EVGA 9800GX2 Unboxing and Benchmarks by AuDioFreaK39

[AuDioFreaK39]

My EVGA 9800GX2 just arrived on my doorstep this morning. Here is a little walkthrough of the unboxing routine as well as some pictures of it in my rig. Since this is an image-less forum, here is a direct link to my review:

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1287109

So far, I've noticed a 7-14fps increase over my 8800Ultra (now in the hands of some eBayer smile). I'm looking forward to new drivers on March 25th and more importantly combining this absolutely phenomenal card with a Q9550 @ 4.0GHz during spring break next week, hehe.

 

[nitromullet]

Good post.

Two questions:

1) No issues with the IP35 Pro and enabling SLI on the card then?

2) Did you have the issues with the 8-pin power connector like they had at guru3d, or was this fixed for the retail cards? http://www.guru3d.com/article/Videocards/512/9/

 

[MTDEW]

Question
For those with PSUs with only 6pin power connectors, did Evga include an 8pin adaptor?
(i didnt see one in your pics)

 

[imported_wired247]

Originally posted by: MTDEW
Question
For those with PSUs with only 6pin power connectors, did Evga include an 8pin adaptor?
(i didnt see one in your pics)

I'm pretty sure they don't considering eVGA's website says you require a PSU with 8 pin.

Corsair is shipping adapters to their customers for free (shipping only). I am asking thermaltake if they will honor the same courtesy.

 

[vhx]

No, from what I gather, NVIDIA (or their partners, including EVGA) recommend an 8 pin adapter. I am not sure why this is.

They recommend a power supply with the 8 pin itself, or a 6+2 pin that some power supplies will have.

EDIT: Uhm.... the OP is using a Celeron Processor for the test?

 

[imported_wired247]

Originally posted by: vhx
No, from what I gather, NVIDIA (or their partners, including EVGA) recommend an 8 pin adapter. I am not sure why this is.

They recommend a power supply with the 8 pin itself, or a 6+2 pin that some power supplies will have.

Interesting considering BFG is including a 6 pin to 8 pin adapter.

Edit: forgot to say, congrats to the OP! I'll be ordering one as soon as I secure an adapter. I'd just buy BFG except I like the XFX warranty better.

 

[Sind]

You've been using a Ultra with a Celeron previous to this? :shocked:

Grat's on your purchase, I would suggest a new monitor with the quad ASAP, nothing less then 24".

 

[BFG10K]

Have fun. :thumbsup:

 

[MTDEW]

Originally posted by: wired247

Originally posted by: vhx
No, from what I gather, NVIDIA (or their partners, including EVGA) recommend an 8 pin adapter. I am not sure why this is.

They recommend a power supply with the 8 pin itself, or a 6+2 pin that some power supplies will have.

Interesting considering BFG is including a 6 pin to 8 pin adapter.

Edit: forgot to say, congrats to the OP! I'll be ordering one as soon as I secure an adapter. I'd just buy BFG except I like the XFX warranty better.

Well thats good to know, i have a Corsair HX620 psu, and if i do decide on a 9800gx2 i certaintly dont want to have to buy a new psu when i just purchased this one not too long ago.

 

[MTDEW]

Just looked at pics on newegg. it looks like the BFG and XFX come with an 8 pin adaptor.

What really sucks for me is, i own an evga 8800gts 512, and my step up expired on 3-17 and now according to the Evga website, they have extended my step up period to 90 days if i would step up to a 9800GX2.

Well, that would be nice if i could get an 8 pin adapter.

 

[n7]

Haha, awesome thread (especially the smiley face chops) :laugh:

 

[imported_wired247]

Originally posted by: MTDEW
Just looked at pics on newegg. it looks like the BFG and XFX come with an 8 pin adaptor.

What really sucks for me is, i own an evga 8800gts 512, and my step up expired on 3-17 and now according to the Evga website, they have extended my step up period to 90 days if i would step up to a 9800GX2.

Well, that would be nice if i could get an 8 pin adapter.

I don't know 100% for sure if the XFX card comes with the adapter. The pic on newegg looks like a 6 pin to me. I am going to call XFX to verify. They don't seem to be taking their customer service tickets seriously.

If the XFX comes with the adapter I'll buy one today.

Edit: called XFX, they do not include an 8-pin adapter. Apparently nvidia does not recommend this, they want a "real" one from the PSU.

Then I wonder what's the deal with BFG... they supposedly include the adapter according to their website :disgust:


from BFG:

Minimum System Requirements
> One vacant add-in card slot below the PCI Express® x16 slot. This graphics card physically occupies two slots
> 1GB of system memory
> Microsoft Windows Vista -or- Windows XP
> CD or DVD-ROM drive
> 100MB of available hard disk drive space for basic driver installation
> 580W PCI Express®-compliant system power supply with a combined 12V current rating of 40A or more (Minimum system power requirement based on a PC configured with an Intel Core®2 Extreme QX6700 processor)
> PCI Express® or PCI Express® 2.0-compliant system motherboard with one vacant PCI Express® x16 slot
> One 8-pin and one 6-pin PCI Express® supplementary power connector -or- Two 6-pin PCI Express® supplementary power connectors

F*** it... I think I'm buying BFG. They allow an adapter and they have a warranty, and I meet their requirements. If the card dies it's not my problem.


Edit: Just pulled the trigger. BFG card on the way, in all its 6-pin to 8-pin adapter glory

 

[lopri]

Is the 8-pin connector mandatory or optional over a 6-pin?

 

[chizow]

lol awesome thread and pics! the thrill of opening up new toys like that is what keeps a lot of us in the game I think, and that card is certainly tempting to play with. Just looks really impressive and they finally capitalized on that top space facing the window for marketing and bling factor! Tempting...but Spring here now....probably put that money towards a new mountain bike and some custom polarized sunglasses....

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

Can you use an 8pin EPS connector or does it have to be a PCI-E specific 8-pin adapter?

 

[imported_wired247]

Originally posted by: lopri
Is the 8-pin connector mandatory or optional over a 6-pin?

you need an 8-pin connector. If you plug in a 6-pin, the LED will light up red indicating a problem.

 

[nitromullet]

Originally posted by: lopri
Is the 8-pin connector mandatory or optional over a 6-pin?

From the pics I've seen, if you plug in a 6-pin into the 8-pin it lights up red and doesn't work.

I bought a 6-to-8 pin adapter from performance PCs when I picked up my 3870x2, and it let me OC that card via the CCC, so I the card doesn't know the difference.

http://www.performance-pcs.com...=186&products_id=21721

It's not cheap after shipping, but it's a nicely sleeved quality adapter that doesn't make your nice sleeved PSU look like a science project.

 

[imported_wired247]

Originally posted by: nitromullet

Originally posted by: lopri
Is the 8-pin connector mandatory or optional over a 6-pin?

From the pics I've seen, if you plug in a 6-pin into the 8-pin it lights up red and doesn't work.

I bought a 6-to-8 pin adapter from performance PCs when I picked up my 3870x2, and it let me OC that card via the CCC, so I the card doesn't know the difference.

http://www.performance-pcs.com...=186&products_id=21721

It's not cheap after shipping, but it's a nicely sleeved quality adapter that doesn't make your nice sleeved PSU look like a science project.

cheaper than the one I saw on frozenCPU.com, and looks nicer. I wonder why google could not find that one.

 

[AuDioFreaK39]

Originally posted by: nitromullet
Good post.

Two questions:

1) No issues with the IP35 Pro and enabling SLI on the card then?

2) Did you have the issues with the 8-pin power connector like they had at guru3d, or was this fixed for the retail cards? http://www.guru3d.com/article/Videocards/512/9/

1) No issues whatsoever. I'm using the latest official bios (dated 9/7/07). Just make sure you install ForceWare 174.53 (or greater) drivers. I accidentally installed 174.51 at first and the card had several issues with enabling SLi in the Nvidia Control Panel.

2) No, I didn't have the severe issue that they experienced, mine was only mild. The funny thing about connecting the 8-pin cable to the GPU is that the connector is placed backwards on the card, because the two internal silicon cards are facing each other. So in a sense, because the lower internal card is placed in backwards, you have to twist your 8-pin PCI-E cable to fit it in the connector. I had to apply some force to the bottom side of the card to get the it in, which took me two tries., but I didn't think it was that difficult. The 8-pin connectors on my PC Power & Cooling Silencer Quad 750w fit in just snug.

 

[MTDEW]

Originally posted by: nitromullet

Originally posted by: lopri
Is the 8-pin connector mandatory or optional over a 6-pin?

From the pics I've seen, if you plug in a 6-pin into the 8-pin it lights up red and doesn't work.

I bought a 6-to-8 pin adapter from performance PCs when I picked up my 3870x2, and it let me OC that card via the CCC, so I the card doesn't know the difference.

http://www.performance-pcs.com...=186&products_id=21721

It's not cheap after shipping, but it's a nicely sleeved quality adapter that doesn't make your nice sleeved PSU look like a science project.

At least now i know they make them.
I was worried i wouldnt be able to find one since a google search didnt turn up anything for me either.

 

[Rubycon]

Originally posted by: HeroOfPellinor
Can you use an 8pin EPS connector or does it have to be a PCI-E specific 8-pin adapter?

No! They are physically different and keyed differently altogether.

 

[MTDEW]

Originally posted by: wired247

Originally posted by: MTDEW
Just looked at pics on newegg. it looks like the BFG and XFX come with an 8 pin adaptor.

What really sucks for me is, i own an evga 8800gts 512, and my step up expired on 3-17 and now according to the Evga website, they have extended my step up period to 90 days if i would step up to a 9800GX2.

Well, that would be nice if i could get an 8 pin adapter.

I don't know 100% for sure if the XFX card comes with the adapter. The pic on newegg looks like a 6 pin to me. I am going to call XFX to verify. They don't seem to be taking their customer service tickets seriously.

If the XFX comes with the adapter I'll buy one today.

Edit: called XFX, they do not include an 8-pin adapter. Apparently nvidia does not recommend this, they want a "real" one from the PSU.

Then I wonder what's the deal with BFG... they supposedly include the adapter according to their website :disgust:


from BFG:

Minimum System Requirements
> One vacant add-in card slot below the PCI Express® x16 slot. This graphics card physically occupies two slots
> 1GB of system memory
> Microsoft Windows Vista -or- Windows XP
> CD or DVD-ROM drive
> 100MB of available hard disk drive space for basic driver installation
> 580W PCI Express®-compliant system power supply with a combined 12V current rating of 40A or more (Minimum system power requirement based on a PC configured with an Intel Core®2 Extreme QX6700 processor)
> PCI Express® or PCI Express® 2.0-compliant system motherboard with one vacant PCI Express® x16 slot
> One 8-pin and one 6-pin PCI Express® supplementary power connector -or- Two 6-pin PCI Express® supplementary power connectors

F*** it... I think I'm buying BFG. They allow an adapter and they have a warranty, and I meet their requirements. If the card dies it's not my problem.


Edit: Just pulled the trigger. BFG card on the way, in all its 6-pin to 8-pin adapter glory

THANK YOU for making that call and verifying the XFX doesnt come with the adapter.
It was hard to tell from neweggs pics.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

Originally posted by: AuDioFreaK39
My EVGA 9800GX2 just arrived on my doorstep this morning. Here is a little walkthrough of the unboxing routine as well as some pictures of it in my rig. Since this is an image-less forum, here is a direct link to my review:

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1287109

So far, I've noticed a 7-14fps increase over my 8800Ultra (now in the hands of some eBayer smile). I'm looking forward to new drivers on March 25th and more importantly combining this absolutely phenomenal card with a Q9550 @ 4.0GHz during spring break next week, hehe.

You already had an Ultra yet made the move to a GX2 lol. I use to be a video card junky also its good to see my disease has been passed on, I guess my spending use to be worst though it was long before stepups even exsisted. Oh yeah and I enver sold old cards to get new ones heh.

 

[MTDEW]

Originally posted by: WaTaGuMp

Originally posted by: AuDioFreaK39
My EVGA 9800GX2 just arrived on my doorstep this morning. Here is a little walkthrough of the unboxing routine as well as some pictures of it in my rig. Since this is an image-less forum, here is a direct link to my review:

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1287109

So far, I've noticed a 7-14fps increase over my 8800Ultra (now in the hands of some eBayer smile). I'm looking forward to new drivers on March 25th and more importantly combining this absolutely phenomenal card with a Q9550 @ 4.0GHz during spring break next week, hehe.

You already had an Ultra yet made the move to a GX2 lol. I use to be a video card junky also its good to see my disease has been passed on, I guess my spending use to be worst though it was long before stepups even exsisted. Oh yeah and I enver sold old cards to get new ones heh.

LOL, i thought everyone else did this too and it was condsidered normal.
I have two 512mb 8800GTS cards here and i want a 9800GX2.

 

[bryanW1995]

Originally posted by: MTDEW

Originally posted by: wired247

Originally posted by: vhx
No, from what I gather, NVIDIA (or their partners, including EVGA) recommend an 8 pin adapter. I am not sure why this is.

They recommend a power supply with the 8 pin itself, or a 6+2 pin that some power supplies will have.

Interesting considering BFG is including a 6 pin to 8 pin adapter.

Edit: forgot to say, congrats to the OP! I'll be ordering one as soon as I secure an adapter. I'd just buy BFG except I like the XFX warranty better.

Well thats good to know, i have a Corsair HX620 psu, and if i do decide on a 9800gx2 i certaintly dont want to have to buy a new psu when i just purchased this one not too long ago.

check the pci-e cables very closely in your hx620 box. I originally missed that two of mine were 6+2 pin. I have an hx520 that is about 6 months older and only came with the 6 pin adapters, however. if you do need them pm yellowbeard.