BFG 9800 GTX Video Card Review

Today marks the launch of the NVIDIA 9800 GTX video card and we are looking in this review at a BFG 9800 GTX. The 9800 GTX is one step down from the 9800 GX2 video card that we reviewed previously. If you are looking for a video card to run in 3-way SLI, the 9800 GTX is the card. Read on for all the details on the BFG 9800 GTX.

Gallery

4 images

Benchmarks

Features & Specifications
The BFG 9800 GTX runs on the NVIDIA 9800 GTX GPU. The core clock of the card runs at 675 MHz, the shader clock is 1688 MHz and the memory clock is 2200 MHz. the card has a 256-bit memory interface and a memory bandwidth of 70.4GB/sec. the BFG 9800 GTX has 128 stream processors. The card features 512MB of GDDR3 RAM and the card is PCI Express 2.0 compliant. Other features include HDMI capable with adapter and HDCP capable for protected HD content.

Test Machine
The test machine I will be using for this review has the following specifications:

• OS- Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 32-bit
• Mainboard- XFX 790i Ultra
• PSU- Top Power 1100W
• RAM- 2GB Aeneon DDR3-16000
• CPU- Intel QX9770
• Display- 30-inch Dell

3DMark06
The first test up for the BFG 9800 GTX is 3DMark06. I ran the application at default settings and used default settings I the NVIDIA control panel as well. The BFG 9800 GTX scored as follows on 3DMark06:

• Total 3DMarks- 14201
• SM2.0- 5979
• HDR/SM3.0- 5853
• CPU- 4635
• Return to Proxycon- 50.258
• Firefly Forest- 49.393
• Canyon Flight- 55.424
• Deep Freeze- 61.629
• CPU1- 1.534
• CPU2- 2.241

To compare the XFX 9600 GT XXX Alpha dog I recently reviewed scored 11720 3DMarks, the XFX 9800 GX2 scored 16227 3DMarks and the stock clocked XFX 9600 GT scored 11397.

Quake Wars
The first game test for the card was Quake Wars which I ran at 2560 x 1600 with all settings on high, 4x AA and shaders on ultra. I used Fraps to record frame rate data on a single player map at the Africa Refinery. Fraps recorded the following data:

• Min- 25 fps
• Avg- 39.134 fps
• Max- 75 fps

Crysis
Next up is Crysis, which I ran at 1920 x 1200 with 2X AA and all settings on medium. I used Fraps to record frame rate data on a single player game from the initial beach insertion until the fight with the first enemies. Fraps recorded the following frame rate data:

• Min- 31 fps
• Avg- 50.263 fps
• Max- 72 fps

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

• Min- 29 fps
• Avg- 46.087 fps
• Max- 61 fps

Final Thoughts
The BFG 9800 GTX has impressive performance at a price of around $299. BFG doesn’t bundle a game with its 9800 GTX like some of the other NVIDIA card partners do. However, that doesn’t take away from the performance of the BFG 9800 GTX at all. The BFG 9800 GTX is simply a fantastic performance.

Verdict

Conclusion

Pros

• Great performance
• Can run 3-way SLI

Cons

• No game bundle

Verdict
The BFG 9800 GTX is the best performing video card in the $300 price range easily besting comparable ATI graphics cards. If you have $300 to spend on a video card, the BFG 9800 GTX is the card you want to buy.

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