Testbed:

Motherboard:
EVGA 680i SLI (Supplied by EVGA)

Processor:
Intel Core 2 Duo 6800 Extreme edition (Supplied by Intel)

Memory:
OCZ FlexXLC PC2 9200 5-5-5-18  (Supplied by OCZ)
        while testing CL5-5-5-15-CR2T 1066MHz at 2.2V

PSU:
OCZ Silencer 750 Quad Black ( Supplied by OCZ)

Hard disk:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 80GB SATA (Supplied by Seagate)

CPU-Cooler:
Freezer 7 Pro (Supplied by Artic Cooling)

Case Fans:
Artic Cooling - Artic Fan 12 PWM
Artic Cooling - Artic Fan 8 PWM

ATI Driver:

Sample-R680_xp_vista_8-451-2-080123a
8-1_xp32_dd_ccc_wdm_enu_57717

Nvidia Driver:

169.21_forceware_winxp_32bit_english_whql
169.28_forceware_winxp_32bit_english_beta

Overclocking

We’ve put the MSI Zilent 8800 GT card through its paces using a couple of standard gaming and Futuremark tests. We managed to overclock it from 660MHz all the way up to 715MHz, but maximum stable frequency proved to be 700MHz and 1GHz for memory. The cooler did a great job cooling the card running at 700MHz GPU. The cooler was a bit louder then, but not too much. The temperature didn’t exceed 75°C.

Futuremarks

Overclocked MSI NX8800GT Zilent card’s 3DMark results can easily match the results scored by 8800 GTS, but the one running on reference 650MHz core and 970MHz for memory. G92 graphics processor on 8800GT’s really likes overclocking and is quick to utilize any additional MHzs you throw its way. Although 3DMarks don’t show any improvement after overclocking, the improvement was certainly felt during gaming.





In 3DMark03, Zilent card runs 6.5% better than reference 8800GT, while in 3DMark06 the result was 4.3% better.



Gaming




Straight out of the box, 660MHz 8800GT Zilent scored 8% better compared to reference card, but when overclocked to 700MHz core and 1GHz memory, it scored up to 15% better. At 1280x1024 with AA and AF on, it scored some 20 frames better than reference 8800GT.







Due to higher core and memory speeds, MSI NX8800GT Zilent card does well compared to 8800 GTS and beats reference 8800GT in every test. In F.E.A.R., at 1600x1200 with AA and AF on, it outperforms the reference card by 7%, in Crysis by almost 6% and in World in Conflict by 6.6%.



Conclusion

Silent Zilent card is a quiet and cool card. You’ll get a card overclocked to 660MHz core, 1650 Shaders and 950MHz memory. These speeds helped it to close the gap between 8800GT and much better 8800 GTS. Additional overclocking to 700MHz core and 1GHz memory made it possible to match 8800GTS results.

Priced at around €205 it’s a great investment, and you get an excellent overclocked 8800GT.

This is not the first time MSI has used the Zalman cooler. We’ve seen it before on certain cards, such as MSI 8800 GTS (G80) card. The already tried and well proven quiet cooler makes this card a really good deal. It runs quietly, even at high RPM. This card has enough muscle to stand out from the reference 8800GT pack, so without further ado, we dub this card a Fudzilla Recommended card.