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Quad SLI with 9800 GX2: Pushing a System to it's Limit

anandtech.com — AnandTech takes on Crysis and others with a 9800 GX2 x2 Quad SLI setup.

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  • fosforito, on 03/26/2008, -12/+2Looks really awesome :)
    • ayeroxor, on 03/26/2008, -3/+5"Pushing a System to it's Limit"

      Looks like this! http://tinyurl.com/2o5fnq
      • Klinky, on 03/26/2008, -1/+2Very funny, I think it's even more funny that the English language has some many esoteric rules that are only applied in certain situations.
    • jabberwolf, on 03/26/2008, -1/+1But it's not a mac and OSX can't do SLI or Crossfire or play the latest games.
      Burried for not being a MAC or iPhone !
      ( yes heaps of sarcasm! )
  • Poetheunclothed, on 03/26/2008, -4/+38Cool, but it appears to be limited. I don't see any point in getting this over just one GX2, unless you want to replace your furnace.
    • nominalgeek, on 03/26/2008, -1/+8I think Nvidia should spend their time updating their nForce 680i SLI drives, not flexing their e-peens on useless displays of sli power.

      Jesus the XP drivers for the 680i chipset hasn't been updated since November 8, 2006!
    • sishgupta, on 03/26/2008, -0/+8There is almost no point to a single GX2. The cost/performance just really isnt there.
      • SuomynonaEno, on 03/26/2008, -0/+0Which precisely is what poetheunclothed meant. If that's already the case, then going 4x more is even more senseless at current price points. And price is actually secondary. Considering if one can afford a 4 way SLI build but more concerns there when we don't have to be a bunch of treehuggers to actually worry about power draws/heat issues, it really does matter when or if anyone or any enthusiast are unwilling to add more decibels from noisier hefty PSUs and added fans.
    • brianara3, on 03/26/2008, -1/+0Dugg for the furnace replacement!
  • skamper, on 03/26/2008, -13/+3I think we can finally say, "It can run crysis".
    • mrelusive, on 03/26/2008, -1/+16My $800 PC can run Crysis...
      What's your point?
      • crimson117, on 03/26/2008, -1/+3Not at the highest settings, it can't.
        • mrelusive, on 03/26/2008, -0/+2Runs smooth-as-butter on High. Mind you I never tried it on Very High, lacking Vista and all. Still looks *****-gorgeous though.
        • Amiga500, on 03/26/2008, -0/+4On the Internet, everything is true.
        • Gogogo111, on 03/27/2008, -0/+2My $900 PC ran Crysis on Very High with 15-25 fps. Playable.
    • dsmx, on 03/26/2008, -2/+3No we can't a 1200 dollar solution is no solution.
    • brianara3, on 03/26/2008, -5/+0it can only run 1280x1024 @ 43fps....

