ASUS EN8800GT 1Gb

Today, we've got another GeForce 8800GT by ASUS at our test lab. Although we are already familiar with video cards of this series and it's hard to amaze us by that, the interesting point in ASUS EN8800GT 1Gb is the twice as much of the video memory than that of the "regular" GeForce 8800GT. This amount of memory can't be treated as an excess - just recall our recent review where we described the issue of memory lack in games powered by Windows Vista. Even in the lighter modes with the FSAA disabled, the video memory usage is closely approaching 512 MB, which we also described recently. So, who knows - perhaps in the future Far Cry 2 game there will be a lack of video memory. In fact, these are merely future forecasts, so we'll be exploring the novelty by ASUS not only in terms of the increased onboard memory capacity but also in terms of the quality of the cooling system and overclocking. OK then. Off we go!

The box for ASUS EN8800GT 1Gb is traditionally large like almost all the boxes for video cards by this manufacturer. The front side of the package is decorated with the image of a lady archer and lists the key specifications of the video card. The manufacturer paid a special attention to the 1 GB of video memory, which is seen through the mention of the capability to play games at the maximum quality settings due to this innovation. Actually, this is partly true.

The reverse side of the box deals with ASUS' proprietary utilities which we examined as well as other proprietary information.

Almost all huge boxes by ASUS are equipped with this "feature" - they open up like books. On the centerfold, the manufacturer describes its proprietary utilities and provides their illustrations.

The package bundle of the video card is extended:

• power supply adapter for PCI-Express video cards;
• S-Video/Component out adapter;
• DVI -> D-Sub adapter;
• drivers CD;
• Documentation CD;
• wallet for 16 CDs;
• brief installation guide.

ASUS EN8800GT 1Gb looks almost the same as the recently reviewed ASUS EN8800GS TOP. The secret of such similarity is simple – both the video cards are made on the base of the same PCB and equipped with absolutely the same cooling systems. But the cheaper EN8800GS TOP offers two (not unsoldered) memory chips near the bracket with interface connectors.

The reverse side of the video card makes no difference from that in ASUS EN8800GS TOP, except the different marking label. Lastly, we note that both EN8800GT 1Gb and EN8800GS TOP are made following ASUS' proprietary design. Apart from modifications in the PCB wiring, engineers at ASUS equipped the two video cards with a 3-phase subsystem for the power supply of the GPU, instead of the 2-phase subsystem as provided by NVIDIA's reference design. In theory, such a move should result in better overclocking of the video card, but as the practice showed, that is far not always true.

The cooling system of ASUS EN8800GT 1Gb is made up of two parts. The first part is the system for cooling the GPU, fully made of an aluminum radiator and a fan with the diameter of the impeller being 75 mm (like that on 80 mm fans). The radiator is fully painted in golden color and is free of any additional processing of the base. The graphic chip is contacted by the radiator through a solid grey mass, as can be seen on the photo.

The second part of the cooling system rejects heat from the power components of the power supply subsystems and is designed from a golden radiator and a decorative lid with the "ASUS" logo on. The radiator contacts the items being cooled through a soft white washer which is really tender, and after the first removal of the radiator it tore up.

In conclusion, we note that both the cooling systems are fastened with spring-loaded screws.

This is how ASUS EN8800GT 1Gb looks without the cooling system. To the left, there is the G92 GPU, with eight memory chips positioned around in circle which make up the 1 GB of video memory. To the right, you can see the power supply items which are cooled by a smaller radiator. They are easy to note – parts of the heat-conductive washer left on them.

The memory chips are made by Qimonda and offer 1.1 ns access time, which is equivalent to the effective frequency 1800 MHz. Now, let's verify the efficiency of the cooling system and the overclocking capability of the video card.

Efficiency of the cooling system and overclocking

We already tested a similar cooling system in the review on ASUS EN8800GS TOP but that time we took the temperature readings with ASUS Smart Doctor, and this time we'll be using Riva Tuner 2.07. Since ASUS EN8800GT 1Gb is made following ASUS' proprietary design, Riva Tuner is unable to read the temperature of the GPU immediately. To fix this shortcoming, we should modify the "default" source value to "NV ThermalDiode.dll:0".

That done, the graph will start displaying the temperature of the GPU and taking the readings from the temperature sensor integrated into the core. Further results are a matter of skill. As usual, we'll be warming up the video card with the game Oblivion set to the maximum quality. Here is the result:

Starting from 51 C at rest, the card warmed up to 80 C. At the same time, the speed of the fan of the cooling system remained unchanged to ear, so we can say that ASUS EN8800GT 1Gb is quiet enough - at least, you can play a game or watch a film without being distracted by the CPU unit.

