Shootouts

A Ten-Course GeForce 8800 GT Feast

By Vincent Chang - 28 Nov 2007

MSI & Palit

MSI NX8800GT-T2D512E-OC

Decorated with tags and stickers, the packaging of this MSI card is one of the most colorful you can find on retail shelves here. The most important sticker to consumers is probably the one proclaiming its overclocked status, though the margin of the overclock is not as spectacular as ASUS' or even Leadtek's. The core is clocked at a modest 660MHz while the memory is at 1900MHz, enough to get a couple more frames for most games but not as impressive as some of its competitors. MSI has balanced this with a decent package, which however, lacked a must-have title like its previous offerings of Company of Heroes and that could be seen as a blemish by bargain hunters. There's nothing wrong with its price though and at S$429, it should be one of the more affordable overclocked versions now.

Competitive pricing may give the MSI an edge over its rivals, despite a rather uninspired game bundle.

MSI's bundle list:-

  • 2x DVI-to-VGA converter
  • 7-pin mini-DIN to S-Video/Component dongle
  • S-Video extension cable
  • 6-pin Molex power connector
  • Colin Mcrae's Dirt (full game)
  • MSI Multimedia Beyond 3D (Drivers & Utilities)
  • Lord of the Rings Online - 14 day Trial version

 

Palit GeForce 8800 GT Sonic

The only vendor in our roundup today to feature a custom cooler and even a redesigned PCB with better power delivery components, the Palit GeForce 8800 GT Sonic lives up to its tradition with a two-slot cooling solution that matches the NVIDIA reference cooler in terms of quietness and then more than equals it with lower operating temperatures. The catch as usual is whether you mind giving up an expansion slot to make way for the larger cooler.

The Palit is also overclocked, though not to the extent of most of its competitors, with only 650MHz for the core and 2000MHz for the memory. That should give it the edge over the standard versions and consumers are of course welcome to try their luck at overclocking it further and stressing that blue, orb shaped cooler. As for the bundle, Palit has never been too lavish in this department but we did find a game for the fanboys here in the lovely form of Lara Croft in the latest Tomb Raider adventure. Best of all, an extremely competitive price of S$406 makes this an irresistible offer.

As usual, Palit produces something different from the typical reference board design.

It's a two slot cooler but from the lower temperatures, we say it's worth it.

Palit's list of accessories:-

  • Driver CD
  • Quick installation guide
  • Tomb Raider Anniversary (full game)
  • DVI-to-VGA adaptor
  • 6-pin Molex power connector
  • 7-pin mini-DIN to Component/S-Video dongle
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