NVIDIA G92 Overclocked - GT vs. GTS 512

We've taken our look at the new G92 equipped 8800GTS a step further and compare it to the proven 8800GT in overclocking.

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Introduction





The overclocking ability on products is sometimes one of the most important features. More often than not in the computer world you're given the ability to buy a model or two down, and with a BIOS or easy to use application you can take that said product up to and often above the level of the top model.

The 8800GTS 512MB has impressed us; the G92 looks like a great core and thanks to the pricing it's never been so cheap to get into a high performance computer. What we have noticed though is that once our article went live more and more people started mentioning just how important overclocking is.

The 8800GTS 512MB is only a little bit ahead of the 8800GT 512MB, but with its dual slot cooler and extra shaders on tap we thought that where the card may really shine is in the overclocking department.

Since we've looked at both the 8800GT and GTS in quite a fair bit of detail we're not going to get into too much today. We will look over the test system and hop straight into the results.

In next to no time we will have a real idea on what G92 overclocking is like.

Test System Setup and 3DMark05


Test System Setup

Processor(s): Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 3GHz (333MHz x 9)
Cooling: Corsair Nautilus500 (Supplied by Corsair) with Arctic Cooling MX-2 Thermal Compound (Supplied by Arctic Cooling)
Motherboard(s): ASUS Blitz Extreme (Supplied by ASUS)
Memory: 2 X 1GB Corsair XMS3 DDR-3 1066MHz 7-7-7-21 (Supplied by Corsair)
Hard Disk(s): Hitachi 80GB 7200RPM SATA-2
Operating System: Windows XP Professional SP2
Drivers: Forceware 169.06

With ATI Tool in hand it was time to see what we could do in the overclocking department. The 8800GT 512MB comes in with a core clock of 600MHz and a memory clock of 1800MHz DDR; the 512MB 8800GTS gets a bump to 650MHz and 1944MHz DDR on the memory.

With a bit of time we managed to get our 8800GT to 704MHz on the core and 2012MHz DDR on the memory which is quite the healthy jump indeed. The 8800GTS 512MB on the other hand came in at 720MHz on the core and 2104MHz on the memory. This isn't as impressive as the 8800GT 512MB, but it's still a gain nonetheless.

There are a few things we want to find out. Does the increased clockspeeds on the 8800GT 512MB bring it to the GTS level? - And how much further ahead can the GTS 512MB go?


3DMark05

Version and / or Patch Used: Build 130
Developer Homepage: http://www.futuremark.com
Product Homepage: http://www.futuremark.com/products/3dmark05/
Buy It Here




3DMark05 is now the second latest version in the popular 3DMark "Gamers Benchmark" series. It includes a complete set of DX9 benchmarks which tests Shader Model 2.0 and above.

For more information on the 3DMark05 benchmark, we recommend you read our preview here.




Straight away we can see that the 8800GT when overclocked is able to bring itself up to the performance of the stock 8800GTS. Sure we see the 8800GTS continue on, but it's not by a huge amount.

Benchmarks - 3DMark06


3DMark06

Version and / or Patch Used: Build 110
Developer Homepage: http://www.futuremark.com
Product Homepage: http://www.futuremark.com/products/3dmark06/
Buy It Here




3DMark06 is the very latest version of the "Gamers Benchmark" from FutureMark. The newest version of 3DMark expands on the tests in 3DMark05 by adding graphical effects using Shader Model 3.0 and HDR (High Dynamic Range lighting) which will push even the best DX9 graphics cards to the extremes.

3DMark06 also focuses on not just the GPU but the CPU using the AGEIA PhysX software physics library to effectively test single and Dual Core processors.




We again see the 8800GT performance come up to and above the 8800GTS 512MB. We can see that the overclocked GTS continues to move forward but once again it's not by a huge margin.

Benchmarks - Half Life 2 (Episode One HDR)


Half Life 2 (Episode One HDR)

Version and / or Patch Used: Latest from Steam
Timedemo or Level Used: Custom Timedemo
Developer Homepage: http://www.valvesoftware.com
Product Homepage: http://www.half-life2.com
Buy It Here




By taking the suspense, challenge and visceral charge of the original, and adding startling new realism, responsiveness and new HDR technology, Half-Life 2 Episode One opens the door to a world where the player's presence affects everything around him, from the physical environment to the behaviors even the emotions of both friends and enemies.

We benchmark Half Life 2 Episode One with our own custom timedemos as to avoid possible driver optimizations using the "record demo_name" command and loading the timedemo with the "timedemo demo_name" command - For a full list of the commands, click here.




At the lower resolution we can see that all the cards are together. When we start moving up though we can see that the overclocked 8800GT sits just behind the GTS with the GTS puting out some big numbers. However, the difference between a 161FPS average and 178FPS average is next to nothing given you won't be able to tell the difference.

Benchmarks - Prey


Prey

Version and / or Patch Used: Unpatched
Timedemo or Level Used: HardwareOC Custom Benchmark
Developer Homepage: http://www.humanhead.com
Product Homepage: http://www.prey.com
Buy It Here




Prey is one of the newest games to be added to our benchmark line-up. It is based off the Doom 3 engine and offers stunning graphics passing what we've seen in Quake 4 and does put quite a lot of strain on our test systems.




We continue to see the overclocked 8800GT perform pretty much on par with the stock clocked G92 based 8800GTS.

Benchmarks - F.E.A.R.


F.E.A.R.

