Conclusion

The Volari Duo V8 Ultra leaves us with a very mixed first impression. Despite the prototype status of our sample and its driver, the card was able to produce some very respectable results in some areas. These highlights are clouded by the problems with texture filtering and the stark performance drop-offs in some benchmarks and games.

XGI's driver team definitely has its work cut out for it. We can expect to see final boards with shipping status and WHQL drivers within the next one or two months, or so. That gives XGI's driver programmers a bit of time to iron out the kinks.

Should they be successful, XGI's cards may well become serious alternatives to ATi's and NVIDIA's offerings, especially considering their comparatively low prices. XGI is aiming for a street price of about $449 (plus tax), which is rather inexpensive. This makes XGI's top model a good $50 less expensive than the flagship models of NVIDIA or ATi. As far as the other versions of the cards are concerned, XGI has so far declined to comment.