PNY 8800 GTX Overclocked Graphics Card Review

Traditionally when you think of overclocked 8800 GTX graphics cards a few names, come to mind, XFX, BFG, EVGA, the typical alphabet soup of NVIDIA partners. Now there is a fourth name to add to the list of partners overclocking graphics cards from NVIDIA, PNY. Not to long ago PNY announced their overclocked 8800 GTX graphics card and today we are going to see how well it stacks up to the other overclocked 8800 GTX cards I have tested. Read on to find out how well the PNY 8800 GTX Overclocked stacks up.

Gallery

6 images

Benchmarks

Features & Specifications
It seems like I say this a lot, but the features of the PNY 8800 GTX Overclocked graphics card are the exact same as every other 8800 GTX graphics card out there. PNY overclocked this card with a 621MHz core clock, 2.0GHz memory clock and a shader clock of 1458MHz. To compare stock numbers are 575MHz core, 1.8GHz on the memory and 1350MHz shader clock. The fastest overclocked 8800 GTX that I have tested to date is the XFX 8800 GTX XXX and that card has a core clock of 630MHz, a memory clock of 2GHz and a shader clock of 1350MHz. For more details on the features of the PNY 8800 GTX Overclocked, check out the specifications page of this review.

Test System
The test machine I am using for this review has the following specifications:

• CPU- Intel QX6700
• Mainboard- XFX 680i
• RAM- PNY XLR8 2GB PC2-9384
• OS- Windows XP Pro SP2
• Display- Dell 30” UltraSharp 3007WFP-HC

Benchmarks
Now that the test machine specs are out of the way, we can get into the testing of the PNY 8800 GTX Overclocked. I am using my normal suite of benchmarks today including 3DMark06, Quake 4, FEAR, and Battlefield 2142. So, without further ado, let’s get into the testing.

3DMark06
First up is 3DMark06, which I ran at default settings in the application and default settings in the NVIDIA control panel. The 3DMark06 test results are as follows:

• Total 3DMarks- 12639
• SM2.0- 5208
• HDR/SM3.0- 5278
• CPU- 4203
• Return to Proxycon- 42.991
• Firefly Forest- 43.893
• Canyon Flight- 49.782
• Deep Freeze- 55.787
• CPU1- 1.395
• CPU2- 2.021

For the sake of comparison, the XFX 8800 GTX XXX that I reviewed on a test computer powered by an Intel X6800 CPU scored 11138 total 3DMarks. The XFX 8800 Ultra I tested a few weeks back scored 12510 total 3DMarks. That means that this overclocked GTX card from PNY beat the XFX 8800 Ultra by 129 3DMarks, the two cards traded victories in the sub tests within 3DMark.

Quake 4
The next test up for the PNY 8800 GTX Overclocked graphics card was with Quake 4 which I ran at a screen resolution of 1920 x 1200 with 16x AA, ultra settings and multi core on. I used Fraps to record frame rate data while playing the game from the very beginning to the point where you are asked to go back for the medic. Fraps recorded the following frame rate data:

• Min- 20 fps
• Avg- 59.846 fps
• Max- 63 fps

FEAR
After the Quake 4 tests came FEAR, which is much more demanding graphically that Quake 4. I ran FEAR at 1920 x 1200 with 4x AA, 16x AF, soft shadows on and all settings on max. The in game test loop showed the following frame rate data:

• Min- 39 fps
• Avg- 78 fps
• Max- 183 fps

The percentages showed that only 2% of the time frame rates were between 25 and 40 fps, and a full 98% of the time frame rates were greater than 40 fps. I also made a run with FEAR at the same settings save a bump up to 2560 x 1600 to match the Dell 3007WFP-HC displays native resolution and the in game test loop recorded the following frame rate data:

• Min- 26 fps
• Avg- 47 fps
• Max- 99 fps

The percentages showed that 47% of the time frame rates were 25 – 40 fps and 53% of the time frame rates were greater than 40 fps.

Battlefield 2142
The final test up for the PNY 8800 GTX Overclocked graphics card was Battlefield 2142. I ran BF2142 at a screen resolution of 2048 x 1536, a weird resolution, but as close as the game comes to the 2560 x 1600 I wanted for my 30” Dell display. I also used 4x AA and all other settings on high with enhanced lighting on. I used Fraps to record frame rate data while playing the single player level called “Fall of Berlin.” Fraps recorded the following frame rate data:

• Min- 59 fps
• Avg- 64.382
• Max- 71 fps

Final Thoughts
I was very surprised an impressed by the performance of the PNY 8800 GTX Overclocked graphics card, which was able to best any other graphics cards that I have tested to date, even some costing more than the MSRP of $599.99 the PNY 8800 GTX Overclocked graphics card carries. This card’s performance places PNY squarely in the running with the big three, XFX, BFG, and EVGA when it comes to overclocked enthusiast graphics cards.

Verdict

Conclusion

Pros

• Fantastic performance
• Priced well in the overclocked 8800 GTX segment

Cons

• Not bundled with any games or software

Verdict
To say the performance of the PNY 8800 GTX Overclocked graphics card for the price is impressive would be an understatement. PNY has leapt onto the overclocked video card scene with the PNY 8800 GTX Overclocked graphics card, the other manufacturers should be wary.

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