While NVIDIA doesn't yet have a new generation graphics processor, it can only oppose ATI with the good old G92 architecture that proved worthy over time. The GeForce 9800 GTX graphics card didn't have a very happy fate. This follower of NVIDIA's GeForce 8800 GTX and Ultra was meant to rule in the $349 category but actually had to compete with the dangerous Radeon HD 4850 which was originally targeted into a cheaper market sector. As a result, many traits of this Goliath proved to be inappropriate, transforming into drawbacks. In contrast, the Radeon HD 4850 has a compact single slot cooler, one power connector and delivered higher performance at a lower price across various games. - X-Bit Labs

Palit GeForce 9800 GTX+ Graphics Card Style Review

As such NVIDIA had to cut the price of the GeForce 9800 GTX even though the manufacturing cost of the reference card was quite high to start with, yet even this measure could not solve the performance problem. Even if the GeForce 9800 GTX cost the same money as the Radeon HD 4850, the latter looked preferable in a potential customer's eyes. As NVIDIA didn't have anything else to pit against ATI's RV770 processor, the only way was to squeeze some more performance out of this G92 chip. This attempt resulted in the GeForce 9800 GTX+ graphics card which differed from its predecessor with higher clock rates.

This resembled what NVIDIA had done with their GeForce 8800 Ultra earlier. And while trying to keep its positions in the mainstream sector, NVIDIA hurried to transition its existing cores to the 55mm process. Thus, the new card got a new heart, the G92b chipset. The new revision doesn't differ from the older G92 in anything save for the technical process, but the GeForce 9800 GTX+ card has become more profitable to make. Although NVIDIA claims that the transition to the new process is complete in the mainstream sector, you can still meet the GeForce 9800 GTX+ with the older version of the core in shops.

The coloring of the boxes is black and green and silver and green, which agrees with NVIDIA's corporate colors, but the picture is somewhat odd. Instead of a girl, robot, mage or monster, the Palit box shows an armor clad frog. Overall, the accessories of the Palit GeForce 9800 GTX+ series are up to the card's market positioning. After all, these G92 based solutions are now far from being flagship products as they were at the time the GeForce 9800 GTX was announced. The lack of a high definition video player is a disappointment, but this lowers the price of the product, especially as Palit has never been an elite brand.

The two versions of Palit GeForce 9800 GTX+ are good products if you don't mind their outdated architecture. The Palit version with a non standard PCB design is preferable. The PCB is smaller and has better cooling and requires somewhat less power. Moreover, this version may prove to be cheaper due to its simpler design. Its lower overclockability is its only drawback, but you can't expect substantial benefits from overclocking such cards anyway unless you use some extreme overclocking methods. Such overclocking just adds a few frames per second in benchmarks but cannot be felt during actual play.

And so, if you want to buy such a GeForce 9800 GTX+ series video card, the Palit GeForce 9800 GTX+ with non standard PCB can be a good choice, and actually is if you wnat to have a more optimized version with less power needs. While the reference version of GeForce 9800 GTX+ card should only be bought for serious overclocking.