Many potential buyers are unreasonablebelieve that the era of video cards of the past generation (with four-digit classification) has long ended. However, there is no need to hurry up with the choice of the latest video adapter in the budget segment, because you should not forget about the policy of NVIDIA, which does not allow budget representatives to outperform the flagships of the previous generation.
This article is about the top-end deviceGeForce 9800 GTX. Let this video card is a representative of the last generation, but its potential is enough to compete with modern gaming video adapters in the budget segment and devices of the initial game class.
The code name for the G92 kernel determinesgraphics accelerator in the top segment, and the 420 mark indicates the modification of the video card (9800 GTX). The device is created using 65-nanometer technology and has 754 million transistors, as well as all graphics chips top-end video adapters. The number of stream processors from NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX is 128 pieces, they are the key to high performance of the device.
The graphics core operates at a frequency of 675 MHz innominal mode. Exchange of information with the motherboard is carried out on a 256-bit bus, created using DDR3 technology. The memory bus frequency is 1100 MHz. A weak link in the video card is a small amount of RAM - only 512 MB.
Reference copy of the manufacturer GeForce 9800GTX its size (judging by the photo) resembles the flagship of the NVIDIA GeForce Titan Z line. The user's surprise will not be exceeded if it removes the cooling system. 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 last generation has only one crystal.
On the method of placing components on a printedthe card can be argued endlessly. 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, such placement leads to overheating. If a user wants to have a high-performance device, then it's worth looking at products with decent cooling.
Energy consumption is a major drawbackvideo adapter NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX. The characteristics of the device are directly dependent on the power supply, which must be supplied to a 150-watt graphics accelerator. Also to the shortcomings, many users include the support of DirectX 10. The obsolete GDDR3 memory bus even works on 256 bits, but this technology has limitations in data transmission, above which it is simply impossible to improve the characteristics.
But the merits, of course, can be attributedthe ability to replace memory modules. If you look at the device's photo, it will be found that the chips have a surface soldering. In fact, any manufacturer can easily increase the volume to 1 GB without any special efforts, although the bus will remain 256-bit. In general, it is unclear why in the NVIDIA laboratories, technologists initially did not install capacious memory modules.
Another aspect to be addressedattention, is the BIOS of the video card NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX. As many professionals note in their reviews, the video adapter's permanent memory does not have strict hardware control of the printed circuit board. If to speak in an accessible language, then the BIOS of the video card can be adjusted at its discretion, the device will work with the specified parameters, albeit within its own capabilities.
In fact, this is a usual flaw in the manufacturers,which allowed programmers to modify the video adapter. In the media, a lot of instructions for the firmware of the device. For example, if the user has one more graphics accelerator of the old class game class (GTS250, 9800GT, 8800GTX and their analogues), then after changes to the GeForce 9800 GTX BIOS the user without obstacles can use both devices in SLI mode.
Do not forget that for everyoneGeneration of video cards there are certain system requirements of a personal computer. After all, the work of the video adapter, processor and RAM must be synchronous to ensure maximum performance. As testing shows, 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 (this is a single thread). The GeForce 9800 GTX graphics card works by default at this speed.
A decent performance in the work willprovide a processor with two physical cores. Ideally, a 4-core Intel Core Quad Quad will make the video adapter run at its limit. Accordingly, the DDR2 memory should work at a frequency of not less than 800 MHz. Do not forget about the hard drive. Solid-state SSD hard drives have quite affordable value, they should be preferred.
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 9800 graphics card under the brandBFG is recognized in the market as the most productive in the "price-quality" criteria. The fact is that the manufacturer, having made very minor changes in the power management system, achieved maximum efficiency by overclocking the graphics core and memory bus. Naturally, such actions allowed the device to demonstrate excellent results in test programs.
Confuses only the cooling system, whichAppearance, judging by the photo, does not differ from the reference representative of NVIDIA, except that the BFG logo is glued on top. But worry about the future owner is not worth it, because changing the power circuits, redistribution of phases and the replacement of capacitance significantly affected the power consumption of the video adapter, and accordingly, and the dissipated power.
For the GeForce 9800 GTXperformance were so critical that, due to the high heat emission, many game lovers decided to abandon it. None of the existing manufacturers in the world did not hurry to please their fans with a noiseless cooling system.
Many sellers will hasten to assure that the companyECS and Zotac can please the customers with a system with water treatment, but when it comes to the complete absence of rotating components in the device, these brands should not be remembered. Yes, with water cooling, the producers managed to overclock the graphics core to 800 MHz, and set the parameter to 1125 MHz, but the problem with noise will not be solved for users.
About video adapters based on the GeForce 9800 GTX chipdifferent manufacturers can talk endlessly. After all, the flagship of the gaming segment is a tasty morsel for all the famous brands. Naturally, each of the manufacturers modified the PCB, replaced the batteries or increased the amount of memory. Any physical intervention would certainly increase product performance.
As shown by the tests presentedvideo cards under different logos demonstrate almost the same performance, but in price they differ radically. The end consumer has something to think about before buying, because paying for the brand has long been not fashionable.
