Okay, so there you have it; the GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB vs. 320MB graphics card comparison! The 640MB version is of course faster, but it is also more expensive. In fact the 640MB version is 33% more expensive on average, so on average how much faster was it? Well at 1920x1200 with the AA/AF settings disabled (application preference) the 640MB graphics card was on average just 15% faster. Now if you take into consideration that the only games showing an actual difference in performance here were Company of Heroes and F.E.A.R, both of which used Anti-aliasing in game, the 640MB card did not do all that well.

The other four games showed very little difference between the two graphics cards, with Prey, X3: Reunion and Far Cry showing absolutely no difference in performance. Even Supreme Commander only saw a 5.8% performance advantage in favour of the more expensive 640MB 8800 GTS graphics card. So as it stands the 640MB 8800 GTS is a waste of money when compared to the 320MB card, even at 1920x1200. Well no actually that’s not the case, at least not once the AA/AF settings are turned on. These days AA 4x is quite a mild quality setting, particularly given these cards support AA 16x.

Keeping this in mind, I was shocked to find that the average performance difference between these two graphics cards rose from just 15% with AA/AF disabled to 40% with AA 4x + AF 8x enabled! This now makes the 640MB card the better value option. Games such as Company of Heroes saw an 85% performance gain at 1920x1200 with AA/AF enabled. So when it boils down to it both graphics cards can potentially be very good value options, depending on your needs.

Initially I assumed that the 640MB graphics card would be much better at higher resolutions such as 1920x1200. However after testing both the 320MB and 640MB cards at 1280x1024, 1600x1200 and 1920x1200, this just is not the case. Rather it is the AA/AF quality settings that demand the extra memory capacity and it was not until these settings were enabled that the 640MB card showed any kind of real performance advantages. That said, I find AA/AF settings essential at lower resolutions such as 1280x1024, where as you can get away without them at 1920x1200. This being the case, the 640MB version is really going to win out in either scenario.

Bottom-line is those with 19” LCD’s and even 22” widescreen LCD monitors will get away with the 320MB card and should be happy to pocket the $100 US in savings. However, those with more expensive 24”, 27” and 30” LCD monitors are certainly going to want the 640MB version. Furthermore, if you are a big fan of AA/AF image quality then the 640MB version is really a must. All in all I have found that at $300 US the 320MB 8800 GTS fits the price bracket very well and the same can be said about the 640MB version in the $400 US price bracket!

Reviewed By Steven Walton