We learned that NVIDIA plans a new card that will be branded as GeForce 9800 GT. For all we know this could simply be a renamed GeForce 8800 GT. We strongly believe that NVIDIA will quickly phase out all the GeForce 8800 GT cards and simply rename it with a new old card. The new thing that comes with GeForce 9 series is the ability to shut down under hybrid power marchitecture, and this might be the biggest difference between GeForce 8800 GT and the upcoming GeForce 9800 GT. We would suspect a bit higher clock, over 600MHz, but we are quite sure that as soon as partners sell them out NVIDIA will quietly replace the GeForce 8800 GTS with the GeForce 9800 GTX version, and the GeForce 8800 GT with the GeForce 9800 GT graphics accelerator. - FudZilla
Mirror, mirror on the wall, who has the fastest desktop graphics card of them all? Right now, that's a toss-up between the Radeon HD 3870 X2 or the GeForce 8800 Ultra. And NVIDIA is clearly not happy that AMD is back at the top of the performance tree. The green team had a seemingly unassailable performance lead since the inception of the G80 based GeForce 8800 GTX. So ATI had to leverage two Radeon HD 3870 GPU's on one single PCB to ensure that it was punching in the heavyweight division. Adopting a tactic that will become pervasive for the high-end sector, NVIDIA is now doing the same with the GeForce 9800 GX2, to regain the title of undisputed graphics card champ of the world. - Hexus
Recently NVIDIA launched their first card in the GeForce 9 series. It is based on the new G94 core which uses the same architecture as the G92, it actually is a G92 with less shaders inside the die. The actual number of shaders is 64, versus 128 on the G92 chipset. This helps bring down the transistor count and die size, resulting in a manufacturing cost reduction. The EVGA e-GeForce 9600 GT SSC board comes at greatly increased clocks over the NVIDIA reference design. Even though the cooler is the same, EVGA has beefed it up with some graphics and also adjusted the fan controller speeds it seems. But if that will make a huge difference is hard to tell at this point, but we will see shortly. - techPowerUp!
AMD's current high-end graphics card series is the Radeon HD 3870 video card. HIS has heavily modified the AMD reference design to include a better cooler and higher clocks for improved performance. This means that HIS has once again applied their well know IceQ approach to make a better card than the default version. This is becoming an habit, and we can't really blame HIS for doing so as they each time are able to make a better version which is capable of just that little extra performance that we are all seeking for. Once again HIS is using their IceQ3 cooler and also tuned the clock speeds to some Turbo levels. All that will aid to make the IceQ3 Turbo edition meet our espectations. - techPowerUp!
Yesterday we showed you the first GeForce 9800 GX2 benchmark results and they were impressive. NVIDIA's new high-end outperformed the GeForce 8800 Ultra and Radeon HD 3870 X2 graphics card and that says it all. We know that the GeForce 9800 GX2 is a sandwich card with two PCB's and two G92 GPU's, but there's a twist to today's test. The GPU's run at 600MHz, while the shaders and memory run at 1500MHz and 2000MHz respectively. Each GPU has 128 shader processors and you can probably see a resemblance to the 92 based GeForce 8800 GTS. In fact, the GeForce 9800 GX2 card is pretty much a dual GeForce 8800 GTS card, as both are based around the same GPU. - FudZilla
The GeForce 9800 GX2 is the first complete high-end card, at least that's how NVIDIA describes it in its own words. Let's not look back at all the shortcomings of the GeForce 8800 Ultra, but take a peak at what the GeForce 9800 GX2 has to offer. This is the fastest graphics card ever made, but in fact it's two graphics cards stapled together. NVIDIA will probably say that the GeForce 9800 GX2 combines the power of two GeForce 9800 GPU's with a grand total of 256 stream processors and an earth shuddering 1GB frame buffer. Obviously, the card is a dual slot design and it looks sexy, but also elegant, as it is encased in an all metal body which is holding the dual-PCB cgraphics card together. - FudZilla
We've never before found ourselves in the position where we've been this rushed off our feet to get an article online. This afternoon we were emailed the Quad SLI driver for Windows Vista. At the same time, a second GeForce 9800 GX2 rocked up in our hot little hands. It was clear what we needed to do. The problem is that we thought we would have a bit more time, so we haven't had the chance to organize our SLI motherboard and what not yet. We deal with a lot of overseas companies, but it's always nice to have some local Australian contacts handy. And to that extend we have been able to come up with a system to run our Quad SLI benchmarks and some limited gaming titles to enjoy. - TweakTown
We have has just released a new version of NVIDIA BIOS Editor (NiBiTor) software. NiBiTor is the original and definitive BIOS tweaker that supports the latest NVIDIA graphics cards, and which is updated on a regular basis. NiBiTor allows graphics card enthusiasts, or the hardcore overclockers to have full control over some advanced features and functionality found on firmware of supporting cards. Doing so users gain some extra performance, enable certain hidden features, tweak memory latencies, provide extensive information, adapt bootup settings, change fan speed options and/or get extra stability on the NVIDIA based graphics accelerators.
