Final Thoughts

With the introduction of the new GeForce 9800 GX2 card by NVIDIA, you can experience the SLI technology and performance with one single graphics card. Whereas several months ago you only had the GeForce 7950 GX2 which could bought to get a feeling of what Quad SLI means, NVIDIA has now gone a step further. By releasing the GeForce 9800 GX2 each of us gets the chance to taste the SLI performance in all upcoming gaming adventures. On top, the ultimate goal would be to put two GX2 cards together in Quad SLI. Although this time the purpose of going for a dual-GPU design is more due to AMD as they have just some weeks ago also came up with their Radeon HD 3870 X2 graphics card, which has taken back the performance crown from NVIDIA. As a result we see that NVIDIA couldn't leave that too long as is and bring out their renewed GeForce 9800 GX2 version.

We were quite impressed by NVIDIA and their previous GeForce 7950 GX2. There was though some kind of friction in our minds on if you can really call this a single card solution. Because if you look at it from another angle it is basically just two PCB's put together and not just one single PCB with two GPU's. But that is a discussion that shouldn't be raised as simply said; it only uses a single expansion slot. And building on that experience we see that NVIDIA has gone the same road again for making their dual-GPU video card. With the GeForce 9800 GX2, powered by dual-GPU's and the powerful SLI technology each and every one of us can now enjoy the SLI experience without having to go for an SLI ready mainboard. Meaning that you can keep on using your existing mainboard, and enjoy some SLI gaming action.

The next best thing about the GeForce 9800 GX2 is the ability to go for a Quad SLI configuration. If you are a die-hard gamer and performance freak then this is exactly what you have been looking for. The only thing to keep in mind is that you need to go for an expensive LCD screen that support the Extreme HD (XHD) technology, such as the Dell UltraSharp 30" LCD display. Cause frankly, you can only enjoy the pleasure of Quad SLI when you can play your favorite games at these Extreme HD resolutions. If that is not your goal, than Quad SLI is not your thing. But a single GX2 will do just fine to meet all your expectations. Of course it goes without saying that also the central processing unit needs to be up to speed to support this monster in delivering stunning game play.

Looking at the performance we can't say we are impressed, and we actually had higher expectations. The only point that we can highlight in favor of NVIDIA is that the drivers for Windows Vista are not yet that SLI friendly and are narrowing down the actual gaming experience. From some preliminary testing with Windows XP we can say that the results are a bit more promising. It means though that NVIDIA will have to invest a bit more in their driver development to support and improve the SLI function better to be able to increase the gaming performance. To end, the GeForce 9800 GX2 is yet another top quality product from NVIDIA and the future holds if it will last longer than its predecessor.

Pros

• Excellent Gaming Performance
• Gorgeous Design and Functionality
• Single Card SLI Technology
• PureVideo HD Video Technology
• SLI Ready, Quad SLI Expandable
• Innovative Cooling Solution
• Attractive Pricing

Cons

• Power Hungry System

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