ASUS Extreme N6800 GeForce 6800 Ultra PCIe Video Card Review

What we have here today may be one of the most sought after gaming configurations on the market. Not only do we have the new Asus Extreme N6800 Ultra graphics card in the labs for testing, but we have two of them which we’ll hook together in an SLI configuration. For those looking for the absolute top of the line gaming performance, these cards will be what you will want.

…nVidia’s GeForce 6800 Ultra graphics processor was originally launched in April in 2004. At its launch, the GPU of this card was clocked at 400 MHz, it ran off an AGP interface, and could only be used in single card scenarios. GeForce 6800 Ultra cards of today are now clocked at 425 MHz, run off high-speed PCI Express x16 connections, and can be linked together in an SLI configuration for unheard of performance levels. There is little doubt in our minds that with this product, nVidia will hold the graphics card performance crown throughout 2005.

…Even in single card scenarios, the GeForce 6800 Ultra PCIe proves itself to be a faster overall card compared to ATI’s Radeon X800 XT, although this may be a hollow victory. ATI’s next generation Radeon X850 XT cards will be shipping in early February and will likely give ATI the performance edge to best the 6800 Ultra in single card systems. When SLI is added to the mix though, there is simply no question that dual 6800 Ultra PCIe cards perform much faster. Keep in mind though, in order to truly see the performance benefits of such a high-end SLI system, resolutions and image quality settings must be set at ultra-high levels.

…While I have my doubts if many gamers out the really need this kind of graphics horsepower for modern games, I can’t deny that these cards are by far the fastest thing on the market. It’s quite amazing to see two high-end graphics chips working in parallel, providing such high levels of performance yet still maintaining perfect stability and image quality. Very impressive.

GamePC
A Rare Find : Asus’s Extreme N6800 GeForce 6800 Ultra PCIe