More Single Card Dual GPU Madness: NVIDIA's Flagship 9800 GX2
by Derek Wilson on March 18, 2008 9:00 AM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
Final Words
Once again NVIDIA sets its self on top of the graphics card performance pile. AMD is able to keep up with 3x (or more) 3870 cards in Oblivion, but everywhere else it's the 9800 GX2 on top. As far as single card solutions, the 9800 GX2 is currently the alpha dog.
Like the 3870 X2, we didn't have any trouble installing the driver and getting things rolling. The experience was smooth and clean as far as that was concerned. We did run into some problems that seem like they might be Skulltrail specific at this point. The latest BIOS and 174.53 driver from NVIDIA solve a graphics driver failure when playing Crysis, and we saw some strange scaling at lower resolutions, but we don't expect most users to run into those problems.
Despite the fact that this card does lead the rest of the field in performance, its price tag will be a limiting factor. There are advantages to having the fastest card around of course, and we expect that NVIDIA will use this card to position itself as the best option in computer graphics. Certainly they are the best option when you have deep pockets, but savvy gamers will still pay close attention to price / performance and overall value. It can be fun to explore what is possible with the best of the best, but at the end of the day you have to come home to whatever is in your own box.
AMD has been fighting back, first with strong offerings in the midrange and then with stronger price cuts. While it is clear AMD can't compete directly at the high end, they are still capable of competing for gamers' dollars. Just because another company has the top card out there doesn't mean that all of their other parts gain some mystic value. While it still isn't relevant for games yet and we can't even test the performance of it, AMD's hardware supports DX10.1 and NVIDIA is still lacking in that area. The built-in HD audio device that outputs sound over the DVI port when the AMD HDMI adapter is attached is incredibly convenient (though both vendors are lacking in how well they support audio over HDMI).
The point is that you can't judge a book by its cover or a graphics card by some other part that is much faster. Take each case as it comes and make a decision based on what is best at that price point at that time. If your price point happens to be $600 to $650 per card, by all means, pick up a 9800 GX2. If not, make sure you do your homework.
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chizow - Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - link
Heh ya he's posted similarly all over the video forums as well. Not sure what he's whining on about though, the GX2 is what everyone expected it TO BE based on already known and readily available 8800GT SLI benchmarks. Even though the core is closer to a G92 GTS with 128 SP, the core and shader clocks are closer to the stock 8800GT.Pricing isn't far off either; its about 2x as much as TWO G92 GTS, slightly more than TWO G92 GT. But here's the kicker, you don't need SLI to get the benefits of SLI, just as you didn't need a CF board for CF with the 3870 X2. With an SLI board, you can use TWO of these cards for what amounts to QUAD SLI which isn't an option with any other NV solution and certainly much cheaper than the previous high-end multi-GPU solution, Tri-SLI with 8800 GTX/Ultra with a 680/780 board and a 1000W+ PSU.
For those with SLI capable boards, ofc its more economic to go with 2x 8800GT or 9600GT or even 8800GTS in SLI. For those who have ATI/Intel boards this offers the same thing the X2 did for NV board owners. For those with native SLI boards this offers the highest possible configuration for either camp but its going to cost you accordingly. Sure its not cheap now, but high-end never is. Expect prices to fall but if you buy now you're going to pay a premium, just as all early adopters do.
Methusela - Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - link
I don't see any power draw comparisons in the review. Isn't this important? What about heat and sound output?Genx87 - Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - link
According to Hardocp the 9800X2 draws 196 watts at idle and 365 at load. The 3780x2 draws 151 idle and 381 at load.Griswold - Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - link
Which part of "For this test we used a wattage meter plugged in at the wall that measures total system power" did you not understand? No, these cards do not suck that much power, its the whole system that draws 365W and 381W at load.Methusela - Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - link
Derek, I'm shocked you didn't include SLI 8800gt 512mb in the test. Isn't this essentially the same thing as what's inside the 9800gx2, but would cost a lot less?Deusfaux - Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - link
No, it'd make more sense to test with GTS 512 SLI.Even more sense if they were underclocked to 600 mhz core and 1600 shader, and overclocked to 1100 mem, to match the gpus in this card.
chizow - Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - link
I agree an 8800GT SLI comparison would've made more sense, although there is the 9600GT SLI and also 8800 GT benches in there to compare with single card performance. Hopefully it was just an oversight on Derek's part and not something sinister like some NV enforced embargo. After all, the 9800GX2 is simply 2 G92 cores at stock GT speeds in SLI. But NV has tried hard to keep consumers in the dark about product differentiation and reviewers all seem willing to tow the line.DigitalFreak - Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - link
Over at Hardocp, they compare the GX2 with 8800GT SLI and 8800GTS 512 SLIGenx87 - Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - link
Wow at load the 3870x2 draws more power than this while delivering about 60-70% of the performance?Thatguy97 - Sunday, February 28, 2016 - link
Crazy how my gtx 950 shits all over 3 3870s and a 9800 gx2 in SLI