Whats the difference between these 9800 gx2s?

[fraya713]

Ok, so basically there are two 9800 gx2's, one made by palit which i guess is kinda popular on these forums and then theres one made by XFX

is there a difference? is one better? Please let me know!

Palit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814261010

XFX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150284

thanks a lot guys

 

[Duxx]

Pretty sure they are essentially the same, they both have the same reference coolers and clocked at same frequencies. Anybody comment on their PCB's?

 

[phanbuey]

they are identical cards, with different stickers on the cooler. These are basically referrence everything.

Buy the one with the better bundle/warranty. I recomment EVGA since they have step-up program. But both of these are combo'd with a cool MCE remote, which is pretty awesome (im about to get one.)

 

[fraya713]

lol thanks guys, whats a step up program do?

 

[Megasty]

I have the EVGA, but I think all the general releases are the same anyway. I'm sure some guys will be able to refine the reference design in some way but its not going to be an ez feat. A prototype watercooled EVGA has already surfaced though.

 

[Duxx]

lol thanks guys, whats a step up program do?

It's a program that allows the buyer to buy his/her card and have insurance that his card wont be outdated in 3 months(90 days). Once you buy your card, you have 90 days up apply for step-up which allows you to pick from their cards and basically you will pay the difference. If you buy the 8800GT and step up to the GX2, you will pay their price 599.99 - (your invoice price, say 300), so you pay roughly 300 dollars. It is just money thats used towards a new and better card. Keep in mind, i just did this and their prices do not adjust and change according to newegg. Newegg has the 8800GTS 512mb for 250, but EVGA's site has it for 350, so i still have to pay about 60$ for my upgrade from 8800gt --> 8800GTS Also keep in mind that you cannot buy any SC or KO version, you can only upgrade to the basic version of GT GTS GTX ultra, etc. BFG also offers this step up now, but theirs is 120 days.

 

[fraya713]

ahh cool, thanks again guys, hows this card anyways? i heard its kind of equivalent to two geforce 8800's, do you guys like this card? is it worth it?

it looks very long, if i already own the geforce 7950 gx2, space in my case wont be a problem right? i'm using the antec 900

 

[Duxx]

It is a very large card indeed. On the center HD cage, where it has that support for an extra fan, you might have to take that off for it to fit into your PCI-E slot, unless you have one below that cage (i dont) It is a very good card, however it is very expensive, if money is not an issue and you want the best of the best, then go for it. If you want to be more conservative then you can look at the 3870X2, which is ~180$ cheaper and hardly behind in benchmarks, or something like the 8800GTS 512.

 

[fraya713]

do people have problems with it overheating? i've heard at least one 9800 runs at 80c...

 

[Duxx]

From the reviews i have read, anywhere between 70-80 with stock cooling on load and usually around 60 for idle. So yes, quite warm

 

[fraya713]

hmm.. interesting, so i;m guessing it can take a lot of heat? or is this thing just going to break on me after the warranty is up lol

 

[DaMulta]

What they come with also is another thing different. I know with the palit card you get hosting server for a game sever(worth over 100USD), along with the remake of Tomb Raider.

 

[fraya713]

what do u mean they get hosting server for a game server? like u can run a server off your card for a game?

 

[calvary1980]

It's a program that allows the buyer to buy his/her card and have insurance that his card wont be outdated in 3 months(90 days). Once you buy your card, you have 90 days up apply for step-up which allows you to pick from their cards and basically you will pay the difference. If you buy the 8800GT and step up to the GX2, you will pay their price 599.99 - (your invoice price, say 300), so you pay roughly 300 dollars. It is just money thats used towards a new and better card. Keep in mind, i just did this and their prices do not adjust and change according to newegg. Newegg has the 8800GTS 512mb for 250, but EVGA's site has it for 350, so i still have to pay about 60$ for my upgrade from 8800gt --> 8800GTS Also keep in mind that you cannot buy any SC or KO version, you can only upgrade to the basic version of GT GTS GTX ultra, etc. BFG also offers this step up now, but theirs is 120 days.

BFG offers 100 days, eVGA offers 120 days but only for the GX2 which is pointless what are you going to step up to thin air? I doubt a new generation is going to be out in 3 months.

what do u mean they get hosting server for a game server? like u can run a server off your card for a game?

Palit offers promo codes.

- Christine

 

[fraya713]

which do what?

 

[calvary1980]

when you buy the Palit 9800GX2 you get a promo code or voucher that you enter on there website which allows you to pick a prize for say, a game server is one of them.

- Christine

 

[DaMulta]

which do what?

https://www.primarytarget.com/palit/

 

[lukesky]

Regarding the EVGA stepup, what if one has lost the invoice? Is it possible to show them the cost some other way? I don't have one yet, but I might get one. Either EVGA or BFG I guess.

 

[farlex85]

I don't think you can do the step-up w/o the invoice. Remember evga also offers a lifetime warrenty, which I don't think the others do.

 

[ktr]

Go for the XFX. It has transferable (evga does not) life time warranty (which should keep resale value high). And it covers changing coolers and OC'ing (only if there is no physical damage on the card, same with evga). The step-up program is useless if you are already getting the highest model in the market. So any "step-up" will actually be a "set-down."


EDIT:

I thought xfx wasn't offering the lifetime warrenty for the 9xxx series. Did that change?

http://www.xfxforce.com/web/support/showWarranty.jspa?regionId=1&productGenerationId=2037675

What do I get?

* Lifetime Warranties
* Transferable Protection
* Modder Friendly

Whats covered?
All 6, 7, 8 and 9 series Graphics Cards are protected.

How do I get it?
All you have to do is purchase an XFX Graphics Card and register the product within 30 days of purchase to activate your Lifetime Protection.

Here’s the deal: We will repair and service your 6, 7, 8 and 9 Series Graphics Card for as long
as you live. Even for those of you who know how to push our cards to the limits, if anything goes wrong, we’ll service it free of charge. All you have to do is register the card with us online. If you ever decide to sell or give the card away to someone, we’ll still honor the protection plan for the second owner as well. They just need to register the card with us. You get the protection AND the added value of being able to pass along a full warranty.

 

[farlex85]

I had thought they had changed it for the 9xxx series to like 2 years or something, but I guess not. XFX's warrenty is quite nice also.

 

[Duxx]

Well from my personal experience with EVGA, i have contacted one person in their RMA dept, and he has helped me with every problem I have needed. When i had to RMA, step up, had questions about anything, etc. He always replied fast and answered my question. So I will always give a thumbs up to their customer service, but ktr is right, the 9800x2 is the top card, and their wont be any need to step up within the next 3 months because nothing more powerful will come out. IF you are looking at XFX, they have a promo that newtekie found, http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=56088

 

[farlex85]

I still wanna see 2 gts 512 compared to gx2. Has anybody seen any benchies w/ this?

 

[ktr]

I still wanna see 2 gts 512 compared to gx2. Has anybody seen any benchies w/ this?

EDIT:

 

[farlex85]

Well 2x GTS = 1x Gx2, though the GTS might be a tad faster due to slight higher clocks (but not much) But being that you can get a pair of GTS for 450 bucks, maybe its a good idea just to go towards the GTS.

Thats what I'm thinking, and I've tried to get a better idea of this but to no avail. Everyone in that market just springs for the gx2......