Part of the first generation of DX10 ready graphics cards, the 8800 GTS is a cut down 8800 GTX and by far the more affordable option.

When it was released it was one of the best performing cards around- boasting a massive number of highly clocked stream processors that meant that it gave around 80% of the power of the GTX at lower desktop resolutions, ie up to 1680 x 1050.

In the vast majority of games, then and even now the GTS allows users to max out visual settings and play at sustainable frame rates, even resource heavy games such as Oblivion and Unreal Tournament can be enjoyed at high resolution with AA enabled. In fact, the only titles that stress the GTS are ultra- demanding ones such as Crysis and Sup Com, which even modern high end cards struggle with.

Shortly after purchasing the GTS last year, I decided to overclock it with Rivatuner. The core clock speed can be raised from 500MHz, all the way up to 600; a 25% speed increase and the same goes for the RAM. This easily bags a few more fps in most games and may even mean that an extra level of AA can be switched on.

I'm very pleased with the GTS, it remains an amazing card and I won't consider upgrading it until something a lot better arrives. It is simply the best in its class.