      I would hardly call that "playable"
      • dsmx, on 03/26/2008, -0/+1Well on my comp with a 320MB 8800GTS gets less than 20 with most of the settings on medium-high so I would say that is a pretty good improvement. Still 1200 dollars i way too much.
  • maskedm564, on 03/26/2008, -12/+3Finally a computer that can almost run Crysis!
    • CAPITALLETTERS, on 03/26/2008, -1/+9No, nothing will ever run Crysis.
      • grimward, on 03/27/2008, -0/+1That's what they said about DOOM 3 too until NASA got a hold of it :P
  • nfrederick, on 03/26/2008, -8/+18800 Ultra is still better IMO
  • kingo123, on 03/26/2008, -1/+45Still sucks for a new generation of graphics card. It just looks like a 'suped-up' 8800 with not that many benefits and barely ground breaking improvements at all. If they called it 8800GX2, I think they would be right on the money, for me IMO, it doesn't deserve a 9800 status.
    • frsrblch, on 03/26/2008, -0/+5I was disappointed by this too. It's not the step forward (or backward if you're an ATI fan) that something starting with a 9 should be.
      • cthellis, on 03/26/2008, -0/+1I'm... not actually sure what you mean by that. The 9x00 series was the only time ATi truly blew the barn doors out over the competition with ANY generation.
    • UtopiaInTheSky, on 03/26/2008, -0/+1GeForce 10 or "G92B" expected this summer.
    • SteveMax, on 03/26/2008, -1/+1That is because it is the same core with minor optimizations (and two chips on a card). Just like the Geforce 4 (Ti) was basically the same core as the Geforce 3.
  • PhilMoskowitz, on 03/26/2008, -1/+11Early adopters and performance addicts are just money furnaces. Buying smart isn't sexy, but it keeps you in new technology a lot longer.
  • dafragsta, on 03/26/2008, -5/+16Does it finally run Jesus Crysis Superstar at max quality?
  • abszint, on 03/26/2008, -6/+4WANT
  • jstohler, on 03/26/2008, -8/+22Buried for unnecessary use of an apostrophe in the headline.
  • ghostfaceDX, on 03/26/2008, -12/+4I spent > $2000.00 on my rig! Watch, as it PLAYS A GAME.
    • jakobmakob, on 03/26/2008, -0/+9...go on...
      • spudnic, on 03/26/2008, -0/+10Was probably a message for Apple owners
    • hybridcreation, on 03/26/2008, -0/+8"Watch, as it PLAYS A GAME."

      Among 100 other things....all very fast.
  • sroop, on 03/26/2008, -2/+26...but does it play doom?
    • sexybobo, on 03/26/2008, -1/+11No He is using The 64 bit version of vista which is incompatible with 16 bit software the original doom is 16 bit. I believe the doom 95 launcher will work but to get the original version of the doom binary working you will need DosBox or something like that.
    • Sneakernets, on 03/26/2008, -0/+6No, low resolution support was dropped for no reason with the latest Forceware Drivers.
    • Neorio, on 03/27/2008, -1/+0does it run nuts.wad at full speed?
  • oilcan, on 03/26/2008, -1/+24what's this, like 2 grand in graphics cards for a 5% gain? color me unimpressed.
    • nominalgeek, on 03/26/2008, -1/+12Thats pretty much is the definition of SLI
    • zrthstr, on 03/26/2008, -0/+5That really isn't fair. If you're looking at Crysis, sure, but Crysis is bottlenecked by the CPU and RAM.

      Look at CoD 4: 107.2 FPS vs. 64.8 FPS, max everything, 4x AA, 2560x1600.

      There is definitely something to be said for that performance increase. Like the review says, this isn't definitive, and he's going to get an upgraded platform and system. I'll wait until then to make judgment on it.
  • hamGrenade, on 03/26/2008, -6/+4Frosted Butts
  • finalcloud33, on 03/26/2008, -2/+10It also pushes you wallet to the limits
  • hybridcreation, on 03/26/2008, -1/+25Only 512MB of memory and a 256-bit memory bus per card = lose.

    I'll keep my year old XFX 8800GTX and $600 bucks, thanks.
    • UtopiaInTheSky, on 03/26/2008, -3/+1The GTX is a year and a half old.
      • hybridcreation, on 03/26/2008, -0/+3I bought mine in 02/07...thus making it 1 year old.
      • Gerz1219, on 03/26/2008, -0/+4And yet it does an excellent job of playing every game on the market except Crysis at max settings, which not even a $1,200 solution can really do properly. Meanwhile, a $170 card will play Crysis at medium settings, which looks pretty damn good on my HDTV. There is essentially no practical reason to upgrade from an 8800GTX until all the new releases are pushing graphics hardware as much as Crysis, at which point there will be a $200-300 solution.
    • Genma, on 03/26/2008, -0/+1but it's a win for nvidia, after the fools jump on the intro cards then come the ones with the wider bus. they can play with the settings all they want with ati under their thumbs.
      • hybridcreation, on 03/26/2008, -0/+3With no real challenge from ATi, NVIDIA is pretty much coasting right now.
  • greevar, on 03/26/2008, -0/+3I have 2 3850's and an Athlon 64 X2 +4600. It would appear by comparison that I'm roughing it.
    • UtopiaInTheSky, on 03/26/2008, -0/+1Two 3850's in CF is a waste, you should have just bought one GTS 512 for the same price. At least it would perform better.
    • greevar, on 03/27/2008, -0/+1True, but I got one for free.
  • Virgule, on 03/26/2008, -0/+35660+ WATTS?!?!?!?!!?
    *****
    • frsrblch, on 03/26/2008, -0/+15Power efficiency doesn't seem to be one of the goals of the GPU companies...
  • pcpimpster, on 03/26/2008, -0/+7So basically the newest cards even in quad SLI and Crossfire still choke to death on Crysis on high settings- ill keep my money thank you. NVidia calling it a 9800 is *****!

