GeForce 8800 GTS with 320 MB provides a terrific cost/benefit ratio for those users wanting to buy a very high-end video card but not willing to pay an exorbitant price.

This model from MSI is quoted on the USD 300-330 range (at Newegg.com you can find it at USD 290 after a USD 20 mail-in rebate), what makes it the best video card if you have USD 300 to spend on a video card. And you get a model that is 10% faster, on average, than models from other manufacturers, as it comes factory-overclocked.

This video card makes an even more terrific buy if you put into perspective that the 640 MB model was sold by USD 500 when it was released.

Compared to GeForce 7950 GT – which is a terrific card for the USD 250 range –, this GeForce 8800 GTS from MSI simply smoked it: MSI overclocked model was 11%-23% faster on 3DMark03, 75%-84% faster on 3DMark06, 25%-55% faster on Quake 4, 17%-46% faster on F.E.A.R., 16%-34% faster on Far Cry (with no image quality settings enabled, see below) and 40%-50% faster on Battlefield 2142.

On 3DMark06 it scored higher than GeForce 7950 GX2, due to its better high dynamic range (HDR) – GeForce 8800 GTS uses a 128-bit precision HDR, while chips from the 6 and 7 series like GeForce 7950 GX2 uses 64-bit precision –, but on other programs GeForce 7950 GX2 was faster. On the other hand it is hard to find GeForce 7950 GX2 on the market today and if you are lucky to find one it will cost you at least USD 470. Ouch.

The only problem we saw was on Far Cry with image quality settings maxed out. Maybe this happened because we were using a different driver (drivers for GeForce 8800 series are different than for other GeForce models).

The bottom line: MSI NX8800GTS-T2D320E-HD OC is the best video card if you have USD 300 to spend on a video card.