The Review
Because of the short time we had for this review, we focused on the most important matters, which meant comparing the performance of the GeForce 9800 GX2 with the Radeon HD 3870 X2 and the GeForce 8800 Ultra. You can check our 3870 X2 review for more results, including cards in CrossFire configuration. We’ll update you with the SLI scores when the drivers are ready.
Contrary to previous reviews, we focus here on Windows Vista, SP1, since many users want to be able to activate all graphical options, including DirectX 10, when using expensive cards such as the 9800 GX2. UAC, indexing, Superfetch and Aero were disabled during the benchmarks and the latest drivers and patches were applied.
A couple of new games are included. Flight Simulator X, despite being largely limited by CPU power, is very popular and does yield interesting results. Also, we have added Enemy Territory: Quake Wars because of its success and its MegaTexture technology. It’s the only exception to our rule, that all games should be evaluated under real life conditions using Fraps. The replay mode in Quake Wars is limited to 30 fps, forcing us to use the timedemo mode, which doesn’t reflect the game’s true performance, much slower than in timedemo mode. Test scenes for the other games were modified, except for Test Drive Unlimited and Call of Duty 4.
Finally, we’ve only used two resolutions: 1920x1200 - typical of 24-26" displays and of course 2560x1600 typical of 30" displays, in this case the Samsung 3054T. We believe those are the only two resolutions these kinds of cards are meant to play at. Below that (or up to 22"), investing so much in a powerful 3D card to get smooth rendering on most of today’s games is useless, as seen in our Radeon HD 3870 X2 review.
Doesn't inspire much. I might stay with my 8800 gtx and just overclock it.
some nice footage comparing the 3870X2 and the 9800GX2
i like the nvidia chip here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBGIQ7ZuuiU
Wow, Rick Rolling Dobby, nice and mature. The card looks great, I'm tempted to shell out for a good 24" monitor now.
I dont know whether I should blow all my money on this card or buy a 360
Tough choice
Ill keep my 8800GTX and wait a bit longer
I don't like the design of the 9800 GX2. Aircooling for it is a disaster.. How can you watercool this beast?? The performance is rubbish given the amount of room it takes up!!
I think most people were expecting the 9800GTX to be a 1Gb card with similar architecture to the 8800GTS but with a 512bit memory bus like AMD/ATI. A big disappointment about the memory architecture. Nvidia need a die shrink ASAP and a move to wider buses like ATI...
The problem of course is AMD/ATI not delivering in the processing power department with the 3870 (X2). Therefore there is no incentive for Nvidia to leap-frog a really powerful ATI GPU (like the X1900XTX situation).
Bob
It's cute. I was wondering when nVidia was going to do a DX10 dual-chip card.
*checks wallet*
*has wallet shot*
its realy 2x 8800gt cards in there not sure why thay called it an 9800 GX2 when it should realy be 8800 GX2 as its not useing the 9600 tech
1 9800 GTX card should be Close to this card perfoamce wise (seen what the 9600gt does and it only has 64 SP the 8800 gts has 128 SP)
I went with a xbox 360 .... PC games have been a huge letdown and the graphics card upkeep is ridiculous !!!
I went with a xbox 360 .... PC games have been a huge letdown and the graphics card upkeep is ridiculous !!! Plus I can play them on my hd tv !!!
I went with a xbox 360 .... PC games have been a huge letdown and the graphics card upkeep is ridiculous !!!
Thats perhaps why you've been asleep for 8 months then I guess... Resurrecting long dead threads/articles to make irrelevant/outdated comments like that is just sad. Especially with the double post. Itchy trigger finger/RSI from the controller perhaps?
The GPU market has been blown apart by ATI's new 48xx range and it is much cheaper to go for a performance card now. I mean the 4850 is gloss to the performance for a 8800 Ultra with AA on. Do the maths...
Most games are shit these days because people spend so long on the graphics they forget to develop an actual "game". The consoles are in part causing this because they require simpler levels and then the games are typically ported to the PC as an after thought. Thinking of Mass Effect and Assassins Creed here. Look quite nice but turn out to be fluff. Both suffer from "consillitis".
Bob