Zotac GeForce 9800 GTX+ (Plus) Amp! Edition

[W1zzard]

NVIDIA's new GeForce 9800 GTX+ comes with a 55 nm CPU that runs at higher clock speeds, yet consumes less power than the original 65 nm chip. Zotac's Amp! Edition further increases the operating frequencies. Even though the higher clocks make the card faster than the ATI HD 4850, the difference is very small and probably not noticable while gaming.

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[tkpenalty]

sorry if i sound like a troll to the diehard nvidia fans but the 4850 is honestly, the smarter choice... is nvidia playing the "all effort into R&D" card like AMD is?

 

[MopeyMartian]

I'm going to have to agree with you there. Especially since I'm seeing 4850s going for $144 (with rebate + discount codes) on Newegg.

 

[DaMulta]

sorry if i sound like a troll to the diehard nvidia fans but the 4850 is honestly, the smarter choice... is nvidia playing the "all effort into R&D" card like AMD is?

I didn't see AMD wiping the floor with the 4850 card. Plus there is a lot of oc head room in that card on the stock cooler.


I'm almost sure that Wiz has a stable oc with that card that he posted. So a bench room should be even higher.

 

[newtekie1]

sorry if i sound like a troll to the diehard nvidia fans but the 4850 is honestly, the smarter choice... is nvidia playing the "all effort into R&D" card like AMD is?

IMO, you can't really go wrong with a 9800GTX, 9800GTX+, or HD4850. I wouldn't pay the price premium for the Amp! Edition. But BFG has a similar overclocked card for $199.

There are definitely some good deals going on for the HD4850 too. One can be had for $165. The only problem is, just like the x1950Pro's, the stock cooler sucks, and allows for virtually no overclocking headroom. Even with the fan set to 75%+, temps get too hot for my tastes even at stock speeds. So when you factor in the price of a better cooler, it is back up close to the $199 mark. Though for a person that doesn't overclock, the HD4850 with stock cooler is definitely the way to go.

Though, if I was going out to buy a graphics card in this performance segment right now, it would definitely be the 8800GTS 512MB. It has a great cooler on it, overclocks to 9800GTX speeds 9 times out of 10, and brand new they are $160. Newegg actually has one for $130 right now. You can't beat the price to performance.

 

[Darkrealms]

Nice review. Thanks W1zz.

 

[cowie]

thats a long game test list kodo's to you.
i like my gtx+ better than my 4850.
both are good cards,but the one i paid more has better cooling,drivers,warrenty and step up.(evga)