Multithreading successfully went mainstream when AMD released it's X2 line of processors for the desktop. The industry as a whole is warming up to the use of multiple physical processors to teraflop their way past calculative obstacles. Parallel processing has been a mainstay of GPU systems for a long time, and the revival of multi-GPU processing in the GeForce 6 series of NVIDIA graphics accelerators have prompted some further developments of multi-GPU rendering. Whether or not you prefer to stack greens or reds in your sandwiches, both the cabbage and tomato farmers have been busy working to make superior chomp-chump for the enthusiasts amongst the many. - VR-Zone
EVGA is one of the few partners that got the GeForce 9800 GX2 cards for launch. Sanjin already wrote a lot about what is under the hood but let me go into a few more details. The GeFforce 9800 GX2 has two G92 chips inside and both chips are working at 600MHz. Each chip addresses 512MB of GDDR3 memory, making the total amount of 1024MB memory. The card has two PCB's and it's caged in a black, very nice looking metal cage. The cooler with a fan is placed between two PCB's and the chips are covered by a quite huge copper chunk. Surprisingly, the chips do not really get that hot, while the case of the card tends to be quite hot after some hours of gaming. - FudZilla
Not so long ago we saw the 3-Way SLI technology being introduced by NVIDIA which gotten limited to the high-end GeForce 8800 GTX and Ultra graphics cards. And today we see that NVIDIA is coming back with a technology that they have used already previously, though with a quite limited success in the end. This time around the basics are no different, unless better support is promised with the drivers. With the rumors ongoing now for several weeks, we finally got our hands on the new GeForce 9800 GX2, the highly anticipated dual-GPU card to go up against the just recently released Radeon HD 3870 X2 card from AMD, their main competitor on the graphics market.
Today NVIDIA is unveiling the GeForce 9800 GX2, which replaces the GeForce 8800 Ultra as their most powerful graphics processor. Last generations GeForce 8 qeries has been NVIDIA's most successful GPU to date as gamers who invested in the high-end GeForce 8800 GTS and GTX graphics card have enjoyed well over a year of top-notch 3D performance and image quality to match. The GeForce 9 qeries officially launched last month with the debut of the mid-range GeForce 9600 GT. Without any knowledge of the remaining GeForce 9 based GPU's that NVIDIA will launch, the GeForce 9800 GX2 appears to be destined as their high-end GeForce 9 series offering for the time being. - nV News
Tuesday is the launch day of NVIDIA's highly anticipated GeForce 9800 GX2 and we can tell you that the card is at least a bit or even more faster than the Radeon HD 3870 X2. Its double GPU's work at 600MHz clock speed and the memory at 1800MHz effective. NVIDIA uses two times 512MB so total of 1024MB of high-end GDDR3 memory. The card also has two PCB's and a big cooler in between that takes care of the heat. The card is hot, big massive but it is the fastest thing around. We will have some performance numbers shortly but we are still fighting to finish up on time. What a day, and for what it is worth we still have some cool stories for this Tuesday next to the GeForce 9800 GX2 that is. - FudZilla
When a new high-end graphics card comes out you like to think that a CPU with four cores clocked at 3GHz is going to do the job pretty well. Though, like most high-end cards, when we start to increase the CPU clock further, we can begin to see some really good gains in performance. So we've done exactly that today, we've moved our trusty Intel quad core Q6600 processor up to 3.75GHz but at the same time we thought that we may as well see what we can do with the clocks on the GeForce 9800 GX2. The increased clock speeds will be what most consumers can achieve without spending a load of cash on extreme cooling, with the GeForce 9800 GX2 using the stock standard air cooling. - TweakTown
