Fudzilla: Gigabyte 9800GT Silent Cell tested

[fri2219]

The review did an especially good job in conveying the size of the thing- better have a case that has room for a long card.

http://www.fudzilla.com/content/view/15374/40/

Executive Summary:

• Nice range of included goodies, like an HDMI->DVI cable
  60C at load, 40C at idle
  As fast as, but more expensive, than an ATI 4750
  220W at load, 90W at idle (ouch!)

[nomoon]

Gigabyte has been showing he ATI 4850 version of their Silent Cell card for a very long time now, though I haven't seen it for sale anywhere.

Interestingly, their website here is where this card was shown. However, under then ATI Series section, they now show the nVidia 9800 version of the card. This is obviously an error. They used to show ATI specs and a photo of the 4580 Silent Cell card here. Maybe they changed their mind about selling the 4850 version of the card and someone goofed up the website.

Jason

[Olle P]

Nowhere can I find the actual dimensions for this card, which seems a bit strange...

Cheers
Olle

[Guglhupf]

220W at load, 90W at idle (ouch!)[/list]

Hi To NSW, Texas and 'Hej' to Sweden!

I bought this card some weeks ago and stumbled upon this forum and posting. I wonder, what you mean by "ouch". Do you think, these value are (far too) high?

I think, the power consumption values are given for the complete 'test rig', which means the complete test-PC, not the card alone. -And these values seem to be quite good for a 9800 GT - as it apparently uses a 55nm G92 chip and not the previous 65nm chip (I did not remove the heat sink from my card, though, to verify the review; I do not want to mess the card up and void my warranty).

Here two quotes from the review at Fudzilla:

"Although GPU-Z reports the GV-N98TSL-1GI to come with a 65nm graphics core, we took the cooler off and found out this is indeed the new 55nm G92 GPU (G92-283-B1) core which is more efficient and runs much cooler. "

"Our rig in total consumed about 220W during operation and about 90W in idle mode. Such low idle consumption is a result of Nvidia’s dynamic consumption regulation, which downclocks the core, shaders and the memory when the card isn’t in 3D mode."

Do you agree with me?

P.S.: I am very happy with this card, but I need a new case as my old one (10 years old!) does not have any possibilities to install any case fan(s).

Regards / Hälsningar
Stephan

[shleepy]

IMO, the only versions of the 9800GT worth buying nowadays are the "green"/"eco" ones, with no PCIe power connector. Much lower power consumption, probably making it the most powerful PCIe-power-connection-less card on the market, or at least high up there. AFAIK, there's no silent version of it, but you can always mount an Accelero S1 (maybe?), or something similar.

[Guglhupf]

I do not get the point with the "Green editions" of the cards. Aren't they just ones with a bit less of clock frequency, thus consuming less electrical power - but having also less performance?

Maybe the ratio performance per TDP is better with those "green" cards?

Some people overclock to get max. perforemance - paying the price of higher power consumption. This "green line stuff" seems to be the opposite with the main interest in a low power consumption. But why not buy a card one model line down, e.g. a 9600 GT instead of a 9800GT? That also saves power...

Regards
Stephan

[Vicotnik]

But why not buy a card one model line down, e.g. a 9600 GT instead of a 9800GT? That also saves power...

There's a huge difference in performance between an underclocked and undervolted 9800GT and a 9600GT.

[shleepy]

But why not buy a card one model line down, e.g. a 9600 GT instead of a 9800GT? That also saves power...

There's a huge difference in performance between an underclocked and undervolted 9800GT and a 9600GT.

Exactly. The Eco/Green 9800GT's are almost exactly on par with the standard 9800GT's. They're just SLIGHTLY underclocked and also just use a more efficient design.

[bluflake]

The review did an especially good job in conveying the size of the thing- better have a case that has room for a long card.

Has anyone got a clue whether this would fit in an Antec P183 case?

(First post btw! Been reading here for years though. )

[Guglhupf]

But why not buy a card one model line down, e.g. a 9600 GT instead of a 9800GT? That also saves power...

