XFX Geforce 8800 GTX

INTRODUCTION

In preparation for the review that I'm about to present I've read everything I could get my hands on about the about the expectations of the NVIDIA® G80 series of GPU and what a future owner might be able to expect from the 8800 GTX & GTS graphics cards that utilize this technology. In the process of doing research I've grown a bit nostalgic remembering that it was roughly ten years ago when I was first introduced to PC Gaming. For those of you that aren't old enough to remember it was 1996 when the true 3D graphics card powered by a Rendition chip hit the market along with the original Quake. These two products set the stage for the craze that millions of Computer Gaming Enthusiasts now enjoy daily. It's my thought, based on what I have read, that the graphics cards based on the NVIDIA® G80 GPU will be as much or more of an advancement for gaming as the early Rendition chip that started it all. OK! Enough reminiscing! Let's get down to the matter at hand and see if my prognostication is correct.

Well its now ten years later and the launch of the first graphics card that offer direct support of DirectX10 is at hand. Today’s launch means these jewels are for sale at e-tailers and some retail shops around the world. The only real problem we have with today’s launch is we have no DX10 software to test the card with, so it will be necessary to use the latest revision of DX 9C in our testing. As soon as a stable version of DX10 makes its way to the market along with Microsoft® VISTA™ the results of that you read today may radically, and probably for the better.

This review will be one of a series of four that myself and members of my review team at Bjorn3D have had the pleasure of writing. Due to the fact that were doing an unprecedented four reviews of these products. We decided to simplify matters somewhat and release an Introductory Article that would detail all the features, specifications, an unique properties of the cards we are reviewing today. This allows my reviewers to concentrate more on the "meat" of each individual card without having to publish a lot of repetitive information. Thus each review will be shorter and much more to the point than if we were only reviewing one card.

Please join me along with the Bjorn3D's founder Bjorn Endre, and my staff as we present four reviews of the 8800 series of graphics cards. Each review will present many similarities and yet many differences as each product is from a different manufacturer and being prepared by four separate reviewers, each of whom have a unique, and very interesting approach to the product they've been assigned. It is now my pleasure to present to you my take on the XFX GeForce® 8800 GTX.

XFX: A Brief Overview

XFX®, a company that is very well know not only to the general computer consumer but to the Computer Enthusiast community as well operates on the following corporate philosophy:  "XFX® dares to go where the competition would like to, but can't. That's because, at XFX®, we don't just create great digital video components--we build all-out, mind-blowing, performance crushing, competition-obliterating video cards and motherboards." "Oh, and not only are they amazing, you don't have to live on dry noodles and peanut butter to afford them."

From our rather extensive experience doing XFX® product reviews we've seen this corporate philosophy transcend from merely words into a series of excellent, highly polished digital wonders that go a step beyond in not only performance but quality as well. We are highly anticipative that our review sample, the XFX®GeForce™ 8800 GTX will continue to follow this same tradition.