EVGA has four GeForce 9600 GT series cards and it was generous enough to let us have a go at the fastest one. This card's GPU is clocked at 740MHz and it's currently the fastest out of the box overclocked GeForce 9600 GT on the market. As we have said, EVGA has three more GeForce 9600 GT cards in its offer, depending on how much cash you're willing to cough up. There's the reference GeForce 9600 GT at 650MHz, the SuperClocked at 675MHz and the KO version at 700MHz. The memory on the SSC card runs at a high 1950MHz, just 150MHz over the reference 1800MHz. And although it sports much higher clocks than the reference card, the SSC edition is still pretty much a reference design. - FudZilla
The latest in stalker letters is here, and it comes attached with another NVIDIA graphics card like our last. If you recall last time this happened, we received the GeForce 8800 GTS, the G92 based card anonymously with a letter attached to it. This time we've got another new card and accompanying letter. Again, it's an NVIDIA offering, but the message was a little different this time, a little scarier. Someone wants us to have the new NVIDIA cards, but at the same time that person or company doesn't want us to know who they are! Really, we're not complaining and as long as nothing like a horse's head shows up in our bed then we're not too concerned and can just be happy about it. - TweakTown
In late January, ATI unveiled several new entry level GPU's manufactured using the 55nm process that was first employed with the more powerful RV670 GPU. Not only did the new process help ATI deliver more competitive graphics cards at attractive price points, it also improved on such things as power consumption, which is of growing interest to energy conscious users. For these newer entry level cards, the RV635 and RV620 GPU's were crafted with many of the same features as the RV670, yet condensed into a smaller, more affordable product line. The Sapphire Radeon HD 3650 aims to win the attention of those looking for an affordable graphics card, that doesn't skimp on features. - HotHardware
The latest company to come to the GeForce 9600 GT parade is MSI, and like most other cards we've looked at they've decided to move away from the stock cooler and use their own design. They figure if they're going to do that, they may as well bump up the speed of the card and see what it's capable of. We feel like we've looked at so many GeForce 9600 GT cards in such a short period of time that there isn't all that much to say here. The GeForce 9600 GT has quickly become a popular little offering thanks to its performance not being like that of normal GeForce 8600 GT offerings from NVIDIA in the past. So, a nice change for the better which is certainly playing in favor of NVIDIA this time. - TweakTown
Every time a new generation of products is released, the assumption is that the latest and greatest has to perform at least better than the last generation to be considered a success. Generally this rings true. As the replacement for the GeForce 8600 series, the GeForce 9600 series of cards should offer increased performance. Just how much of a gain is the million dollar question. In today's world of upwards spiraling energy and consumer goods costs, what level of performance are the average computer users willing to pay for and won't kill the household budget? For many, the mid-range is right on the money, while the enthusiasts throws caution in the quest for performance. - Overclockers Club
Well it's finally here, the GeForce 9 series of GPU's has hit the shelves and the articles related have already poured in thick and fast. We know we're a little behind everyone else on this one, but our GeForce 9600 GT view is a bit different. VVikoo's monstrous GeForce 9600 GT comes with a whopping Zalman heatsink and some hefty factory overclocking. Once again VVikoo has gone out of the ordinary and has gone for something more special and applied their own touch to the GeForce 9600 GT video card. By applying a different cooling solution their card should be a bit better than the more standard versions you can find from other manufacturers, which sets them apart from the competition. - XSReviews
As the GeForce 9600 GT cards continue to roll on in, we see lots of variants trying to stand out from the pack. The latest card to rock up in the labs is an offering from ECS that carries with it an Accelero S2 made by Arctic Cooling. This isn't the first time we've seen the Accelero S2 cooler, though this is the first time that we've seen it in use on a GeForce 9600 GT card. We'll have a look at exactly how ECS make use of the Accelero S2 today, and how it performs compared to a GeForce 9600 GT from another vendor that we've seen previously. To make the card that little bit more exciting on top of the aftermarket cooler, it also carries with it an increased core and memory clock rates. - TweakTown
