The summer might be long gone, but it's interesting to look back and see all that took place in the GPU world. ATI came out of nowhere with stellar products, and not even NVIDIA could predict the intense performance that the new models would deliver. That set off a chain reaction of new follow-up models from NVIDIA, some of which are a little silly, some of which are not. For the most part, the GeForce 9800 GTX+ we're taking a look at today likely belongs to the former camp. Where this puts the GeForce 9800 GTX+ is above the GTX and below the GeForce 9800 GX2 and performance wise, it's not going to compete to the next step-up the GeForce GTX 260, but it costs a little over $100 less. - Techgage

ASUS Extreme N9800 GTX+ Dark Knight Card Review

Compared to the original, the GeForce 9800 GTX+ has bumped core and shader clocks, and is also based on a 55nm process, whereas the original is based on a 65nm process. Pricing wise, the GeForce 9800 GTX+ is currently no more expensive than the original, so it's important to dig for the best deals. In some cases, the original costs more, so make sure a plus sign is in the title, and you'll wind up with a better product. Most GeForce 9800 GTX+ cards can be had for around the $200 mark, but some e-tailers are offering rebates to help bring it down close to $175, or even lower depending on the e-tailer and linked rebates.

In the case of this particular ASUS card, one popular e-tailer is selling the card for $160 after rebate, which even without testing the card out seems like an incredible deal. What sets the ASUS GeForce 9800 GTX+ Dark Knight apart is its unique dark colored cooler. We have to admit we like this design quite a bit. It's not that simple in construction, but appears sleek and streamlined with the PCB. The dark colored fan in the center helps complete the card, and it looks great overall. Aftermarket coolers are common though, but what's rare is when one happens to look good and cools well at the same time.

The default clocks on the GeForce 9800 GTX+ card are 738MHz core, 1836MHz shader and 2200MHz memory. Spending a little time with RivaTuner, we were able to achieve 840MHz core, 1975MHz shader and 2200MHz memory as the max stable overclock. Going any higher on either the core or shader would result in near immediate crashing when running 3DMark Vantage. When all said and done, ASUS has a quality release with the Dark Knight version of their GeForce 9800 GTX+ product. The GPU itself is already quite capable of handling the most demanding games at nice resolutions and it comes in at a great price to boot.

As pointed out earlier in the article, this particular GPU can be had for as low as $160 with the help of a mail in rebate, making it an affordable, yet still powerful choice. As with any GPU purchase though, it's important to keep an eye out for instant and mail in rebates, if you are looking to save some money. Rebates used to be a fad, but now it seems they're almost a requirement, because at sites like Newegg, every second GPU seems to carry one. Because of that, it's very easy to wind up paying more for a lesser product, so keeping your eyes peeled is imperative and only go for a product that sits at the right price.

Luckily though, this ASUS card costs no more than the rest of the GTX+ cards we've found, especially after taking the rebate into play, so it should undoubtedly be considered if you are on the lookout for such a card. Why you wouldn't purchase this card is if you are willing to spend a little more money to pick up a Radeon HD 4870. This GeForce 9800 GTX+ beat out the Radeon HD 4850 in every one of our results, so there is no competition there. This is a quality GPU no question about it, but we'd love to see ASUS release the Radeon HD 4870 version of their Dark Knight, as it could take advantage of superb cooling.