NVIDIA (ZOTAC) GeForce 9800 GX2

HEXUS.bang4buck, conclusions and awards

Here's the HEXUS.bang4buck graph at 1,920x1,200. The graph divides the normalised score by the price.

The ZOTAC GeForce 9800 GX2 scores well enough in the HEXUS.bang4buck analysis, and that's pleasantly surprising given its estimated £400 price-tag.

Performance is such that NVIDIA partners' pricing can be justified at that level; there is nothing else to touch it with respect to single-card performance.

What the graph also shows is that one will receive more-than linear increases in normalised performance when spending the extra £130 over and above a Radeon HD 3870 X2's.

Conclusions

The GeForce 9800 GX2 1,024MiB graphics card is absolutely, undeniably the fastest single-card solution available today, if our limited games' selection is, as we believe, a decent indicator of gaming performance at large.

It doesn't just squeak by the post, barely eclipsing the GeForce 8800 Ultra and ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 - it batters them into submission in each and every benchmark. Indeed, the other SKUs do well to get to two-thirds of the GeForce 9800 GX2's performance.

NVIDIA will shortly release a further driver that optimises two-card GX2 performance, for Quad-SLI rendering, to provide the fastest graphics sub-system around.

Now, all this speed has been harnessed by shoehorning what amounts to two GeForce 8800 GTS 512 cards into a single package that's pre-SLI'd, but that also means it's not going to be cheap.

The GeForce 9800 GX2 arrives at roughly the same price-point as the GeForce 8800 Ultra – rendering the Ultra, for all intents and purposes, useless.Tentatively priced at £399, the GeForce 9800 GX2 arrives at roughly the same price-point as the incumbent, but hard-to-find, GeForce 8800 Ultra - rendering it, for all intents and purposes, useless.

Performance is the most important criterion at this portion of the pricing spectrum, really, and the GeForce 9800 GX2 delivers it in SLI-encrusted spades, as our benchmarks in the full review show.

The card is aimed at high-resolution, high-image-quality gaming and users will need 24in WUXGA (1,920x1,200px) displays to get the most out of it.

We cannot see the performance crown slipping from NVIDIA's shoulders until ATI unveils its next iteration of GPUs and then runs them in a dual-GPU configuration.

For most readers, though, there's no new technology here, and it's just a matter of doubling-up on what NVIDIA already has, pricing it high, and basking in the refulgent glory of having the fastest card around.

£399 is a lot of money

Trouble is, £399 is a lot of money to spend on a single graphics card, no matter how fast it is. If you can justify the outlay, there is nothing - and we mean nothing - that touches it in single-card performance. Add a second card and, pocket allowing, there seems little point in looking at a three-way SLI or two-board 3870 X2 setup for ultimate performance.

ZOTAC's card is based entirely on the reference design and, as such, everything written above applies to it too. We really like the fact that the company now offers a five-year warranty on its range, and should it be priced favourably compared to other default-clocked models, it's certainly one to put on the short-list.

Bottom line: the fastest (desktop) single-card graphics solution ever released. Its appeal is to a niche market, but if you happen to be in that market, look no further. Everyone else, buy a GeForce 8800 GT 512 for £140 or a Radeon HD 3870 for £129 and spend the rest on a holiday.

HEXUS Awards

ZOTAC GeForce 9800 GX2 1,024MiB

HEXUS Where2Buy

TBC.

HEXUS Right2Reply

HEXUS invites manufacturers to comment on our review's findings. If any of ZOTAC or NVIDIA's representatives wish to do so, their HEXUS Right2Reply will be printed here, verbatim.

HEXUS related reading

Read the full-length review here.

HEXUS Forums :: 12 Comments

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Posted by j.o.s.h.1408 - Tue 18 Mar 2008 15:42

very expensive too

Posted by matty-hodgson - Tue 18 Mar 2008 15:43

well to be fair, it's only the price of a single PCB 8800 Ultra at release..
makes me wonder how much these 9800GTX and GTS' are going to be.
just bought an eVGA 8800GT with the 90 day step-up..
£140 from Scan :D

Posted by walibe - Tue 18 Mar 2008 23:50

Hmmm, these cards look like they are getting bigger and bigger.

Posted by j.o.s.h.1408 - Wed 19 Mar 2008 06:24

how does this step up process work? u can get the 9800gx2 for free?

Posted by Scott B - Wed 19 Mar 2008 08:07

LOL, do you think Wenger's been hanging out with Cantona? Or maybe Jacques ‘Jacques’ Liverot from The Day Today?

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