Evga 8800gts 320mb superclocked stumbles

I recently got hold of an 8800gts 320mb superclocked. I expected it to really churn through most graphically complexe games. I was disappointed with the performance of the default 3dmark 06 settings. Its framerate was better than the x800xt pe in the 4 core dual vsta but not even approaching 25fps to be appear to be smooth. To add insult to injury the 3dmark website notified me that I was not using the official nvidia drivers to do the tests. I took their linky and got the new drivers to get the exact same results and website error message. I even tried evga's drivers to the same results. I uninstalled the the graphics adapter each time to a fresh reboot. After talking to a retailer friend he told me that the 8800 gts is really a upper middle market card and that a 8800gtx is really the solution.Furthermore these cards are not selling as well recently. I game at 1024x768 the the 3d mark 06 ran at 1280x1024 I expected the 8800 gts to be a final solution for direct X9.0c but it is not. My cpu is a C2D @ 2832mghtz. Overclocking it more with riva tuner 2.1 620 core 1989 mem yielded about 300 points higher. I realize that 3d mark 06 really is a marketing tool to lure the fanatic to buy even more powerful pricier hardware. Are the drivers that pathetic ? (i.e. they S**K) or are we misled by the nvidia camp?