Test: Gigabyte 9800GTX

Konklusion

Jeg synes 9800GTX er lidt en sjov størrelse. Ydelsen er sådan set fin nok - du finder ikke noget bedre kun med en GPU. Men det sparker bare ikke så meget røv som forventet, og virker mest af alt som et forvokset 8800GTS. Idéen er fin nok, men springet fra 8-generationen til 9-generationens singleGPU topkort er bare alt for småt. G92 er et fedt design - men er det ikke snart på tide at nVidias ingeniører kommer i omdrejninger så vi kan se noget nyt, i stedet for blot at forøge clockfrekvenserne gang på gang.

Innovation/Teknologi - 3
G92 er stadigvæk en fed chip - men dens grunddesign stammer fra G80 kernen som efterhånden er ca. halvandet år gammel. Gammel vin på nye flasker - og så forhøjede clockfrekvenser. Feature mæssigt er der dog ikke noget at klandre 9800GTX for - det har HDCP, DirectX10, PCI-E 2.0 og alt det andet vi forventer os af et nyt grafikkort. Solidt 3-tal i denne kategori.

Bundle/Tilbehør - 3
Det bliver ikke mere standard end dette: et par strøm-adaptors, driver CD, DVI til VGA adaptors og SVHS til component adaptor. What you need, but no more.

Design/Layout - 4
Jeg er ganske vist en enlig svale når det komme til støjniveauet, men jeg synes altså at kortet larmer mere end det burde gøre. Måske er det blot mig der har vænnet mig til at high-end grafikkort ikke skal larme særlig meget, efter at nVidia lagde den gode kølerstil fra 7800GTX kortet, men nu synes jeg altså at de begynder at trække i den forkerte retning igen. Ikke at det er slemt, det kunne bare let være bedre. Derudover er kortet en anelse længere end 8800GTS, og kræver to strømstik i modsætning til 8800GTS kortene. På trods af det giver jeg alligevel et meget lille 4-tal, da ovenstående problemstillinger trods alt er at forvente for high-end kort.

Driver- 3
Vi mener at driveren er til en middelkarakter, da hverken ATI's Catalyst eller nVidias Forceware er at foretrække.

Ydelse - 4
Vi taler her om et ret lille 4-tal. Ikke fordi ydelsen er dårlig, for det er den ikke. Men det er langt fra topkort ydelse synes jeg. Jeg havde gerne set et meget større spring fra 8800GTS kortene til 9800GTX.

Pris - 2
Kortet står til 2000 kroner på edbpriser, og det er rigtig meget når man tænker på at kortet kun er en smule bedre end 8800GT der står til ca. 1200 kroner. Et 8800GTS-512 koster 1400-1500 kroner og praktisk talt er 9800GTX bare et småoverclocket 8800GTS-512.

Test: Gigabyte 9800GTX

Innovation / Teknologi	3
Bundle - Tilbehør	3
Design - Layout	4
Software - BIOS	3
Ydelse	4
Pris	2
Samlet	63%

UK summary

9800GTX is a weird card. The performance isn't bad - you won't find anything better with only one GPU. But it just doesn't have the expected kick-ass effect and most of all it feels like a matured 8800GTS. The idea is fine, but the gap between the 8-generation and the 9-generation is just way too small. G92 is a cool design, but isn't it time for nVidias engineers to get working again soon, instead of just increasing the clock frequencies again and again.

Innovation/Technology - 3
G92 is still an awesome chip - but it have deep roots in the yeah and a half old G80 chip. Old wine on new bottles - and then raised clock frequencies. Feature wise there is no problem however. 9800GTX still have HDCP, DirectX10, PCI-E 2.0 etc. Features that we all expect on our high-end graphiccards. Solid 3 points here.

Bundle/Accessories - 3
It doesn't get more standard that this. A couple of power-adaptors, driver CD, DVI to VGA adaptors and SVHS to component adaptor. What you need, but no more.

Design/Layout - 4
I know that I'm a lonely bird when it comes to the cooler noise of this card, but I think this card is too noisy. Perhaps it is just me who have gotten used to silent high-end card after nVidia started making excellent coolers with 7800GTX, but I believe they are pulling in the wrong direction again now. Not that it is very bad, but it could easily be better. The card is a bit longer than 8800GTS and demands two PCI-E power plugs in contrast to the 8800GTS cards. Despite these problems, I give a very small 4-rating, since it is very hard to avoid these problems when you make a High-end graphic card.

Software/BIOS - 3
The driver rating lands in the middle, since neither ATI's Catalyst or nVidias Forceware are preferable. 

Performance - 4
A very small 4 rating here. Not because the performance is bad, because it isn't. But it is far from the performance I'd like to see from a top-card. I'd like to see a larger performance gap the 8800GTS cards to the new 9-generation 9800GTX.

Price - 2
The card is 2000DKK which is a lot considering that the card is just a tad better than a 8800GT that costs 1200DKK. A 8800GTS-512 costs approximately 1500 DKK and practically speaking, the 9800GTX is just a overclocked 8800GTS-512.