Hey guys i just read the Palit 9800gx2 review at overclockersclub recently…Palit 9800GX2 Review - Overclockers Club
it seems to give really good performance than HD4870 in those games tested there ..like bioshock,COD4, Crysis, etc
The 9800gx2 sells for around 300 $ ..arnd same rate as HD4870 300 $ …which do you guys think is the real better performer, and which is “More” futureproof?..
4870 supports DX 10.1.
9800GX2 is like phased out, although it still competes, but caveats of multi gpu apply here.
4870 will also fetch you better amount if you anytime plan sell it.
I disagree, gx2 is much better than 4870 in terms of performance, 10.1 isn’t really a deal breaker as of now, gx2 is a 8800gts/9800gtx sli, which kicks 4870’s ass. Also I doubt if its resell value will really do down as against 4870.
do keep in mind the massive power requirements of teh gx2
its available for 309 $ on tigerdirect, and the HD4870s arnd 290-299 $
AnandTech: The Radeon HD 4850 & 4870: AMD Wins at $199 and $299
like 10W over 4870.
@OP:
if you can deal with SLI quirks in games and place your trust in the nvidia driver team go for the 9800gx2.
9800gx2 just costs 269 shipped and is much better deal than 4870 , even faster than GTX 280 in some cases , if someone has psu which can handle GX2 then he should get it .
hmm nice..but the idle power consumption seems to be a bit too high
Well it really depends on the games you plan to play, if they scale well on a multi gpu setup, then its woth goin for the 9800gx2, but bear in mind the multi gpu setups, always have their issues like microstutterin, heating, spacing in the cabinet.
Personally I would go for the 4870 cause I prefer single gpu setup, but then again thats me. The 9800GX2 is a great performer no doubt, but the ruby has got the latest architecture, will definitely be longer lasting than the GX2
My 2 cents worth.
P.S-Well if u really wanna get a nvidia card, consider the gtx260 decent performance, and lesser power consumption compared to the 4870.
the 9800gx2 cannot handle AF and AA very well,its faster than 4870 with nothing turned on,but once the eye candy is turned on the framerate falls drastically
yup,nvidia cards never perform that well with aa turned as their ati counterparts..And some people say that iq in ati cards is much better than nvidia cards with the same settings.I guess supra had proved it or something.So personally i would go for an hd4870 rather than a 9800gx2 (which consumes more power too)..
GTX260 SP216 is for $300
performs better than 4870 .
n coonsumes less power …(compared with 9800GX2)
n single GPU is always better .
9800GX2 is good deal at $270
but it requires much power .
n in all games it will not be scaled well …in some games it will perform very good (due to scaling) shuch that it can take out GTX280 …
but thats not always …it will not scale good for all games .
so single GPU better .
n now GTX260 SP216 seems better choice .
why argue…9800GX2 is dual GPU 
n 4870 is single GPU…why don’t you go n compare it with 4870 X2…do agree the price diff 
…but still 9800GX2 is old tech so it has to be cheap now…so it makes no sense in comparing…
GX2 beats 4870 w/o AA.
w/ 4x AA both r similar.
w/ 8x AA 4870 is 200% faster
4870 is better buy for pure gaming, get GX2 if U wanna good 3D mark scores + gaming.
mind you that is an OC version.. compare 260 SP216 OC with 4870OC..
not a stock one, Oc’d one does look better..
but he will get better card for the price .
it’s only EVGA i have seen…other vendours will release GTX260 SP216 with lower cost…i guess 
well my suggestion …
don’t go for 9800GX2
but GTX260 SP216 or 4870
NO AA
http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/3576/noaazk1.jpg
4x AA
http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/493/4xzd6.jpg
8x AA
http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/2829/8xzh2.jpg
SLi not scaling with 8x AA :S
See ATI shining w/ 8x AA 4850 performs like GTX 260, 4870 similar to GTX 280.
what up with NVIDIA ???
not scoring at AA & also not good IQ .
it’s something NVIDIA FAILING with new chipsets.
see older G80’S 8800GTX n 8800 ULTRA
perform better at 8XAA & 16XAF than 9800GTX+ ,8800GTS G92 ,9800GTX ,9800GX2…
What game/benchmark is this?
4870 vs gx2 - a very good discussion
gx2 = sli, microstuttering(frame to frame delay) comes in at diff. res. @ diff. cpu cyles. microstuttering won’t pretty much spoil anything, except only when it peaks or is at more than a mediocore level. that means u will have to experiment a bit at different cpu speeds and if u have a quad then disabling 1/2 cores and changing speeds. when in sli, antiliasing is good too, needs more cpu power though. sometimes it gets screwed due to driver level problems/less support - this is always there.
4870 = no issues as a single card, but less performance than a gx2.
bottom line(s): 9800gx2 is no brainer if u manage to eliminate the microstuttering quirk to some extent by experimenting with cpu clocks(reducing them in most cases;atleast thats what i can say will help), and a gx2 won’t necessarily perform crap at 8x aa, or 4x. a rv770 is good on AA, no doubt, but a g92 in sli isn’t a joke either. its the support that lacks in such cases not the architectural/technological crapness wholly. I wouldn’t recommend a new person to get a gx2, but to one who can think and experiment with his hardware knowing the working behind it(to get smooth frames and thus heavy difference over a 4870), for him a 9800 gx2 for 270$ is a great deal. sweet.