MSI GeForce 9800GTX-SLI
Today, we've got another video card GeForce 9800GTX, this time one made by MSI. As we expected, MSI N9800GTX-T2D512 makes almost no difference from its "congeners" GeForce 9800GTX made following NVIDIA's reference design. Making use of that, we decided to test this MSI's product versus the same card by Foxconn which we already described. Before we move on to getting familiar with the test results for the SLI-combination MSI N9800GTX+Foxconn 9800GTX, we'll be taking a closer look at the new product by MSI.
Exterior and package bundle
The package of N9800GTX is made in a style customary for MSI. The designers at the company decorated the box with quite a large image of a girl and found enough space for an impressive list of specifications.
The reverse side of the box, unlike the front side is far from being informative. Most of the data specified over there is standard for many video cards by MSI.
The package bundle of MSI N9800GTX is as follows:
- two power supply adapters for PCI-E video cards;
- DVI -> D-Sub adapter;
- DVI -> HDMI adapter;
- a cable for internal connection of S/P-DIF signal (required for sound transmission via the HDMI);
- s-video > s-video splitter + component out adapter;
- drivers CD;
- user's guide.
The MSI N9800GTX, as the formerly reviewed GeForce 9800GTX made by Foxconn, is made following the reference design and stands out among the mass of similar products with stickers only, and of course with frequencies raised versus the recommended clock speeds.
The reverse side of the video card nor brings any surprises.
There is nothing new "under the hood". N9800GTX is cooled with a standard cooling system made of aluminum and copper.
Over the center of the PCB, there is the G92 graphic processor, with eight GDDR-3 memory chips making up 512 MB positioned in half-moon around.
The graphic processor has the G92-420 marking and belongs to revision 2 of the chip. The chip offers 128 universal processors, therefore with the specifications for GeForce 9800GTX.
The memory chips installed are made by Samsung and offer 0.8 ns access time, which is equivalent to the effective clock speed 2400 MHz. The real operating frequency of the memory is a bit lower - 2200 MHz
Upon removal of the thermo paste off the copper base of the cooling system we found scratches. It is known that almost all the "expensive" video cards by NVIDIA are manufactured at the same partnering factories of NVIDIA and then distributed to end manufacturers, so MSI is unlikely to blame for anything. Since the formerly reviewed Foxconn 9800GTX was free from these defects, that is most likely a special case.
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