XFX GeForce 9800 GX2 1GB GDDR3 Video Card Review

Final Thoughts and Conclusions

The GeForce 9800 GX2 was rumored to be a bust in the weeks leading up to its launch, but that doesn’t seem to be the case here today. The XFX GeForce 9800 GX2 was able to perform slightly better then the ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 when compared to each other. The ATI Radeon HD 3870 in triple or quad CrossFireX proved to be the fastest, but that is because NVIDIA is not allowing the press to show off Quad-SLI performance. Once NVIDIA gives us the green light to publish SLI numbers we will show you how the cards perform when it comes to Quad-SLI and Quad-CrossFireX.

With a suggested retail price of $599.99 to $649.99, the GeForce 9800 GX2 is reserved to dedicated enthusiasts and gamers that have some money to spend when the country is in a time of economic crisis. XFX has the price on the GeForce 9800 GX2 standard edition set at $649.99, but expects the street price to be $619.99 in the days to come. With an MSRP this high it will cause many to consider the ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 as companies like Diamond Multimedia are selling the Radeon HD 3870 X2 video card for $419.99 plus shipping. That makes a $649.99 GeForce 9800 GX2 cost 54% more than a Radeon HD 3870 X2! With a resolution of 1920×1200, the GeForce 9800 GX2 was an impressive 65% faster in Crysis and 47% faster in Call of Duty 4, but at the same time was only 12.5% faster in BioShock and 28% faster in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl. The only game that the GeForce 9800 GX2 made night and day different was Crysis, where at 1920×1200 with high quality settings the game could finally be played. The GeForce 9800 GX2 is a serious card and for those that like what they see, will find it available and easy to purchase.

Legit Bottom Line: The GeForce 9800 GX2 seems to be a great card for those wanting to play games at higher resolutions with the image quality settings cranked up to high!