Version and / or Patch Used: Unpatched
Timedemo or Level Used: Built-in Test
Developer Homepage: http://www.vugames.com
Product Homepage: http://www.whatisfear.com/us/
Buy It Here




F.E.A.R. (First Encounter Assault Recon) is an intense combat experience with rich atmosphere and a deeply intense paranormal storyline presented entirely in first person. Be the hero in your own spine-tingling epic of action, tension, and terror...and discover the true meaning of F.E.A.R.





We can see F.E.A.R. performance across the board sits quite similar. There is an increase and we continue to see the pattern of the overclocked 8800GT 512MB matching the performance of the stock clocked 8800GTS 512MB.

Benchmarks - Company of Heroes


Company of Heroes

Version and / or Patch Used: 1.7
Timedemo or Level Used: Built-in Test
Developer Homepage: http://www.relic.com
Product Homepage: http://www.companyofheroesgame.com
Buy It Here




Company of Heroes, or COH as we're calling it, is one of the latest World War II games to be released and also one of the newest in our lineup of benchmarks. It is a super realistic real-time strategy (RTS) with plenty of cinematic detail and great effects. Because of its detail, it will help stress out even the most impressive computer systems with the best graphics cards - especially when you turn up all the detail. We use the built-in test to measure the frame rates.






Company of Heroes is the first instance where we haven't seen the overclocked 8800GT really match the performance of the GTS, though we can see it's only just behind and offers an increase nonetheless.

Benchmarks - World in Conflict


World in Conflict (DX9)

Version and / or Patch Used: Demo
Timedemo or Level Used: Built-in Test
Developer Homepage: http://www.massive.se
Product Homepage: http://www.worldinconflict.com




World in Conflict is a real-time strategy video game by Massive Entertainment and to be published by Sierra Entertainment for Windows (DX9 and DX10) and the Xbox 360.

The game is set in 1989 where economic troubles cripple the Soviet Union and threaten to dissolve it. However, the title pursues a "what if" scenario where, in this case, the Soviet Union does not collapse and instead pursues a course of war to remain in power. It is an intensive new game is sure to put plenty of stress on even the latest graphics cards and we use the built-in benchmarking for our testing.





We again see the gains on offer for the overclocked GT. Performance comes up to about the same level as the 8800GTS 512MB at stock. We can see that the GTS continues to move forward but it comes as no surprise that the gains aren't huge.

Benchmarks - Crysis (DX9)


Crysis (DX9)

Version and / or Patch Used: Demo
Timedemo or Level Used: Built-in Benchmark
Developer Homepage: http://www.crytek.com/
Product Homepage: http://www.ea.com/crysis/
Buy It Here




From the makers of Far Cry, Crysis offers FPS fans the best-looking, most highly-evolving gameplay, requiring the player to use adaptive tactics and total customization of weapons and armor to survive in dynamic, hostile environments including Zero-G.

Real time editing, bump mapping, dynamic lights, network system, integrated physics system, shaders, shadows and a dynamic music system are just some of the state of-the-art features the CryENGINE™ 2 offers. The CryENGINE™ 2 comes complete with all of its internal tools and also includes the CryENGINE™ 2 Sandbox world editing system.






A few extra much needed frames can be seen with the overclocked offerings once again.

High Quality AA and AF




Our high quality tests let us separate the men from the boys and the ladies from the girls. If the cards weren't struggling before they will start to now.


3DMark06



Overclocking lets us get over the 10k hump. We can see the 8800GTS continues on but still sits shy of 11k.


Half Life 2 (Episode One HDR)



We can see when we start talking AA and AF the cards begin to separate a bit more. We can see the overclocked 8800GT comes past the stock 8800GTS in its stock form again, but for the first time the overclocked 8800GTS separates itself. These numbers are so big though that you're going to have a beautiful gaming experience on any setup.


Prey



We leave with the overclocked 8800GT sitting in line with the stock 8800GTS 512MB.

Final Thoughts




Looking at these numbers I really feel that this just strengthens my point about the 8800GT 512MB being a crazy model. With a bit of overclocking on its stock cooler you can bring it up to the performance of the new stock clocked G92 based 8800GTS.

The 8800GTS is going to launch at $100 USD more than the 8800GT (or about $150 AUD). This is a lot of money. Ultimately the 8800GTS G92 card is going to be a faster offering; and sure the price increase isn't insane like the Ultra was to the GTX, but the model doesn't seem to fit that great into the full lineup.

If on the other hand the good G92 cores only go to the 8800GTS and the 8800GT becomes a poor overclocker then it could be a different story. Also, if the 512MB model becomes discontinued and a lower speed 256MB model hits the market we again could see how it would become a good model. The bottom line though is that the 8800GT 512MB is such a good model you can completely understand why there are so many on back order.

There has to be a reason for the lack of stock though, and personally I think it has to do with the fact that once the 8800GTS 512MB becomes available the 512MB 8800GT is going to suddenly become completely unavailable. The card took so much attention away from the new 3870 and 3850 that people simply don't know these ATI counterparts exist. If NVIDIA can ride this wave going into the Christmas break then they're laughing all the way to the bank.

If someone is happy to overclock, it's hard to recommend the GTS to them. However, it could end up being the only card in stock over this holiday period. Time will tell.

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Shawn takes care of all of our video card reviews. From 2009, Shawn is also taking care of our memory reviews, and from May 2011, Shawn also takes care of our CPU, chipset and motherboard reviews. As of December 2011, Shawn is based out of Taipei, Taiwan.

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