Test: Gigabyte 9800GT

Konklusion

Så kom vi til enden af testen af nVidia's "nye" mid-range kort. Som man nok kan fornemme er jeg ikke just imponeret over, hvad nVidia har bedrevet, ved blot at læne sig tilbage uden at introducere nye kort. Desuden bliver nVidia ved med at forvirre forbrugerne med kryptiske navne ændringer, hvilket 9800GT er et godt bevis på.
Dette er selvfølgelig ikke Gigabyte's fejl og når alt kommer til alt, leverer Gigabyte et kort med et fint bundle, men med en lidt tvivlsom køler. Da kortet netop er blevet introduceret er prisen stadig usikker. Kortet koster omkring 900 kroner, hvor et 8800GT kan erhverves for omkring 800. Altså ikke nogen specielt logisk prisforskel da de to kort i bund og grund er identiske. 

Innovation/Teknologi - 2
Der er som sagt ikke sket det store fra 8800GT til 9800GT ud over understøttelse for Hybrid-SLI og en opdatering af chippen. Vi ser at AMD ruster sig med monster-opgraderinger af deres kort, der stadig er holdt til meget fornuftige priser. Nvidia svarer igen ved at skifte navn på deres gamle topsælger.

Bundle/Tilbehør - 3
Man kommer ikke uden om at der er sparet voldsomt på program- og spilsiden til kortet. Til gengæld er der alle de adaptorer og kabler man har brug for. Derfor bliver det til den middelgode karakter.

Design/Layout - 1
Det er utroligt at Gigabyte har valgt den aktuelle køler. Den larmer simpelthen alt for meget selv helt uden belastning. Jeg er overbevist om at en Zalman VF-700/900 eller 1000 ville have gjort jobbet væsentligt bedre med kun en mindre prisstigning til følge. Man skulle tro at kortet ville blive kølet ordentligt af den støjende køler, men det er så heller ikke tilfældet som det fremgår af testen.

Software/BIOS - 3
Softwaren (std. driver) der blev leveret til dette kort virkede upåklageligt og derfor skal det have 3 point.

Ydelse - 3
Der er ikke meget andet at sige end at ydelsen er fin - ligesom den var på 8800GT. Forskellen de to kort imellem er marginal, endda til 8800GT's fordel da der er tale om en overclocket version.

Pris - 3
Prisen virker fin for kortet da man generelt får rimelig meget ydelse for sine 900 kr. Til gengæld larmer køleren alt for meget, så hvis den skal skiftes, ryger idéen lidt og så vil HD4850 i alle tilfælde være et bedre køb.  

 UK summary

I'm not overly impressed with what Nvidia has achieved by simply leaning back delivering nothing new. Furhermore, Nvidia keeps confusing their customers with cryptically changing product names - the 9800GT is an excellent proof of this. Of course Gigabyte is not to be blamed for this and in the end Gigabyte manages to deliver a good card with a fine bundle, although the cooler is a bit doubtsome. As the card has only recently been introduced, the price is still somewhat uncertain. The card is priced around 900 DKK whereas the 8800GT comes in at around 800 DKK. This is really not a logical price difference since the two cards are quite identical.

Innovation/Technology - 2
Not much has happened from the 8800GT to the 9800GT besides the new support for Hybrid-SLI and an updated chip. We're seeing AMD arming themselves with monster-upgrades of their cards that are still kept at a quite reasonable pricepoint. Nvidia answers back by changing the name of their previous topseller.

Bundle/Accessories - 3
There's no way around the fact that there has been cut down enormously on program- and gamepacks. In return, all the adaptors and cables one needs are bundled. That's why the medium-good grade of 3 is awarded.

Design/Layout - 1
It's unbelievable that Gigabyte has chosen the actual cooler. Even without load it is simply way too noisy. I'm convinced that a VF700/900/1000 from Zalman, would have done the job considerably better, resulting in only a marginally higher price. One would think the card would be cooled properly by the noisy cooler, but this is not the case. 

Software/BIOS - 3
The standard display driver delivered with this card worked without a hitch. Gigabyte is therefore awarded 3 points.

Performance - 3
There's nothing to say about the performance, except that it performs well - just like the 8800GT did. The difference parting the two cards is very marginally, even slightly to the 8800GT's advantage as this is a factory overclocked version.

Price - 3
The price seems reasonable for the card as you're generally awarded a fairly high performance for the 900 DKK. The cooler is so noisy, however, that the idea of changing it would be bad since one would be closing in on the price of the far better card, the HD4850.

Test: Gigabyte 9800GT

Innovation / Teknologi	2
Bundle - Tilbehør	3
Design - Layout	1
Software - BIOS	3
Ydelse	3
Pris	3
Samlet	50%