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XFX GeForce 9800 GX2

We saw what the ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 can do; now it is time for NVIDIA to step up and impress us with their “SLI on a card” video card with the GeForce 9800 GX2. Inside we will compare an XFX GeForce 9800 GX2 with two SLI setups and the ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 in Crysis, Clive Barker’s Jericho, and COD 4.

Introduction

This is not the first time NVIDIA has produced a dual-GPU on a single PCB (printed circuit board.) Their first foray into this design for gamers was the GeForce 7950 GX2 way back in the summer of 2006. One of the advantages touted for having two-GPUs matted in a single video card form was for gamers to enjoy the benefits of SLI performance if they did not have an SLI motherboard. Truly, it worked, and with the new GeForce 9800 GX2 this is still the case, you do not need an “SLI” motherboard for this video card to work.

The GeForce 7950 GX2 also allowed a brand new configuration called “Quad SLI” or essentially two video cards with two GPUs SLI’d together to give you the performance advantages of four GPUs powering your games. While there were troubles in the past with Quad SLI driver support, NVIDIA has gone a long ways to fix those problems. But we are getting ahead of ourselves; let’s first talk about the new GeForce 9800 GX2.

GeForce 9800 GX2

What is the GeForce 9800 GX2? It is essentially one video card with two G9x series GPUs matted on it with SLI hardwired between them, negating the need for an SLI motherboard.

So what GPUs did NVIDIA put on this video card? We can look towards the specifications of each GPU for this information. What we find is that each GPU is based on the new G9x series, and manufactured at 65nm with 754 million transistors. This means it is the same GPU series you will find in the GeForce 9600 GT, GeForce 8800 GT and GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB video card lineup. The GPUs in the GeForce 9800 GX2 are closer in specification to the GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB.

Each GPU has 128 shader processors, same as the GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB. Remember, the GeForce 8800 GT has 112 stream processors. But here is where things get odd. Both GPUs in the GeForce 9800 GX2 are clocked at a 600 MHz core frequency. This is actually lower than the GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB which is clocked at 650 MHz. Looking further we also see that the stream processors are clocked at 1.5 GHz. Well, this again is lower than the GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB which has its stream processors clocked at 1.625 GHz.

So right off the bat, each GPU in the GeForce 9800 GX2 is clocked at the same frequency as a GeForce 8800 GT, BUT, they have 128 stream processors each, just like the 8800 GTS 512MB. So what we end up with is basically lower clocked GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB GPUs on board.

On the memory side of things each GPU is backed up with 512MB of GDDR3 on a 256-bit memory bus, just like the 8800 GTS 512MB and 8800 GT. The memory however is clocked at 2 GHz by default, whereas the 8800 GTS 512MB is 1.94 GHz, so a very slight memory bandwidth advantage. With specifications like these it will be necessary to compare the GeForce 9800 GX2 with two GeForce 8800 GTS 51MB video cards in SLI as well as two GeForce 8800 GTs in SLI, which we will gladly do for you.

The GeForce 9800 GX2 does require an 8-pin and 6-pin power connector to operate. If you do not have an 8-pin connector from your power supply you will need to use a 6-pin to 8-pin conversion cable that will be including in some retail GeForce 9800 GX2 packages. In fact, this is something you will need to make sure is included if you do not have a conversion cable, because not every retail package will include it, and that is something we will very much have to keep an eye on and see who includes one.

The GeForce 9800 GX2 also supports two DVI outputs plus HDMI with an audio pass-through cable to your sound card. The GeForce 9800 GX2 also supports all the latest PureVideo HD enhancements.

If one of these GX2s aren’t enough for you, how about two? Yes, the GeForce 9800 GX2 supports “Quad SLI” allowing you to hook up two, SLI them together, and enjoy Quad-GPU gaming. Unfortunately right now we cannot publish Quad-SLI performance as NVIDIA is still tweaking their drivers, but on March 25th bring a towel when you open up [H] that morning. We will dive into Quad-SLI on that date.

Let’s take a closer look at a retail GeForce 9800 GX2 from XFX.

XFX GeForce 9800 GX2

The first retail video card we have to show you today is the XFX GeForce 9800 GX2. NVIDIA’s MSRP puts the GeForce 9800 GX2 between $599-$649. XFX has informed us that their video cards should hover closer to $619; we will have to see about that at launch as recent NVIDIA launches of 8800 GTs and 8800 GTSs have been higher than expected.

The XFX GeForce 9800 GX2 comes in a perfectly sized box with the core frequency listed on the front. The front also states “1 GB GDDR3” and while this is technically correct, there is 1 GB of RAM on the video card in total, each GPU though only has access to a 512MB framebuffer, the 1 GB is not shared between the GPUs. Inside the box you will find the full version game Company of Heroes, to start you on your gaming bliss with this video card. There is a driver CD, quick install guide, two DVI to VGA adapters, Do Not Disturb door hanger and a Molex to 6-pin power adapter. Unfortunately there is not a 6-pin to 8-pin power adapter included in this package.

Well here she is, quite a beauty isn’t she? Yes, this video card really is “beautiful.” I never thought I’d be describing a video card like that, but this thing is like a piece of art in design. NVIDIA has completely encased the entire PCB and all the circuitry. There is no visible fan, it is built internally, there are no visible parts, everything is encased in black shiny metal. The SLI connector atop, and the power connectors both had covers on them we had to remove. There was a little plastic cover over the SLI slot, and there was a peel off sticker over the power connectors.

What is even more amazing is how the fan is actually constructed inside, they have literally cut out a hole in the PCB and let the fan pull in air from both sides of the video card. The screenshot below demonstrates.

As you can see, light is able to pass completely through the video card where the fan sits; the PCB is carved out to allow air to move from both sides.

There are two DVI ports and an HDMI port on the bracket. Air is drawn in from inside the case and exhausts two ways, there are slits on the bracket that exhaust air, and there are also slits along the top of the video card that exhaust hot air into your case. Therefore make sure you have good cooling circulation inside your case.

Another interesting thing about this video card, it lights up! This will be true for all GeForce 9800 GX2s; they have several LEDs placed throughout the video card for various purposes to indicate problems. The first ones you will notice are around the power connectors. If you have power properly plugged in the connectors will light up green. If you do not, they will light up red. There are also LEDs right inside the exhaust slights, 3 LEDs on both sides, that light up the back with glowing green light. Then there is another green and blue light right on the bracket itself, and when it is dark you can see the blue light shining through the top of the video card.

Here is what happens if you do not properly plug in the power connectors. You can see we tried two 6-pin connectors, forgetting the extra two pins on purpose and the power connector lit up red, along with a red indicator light on the bracket, the system also beeped loudly at us that something was wrong. This by far is the most lit up video card I’ve ever seen out-of-the-box.