Well what we all have been waiting for since we first saw the introduction of the radeon HD 38500 series has finally hit the public. The driver is out that does it all. Yes CrossFireX, we've wanted it, we've asked for it, and now we've finally got it. This CrossFireX is the next generation of CrossFire technology for Radeon based graphics cards. The latest ATI Catalyst drivers bring us the ability to pair up two Radeon HD 3870 X2's for some quad-GPU CrossFireX action. It is certainly a good action from ATI, and it will also finally shows users the way to triple configs using the CrossFireX technology. Some exciting times ahead and we will see soon enough the answer from the green camp. - TweakTown
With the flurry of GeForce 9600 GT's hitting the streets, there really are a lot of different video cards to consider. If you've been pondering an upgrade, don't fret. Many of the new GeForce 9600 GT's are based on the reference video card, and this makes it really simple to comparison shop by price alone. A few models are pre-overclocked above the stock GPU and memory clock speeds, while others are based on custom PCB designs that accommodate a physical HDMI port at the back of the card. Of what's available, the choice basically boils down to GeForce 9600 GT for gaming, or a GeForce 9600 GT that's a little better suited to for home theatre applications. - PCStats
A few weeks ago NVIDIA launched their first card in the GeForce 9 series. The card is based on the G94 core which is basically a cut-in-half version of the G92 from several GeForce 8800 GT models. Mainly the number of shaders has been halfed resulting in a configuration with 64 shaders instead of 128 like in the G92. This change results in a drastic reduction in the number of transistors which allows NVIDIA to use a smaller silicon footprint resulting in a cost reduction. The VVikoo GeForce 9600 GT board we have got today is based on the original GeForce 9600 GT design but has several changes to the PCB design, operating frequencies, display output configuration and thermal solution. - techPowerUp!
Looking at Gigabyte graphics cards these seem to be few and far between these days because they like to do things a bit differently. We're all for standing out from the pack, and the latest card from Gigabyte to jump into that category would be the TurboForce edition of the GeForce 8800 GT. Gigabyte have a nice little thing going on at the moment, we get a card from them, it's got a nice aftermarket cooler, it's got some decent overclock specifications along with a pretty good bundle. This is always nice to see in the world of graphics cards, and at least it keeps it interesting. They have recently introduced the Ultra Durable 2 technology into their cards to give them a bit more of an edge. - TweakTown
If you are a gamer who knows anything about hardware, then you have no doubt heard of XFX. They've been in the game quite a while, making hardware gamers love to use. XFX makes all ranges of products, from high-end GeForce 8800's all the way down to budget lines of cards. Today we're going to take a look at one of XFX's lower priced cards, the GeForce 8400 GS. This GeForce 8400 GS prices in at about $50 or less online and in stores, and not only fits into low profile systems, but it still provides dual monitor support for them. A small looking video card but capable of some nice things with good features. If this has the quality XFX is known for, then everything should go fine. - Gamepyre
Unika 8800GTS PCIe 512MB - Rev 01
We have has just released a new version of NVIDIA BIOS Editor (NiBiTor) software. NiBiTor is the original and definitive BIOS tweaker that supports the latest NVIDIA graphics cards, and which is updated on a regular basis. NiBiTor allows graphics card enthusiasts, or the hardcore overclockers to have full control over some advanced features and functionality found on firmware of supporting cards. Doing so users gain some extra performance, enable certain hidden features, tweak memory latencies, provide extensive information, adapt bootup settings, change fan speed options and/or get extra stability on the NVIDIA based graphics accelerators.
