GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB (PLUS) review - 1 - Introduction

NVIDIA's GeForce 9800 GTX+ 

Last week we brought you a review on AMDs Radeon 4850. Pretty much it set a new standard in bang for your bucks in the mid-range segment of graphics cards. Leading mainstream performance at 199 USD, now that's something you can't beat. Or ... ?

See, AMD's biggest competitor in the GPU arena, NVIDIA, wouldn't be NVIDIA if they didn't adapt to the situation at hand and strategize to match the performance of AMD's lovely new little gem. In fact it was one, maybe two days before AMDs launch when we received some info that NVIDIA would be doing three things to react on the AMD Radeon HD 4850.

1. Release a new SKU under the label GeForce 9800 GTX+
2. Lower prices, GTX for 199 USD, GTX+ for 229 USD
3. Release a new driver boosting some extra performance

We already told you guys in our recent XFX GeForce 9800 GTX Black edition review that very soon we'd be reviewing that GTX+ card, and therefore today we will.

The GeForce 9800 GTX+ arrived here merely days ago, and although at 1st I'd figured that the card could not make that much of a difference, it seems that was a bit of a paradox. The card can do exactly that. See the GeForce 9800 GTX+ not only is a newly created SKU with some higher clocks, no the GPU die-size has been shrunk towards 55nm (which was 65nm). Now typically with a die shrink NVIDIA has a chance to optimize some inefficiencies from their previous build. Yes, NVIDIA pushed some efficiency levels in there. All I will say is that we just tested a very competitive card that can overclock incredibly. The rest I leave up-to you.

Obviously what we'll de today is focus on that Radeon HD 4850 performance, standard GeForce 9800 GTX performance and then compare it with this respin GeForce 9800 GTX+, and I have tell you, it certainly did not disappoint us.

Prices for mid-range just won't get any better than this anytime soon folks. Lovely isn't it ? Let's have a chat about the architecture, the good, the bad and then fire off the card at our test-suite, which recently was updated with some new game titles like Race Driver: GRID and Mass effect. Both just gorgeous titles.