At the end of the day, the GeForce 8800 GT 256 MB is a bit stuck. On one side, the previous model is slightly better in low resolutions and a lot better in high resolutions, ensuring a longer lifespan for less than $50 more.

On the other side, it does outperform the Radeon HD 3850 in low resolutions (17% on average with antialiasing disabled), but contrary to the latter, it suffers more quickly (and to a greater extent) from the fact that it only has 256 MB of memory. Even if we must acknowledge that it’s very often in resolutions that aren’t playable anyway, its lifespan won’t be any longer. Yet its price is said to be $30 higher than the HD 3850 ($180 against $150 today, meaning 20% more) and contrary to the latter, its availability is unreal at this point in time.

You’ve guessed it; the compromise offered by this 8800 GT 256 MB isn’t that interesting to us, given the numerous cards in this bracket. We continue to recommend three cards: the HD 3850 (256 MB) for those that can’t afford more than $150, the HD 3870 (512 MB) at $200 and the GeForce 8800 GT (512 MB) at $230-250 (don’t spend more than that).

NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 256 MB: A card a little too limited by its 256 MB of memory compared to the HD 3850, and which only outperforms it in low resolutions despite a higher price and power consumption.

Pros

• Better performance than the HD 3850 in low resolutions
• Overclocking potential (similar to the HD 3850)
• PureVideo 2

Cons

• Performance crashes down in high resolutions or when antialiasing is enabled
• Price higher than the HD 3850 and a very poor availability