Testbed:

Motherboard:
EVGA 680i SLI (Supplied by EVGA)

Processor:
Intel Core 2 Duo 6800 Extreme edition (Supplied by Intel)

Memory:
OCZ FlexXLC PC2 9200 5-5-5-18  (Supplied by OCZ)
        during testing CL5-5-5-15-CR2T 1066MHz at 2.2V

PSU:
OCZ Silencer 750 Quad Black (Supplied by OCZ)

Hard disk:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 80GB SATA (Supplied by Seagate)

CPU-Cooler:
Freezer 7 Pro (Supplied by Artic Cooling)

Case Fans:
Artic Cooling - Artic Fan 12 PWM
Artic Cooling - Artic Fan 8 PWM

Futuremarks



Not much between the cards in 3DMark tests, but gaming will show what these cards are really about.



Gaming



Geforce 9800 GTX at a reference speed of 675MHz is just a bit faster than 8800 GTS. However, the higher the clocks on 9800 GTS, the higher the result. In this game, Super Superclocked EVGA card is the fastest among GTX cards, and after we clocked it to 801MHz, it managed to beat itself.



The highest tested resolution sees 9800 GX2 in its full glory. 9800 GTX SSC does well, but somewhat slower XFX and Zotac 9800 GTX are on par with EVGA 9800 GTX SSC.

Conclusion

We tested numerous cards based on G92 core, and saw that Nvidia’s new chip is a great performer, so it will probably continue making the competition’s lives miserable for a long time. Geforce 9800 GX2 is in top of Nvidia’s offer, whereas the best single chip card based on G92 is without question Geforce 9800 GTX. Today we’ve seen what this chip can do, and EVGA was bold enough to launch 9800 GTX overclocked by no less than 95MHz. Geforce 9800 GTX SSC runs at 7700MHz, compared to reference 675MHz.

We already had a chance to see and speak of it, but 9800 GTX can easily be overclocked to 800MHz. Still, no one dares to sell cards factory clocked to over 770MHz, mostly for safety reasons.

However, there’s no gift-game with our card, so although it’s the fastest 9800 GTX card money can buy, €300 seems a bit steep.

Still, if you’ve already decided on buying a 9800 GTX, that’s great for gaming and multimedia, and you can afford it without frowning at the price, EVGA 9800 GTX is the best single chip (G92) card and we recommend it as THE best choice.

After all, Maserati might not be the cheapest automobile, but it definitely is a great choice.