    • hamGrenade, on 03/26/2008, -4/+1very high. it's for computers from the future. ARE YOU FROM THE FUTURE?
      • pcpimpster, on 03/26/2008, -0/+1I cant make much sense of what your talking about...
        Crysis was released 5 months ago, the newest and best video cards today don't do it justice:. If anything is from the future its Crysis or my 30" LCD.


  • koyner, on 03/26/2008, -4/+3it's = it is
  • shaherazad, on 03/26/2008, -1/+8Hey, lets see what happens when we take one part of a system and make it way faster.
    What do you mean the CPU can't keep up? I HAVE 4 GPUs!
    • UtopiaInTheSky, on 03/26/2008, -3/+3Gaming system these days are GPU bottlenecked, not CPU bottlenecked.
      • paidhima, on 03/26/2008, -0/+4Depending on the game and the system that's not always true, as may be evidenced by this article.
  • elpohl, on 03/26/2008, -0/+5Holy, 9800 already? We can't jump to 5 digits already, someone from marketing do something!!!
  • kinggimped, on 03/26/2008, -4/+7It's = it is
    Its = possessive form of 'it'
  • Garibaldi84, on 03/26/2008, -1/+14I do apologize for the error in the headline. I clicked the Digg link in the article and forgot to check the headline before I submitted it. Sorry.
  • macromorgan, on 03/26/2008, -0/+2For now I'll stick with my new 9600GT. I'm quite pleased by its performance.
  • Lukesed, on 03/26/2008, -0/+4Just to save you reading it, when they overclocked the 2x 9800 GX2 setup it ran crysis at 1920*1200 at 51 fps on high quality+very high shaders.
  • musntSurfatWork, on 03/26/2008, -3/+0I gave up on my PC, after the utter dissapointing feel of what HellGate London has to offer, and the entire world lost in their MMO grinds, well until RedAlert 3 comes out, in the mean time, I'm having a blast with my family and friends playing Rockband on PS3. This game can even bond you and your mother-in-law together.
    Checkout www.reflexive.com for awesome indie type games that only require a $35 PCI-express card.
    • LMN8R, on 03/26/2008, -1/+3So you played a ***** game that everyone agreed was *****, and are now looking forward to another not-so-promising RTS, and you're wondering why your PC gaming sucks?

      Keep ignoring The Witcher, Crysis, Call of Duty 4, the vast amount of indie games, Team Fortress 2, Episode Two, Portal, Company of Heroes, World in Conflict, and everything else on the PC.


      Hellgate is on the PC. Therefore PC sucks!
    • cthellis, on 03/26/2008, -0/+3Rock Band does indeed rock. C&C is not the hot ***** you think it is. Hellgate London indeed blows. The reasons you "gave up on your PC" are indeed moronic.
  • maximus434, on 03/26/2008, -1/+0Why don't they just ASK the developers what exact system they were running Crysis smoothly on at high settings, and go buy that? It will save these endless articles
    • LMN8R, on 03/26/2008, -0/+1It's not exactly hard to find such a system. Any dual-core system with an 8800 or something comparable will easily handle Crysis on High at 1680x1050.

