MSI NX8800GTS 320 MB OC Edition
NVIDIA GeForce 8800GTS, 320 MB GDDR3Core / Shader Clock : 576 / 1350 MHz
Memory Clock : 837 MHz (1674 MHz GDDR3)
Overall Score: 92.5 points
The MSI NX8800GTS OC Edition is the only card that's factory overclocked, out of the box in this round up. The overclock is quite modest - 65 MHz for the core and 45 MHz (90 MHz effective) for the memory. With such a modest overclock, we didn't expect any significant differences between the MSI NX8800GTS OC Edition and the other cards in this round up. In our experience, MSI have always been more conservative than other vendors. We think the reason for the modest overclock is related to the heatsink used. MSI is still using the reference cooling design. A much higher overclock will likely mean MSI had to use a more beefed up cooler and / or a faster fan. Not really selling points since it will cost more or detract noise conscious users away from the card.
Now, the bundle. We think MSI did a great job with the bundle. You'll find the standard accesories like an HDTV cable / connector, an S-VIdeo cable and two DVI-to-analog inside. The S-video cable also doubles as a cable extension for the HDTV dongle, which is very useful if you want to hook up your PC to that big HDTV you have on the living room. Also a nice touch are connector covers, though MSI only provide two DVI covers, unlike Gigabyte who provide covers for all connectors and ports. You'll find one driver CD and one game bundle, which we think is another highlight for MSI NX8800GTS - Company of Heroes. While we don't differentiate between game bundles, we can safely say users will likely prefer games like Company of Heroes than the usual game bundle. This should make the NX8800GTS OC Edition an attractive package for some gamers.
With a modest overclock, we didn't expect temperatures of this card to be any different from the other cards in this round up. So how what kind of temperatures can we expect? Below is the hardware monitoring screen grab from RivaTuner.
67° Celsius at full load with 48° Celsius ambient temperature - about the same as the Gigabyte NX8800GTS. Practically no difference at all. We'll have to see whether the overclock will bring noticeable differences in performance.
Overall, we're very impressed with MSI's offering. In addition to offering a good, all around bundle with some extra touches, MSI gone the extra length to offer a game bundle we actually want. Of course, there's some personal bias here concerning the game, but even without the game, the card is a very well rounded package.
[Previous Page]
[Go to top]
[Next Page]