There's a huge difference in performance between an underclocked and undervolted 9800GT and a 9600GT.

Exactly. The Eco/Green 9800GT's are almost exactly on par with the standard 9800GT's. They're just SLIGHTLY underclocked and also just use a more efficient design.

Ok, you got a point there. I understand, the 9600 GT has a different chip, with less stream processors, shaders (or whatever) and can process less operations parallely.

I believe you, the the green editions really have a better "performance per power consumption-ratio" - and it's not just a marketing trick. Basic physics says: P = U^2/R , right?

@sheeply: Even though I do not consider myself as a technical retard and would expect myself to get the job done, I would not void my warranty of an original card by exchanging the fan/cooler on myself. You could show them your degree in electrical engineering - the guys in the shop would still have only a quick look on the modified card and probably say, that you had messed it up - and warranty is void! Of course, that is just my personal attitude.

Anyway, I like the passive cooling solution.

Regards
Stephan

[shleepy]

Guglhupf: There's definitely a market for people who do not want to mess with the standard coolers. But then there are a couple of other options that are much faster than the 9800GT, such as the passive Gigabyte HD4850. Why I said that "the only versions of the 9800GT worth buying nowadays are the 'green'/'eco' ones" is that they have their own advantage - very low power consumption; they're possibly the fastest cards without PCIe power connectors. So, besides those versions, IMO, the 9800GT line is now outdated, and there are better alternatives.

[bluflake]

Disclaimer: I'm a very casual gamer, but also a musician, so silence is important to me. I am getting tired of modding stuff myself though, so I now aim to buy stuff I don't need to touch.

I've always been an Nvidia fan and I like their drivers & features, therefore I'm a bit hesitant to go with the Gigabyte Radeon HD4850 1 GB. I know the ATI is faster, but would you choose it over Gigabyte GeForce 9800GT Silent 1GB, when factoring drivers & features and all?

And also – do you guys know if these two big cards would fit in an Antec P183 case?

Big thanks!

[shleepy]

The cards are not big by today's standards, and they'll easily fit into an Antec P183. The Silent Cell 9800GT will probably be longer, since it's got a bigger heatsink, but you can always take out the top HDD cage on the P183 to make any video card fit.

The difference in performance isn't HUGE, so it would be OK to go with the 9800GT, especially if you know that you absolutely prefer Nvidia drivers and whatnot, or if you plan on using Linux.

[Guglhupf]

Well, I was not aware about the passive version of the HD4850. I did not 'research' on ATI cards as I intended to stay with NVIDIA, since I had installed a 9400 GT before and was afraid of compatibility issues when updating the driver in Windows. I thought, it might be better to stick with the same family. And you say, it is easier to get Linux drives for Nvidia than for ATI. I did not know that, but it's good as I started to experiment with Linux on Live CDs and in virtual machines.

Otherwise, looking at the specs and price of the Gigabyte GIGABYTE GV-R485MC-1GI passive, it indeed seems a pretty good/better alternative to the GIGABYTE 9800 GT Silent Cell. However, as already mentioned above the cooler looks significantly smaller than the one of the of the 9800 GT Silent Cell, so I wonder, whether the cooling is less efficient (also the max. TPD of the 4850 seems to be about higher - 114 W compared to 105 W?; source: http://www.pc-erfahrung.de/grafikkarte/ ... liste.html).

I am only a casual gamer and the performance is more than sufficient for my purposes. I use to play 'Runes of Magic' with my colleagues every now and then, the game was even running with the 9400 GT, but with the 9800 GT you can put the graphics to the preset "high" - that is more fun.

I agree, the green version may be a good option, however it still DOES have a (noisy?) fan...
Yes, maybe the 9800 GT is outdated and I did not buy the best option - as then I did not have the information I have NOW - from you. But I am still happy with the card.

This forum seems to be a good source of info, thank you, guys!

BTW, due to the card I have to look for a new Midi-Tower case (silent, plain-looking/elegant and easy-to-assemble) as my current one does not have any case fan at all, and I don't plan to roast bread on my card. - guess, i have to look in another category in this forum.