The GeForce 8800 GTX and 8800 GTS were NVIDIA’s first G80-era graphics cards built around unified shaders, a design that let the GPU allocate shader processors to the work a scene needed. At launch in 2006, the GTX was the more powerful configuration; the GTS retained the same broad architectural approach with fewer processors, lower clocks and less memory. Both supported DirectX 10, which required Windows Vista according to NVIDIA’s technical brief. Their specifications and benchmark results describe launch-era hardware and software, not how either card performs or works with modern systems.
What unified shaders changed
Earlier GPU designs assigned separate groups of shader processors to particular jobs, such as vertex or pixel processing. If one type of work was in demand while another processor group had less to do, those fixed resources could not simply be reassigned. G80’s unified design instead used a pool of stream processors that could handle vertex, pixel, geometry or physics operations, allowing resources to be directed toward the shader work in a scene.
NVIDIA’s November 2006 GeForce 8800 Architecture Technical Brief describes the GTX as having 128 stream processors running at a 1.35 GHz shader clock. NVIDIA said the processors could be allocated dynamically among those types of work. That explains the architectural flexibility; it is not, by itself, an independent measurement of performance.
DirectX 10 support—and its period-specific requirement
The GeForce 8800 GPUs supported DirectX 10’s unified shader instruction set and Shader Model 4 capabilities, including geometry shader processing and stream output. NVIDIA described the GTX as the first shipping DirectX 10 GPU. Its brief also says Windows Vista was required to use DirectX 10. That is a statement about the original platform context, not evidence that either card supports current games, drivers or operating systems.
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Launch-model specifications compared
The following specifications are for the launch-era GTX and 640 MB GTS models reviewed by PC Perspective on November 8, 2006. Later graphics cards also used the 8800 GTS name, so these figures should not be applied to every product carrying it.
| Attribute | GeForce 8800 GTX | GeForce 8800 GTS (640 MB) |
|---|---|---|
| Core clock | 575 MHz | 500 MHz |
| Stream processors and shader clock | 128 at 1.35 GHz | 96 at 1.2 GHz |
| GDDR3 memory | 768 MB at 900 MHz | 640 MB at 800 MHz |
| PCIe power connectors in the reviewed reference configuration | Two | One |
For buyers or collectors evaluating an individual vintage board, the connector count and other physical details need to be checked on that exact card. PC Perspective described the GTX as a large card, with dual dual-link DVI and HDTV output. It also reported that HDCP required an external CryptoROM supplied by the board partner, despite chip-level support. Those are historical configuration details, not a guarantee of compatibility with a particular present-day host system or display.
Rank #2
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What launch-era reviews found
In a review published November 8, 2006, HotHardware found the GTS faster than the GeForce 7900 GTX in every test in its own suite. The GTS fell short of the Radeon X1950 XTX in a couple of high-resolution tests and occasionally trailed the GeForce 7950 GX2. HotHardware reported the 8800 GTX as the strongest performer in its benchmarks, with some results reaching twice those of prior-generation single-GPU cards. These are results from that reviewer’s period test suite, not a prediction of performance in current software.
PC Perspective’s review described approximate launch prices of $599 for the GTX and $449 for the GTS. Those are 2006 launch-era prices; the cited reviews do not establish present-day used-market values.
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Rank #3
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Which model was the stronger launch card?
Within the launch configurations covered here, the GTX had more stream processors, higher processor and core clocks, more memory and a second PCIe power connector. It was the higher-spec model and led HotHardware’s tested field. The GTS was a reduced configuration, but HotHardware still found it ahead of the GeForce 7900 GTX throughout its test suite. Which card makes sense today cannot be decided from those launch reviews: current compatibility, condition and value depend on the individual board and intended use.
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Best Value
- Item Package Dimension -10.699999989086L X 3.699999996226W X 2.49999999745H Inches
- Item Package Weight - 2.1495070545 Pounds
- Item Package Quantity - 1
- Product Type - Video Card
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