Foxconn FV-N88SMCD2-ONOC 8800 GTS 320MB Overclocked Graphics Card Review

With the entry of the NVIDIA 8800 GTS 320 we see the price of DirectX 10 graphics coming down to a point more gamers can afford. Since there are still no DirectX 10 games on the market though whether or not you should buy the 8800 GTS 320 still comes down to performance on current generation DirectX 9 games. Today we are having a look at the Foxconn 8800 GTS 320 Overclocked graphics card. Read on to find out how well it performs.

Gallery

6 images

Benchmarks

Features & Specifications
I’ll start this review off as always with a reminder that the Foxconn 8800 GTS 320MB Overclocked graphics card shares the same features with all 8800 series graphics cards from NVIDIA. The only difference in the 8800 GTS 320 and the 8800 GTS 640 is the amount of memory available to the card. The part number for this Foxconn graphics card is FV-N88SMCD2-ONOC. To that end if you want more explanation on the features of the card check out the original XFX 8800 GTX review.

Foxconn is one of the few NVIDIA partners that are bundling anything at all with the fantastic 8800 series graphics cards. You get three things with your Foxconn 8800 GTS 320MB Overclocked graphics card; the first is a USB game pad, the last two are software applications called RestoreIT 7 and VirtualDrive Pro 10. I’d prefer to see a cool game bundled in like XFX did for a while with GRAW, but this is certainly better than nothing and the USB gamepad is pretty nice.

The Foxconn 8800 GTS 320MB Overclocked graphics card has a core clock speed of 575 MHz (stock is 500MHz) and the memory clock is 1800MHz (stock is 1600 MHz). The 96 stream processors chug along at 1.2GHz. The heat sink/fan follows the NVIDIA reference design, though with a snazzy top cover. Connectivity options include dual dual-link DVI and HDTV out make for great image quality for your TV or PC display. The card supports Windows Vista and is SLI capable as well.

Benchmarks
To test the Foxconn 8800 GTS 320MB Overclocked graphics card I plugged it into my test machine with the following specs:

• CPU: Intel QX6700 Core 2 Extreme
• RAM- 2GB PNY XLR8 PC2-8500
• OS: XP Pro
• PSU: 1KW PC Power & Cooling Turbo Cool

3DMark06
I used 3DMark06, FEAR, Oblivion, Battlefield 2142, and Quake 4 to test the Foxconn 8800 GTS 320MB Overclocked graphics cards performance. First up was 3DMark06 which I ran at default settings in the program and default settings in the NVIDIA control panel. The results were as follows:

• Total 3D Marks: 9922
• SM2.0: 3979
• HDR/SM3.0: 3968
• CPU: 3960
• Return to Proxycon: 32.611 fps
• Firefly Forest: 33.605 fps
• Canyon Flight: 35.979
• Deep Freeze: 43.379 fps
• CPU1: 1.329
• CPU2: 1.888

To compare these results, the BFG 8800 GTS 320MB OC graphics card scored 8540 total 3DMarks. However, take note that the BFG 8800 GTS 320 OC was reviewed on a different test machine that had a much slower AMD FX-62 CPU and slower RAM. The Foxconn card has higher clock speeds so I would still expect it to best the BFG 8800 GTS 320MB OC card in benchmarks on the same system. The XFX 8800 GTS 320MB XXX graphics card scored 9150 total 3Dmarks on the same FX-62 based test machine I used for the BFG card. The core clock speed of the XFX XXX card is 580MHz and the memory clock is 1800MHz so these two cards are running neck and neck performance wise.

Quake 4
The next test up was with Quake 4. I used FRAPS to capture frame rate data while playing Quake 4 from the opening level to the point that you meet up with the remnants of Rhino Squad. Quake was ran at 1600 x 900 screen resolution, multi-core on, Ultra detail settings and 16x AA. Fraps captured the following frame rate data:

• Min: 31
• Avg: 59.970
• Max 63

Battlefield 2142
The next game up was Battlefield 2142 which I ran at 1600 x 1200 screen resolution, max detail settings and 4x AA. I again used FRAPS to record frame rate data for the game while playing a single player map called “Fall of Berlin”.

• Min: 63
• Avg: 78.528
• Max: 92

FEAR
Next up for testing was FEAR which I ran maxed out at 1920 x 1200 with 4x AA and 16x AF and all standard settings in the NVIDIA control panel. I used the in game test loop to get frame rate data and recorded the following info:

• Min: 12
• Avg: 39
• Max: 106

Percentages give a better idea of performance in game at these settings with only 9% of the time did frame rated drop below 25fps, 45% of the time frame rates were 25-40 fps and 46% of the time frame rates were better than 40 fps. The 8800 GTS 320MB Overclocked graphics card runs neck and neck with the XFX 8800 GTS 320MB XXX edition.

Oblivion
The final test for the Foxconn 8800 GTS 320MB Overclocked graphics card was with Oblivion. This game brought a system running dual NVIDIA 7950 GX2 graphics cards to its knees. The 8800 series from NVIDIA has been performing very well on Oblivion though. I used FRAPS to record frame rate data on the same out door level I typically use for testing next to the lake across from the exit to the sewers from the first missions. In game settings for Oblivion were 1920 x 1200 screen resolution, HDR, and all sliders to high. The following frame rate data was recorded:

• Min: 19
• Max: 64
• Avg: 43.587

As you can see from all of the testes we have ran on the Foxconn 8800 GTS 320MB Overclocked graphics card it performs very well. If you are after a reasonably priced DirectX 10 compatible graphics card the Foxconn 8800 GTS 320MB Overclocked graphics card goes for right at $300 online and it’s very hard to find any fault in this card.

Verdict

Conclusion

Pros

• Good price
• Decent bundle
• Great performance

Cons

• No games included

Verdict

• The NVIDIA 8800 series of graphics cards are undeniably powerful and perform exceptionally well. The king of the heap, when it comes to the new 8800 GTS 320, is the XFX 8800 GTS 320MB XXX and the Foxconn 8800 GTS 320MB Overclocked graphics card runs neck and neck with the XFX card. Foxconn has given gamers shopping in the mid-range performance card segment a no brainer, this is a fantastic graphics card that can be had for about $300.
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