We're looking for new writers to join us!

Foxconn GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB OC

Foxconn GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB OC

Written by John Yan on 3/16/2007 for PC  
More On: GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB OC
After a few months, NVIDIA is finally releasing some affordable high end cards. Foxconn, somewhat new to the video card market, sent us their implementation of the Geforce 8800 GTS with 320MB of ram. There's two versions that Foxconn is putting out and we have their overclocked edition today.

GeForce 8800 GTS

The Foxconn FV-N88SMCD2-ONOC, or GF8800 GTS 320MB OC as we'll call it, features a GPU clocked at 575MHz and memory at 1800MHz. A normal GeForce 8800 GTS is clocked in at 500MHz with the memory at 1600MHz. 96 stream processors running at 1.2GHz with 320MB of ram round out the specs. If the memory and GPU speed seem familiar, they are the exact same specifications for the GeForce 8800 GTX. Differences, besides memory amount, are the 32 less stream processors and the 96 stream processors are running 150MHz less.  Some of the initial GeForce 8800 GTS cards were great overclockers and some people were able to push the card to close or matching the GTX GPU and memory speeds so seeing this card run at the same specifications as the GeForce 8800 GTX isn't too much of a surprise. Foxconn's offering of an overclock edition will give people a guaranteed speed increase over the original GTS offering.

Every feature that the first GeForce 8800 cards support is also in this card. From DirectX 10 to GigaThread to Lumenex Engine, you can be sure this card is ready for the next-generation of games on Vista. The only differences are really the memory amount and the omission of some memory helps cut the cost down to a more reasonable price. It's still a pretty expensive card at around $300 but it's a lot more affordable than the PlayStation 3 like price of the GeForce 8800 GTX.

Lengthwise, the GTS card isn't too long at 9.5 inches. Unlike the GTX version which can be a hassle to put in some cases, the GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB OC card should easily fit into most cases. The card also features one power connector that faces right. The GTX cards have two that face up for easier access. For cooling, the card features the same cooling unit as a reference GeForce 8800 GTS card but with Foxconn's branding on the front. The cooler makes this card a two slot solution. In contrast to Foxconn's GTX card, the GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB OC card doesn't feature blue LEDs that line the cooler. The bracket has the standard Dual-DVI as well as one video out connection. Overall, it's a standard looking card with the Foxconn branding.

Like the previous Foxconn graphics card reviews, the GF8800 GTS 320MB OC card comes with a bundle of a USB gamepad and two utilities: RestoreIT and Virtual DrivePro. The gamepad is not too bad while the two utilities can come in handy. Foxconn's bundle is different than others and no game is included in the pack. The normal set of cables and adapters are also included such as component attachments, DVI to VGA adapters, and a power cable converter. If you don't have a six pin power cable, Foxconn includes an adapter that turns two Molex connectors into one.For testing, I decided to show the speed differences between this card and the GeForce 8800 GTX card from Foxconn. Drivers used were version 91.47. I only tested at the highest resolution capable of my monitor, which is 1600x1200. Anything lower would just make the card CPU bound. The test setup also includes:

  • AMD64 X2 3800+
  • abit NF-M2 nView
  • 2 GIG Crucial Ballistix PC2-6400 (2 sticks of 1GB each)
  • Seagate 160GIG 7200RPM HDD
  • Windows XP w/ Service Pack 2


First up is Futuremark's 3D Mark 06.


3DMark06

3DMark®06 is the worldwide standard in advanced 3D game performance benchmarking. A fundamental tool for every company in the PC industry as well as PC users and gamers, 3DMark06 uses advanced real-time 3D game workloads to measure PC performance using a suite of DirectX 9 3D graphics tests, CPU tests, and 3D feature tests. 3DMark06 tests include all new HDR/SM3.0 graphics tests, SM2.0 graphics tests, AI and physics driven single and multiple cores or processor CPU tests and a collection of comprehensive feature tests to reliably measure next generation gaming performance today. We tested at the standard 1280x1024 resolution.

3DMark06


Quake 4

Quake 4 is Raven Software's true sequel to the id classic. The game uses an improved Doom 3 engine for some great graphics. For the test we ran a demo featuring a few enemies and some squad mates. We set the graphics qualities at maximum and ran it on three different resolutions. A new demo was used over my previous tests that feature a more intensive battle. All of the options were set to maximum for the run.

Quake 4

Fear

One of the surprise hits out of Monolith was F.E.A.R. This supernatural FPS looks incredible and really pushes a video card to its limits. For the benchmark, we ran three resolutions using the in game benchmark with all the settings set at max.

FEAR
Prey
Prey has been in development for many years but the folks at Human Head finally released the game this year. The game utilizes the Doom 3 engine like Quake 4 and features the really cool Portal technology to garner some interesting game play aspects. All settings were set to maximum and three resolutions were chosen for the test.

Prey


Company of Heroes
Company of Heroes is an RTS that really pushes video cards. The game by the fine folks at Relic Entertainment is set in WWII and features deformable terrain as well as great physics. The level of detail in the game for an RTS is amazing. For the tests, we set everything at maximum or ultra to ensure that the card was taxed as much as possible

Company of Heroes



Half-Life 2 is Valve's sequel to the mega hit that just keeps on going. The game features incredible physics and highly detailed graphics. A scene near the beach with attacking ant lions was used to test this card along with setting the graphics at maximum.

Half-Life 2


The performance of this card for the price is really amazing. For those that can't afford $500 for the high end card, this is a lot more reasonable. Some of the tests are very close to the GeForce 8800 GTX with the overclock helping out a lot. The halving of memory doesn't affect the card that much and you probably won't see its affects until you go above the 1600x1200 resolution with higher end monitors or large widescreen LCD monitors. Overall I was really happy with the performance of the GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB OC card from Foxconn.With the unique bundle, reference design, and guarantee overclock, the Foxconn GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB OC card gives you a great gaming performance for current games as well as DirectX 10 support for future games. While there's nothing that sets the card apart in terms of design, you do get a solid performing no-nonsense card. The card costs $310, which is $100 less than the 640MB version that is not overclocked on Newegg.com.  It's still a little expensive but you get a lot of card for your money at this price range. For great gaming performance at a semi-reasonable price, the Foxconn GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB OC card is one you should really consider.
Coming overclocked out of the box, the Foxconn GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB OC card will give you great performance, DirectX 10 support, and a unique bundle.

Rating: 9.4 Excellent

* The product in this article was sent to us by the developer/company.

Foxconn GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB OC Foxconn GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB OC Foxconn GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB OC Foxconn GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB OC Foxconn GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB OC

About Author

I've been reviewing products since 1997 and started out at Gaming Nexus. As one of the original writers, I was tapped to do action games and hardware. Nowadays, I work with a great group of folks on here to bring to you news and reviews on all things PC and consoles.

As for what I enjoy, I love action and survival games. I'm more of a PC gamer now than I used to be, but still enjoy the occasional console fair. Lately, I've been really playing a ton of retro games after building an arcade cabinet for myself and the kids. There's some old games I love to revisit and the cabinet really does a great job at bringing back that nostalgic feeling of going to the arcade.

View Profile