DH Review: 9800 GTX/X2 and 3870 Roundup

***Zardon*** · Apr 1, 2008, 09:01 AM

Read The Review Here
__________________________

No, its not an April's fools joke, today we have yet another launch from Nvidia, the new 9800 GTX which is set to replace the 8800 GTX of old. Not content with just reviewing the new GTX however we have several new GX2's as well as a kick ass new Asus 3870 X2 in our test labs today.

Alex · Apr 1, 2008, 10:12 AM

good results, bit underwhelming when you consider a card released almost 2 years ago has similar performance however. I appreciate the lower power consumption, heat etc though, I think thats an underrated aspect of a video card. I would say running two of these in SLI would generate quite a bit less heat than 2 8800 GTX's. the price is reasonable also.

Big question, where the hell is ATI/AMD? come on guys get the finger out.

humonous · Apr 1, 2008, 10:14 AM

yeah a bit of a disappointment really, however the price is good. costs no more in the UK than the newer 8800 GTS did, however im not sure its much more powerful.

I know its asking a lot veridian3 but have you ran a 9800 GTX beside a 8800 GTS to see how they pair up? would be interested to see the % performance difference considering they are about the same price.

***Veridian3*** · Apr 1, 2008, 10:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by humonous

I know its asking a lot veridian3 but have you ran a 9800 GTX beside a 8800 GTS to see how they pair up? would be interested to see the % performance difference considering they are about the same price.

That is not something I have had time to try yet, as always with new products our time was limited so we had to prioritise and that particular card was missed out.

Possibly in a future article...

geraldmango · Apr 1, 2008, 10:20 AM

only thing going for the GTX seems to be the price, its not a monumental increase at all in any way.

runs cooler, consumes less power and is quiet. more an update of the 8800 GTX than a next generation card, unless im missing something.

quite disappointed, however the price is excellent I guess. seems to be the only way to get more performance now is to run multiple cards which means we rely on crappy drivers (although I hear Nvidia drivers are a bit better now in SLI than they were a while ago).

LukeK · Apr 1, 2008, 10:24 AM

good card for the price. not really next gen though. the GX2 seems to be the one to go for but I would prefer a single card so we get 100% performance all the time. Only thing that puts me off the 9800 GX2 is the apparent noise which i guess the cooling system needs to keep two boards under control. well that and the price.

Ill keep my 8800 GTS I think until something big time happens.

Looks like the 8800 ultra is still the fastest single card nvidia ever made.

BulletTheory · Apr 1, 2008, 02:40 PM

I was looking to see a review like this before I buy my new pc. Finally, my choice still stay on the 9800GX2.

Great review guys @ DH.net.

**kris23** · Apr 1, 2008, 07:12 PM

how about the 9800GTX in tri SLI?

***Veridian3*** · Apr 1, 2008, 07:24 PM

Again, possibly in a future article. We only had 3 days with the final driver and so there was no scope for 3-way in this review. I think it is safe to assume the results will be very close to an Ultra in 3-way and you can see those results here: http://www.driverheaven.net/reviews....d=541&pageid=6

Apr 1, 2008, 09:01 AM	#1
*Zardon* enchanted Join Date: May 2002 Location: Driverheaven Posts: 32,255 Rep Power: 3150	DH Review: 9800 GTX/X2 and 3870 Roundup Read The Review Here __________________________ No, its not an April's fools joke, today we have yet another launch from Nvidia, the new 9800 GTX which is set to replace the 8800 GTX of old. Not content with just reviewing the new GTX however we have several new GX2's as well as a kick ass new Asus 3870 X2 in our test labs today.

Apr 1, 2008, 02:40 PM	#7
BulletTheory Finally time for a new PC Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Quebec City Posts: 1,242 Rep Power: 28 System Specs	I was looking to see a review like this before I buy my new pc. Finally, my choice still stay on the 9800GX2. Great review guys @ DH.net. __________________ Asus P5E X38 \| Intel Quad Core Q6600 @ 3.4Ghz \| 4GB Corsair XMS2 800mhz \| Corsair TX750W Asus GTX 280 TOP \| Samsung 245bw 24inch LCD \| 2x Seagate 7200.11 500Gb 32M \| Icemat Usb Soundcard Razer Lycosa \| Razer Diamondback 3G \| Razer Goliathus Mousepad \| Senheiser HD555 \| Logitech 5300e THX Sound System

Apr 1, 2008, 07:12 PM	#8
kris23 Going Insane..... Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 5,312 Rep Power: 64 System Specs	how about the 9800GTX in tri SLI? __________________ Driverheaven Super-Moderator Building a new computer system and not sure where to start? Click Here! last updated (9/4/09) New i5 systems with more to come! Building a PC: Step by Step Guide Written by Kristopher Pedemonte and Nathan Marks-Forder Edited by Allan Campbell Questions or Comments? feel free to post them in the forums!

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Apr 1, 2008, 10:12 AM	#2
Alex Driverheaven Lover Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 263 Rep Power: 29	good results, bit underwhelming when you consider a card released almost 2 years ago has similar performance however. I appreciate the lower power consumption, heat etc though, I think thats an underrated aspect of a video card. I would say running two of these in SLI would generate quite a bit less heat than 2 8800 GTX's. the price is reasonable also. Big question, where the hell is ATI/AMD? come on guys get the finger out.

Apr 1, 2008, 10:14 AM	#3
humonous DriverHeaven Lover Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 152 Rep Power: 29	yeah a bit of a disappointment really, however the price is good. costs no more in the UK than the newer 8800 GTS did, however im not sure its much more powerful. I know its asking a lot veridian3 but have you ran a 9800 GTX beside a 8800 GTS to see how they pair up? would be interested to see the % performance difference considering they are about the same price.

Apr 1, 2008, 10:20 AM	#5
geraldmango DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 91 Rep Power: 0	only thing going for the GTX seems to be the price, its not a monumental increase at all in any way. runs cooler, consumes less power and is quiet. more an update of the 8800 GTX than a next generation card, unless im missing something. quite disappointed, however the price is excellent I guess. seems to be the only way to get more performance now is to run multiple cards which means we rely on crappy drivers (although I hear Nvidia drivers are a bit better now in SLI than they were a while ago).

Apr 1, 2008, 10:24 AM	#6
LukeK DriverHeaven Lover Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 160 Rep Power: 46	good card for the price. not really next gen though. the GX2 seems to be the one to go for but I would prefer a single card so we get 100% performance all the time. Only thing that puts me off the 9800 GX2 is the apparent noise which i guess the cooling system needs to keep two boards under control. well that and the price. Ill keep my 8800 GTS I think until something big time happens. Looks like the 8800 ultra is still the fastest single card nvidia ever made.

Apr 1, 2008, 07:24 PM	#9
*Veridian3* Administrator Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Cloaked Posts: 2,999 Rep Power: 72	Again, possibly in a future article. We only had 3 days with the final driver and so there was no scope for 3-way in this review. I think it is safe to assume the results will be very close to an Ultra in 3-way and you can see those results here: http://www.driverheaven.net/reviews....d=541&pageid=6