GeForce 9800 GT Roundup (EVGA, ASUS, Gigabyte & Palit)

EVGA 9800 GT 512MB HybridPower (512-P3-N980-AR)

Product Number: 512-P3-N980-AR
Manufacturer’s Product Page: EVGA | Products
Price: Click here to compare prices
Warranty: Lifetime




We decided to keep at least one bone stock card in this roundup which didn’t have a fancy PCB or gobs of overclocked goodness so what we have here is just that. Even though they have a virtual harem of 9800 GT cards, EVGA’s 9800 GT HybridPower is as stock as they come but it adds the optional HybridPower compatibility and an HDMI output for good measure. In the graphics card world, EVGA is one company that is universally respected for both their lifetime warranty and their trade-up program but is also lauded for the great customer service they provide. Pricing for this card has seen its ups and downs over the short time it has been around for but it stands around $170 right now which makes it one of the least expensive cards in this roundup.


The usual black and white EVGA box is carried over into the 9800 GT series with its usual panache and subtleties and a bit of added green for good measure. There is an indication on the front of the package of the included HDMI connector which should serve those of you buying it at your local mom and pop shop well. It should also be mentioned that every EVGA card comes with their new Precision Graphics Tuning program which is basically a fancy name for an overclocking and monitoring program. Nonetheless, it is good to see companies catering to those willing to delve into the world of overclocking.


The accessory package which comes with this EVGA card contains everything we could possibly want along with the one thing we wished for when looking at Gigabyte’s card: an S/PDIF audio connector. You also get a Molex to 6-pin adaptor, EVGA case badge, DVI to VGA connector and a HDMI dongle. All in all this is a pretty well-rounded accessory package for those of you who want to take advantage of the HDMI feature.


If you put this card next to a reference 8800GT, you would definitely be hard pressed to tell the difference between the two and that is because…well, this IS an 8800 GT (like almost all the other cards you will see here today) with a few extra bangs and whistles. Between the original incarnation of this single-slot heatsink and what you see here, the fan size has been substantially increased in order to provide better cooling on such a minimalistic cooling design. Speaking of the heatsink, having a single-slot solution is great but it unfortunately keeps all the heat produced by the card within the immediate confines of whichever enclosure it is within.

Just remember that this is a standard-size card so while it is not the overly-long beast we have seen with the 9800 GT X and above, it is still 9” long.


The overall design on the heatsink should be quite familiar to those of you who have EVGA 8800GT cards since it has almost the same stylized logo and black background. Like on some of the other cards you will see in this roundup, there is an S/PDIF connector on the card itself to take advantage of the audio pass-through to the HDMI connector.