Many potential buyers unreasonably believe that the era of past-generation video cards (with four-digit classification) is long over. However, one should not rush into choosing the latest video adapter in the budget segment, because one should not forget about the NVIDIA company policy, which does not allow budget representatives to outperform the flagships of the previous generation in performance.
This article will focus on the top-end device GeForce 9800 GTX. Although this video card is a representative of the previous generation, its potential is enough to compete with modern gaming video adapters of the budget segment and devices of the initial game class.
Specifications
The code name of the graphic core G92 defines a graphics accelerator in the top segment, and the marking 420 indicates a modification of the video card (9800 GTX). The device was created using 65-nanometer technology and has 754 million transistors, like all the graphics crystals of the top line of video adapters. The number of stream processors in the NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX is 128 pieces, they are the key to high performance devices.
The graphics core operates at a frequency of 675 MHz in nominal mode. Information is exchanged with the motherboard via a 256-bit bus created using DDR3 technology. The memory bus frequency is 1100 MHz. The weak link of the video card is a small amount of RAM - only 512 MB.
NVIDIA Factory Representative
The reference instance of the manufacturer GeForce 9800 GTX with its dimensions (judging by the photo) resembles the flagship of the NVIDIA GeForce Titan Z line. There will be no limit to the user's surprise if he removes the cooling system. The placement of batteries, memory modules and capacitors will be absolutely identical. The only difference is that the flagship has two graphic cores, while the representative of the previous generation has only one crystal.
You can argue endlessly about the methodology for placing components on a printed circuit board of a video card. The desire of NVIDIA technologists to install all the elements on the back of the video adapter is incomprehensible to many manufacturers of end devices. As practice shows, this placement leads to overheating. If the user wants to have a high-performance device, then it is worth taking a closer look at products with decent cooling.
Advantages and disadvantages of the reference device
Power consumption is the main disadvantage of the NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX graphics card . The characteristics of the device directly depend on the power supply, which must be supplied to the graphics accelerator 150 watts. Also, many users include DirectX 10 support as a drawback. Although the outdated GDDR3 memory bus runs at 256 bits, this technology has limitations in data transfer, above which it is simply impossible to improve performance.
But the advantages, of course, include the ability to replace memory modules. If you look at the photo of the device, it turns out that the chips have surface soldering. In fact, any manufacturer can effortlessly increase the volume to 1 GB, however, the bus will remain 256-bit. In general, it is not clear why technologists initially did not install capacious memory modules in NVIDIA laboratories.
Device firmware features
Another aspect worth paying attention to is the BIOS of the NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX graphics card. As many professionals note in their reviews, the permanent storage device of the video adapter does not have strict control of the hardware of the printed circuit board. Speaking in an accessible language, the BIOS of the video card can be configured at its discretion, the device will work with the specified parameters, however, within its own capabilities.
In fact, this is a common manufacturer flaw that allowed programmers to modify the video adapter. In the media there are a lot of instructions for flashing the device. For example, if the user has one more old-class game-class graphics accelerator (GTS250, 9800GT, 8800GTX and their analogues), then after changing the BIOS of the GeForce 9800 GTX, the user can use both devices in SLI mode without obstacles.
PC requirements
Do not forget that for each generation of video cards there are certain system requirements for a personal computer. After all, the operation of the video adapter, processor and RAM should be synchronous to ensure maximum performance. As tests show, for the operation of all the basic components of the system, it is recommended that the memory bus of all devices support a frequency of 200 MHz (we are talking about a single stream). The GeForce 9800 GTX graphics card runs at this speed by default.
A processor with two physical cores can provide decent performance. Ideally, the 4-core representative of the Intel Core Quad will make the video adapter work at the limit of its capabilities. Accordingly, the DDR2 RAM should work at a frequency of at least 800 MHz. Do not forget about the hard drive. Solid-state SSD hard drives have an affordable price, and they should be preferred.
The most productive device
The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 9800 graphics card under the BFG brand is recognized as the most productive in the price-quality criterion in the market. The fact is that the manufacturer, having made very minor changes in the power management system, achieved maximum efficiency due to overclocking the graphics core and memory bus. Naturally, such actions allowed the device to demonstrate excellent results in test programs.
Only the cooling system is embarrassing, which, judging by the photo, does not differ in appearance from the reference representative of NVIDIA, except that the BFG logo is pasted on top. But the future owner should not be worried, because changing the power supply circuits, phase redistribution and replacing the capacities significantly affected the power consumption of the video adapter, and, accordingly, the power dissipation.
Rest only in our dreams
For the GeForce 9800 GTX, the performance characteristics were so critical that due to the high heat dissipation, many gamers decided to abandon it. None of the manufacturers in the world rushed to please their fans with a silent cooling system.
Many sellers will rush to assure that ECS and Zotac can please customers with a water-cooled system, but when it comes to the complete absence of rotating components in the device, these brands are not worth remembering. Yes, with water cooling, manufacturers managed to overclock the graphics core to 800 MHz, and set the memory to 1125 MHz, but the problem of noise will not be solved for users.
Finally
We can talk endlessly about video adapters based on the GeForce 9800 GTX chip from different manufacturers. After all, the flagship of the gaming segment is a tidbit for all well-known brands. Naturally, each of the manufacturers modified the printed circuit board, replaced the batteries or increased the amount of memory. Any physical intervention would certainly increase the productivity of the product.
As tests show, the video cards presented under different logos demonstrate almost the same performance, but in the price they differ dramatically. The final consumer has something to think about before buying, because paying for a brand has not been fashionable for a long time.