13 - The Conclusion

The Verdict

The first impression from VVikoo as a company is remarkably good. We see a board that behaves spot on with the reference design from NVIDIA yet is so much more than that. Let me get one thing straight out of the way though, 1GB is a waste of money on the 8800 GT. Not one game substantially benefited from it, in fact in some situations more memory could even slow the card a teeny bit. The 1GB framebuffer is simply not used fully. Where you would expect to see it make a difference would be DX10 games, yet for DX10 gaming an 8800 GT is just not powerful enough.

So if you go for the VVikoo, opt a 512MB MAX model. There is another thing I like to address, the color-schema of the card. While red DVI connectors and a purple PCB could very well be considered a hot design in Asian countries, I simply have to admit that here in the western regions of the world this is not really working. Let me just state that I am happy that the innards of the PC are dark and this the purple colors looks more black. Purple is not a good color for a PCB unless your name is either Prince or TAFKAP.  You know what I'd like to see ..  a completely white or black card :) Minor stuff though, yet very important for marketing.

The positives, the card clocked like a teenager in heat, I mean thing thing can overclock. Really nice. The cooler obviously is perfect for the card and keeps the temperatures real good and most of all does it in a nice silent fashion. So the conclusion goes like this .. if you dig the Purple color (you girlie!) you'll find it a very aesthetically pleasing to look at product and you are bound to have a lot of fun and it'll offer you a really nice gaming experience up-to 1600x1200 with all eye-candy enabled. The 1 GB however I can not warrant. Please go for a 512MB model and save the dough for something else.

VVikoo introduces their products in a very unique and gutsy way onto the market which is clever as it'll bring them good media coverage, and that's something a beginning company really needs. Surely the design is not everybody's cup of tea. But it absolutely is nice to see a new company do stuff like this.

As you guys know ... I have so much respect for companies doing innovative work. You can pick up the 1024 MB version for roughly 259 / $285. I finally found a good way to remember the name VVikoo .. recall Peter Gabriel's classis song "Biko"?, seriously respect that song and the story behind it btw. Replace it with VVIKOO, you'll never forget it again.

Info: vvikoo.comPrice: 259 EUR - $279.99