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The Verdict

Okay... it's no secret... short and simple: this is the fastest GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB model we have tested to date. eVGA most certainly lives up to it's reputation. You'll receive the pre-overclocked card with ACS³ cooler with everything to get started. Now it's not the cheapest 320MB model due to the guaranteed pre-overclock and cooler yet to sweeten up the deal you'll receive a free game, namely Dark messiah - Might and Magic which adds value to your product again.

The one downside is that the ACS³ cooler does not offer much of an advantage over the reference cooler, it makes sense as the reference cooler from NVIDIA is already really good. On the bright side, the redesigned reference (=ACS³) cooler helps by cooling down the PCB entirely as it's designed for that. So other components on the frontside of the PCB will get some airflow as well. But the card will still get rather hot and yes... you are paying for that ACS³ cooler alright. In all honestly it's very likely that with a manual overclock you can achieve very similar results yourself with a reference based product. You need to have a little luck though and when you buy this ACS³, luck is not a factor... the overclock will be a fact.

Looking at it from the other side we can't deny that thanks to the ACS³ this product is clocked where no manufacturer dared to clock it's product making it the fastest pre-overclocked 320MB model on this globe. Now when you combine that fact with he warranty policy and step-up program... you have to admit... that's a golden deal.

The 320MB model itself compared to 640 Mb then. See on one side we have the sheer power of 96 shader cores in the graphics processor  to show off some really impressive stuff; yet on the other side as soon as you hit a high resolution you'll hit a wall as the amount of memory is holding you back. It's like buying an Aston Martin to drive around tight city streets. You can't use all it's power in higher resolutions.

Then if we compare the tested 320 MB version towards a regular 640 Mb model of the GeForce 8800 GTS we see in the more normal and common resolutions that the 320 Mb models are faster (compared to that 640 Mb model) as they are allowed to be pre-overclocked; it does make this a very interesting product.

For who is the 8800 GTS 320MB intended and a fantastic product? Well if you game up-to a resolution of 1920x1200 you are good to go. With pretty much all modern gaming titles and this years upcoming games. If you want to game at roughly 1920x1200 or higher, you'll need more memory on the graphics card.

But (and I stated this before) the majority of gamers out there are still on an LCD screen at 1280x1024 or 1600x1200. And for you guys this card means bang for your bucks. If you aim at a higher resolutions then definitely go for the 640 model, or even better the delicious 768 MB GTX.

There's another thing to bare in mind though, upcoming games that require massive amounts of texture memory could form an issue. A good example in our test run was GRAW; the GTS 640 MB model performed way better on all levels thanks to the fact it had enough memory. With upcoming DX10 titles like Crysis I'm not really sure just yet what the effect of 320 MB memory is.

Let's talk money here... a regular GeForce 8800 320MB will cost you roughly 300 USD. This eVGA e-GeForce 8800 GTS KO w/ACS³ will set you down 339.99 USD. So there's a 40 dollar difference (these prices are pretty much the same in EURO's by the way). The question is... is the 40 bucks worth it? Short answer... yes. Not mainly because of the ACS³ cooler though. It's the combo. The really high default overclock and thus performance gives this product it's edge. Next to that you get to have the free game (which is a great title also), you'll get the fantastic warranty and you can use that step-up program. Now you can't deny that's not worth the extra 40 bucks.

The eVGA e-GeForce 8800 GTS KO w/ACS³ is like a wolf in sheep's clothing, you expect something good... yet it's really good. You'll get a DX10 compatible product offering great performance up-to a resolution of 1920x1200. I wish it would have had a 512MB framebuffer but the nature of the G80 architecture does not allow that. To make up for it you do get a full 96 shader cores in that graphics processor activated. Plain and simple; at this price level this product is very nice and it promises you a tremendous gaming experience at that 300-340 USD/EUR price level.

Many GeForce 8800 320 MB models already have been spotted in our pricewatch database, click here to have a browse.

Hilbert

eVGA e-GeForce 8800 GTS 320 MB KO with ACS³
Info: evga.comPrice: 339.99 USD