14 DAY TRIAL // The non-disclosure agreement regarding Nvidia's GeForce 9800 GX2 graphics card has ended, and the first graphics cards with the new GPU have started to emerge. Palit is one of the first graphics card manufacturers to announce its 9800 GX2-based product, that comes with a bonus: free game server hosting for the first three months.
The reference card is built using two separate PCBs, two G92 chips and two power connectors, and is one of the most expensive graphics cards ever released for the public. Palit's 9800 GX2 offering comes with two graphics processors running at a stock speed of 600 MHz, while the 1 GB of GDDR3 memory onboard is clocked at 2GHz by default. The Palit GeForce 9800 GX2 comes with dual DVI outputs and a HDMI connector for high-definition streaming.
However, despite the fact that Nvidia has authorized its partners to start shipping their GeForce 9800 GX2-based products, the graphics cards are still a rare item on the retailers' shelves. For instance, apart from Palit, the only manufacturers to offer the above-mentioned cards are Asus, MSI and Zotac. The price per unit ranges between $836 and $852. MSI has the cheapest 9800 GX2 offering, that comes with a price tag of "just" $798.
Users who can afford buying two 9800 GX2 units will be able to run a nice 4-way SLI setup, but hardcore gamers with deep pockets can up the ante with yet another card for a 6-GPU gaming system. However, the Tri-SLI configurations are not currently supported, because Nvidia did not release the suitable drivers yet.
However, before upgrading you probably should think twice, because the graphics card is a true powerhog: it takes about 197 watts per card, so start looking for a Nvidia-certified power source unit with both an 8-pin and a 6-pin connectors.