      Crytek has already priced out a $900 gaming beast that'll easily handle Crysis on High, and that was months ago. Such a system would be only $700-800 these days: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22824 ...
      Very Highs settings, that's another deal. But also pretty irrelevant considering that High settings utterly demolish everything else out there.
  • ryuujinusa, on 03/26/2008, -5/+1Sad you need 4 gfx cards to run crysis well. Lazy programming IMO.
    • LMN8R, on 03/26/2008, -1/+3Will the stupid ***** ever stop? No. You don't need 4 graphics cards to run Crysis. You can get a 9600GT for well under $200 and easily run the game at high resolutions like 1680x1050, with everything set to High, and it'll kick the ever loving ***** out of every other game out there.

      Lazy programming? ***** no. Crysis on High - detail settings that any computer with a graphics card like an 8800 for under $200 - will run great.


      It's only Very High details - detail settings that surpass even the insanely groundbreaking graphics that High details offer - that current hardware has trouble running.
    • ryuujinusa, on 03/27/2008, -1/+1Please read before going on a stupid rant. I didn't say run crysis. I said run it WELL. And stop kidding yourself you can't run it well on high with a 9600 either, on high it barely hits 30 fps.
      • LMN8R, on 03/27/2008, -0/+1Spoken like a true dumbass who's never played Crysis. I played through the entire game from beginning to end on such a system. Was it 60fps? Who ***** cares? It was an amazing experience and I didn't even pay attention to my frame rate.
  • wacomwacoff, on 03/26/2008, -3/+0Buried for incorrect "it's".
  • AntidoteSqrd, on 03/26/2008, -2/+1 In other news, Anand graduated from the high school I'm attending now...
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enloe_High_School#Not ...
  • SGIsus, on 03/26/2008, -0/+1whatever happened to 9600 or 9200 or anything in between 9800 and 8800? why is everything so complicated...
  • tatinthehat, on 03/26/2008, -0/+1You may as well invest into another 8800GTS, 8800GTX, 8800GT for SLI if you already have one of those. From what I've read, performance is similar to the 9800GX2, and it would be alot cheaper than buying a GX2.

    With that said, it's probably even better to wait for the 9800 GTX. Quad-SLI is way overrated.
    • cthellis, on 03/26/2008, -0/+1There's a reason I purchased a SLI board without SLI gear. ;-) The board I have is ~$350 at this point, and is only going to get lower. Hehe...
  • daridave, on 03/26/2008, -0/+1Meh. Not impressed with the 9 series so far. I love my 8800 Ultra, I'm not replacing it anytime soon...
  • DavidHaHa, on 03/26/2008, -3/+0It's "its limit", (not it's).
    silly Americans :P
  • BruceDude, on 03/26/2008, -1/+1But it still doesn't play Crysis. :(
  • vainbrian, on 03/27/2008, -0/+1ok, hardwares keep coming, but where the hell are the games?!
    Everything seems to be an FPS *****.
  • lartones, on 03/27/2008, -0/+1One think I would like to see SLI being used for is, video editing. If they could get SLI to help out with video rendering with a quad core and 4gb of ram, for programs such as Adobe Premiere/After Effects. Then I think I could really see a justifiable way to spend 1200 dollars on 2 of these cards.

    Im sure there are lots of improvements to be made with drivers or else these cards are kinda ***** for price/performance.
  • grimward, on 03/27/2008, -0/+1You know.. I used to run Intel and Nvidia cards .. up until I was getting ready to upgrade my computer once again.. (from 32-bit to 64-bit CPU) and realized that Intel+Nvidia= big ***** hole in your wallet.
    So I opted for an AMD and ATI solution, and I haven't looked back since, same performance, waaaay cheaper :D
  • DestroyFascism, on 03/27/2008, -0/+1Cool I can't wait to play Tetris (tm)
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