As regards overclocking, the new product did not please us at all. It nominal frequencies amount to 600 / 1500 MHz for the graphic chip and 1800 MHz for the memory. Note that they match the clock speeds recommended by NVIDIA. We were able to overclock to … 600/1728 MHz for the graphic chip, and the video memory wouldn't overclock at all. Therefore, we have to admit that our specimen of ASUS EN8800GT 1Gb almost won't overclock. Although, it may be possible that we got a specimen of the video card, unsuccessful in terms of overclocking.

Test results and conclusions

It is now time we tested the new product and gave the answer as to whether the extra 512 MB of video memory proved useful to it. We'll be testing the product with the familiar test bench:

We'll be comparing ASUS EN8800GT 1Gb versus the "regular" GeForce 8800GT 512 MB and Radeon HD3870 also equipped with 512 MB. We used the following driver versions: for GeForce video cards – ForceWare 169.21 (Windows XP) and ForceWare 169.25 (Windows Vista); for the Radeon HD3870, we used Catalyst 7.12 for both operating systems. So, we start with the test results for 3DMark.

As we expected, at 3DMark tests the new product and GeForce 8800GT 512 MB go on par. Therefore, the extra 512 MB of video memory have not affected the results at 3DMark tests in the least. Now let's move to gaming tests which we'll be running with 4x FSAA and 16x AF enabled.

At Call of Duty 4, ASUS EN8800GT 1Gb rushed forward at some aspects and at other it lagged behind the "regular" GeForce 8800GT. The scatter of results can be explained by the test errors and perhaps the different latency timings in the video memory chips of the rivals. The video memory chips are different.

At Call of Juarez, ASUS EN8800GT 1Gb and the "regular" GeForce 8800GT go on par, which again points to the fact that 1 GB of memory is not in demand.

The situation changes with transition to the DX10 mode. While at 1024x768 and 1280x1024 the video cards ASUS EN8800GT 1Gb and GeForce 8800GT go on par, at 1600x1200 we see a different picture. The "regular" GeForce 8800GT lacks video memory, whereas ASUS EN8800GT 1Gb is free of that problem. On the other hand, the "advantage" of 1 GB memory is questionable since even with sufficient video memory capacity the video card demonstrates too low results.

We'd like to point to the much lower results demonstrated by Radeon HD3870 at 1280x1024 as compared to 1600x1200. This pattern is seen only in this game, and we already reported that, - to all appearances, this behavior of the video card is rooted by the flaws in the drivers.

At Crysis, ASUS EN8800GT 1Gb and the "regular" GeForce 8800GT go almost on par, except that at 1600x1200 the latter lagged behind a bit. Most likely, that was caused by the "tightness" of the 512 NB video memory capacity, which we reported earlier.

In the DX10 mode, like in the case with Call of Juarez, the advantage of using 1 GB video memory becomes evident. Already at 1280x1024, the video card GeForce 8800GT lags behind ASUS EN8800GT 1Gb, and at 1600x1200 its performance drops sharply, whereas ASUS EN8800GT 1Gb is still afloat.

At Need for Speed Carbon, ASUS EN8800GT 1Gb and the "regular" GeForce 8800GT go almost on par. As a matter of fact, it would be strange to expect the contrary because 512 MB of video memory is more than enough for this game.

At Need for Speed Pro Street Racing, the situation is similar, 512 MB of video memory is quite enough for this game.

At Oblivion, the situation is the same. Needless to say, the game is far from being new, and 512 MB of video memory is more than enough for it.

The same situation is in the Prey game. 512 MB of video memory is quite enough for this not the newest game, and the performance of all the participants of the tests is much higher than is required for this game.

Final Words

So, we've got an idea of the "advanced" version of GeForce 8800GT with 1GB of onboard video memory. What do you feel about that? Our impressions are dubious because 512 MB of video memory is quite enough for games which run fast with GeForce 8800GT. But where the extra 512 MB video memory are in demand, there is a definite shortage of the GPU performance. Therefore, we can't state with confidence whether 1 GB of video memory for the GeForce 8800GT class is needed or not. On the one hand - yes, this amount of video memory is really needed, on the other hand – in the modes where this capacity is needed the video card does not demonstrates the best results. So for now, the purchase of a GeForce 8800GT with 1 GB onboard video memory will not bring much benefit, except that you won't have to worry about the possible shortage of video memory for just another super-game. But let's not forget that the advantages of our video card are not limited at that.

Pros of ASUS EN8800GT 1Gb:

• 1 GB onboard video memory;
• quiet and efficient cooling system;
• good package bundle.

Cons:

• no evident flaws found.

Specific traits:

• poor overclocking results.