What would we do without capable graphics cards? Well for one thing, we would all be stuck with Consoles and all the same console physics. Even worse, video game creators would be limited to the game content or be unable to continue making advancements making game play better and better. Now that's a scary thought. Thankfully, there's just too much interest from all kinds of video game players around the world. They may even own a gaming console or two on top of their own desktop computer. But, there's just so much more game creators can integrate in to computer games that can seemingly give an original and/or new experience each time you play. - Virtual-Hideout

ASUS GeForce 9800 GTX 512MB Video Board Review

Today we have the ASUS Extreme N9800 GTX 512MB graphics card boasting the latest updates from high definition support to the newest gaming experience. The GeForce 9800 GTX offers some updated and a couple new features both visually and under its hood. Is the latest GPU from NVIDIA powering the ASUS video accelerator enough to interest you for the next upgrade? Well, there's no arguing that the graphics card is shipped well protected. ASUS continues to ship their graphics cards in a rather large product box which comes in an equally large shipping box without any extreme fanatical graphics.

Naturally, the GeForce 9800 GTX is intended to replace the previous GeForce 8800 GTX. This isn't such a bad thing either given the thermal issues plaguing the GeForce 8800 GTX. We've seen quite a few single and SLI based systems all experiencing some sort of heat problem. The GeForce 8800 GTX is, however, a very fast graphics card and has done quite well even if it seemed that the GeForce 8800's GPU seemed to be pushed a little too far. The card has a few note worthy features which includes full DirectX 10 and Model Shader 4.0 support. The ASUS Extreme N9800 GTX is built upon the efficient G92 core.

The most obvious things that have been improved with the latest GeForce 9800 graphics card line are the GPU thermal properties, noise and overall weight. Under normal operations, all of the test cards were all equally quiet with the GeForce 9800 GTX generating just a little bit less noise. Even though the card is long enough to hang past the edge of the full sized ATX motherboard, the card is lighter than the GeForce 8800 GTS, but not quite as light as the GeForce 8800 GT and Radeon HD 3870 version. When it comes to GPU heat, the Extreme N9800 GTX is a relatively cool running graphics card.

The bottom line is that the ASUS Extreme N9800 GTX is a much cooler graphics card that's capable of replacing the GeForce 8800 GTX in ASUS' line up. Should you run out and replace that GeForce 8800 GTX you already have? Not really. Performance between these two GTX's is a pretty even battle with the newer GeForce 9800 winning out a little. Those looking for the newest performance card that offers the best bang for buck are going to find the ASUS Extreme N9800 GTX to be a good option. The only thing that would make it an even better choice would be a lower price tag and a decently bundled video game.