Nvidia GeForce 9800 GTX

The original 9800 GTX is on the way out; it now typically costs more than the improved GTX+ version that replaced it - and prices are not likely to drop as stock levels diminish. But is there still value to be had if you can find an old GTX in a bargain bin?

With 128 stream processors and a core clock set at 675MHz, it certainly isn't miles behind the GTX+, and you'll generally find the same amount of memory on both.

The newer card made the move to the 55nm fabrication process, which shaved around 10W off the GTX's maximum power draw in our tests, but otherwise there isn't a great deal of difference between the two - it smacks of Nvidia trying to squeeze a bit more life out of an ageing chipset, rather than any real innovation or progression.

In Crysis, it was left trailing by its newer cousin at lower resolutions, but at those you'll most likely use it wasn't far off - it scored 35fps in high settings to the 37fps of the GTX+. It was a similar story in Far Cry 2, with the GTX+ holding a 2fps advantage at high settings, while the same gap was evident in Call of Juarez at medium settings - 31fps to 33fps.

So the GTX+ isn't actually a particularly useful step up in performance, but as it generally costs less than the plain GTX it's hard to make an argument for this old card.

If you can find one cheap - if you can find one at all - then you may get more for your money with the 9800 GTX than with a GTX+, but at this high price we'd steer clear of both cards in favour of the cheaper and faster ATI Radeon HD 4850.

• 
  Nvidia GeForce 9800 GX2
• 
  ATI Radeon HD 4650
• 
  ATI Radeon HD 4670
• 
  Nvidia GeForce 9600 GT, still almost on par with ATI's HD 4670
• 
  ATI Radeon HD 4870, why it's our new A-List graphics card
• - Recommended -
  ATI Radeon HD 4850, superb performance without the HD 4870's price tag
• 
  ATI Radeon HD 4830, can't match the 4870 but it's significantly cheaper
• 
  Nvidia GeForce 9800 GT, toe-to-toe with ATI's HD 4830
• 
  Nvidia GeForce GTX 260+ (core 216)
• 
  Nvidia GeForce GTX 260
• 
  ATI Radeon HD 4850 X2
• 
  Nvidia GeForce 9800 GX2
• 
  Nvidia GeForce GTX 280
• 
  ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2
• 
  Nvidia GeForce GTX 295
• 
  Nvidia GeForce GTX 285
• 
  Nvidia GeForce 9600 GSO
• 
  Nvidia GeForce 9500 GT
• 
  ATI Radeon 4550
• 
  Nvidia GeForce 9400 GT
• - Best Value -
  ATI Radeon HD 4350, best value graphics card at budget prices