BFG 9800 GTX Video Card Review

Features & Specifications

The BFG 9800 GTX has a core clock speed of 675MHz, a shader clock of 1688MHz and a memory clock of 2200 MHz. The card uses 512MB of GDDR3 RAM and features a 256-bit memory interface. Memory bandwidth for the BFG 9800 GTX is 70.4GB/sec. The card is also PCI Express 2.0 compliant and has 128 stream processors. Connectivity is dual DVI-D and HDTV out and the card is HDCP and HDMI capable.

Test Machine

The test machine I am using for the following review is as follows:

• Mainboard- XFX 790i Ultra
• CPU- Intel QX9770
• PSU- Top Power 1100W
• RAM- 2GB Aeneon DDR3
• OS- Windows Vista Ultimate

Benchmarks & Testing

To test the BFG 9800 GTX I will be using 3DMark06, Crysis, Bioshock and Quake Wars. The first test up is 3DMark06.

3DMark06

I ran 3DMark06 at default settings in both the application and the NVIDIA control panel. The BFG 9800 GTX scored as follows in 3DMark06:

• Total 3DMarks- 14201
• SM2.0- 5979
• HDR/SM3.0- 5853
• CPU- 4635
• Return to Proxycon- 50.258
• Firefly Forest- 49.393
• Canyon Flight- 55.424
• Deep Freeze- 61.629
• CPU1- 1.534
• CPU2- 2.241

To compare the XFX 9600 GT XXX Alpha dog video card I recently tested scored 11720 3Dmarks, the XFX 9800 GX2 scored 16227 3DMarks and the stock XFX 9600 GT scored 11397 3DMarks.

Crysis

The first game test for the BFG 9800 GTX was Crysis. I ran the game at a screen resolution of 1920 x 1200 with 2X AA and all settings on medium. I used Fraps to record frame rate data from the initial beach insertion until the battle with the first three enemy soldiers. Fraps recorded the following frame rate data:

• Min- 31 fps
• Avg- 50.263 fps
• Max- 72 fps

Bioshock

The next game test up was Bioshock. I ran this game at 1920 x 1200 with all settings turned on and on high. I used Fraps to record frame rate data and saw the following numbers:

• Min- 29 fps
• Avg- 46.078 fps
• Max- 61 fps

Quake Wars

The final game test up for the BFG 9800 GTX was one of my favorites, Quake Wars. I ran the game at 2560 x 1600 with all settings on high, shaders on ultra, and 4x AA. I used Fraps to grab frame rate data on a single player game using the Africa Refinery map. Fraps showed the following frame rate data:

• Min- 25 fps
• Avg- 39.134 fps
• Max- 75 fps

Final Thoughts

When the dust settled it was clear that the BFG 9800 GTX is a fantastic performer in its $299 to $349 price range. It clearly outperforms the competition and is a fantastic option for gamers looking for a high-end product. The only problem with the BFG 9800 GTX is that BFG doesn’t bundle a game with its card.