While the GeForce GTX 200 series cards have taken over NVIDIA's top slots for video card gaming hardware, their GeForce 9 series continues to flush out the bulk of their product lineup, and the GeForce 9800 GTX+ reigns as top dog among the GeForce 9 series family. The WinFast PX9800 GTX+ Limited appears to have identical specs to their standard WinFast PX9800 GTX+ with the only difference being that of the slightly different cooler face and the bundled games selection. But otherwise both match the NVIDIA reference specification in clock speeds and chip design. The original GeForce 9800 GTX sported a 65nm G92 die with 675MHz core clock and 2200MHz effective memory. - OverClock Agency

Leadtek WinFast PX9800 GTX+ Limited Board Review

The GeForce 9800 GTX+, as NVIDIA has labeled it, launched in summer last year and represents those cards that utilize the 55nm die shrunk G92 core with a new, faster speed of 738MHz and the same 2200MHz effective memory. Other specifications are identical, though the smaller die uses the same architecture as the old GTX board, with just under ten percent less power consumption. The memory interface is 256-bit, with 512MB of GDDR3 memory running at 2200MHz effective. The video board is of course, DirectX 10 compliant, compatible with the PCI Express 2.0 specifications and supports 2-way and 3-way SLI technology.

The Leadtek WinFast 9800 GTX+ card ships in a large retail box with plenty of package padding foam. The card itself comes in an anti-static bag and includes a user manual, driver CD, bundled game and several adapters. The card appears to have the standard reference cooler design, but instead of a sticker graphics it has a raised panel vented design of anodized aluminum. The vents seem to be decorative only, air is still exhausted out the double rear riser slot. The video card uses a standard green PCB. As with all GeForce 9800 series cards, the GTX+ supports up to 3-way SLI and it requires only a single 6-pin external power.

Leadtek has put together a nice package with the WinFast PX9800 GTX+ Limited edition. The card is devoid of the usual splashy graphics, some of which can get pretty obnoxious looking and instead incorporates a snazzy vented aluminum plate. Although the vents appear to be for decoration only, the stock cooler handles the card's heat with ease. NVIDIA has done a good job with the G92 die shrink and gotten voltage and heat generation down, with temperatures only in the mid-60's at full load and a fan that's barely audible. Power draw is likewise reduced, at idle the system usage is well under 200W, and only 80W at load.

But its not that performance was bad being limited to the stock 738/2200MHz speeds. In fact it is surprising how close the card is capable of coming to the supposed king of the hill GT200 core'd GeForce GTX 260 in many cases. At low resolutions and/or without anti-aliasing enabled, in some tests it even exceeds the performance of the GeForce GTX 260. Obviously if you run a high resolution and like to really crank up the graphics detail you're going to want some more power to fill that screen. We could not find the Leadtek GeForce 9800 GTX+ for sale at any online retailers, so retail pricing might vary a bit somehow.

However if it follows current pricing it should be available for under $200, possibly even down in the $170 ballpark. Compared to the $250 or so you'd spend for a GeForce GTX 260 makes the GeForce 9800 GTX+ even more appealing. If you're just looking for a relatively plain vanilla GeForce 9800 GTX+ card and aren't interested in overclocking, the Leadtek WinFast PX9800 GTX+ Limited could be for you, depending on whether you can find it that is and at what price.