XFX 9800 GTX Graphics Card Review

Today we are taking a look at the XFX 9800 GTX. This video card offers the second highest performance in the NVIDIA line up and sits directly below the 9800 GX2. The XFX 9800 GTX can also be used in three-way SLI mode where you can use three of the cards at the same time. The XFX 9800 GTX is also quite a bit cheaper than the 9800 GX2.

XFX 9800 GTX

Features & Specifications

The XFX 9800 GTX we are checking out today is a stock clocked video card that is SLI and HDCP ready. The card has a core clock of 675 MHz, a shader clock of 1688 MHz and a memory clock of 2.2GHz. The card is PCI Express 2.0 compliant and comes bundled with Company of Heroes. The XFX 9800 GTX can also support three-way SLI with a compatible motherboard.

Test Machine

The test machine I am using for the following review is as follows:

• Mainboard- XFX 790i Ultra
• CPU- Intel QX9770
• PSU- Top Power 1100W
• RAM- 2GB Aeneon DDR3
• OS- Windows Vista Ultimate

3DMark06

The first test up for the XFX 9800 GTX was 3DMark06, which was ran at stock settings in both the 3DMark06 control panel and the NVIDIA control panel. The XFX 9800 GTX scored as follows in 3DMark06:

• Total 3DMarks- 14298
• SM2.0- 5981
• HDR/SM3.0- 5856
• CPU- 4804
• Return to Proxycon- 50.151
• Firefly Forest- 49.527
• Canyon Flight- 55.408
• Deep Freeze- 61.703
• CPU1- 1.554
• CPU2- 2.376

To compare the BFG 9800 GTX I reviewed scored 14201 3DMarks, the XFX 9800 GX2 scores 16227 3DMArks (on a different test machine) and the XFX 9600 GT XXX Alpha Dog scored 11720 3DMarks.

Crysis

The first game test up for the XFX 9800 GTX was with Crysis. I ran the game at 1920 x 1200 with 2xAA and all settings on medium. Fraps recorded the following frame rate data on a single player game starting at the initial beach insertion.

• Min- 29 fps
• Avg- 43.650 fps
• Max- 61 fps

Bioshock

The next game test was Bioshock. I ran the game at 1920 x 1200 with all settings on high and everything turned on. Fraps recorded the following frame rate data:

• Min- 29 fps
• Avg- 49.947 fps
• Max- 61 fps

Quake Wars

The final game test up was Quake Wars and it was run at 2560 x 1600 with all settings on high, 4x AA and shaders on ultra. Fraps recorded frame rata data on the single player Africa refinery map:

• Min- 29 fps
• Avg- 43.650
• Max- 61 fps

Final Thoughts

After all was said and done the XFX 9800 GTX performed very well. It edged slightly ahead of the BFG 9800 GTX in 3DMark06, but both of the cards were very close together. The biggest difference is that XFX bundles a game with its card and BFG doesn’t.