure they are postioned solidly.

You might well be spot on there. It makes the 8800GTX look better , just when people were complaining about the prices staying high on them suddenly they look like a bargain.

That effect combined with a nice spoiler for ATI, news and benchs out at a time when everyones still waiting for real news on the R600 and product available at the same time as the R600.

Might very well increase sales of the GTX Which has really got to be a cash cow at the moment. As well as breaking down price barriers for their next card which may then just be considered worth the money?

Anyone who says PC gaming is going to die is retarded.

Of course PC gaming is not "dead". "A nail in the coffin" does not mean dead. Hell -there might be 10, 15, 150 nails to go.

I've been a PC gamer since my dad got me a TRS-80 model one when I was a kid. From text based adventures to FEAR and HL 2, I've been through and loved it all.

What have we come to? Buying $500+ GPUs to play a few worthy titles a year? For a lot of people ONE (Crysis).

There will always be enthusiasts (again - like me). But PC gaming as a mass market is not expanding. You can't turn a blind eye to that.

If the next gen of consoles takes over the MMORPG market (which I'm sure will be one of their next targets) that will be "another nail in the coffin". And so on.

Flaming everyone who has concerns about this (which is what usually happens) won't change a thing.

'Nail in the coffin' implies that PC gaming is on its way out, or will die soon, which I just don't see happening.

great...another thread turned into a console vs pc