BFG 8800 GT OCX w/ ThermoIntelligence Video Card Review

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Benchmarks

Features & Specifications
The BFG 8800 GT OCX has a core clock speed of 700 MHz, a memory clock of 2000MHz and a shader clock of 1728 MHz. The card has 112 stream processors and uses 512MB of GDDR3 memory with a 256-bit memory interface. The exclusive ThermoIntelligence cooling solution promises to keep the GPU 30C cooler than a standard heatsink and fan under full load. The card is PCIe 2.0 and HDCP compliant as well.

Test Machine
My test machine has the following specifications:

OS- Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 32-bit
PSU- Top Power 1100W
Mainboard- XFX 790i Ultra
RAM- 2GB Kingston HyperX DDR3
CPU- Intel QX9770
Display- 30-inch Dell

3DMark06
The first test up for the BFG 8800 GT OCX is 3DMark06. I ran 3DMark at default setting in the 3DMark application and default settings in the NVIDIA control panel. The BFG 8800 GT OCX scored as follows on 3DMark06:

Total 3DMarks- 14098
SM2.0- 6004
HDR/SM3.0- 5705
CPU- 4667
Return to Proxycon- 49.859
Firefly Forest- 50.206
Canyon Flight- 53.158
Deep Freeze- 60.341
CPU1- 1.527
CPU2- 2.283

To compare 3DMark06 scores the last 8800 GT I reviewed was the XXX edition from XFX. The XFX 8800 GT XXX scored 13546 on a different test machine. The Asus EN9600GT Silent scored 11190 3DMarks and the XFX 9800 GTX Black edition scored 15032 3DMarks.

Call of Duty 4
The first gaming test up is a new game for my test regime. Typically I use Bioshock, but I decided to update to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare since it is a much more popular game right now. I ran COD4 at a screen resolution of 1600 x 1200 with 2x AA, shadows, specular maps and depth of field on, dynamic lights set to normal, soft smoke edges, rag doll and bullet impacts were on and model and water detail was set to normal. I used Fraps to record frame rate data on the epilogue stage where you rescue the hostage on the plane. Fraps recorded the following frame rate data:

Min- 39 fps
Avg- 82.57 fps
Max- 136 fps

Quake Wars
The next test up for the BFG 8800 GT OCX is Quake Wars. I ran the game at a screen resolution of 2560 x 1600 with 8x AF, 4x AA, shaders on ultra and all other visual settings on high with soft shadows and smooth foliage turned on. Fraps recorded frame rate data on a single player Africa refinery map. Frame rate data was as follows:

Min- 21 fps
Avg- 39.749 fps
Max- 57 fps

Crysis
The final game test for the BFG 8800 GT OCX was Crysis. I ran Crysis at a screen resolution of 1920 x 1200 with no AA and all visual settings on medium. V-sync was turned off. Fraps recorded frame rate data from the initial beach insertion until the battle with the first enemy soldiers. Fraps recorded the following:

Min- 29 fps
Avg- 44.118 fps
Max- 61 fps

Final Thoughts
The performance that BFG gets out of the 8800 GT OCX is very impressive. The 8800 GT OCX is a very well priced card considering the performance it delivers with an online retail price of $209.99. This is the best performing 8800 GT I have tested.

Verdict

Conclusion

Pros

Fantastic performance
Quiet
Great price

Cons

No game bundle
Dual slot cooling solution

Verdict
If you are in the market for an NVIDIA 8800 GT, the BFG 8800 GT OCX is the card to shop for. The BFG 8800 GT OCX is simply the best performing 8800 GT that you can buy at any price.

9.5

Gallery

3 images

The Author

Shane McGlaun
Leading our review center, Shane McGlaun (Google) knows technology inside out. His extensive experience in testing computer hardware and consumer electronics enable him to effectively qualify new products and trends. If you want us review your product, please contact Shane.
Shane can be contacted directly at shane@i4u.com.