XFX Nvidia GeForce 9800 GX2 600M 1GB

Let there be light...

One thing that Nvidia has worked hard on with the GeForce 9800 GX2 is its appeal to a wider market. As a direct result of this, the company has introduced a number of new features onto the GeForce 9800 GX2 to help make using the card a little more straight forward for a novice.

If you remember back to the GeForce 8800 GTX, the card gave off a loud shriek if you didn't plug the power connectors in correctly – Nvidia has moved away from scaring users into submission and has come up with what is actually quite a nifty feature.

The card requires both six and eight pin PCI-Express power connectors to work – it will not turn on if you use two six-pin connectors. Instead of the loud shriek, Nvidia has backlit the power connectors so they light up green when there is ample power going through the socket and red when there is not.

But that's not all...


There are also a couple of LEDs on the PCI bracket as well – one lights up blue to indicate which is the primary display connector if you're running a pair of cards in Quad SLI (driver support is forthcoming for this feature), while the other lights up either green or red depending on whether or not the card is receiving ample power. The idea is a clever one and I have to say I think it's a great one – it should help to make diagnosing graphics card-related problems a lot easier.

On the downside though, it's incredibly difficult to get the PCI-Express power cables connected to the card because Nvidia hasn't left much room around the sockets. The company says that the design is compliant with the PCI-Express specification, but that doesn't change the fact that it's incredibly difficult to connect the power cables to the card with a variety of power supplies—most of which do comply with the specifications and a couple that didn't.


The problem is that there isn't any wiggle room around the clip that holds the cable in place—this is more of a problem for the eight-pin than it is for the six-pin connector and it's something to be aware of when you're installing the card.

Here's what Nvidia had to say on the topic:

"Some PCI-E connectors may have trouble fitting into the 8-pin socket on the GeForce 9800 GX2. We designed our socket to specification, but unfortunately some power supply manufacturers did not. With a bit more force, most of these plugs will fit. Two things are being done to alleviate this issue. First, board vendors will be making available adaptors to help the oversized plugs fit with the GeForce 9800 GX2. Second, power supply manufacturers are updating their designs to conform with PCI-E specification. Please contact your board vendor or power supply vendor for further details."

And while we're on the topic of power, Nvidia recommends a minimum of a 580W power supply for a single GeForce 9800 GX2, while a pair in Quad SLI pushes the minimum requirement up to 850W. The GeForce 9800 GX2's maximum board power is quoted at 197W – that's around 15-20W more than the GeForce 8800 Ultra's maximum power draw.