The OCZ GeForce 8800 GTX Video Card Review

Power Consumption & Conclusion

For testing power consumption we took our test system and plugged it into a Seasonic Power Angel. For idle numbers we allowed the system to idle on the desktop for 5 minutes and took the reading. For load numbers we measured the peak wattage used by the system while running through 3DMark 2006.

As was the case throughout the tests the OCZ GeForce 8800 GTX was right on target for a reference card and power consumption doesn’t change that. Still at 300w load you’re going to need at least a 450w power supply (with an +12V current rating of at least 30A) to keep this video card happy.

Conclusion

If we havent heaped enough praise on the GeForce 8800 GTX this should just about do it. OCZ takes an already proven performer and kicks it up a notch. Our OCZ card never exhibited any ill effects and retained the same quiet noise level, power consumption, and heat output of the reference GeForce 8800 GTX. When you add in the stellar overclock we reached it really tips the favor of our favorite GeForce 8800 GTX to OCZ. Our OCZ card reached 20MHz higher core speed and 80MHz higher memory speed than we have seen on any other standard GeForce 8800 GTX.

All OCZ GPU products are guaranteed with our a Lifetime Warranty to ensure complete product satisfaction. This means that you can sleep at night knowing that your massive overclock won’t leave you with a dead card that isn’t covered by a warranty. OCZ is also based in the United States, so returning the card via the RMA program shouldn’t be too tough in theory.

While I dont believe availability is an issue, there arent many places selling the OCZ 8800 GTX with Newegg having the best price by far. You can pick up an OCZ 8800 GTX from the Egg for $535 after a $45 rebate, which puts it just $10 above the least expensive (and very likely less overclockable) GeForce 8800 GTX you can find on that site. For just $10 more the OCZ is my hands down favorite for anyone looking at an GeForce 8800 GTX and should be considered before spending more money on an overclocked edition, or GeForce 8800 Ultra.

Legit Bottom Line: OCZs debut into the world of video cards makes a splash with the GeForce 8800 GTX. Though it performs great at stock speed the focus on overclocking pays off and the OCZ card lives up to its name, offering the best bang for the buck GeForce 8800 GTX we have had in our test bench yet.