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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 NextAsus EN9800GT Matrix Edition
November 25, 2008 by Lawrence
Lee
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Product
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Asus EN9800GT MATRIX/HTDI/512M
PCI-E Video Card |
|
Manufacturer
|
ASUSTeK |
|
Street Price
|
~US$140 |
Shopping for a graphics card can be a daunting task. Deciding on a GPU may
be the easiest part, as there are no lack of review sites benchmarking GPUs
against one another. The hard part is wading through the dozens of manufacturers
to select the flavor that best suits your needs. And even then, there are still
decisions to made. For example, a quick look on Asus' web site shows fifteen
different cards utilizing the same GeForce 9800 series GPU. Even if you
narrow it down the the GT flavor of this GPU, there are still seven models that
use three different heatsink styles.
Four of these models utilize a simple radial heatsink, and two feature a box-style
cooler similar to the reference heatsink on the GTX
260 that we reviewed in September. The last one — the one that's on
our test bench today — is the Matrix edition, which has a design that's
somewhere in-between.
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The box.
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To differentiate themselves further, Asus advertises their "Super Hybrid
Engine" on the box, which promises power savings in 2D and better performance
in 3D mode. It seems that Asus' EPU (Energy Processing Unit) feature has found
its way from motherboards onto graphics cards. Coupled with nVidia's HybridPower
feature (available only on select nVidia motherboards), the Asus EN9800GT Matrix
seems to be targeted at a greener audience. We will take their "Super Hybrid
Engine" with a grain of salt until we can obtain some real results. After
all, we were none too impressed
with EPU.
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Technical specifications according to GPU-Z.
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For those who don't know, the 9800GT is a clumsily disguised 8800GT. They sport
the exact same technical features and clock speeds: G92 core, 112 stream processors,
600MHz / 900MHz / 1500MHz core / memory / shader frequencies respectively. Though
the change in name was also supposed to be accompanied eventually with a 55nm
die shrink, 65nm 9800GTs are still shipping to this day — our review sample
included. Asus' EN9800GT Matrix has specifications very close to reference standard,
the only difference being a 12 MHz (2%) bump in GPU core clock speed. Cooler
and software aside, it is basically a plain-jane 8800/9800GT, which is considered
by many to be a budget/mid-level gaming card.
|
|
Graphics Engine
|
NVIDIA GeForce 9800GT |
Bus Standard
|
PCI Express 2.0 |
Video Memory
|
DDR3 512MB |
Engine Clock
|
612 MHz |
Shader Clock
|
1.512 GHz |
Memory Clock
|
1.8 GHz ( 900 MHz DDR3
) |
RAMDAC
|
400MHz |
Memory Interface
|
256-bit |
CRT Max Resolution
|
2048 x 1536 |
DVI Max Resolution
|
2560 x 1600 |
| D-Sub Output |
Yes x 1 (via DVI to D-Sub
adaptor x 1) |
DVI Output
|
Yes x 1 (DVI-I) |
HDMI Output
|
Yes x 1 |
HDTV Output (YPbPr)
|
Yes |
| HDCP Support |
Yes |
| TV Output |
Yes (YPbPr to S-Video and
Composite) |
| Adapter/Cable Bundled |
1 x DVI to D-Sub adaptor
1 x HDTV-out cable
1 x Power cable
1 x S/PDIF cable |
Software Bundled
|
ASUS Utilities & Driver |
Note
|
The card size is 4.376
inches x 9 inches |
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