Gainward 8800GTS GS
2. Retail Package
- Gainward BLISS 8800GTS GS 640MB Golden Sample
Gainward presents its proposal for the 8800 series platform. Powered by NVIDIA´s® GeForce® 8800GTS graphics processor unit (GPU), the BLISS 8800GTS 640TV DD is designed to deliver an incredibly realistic gaming experience, displaying 3D and HDR lighting effects as never seen or experienced before. With it´s 640MB/320bits high-speed memory, the BLISS 8800GTS offers a knock-out performance allowing gamers to blast through games at record breaking speeds.
The BLISS 8800GTS 640MB comes with the logo "Golden Sample", indicating improved core/memory clocking over other manufacturers
"...Golden Sample products from Gainward offer a higher clocksetting than reference-design boards. That is the heart and soul of Gainward's Golden Sample. With some products this is achieved by using higher performing components than on the reference design boards and on other products the higher performance is achieved by using software utilities..."
Currently, Gainward has two variations of the 8800GTS series, with different core/memory clocks:
Model |
Core |
Memory |
Other features |
550 MHz |
1.76 GHz |
1,1ns DDR3 |
|
500 MHz |
1.6 GHz |
1,1ns DDR3 |
The fastest Gainward 8800GTS card you can buy, comes with 550MHz/1.76GHz clock speeds. For our tests, Gainward provided us with the "8293-BLISS 8800GTS GS 640MB Golden Sample" model. The card can be found online at a retail price of €430~460. The retail box has a unique design and includes the "Golden Sample" logo:
The retail package is complete with printed manual, drivers and cables:
In full, the retail package includes:
- A 8800GTS card
- A printed starter manual (available in English/French/German/Italian)
- 2x DVI-D to VGA converters
- A power to PCI-E cable
- A TV-out cable (HDTV support)
- Software CD with drivers
- Retail version of CyberLink PowerProducer and PowerDVD 6
The card is mid-sized, so it should fit without problems in a mid ATX box. It occupies two of slot positions, one or the card and one for the cooling system which blows air out the the back. The cooling system covers both the memory banks and GPU core and in most cases is very quiet:
The card needs PCI-E power with at least a 600W SLI certified PSU if you decide to go SLI.
The card has two DVI-D outputs and one TV-out output. The photo below shows the rear connections available as well as the second slot position required by the cooling system which blows hot air out from the rear of the case:
On the rear we can see the board's model, Part No and Serial No:
