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what is the difference between 9800 GX2's and GX280's?

F

FreshPrince

Diamond Member
the reviews on the front page don't even include the GX2's anymore.....they used to about a year ago and the GX2's were spanking the GX280's. I know there's new drivers out now that probably has reversed the benchmarks, but I would like to know if it's worth upgrading to the GX280's or wait for the next versions from nVidia?
 
I think the 9800GX2's continue to offer performance similar to the GTX 280, as long as SLI scaling works. If I had a 9800GX2 I would wait for the GT300 series. Going to a GTX 280 wouldn't be much of an upgrade IMO.
 
I take it you're using 9800GX2's now? Are you using one or two? The 9800GX2 was a good benchmarking card, but if hit the wall hard when it came to gaming and didn't hold a candle to the GTX 280. The 9800GX2 was essentially two downclocked SLI 8800GTS 512's in SLI using the same PCIe slot. The problem with the G92 refresh cards was that they had a gimped memory subsystem (GDD3 + 256Mbit bus = low bandwidth) and the problem was exacerbated when you put them in SLI (essentially a 9800GX2). The GTX 280 took care of this problem with a 512Mbit bus and faster RAM, not to mention a beefed up core. At lower resolutions (1280x1024, 1680x1050) and in non-memory intensive games/apps with good SLI scaling, the 9800GX2 really shines. However, once memory becomes an issue or SLI scaling isn't perfect, it will fall hard and fast compared to the GTX 280 single care solution.

All of that said, GTX 280's are really coming down in price (<$300 with a sale), probably because new cards are right around the corner. However, unless your 9800GX2 is really is hampering your gaming experience (or whatever you use it for) I would recommend holding off for this new refresh. This new generation is on a 55nm process and should run much cooler, overclock better, and use less power than the current GTX series.
 
I had the same frustrations about a week or two ago. The GX2 was king for like a month or two and less than a year after being on top it's not anywhere. That being said I was convinced to wait until the next generation comes out at the 40 nm or if you can't wait long, like Mrk6 said, wait until Jan when the 55 nm refreshes come out.

Are there any specific games you are having trouble with?

Edit: Additionally- Members mentioned that when the GX2 sales, it still beats the 280. I haven't compared in game performance but that seemed to be the consensus.
 
believe it or not...it's been sitting in my closet...

I'm still using my old 9800gtx, but I was able to get a pair of GX2's, but never got a chance to get an sli board for them so I never bothered to install one to replace the gtx. I'm just trying to see if it's worth the trouble to putting them in sli, or just wait for the next version of GX to come out. It will probably blow away the pair anyways.
 
Originally posted by: FreshPrince
believe it or not...it's been sitting in my closet...

I'm still using my old 9800gtx, but I was able to get a pair of GX2's, but never got a chance to get an sli board for them so I never bothered to install one to replace the gtx. I'm just trying to see if it's worth the trouble to putting them in sli, or just wait for the next version of GX to come out. It will probably blow away the pair anyways.
Click to expand...

Why not just try using one of them to see if you like the performance boost over the GTX? Very few games scale well from 2 to 4 GPUs, anyways.
 
Why is it I see the GX2 kicking the crap out of the 280's in certain benchmarks?

http://www.overclockersclub.co...ws/palit_9800gx2/6.htm

That's a 15 frame difference in Crysis @ 1900x1200. How is that possible? The GX2 is so much cheaper, yet I find it beating up on the GTX 280's in some benchmarks here and there. What's the bottom line here since I'm hearing the 280's still the better card?
 
That's a bit old, with driver optimizations, the performance of the GTX 280 has been improved, unfortunately with the release of newer cards, nVidia doesn't like to keep optimizing and supporting older cards, that's why nVidia cards ages faster, look at the 79X0 GX2 and the history repeats itself again. In newer games, the GX2 is falling behind in performance, probably that's why is so cheap now. But what I don't understand is if the way that SLI works is the same with the GX2. If a driver is optimized for a certain game with a pair of 8800GTS in SLI, would that optimization apply for a GX2? Since both uses the same G92 chip.
 
Originally posted by: Azn
gx2 spanks GTX 280. Only when it runs of vram does GTX280 is faster.
Click to expand...

Exactly. Remember that the 9800GX2 is 2x512MB not 1GB so if you run really high resolution (2560x1600) or crank up the AA you may run out of frame buffer, at which point the card is forced to access system RAM and performance grinds to a near halt (extreme stuttering -- think slideshow).

That said, at 1920x1200 or below with low AA the 9800GX2 is gonna skunk the GTX 280 in many/most games.
 
It's a horribly crippled sandwich card that falls apart when vRAM is actually needed, so basically, for the resolutions it's designed for, that card is an epic fail.

And don't believe review sites, they pretty much always fail to address things like crap minimum fps, stuttering, & other SLI sandwich drawbacks.

Look for actual user reviews that praise the 9800GX2.
It's good for the 1680x1050/1600x1200 crowd, but isn't really adequate for actual smooth performance at high resolutions.
 
There is only one way to solve this. (see sig)

But in reality, with the driver optimizations since the 280 launch, I wouldn't even consider a 9800gx2, unless I was at that price point.
 
Originally posted by: n7
It's a horribly crippled sandwich card that falls apart when vRAM is actually needed, so basically, for the resolutions it's designed for, that card is an epic fail.

And don't believe review sites, they pretty much always fail to address things like crap minimum fps, stuttering, & other SLI sandwich drawbacks.

Look for actual user reviews that praise the 9800GX2.
It's good for the 1680x1050/1600x1200 crowd, but isn't really adequate for actual smooth performance at high resolutions.
Click to expand...

Seriously? Even when the benchmarking is done here at AT? They found the 9800GX2 beat the GTX 280 at high resolutions in a wide variety of games. The only place it really fell down was Oblivion where apparently the frame buffer was insufficient (explains why SLI 9800GX2 couldn't beat a single GTX 280).
 
I would LOOOVE to see an article that compares the current state of 9800 GX2 and 280 with current drivers. Any chance we will an article comparing 280/GX2 and 295 when it comes out. I think that would be a great way to look at the performance advantages of SLI sandwhich cards and to show how Nvidia either does or does not continue to support their supposed high end card solutions.
 
9800GX2 is faster than the GTX280 but only if the game supports SLI and only if the texture size is less than 512MB.

Nvidia GPU design is brute force SP and TU so until they significantly change their architecture, it is just a numbers comparison.

GX2: 256SP/128T
GTX280: 240SP/80T
 
Originally posted by: mhouck
I would LOOOVE to see an article that compares the current state of 9800 GX2 and 280 with current drivers. Any chance we will an article comparing 280/GX2 and 295 when it comes out. I think that would be a great way to look at the performance advantages of SLI sandwhich cards and to show how Nvidia either does or does not continue to support their supposed high end card solutions.
Click to expand...

That would be a great review. Would like to see how well a 3870X2 fairs as well.
 
hmm i'm also in this position atm.

98gx2 or 280 (or 285-depending on where prices fall)...

all the reviews i've been able to read the last few days have given the 98x2 a few more fps.

i'm looking for 1920x1200 resolutions in most games.
 
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