Final Thoughts

I have to say that until we got to our Windows XP tests, the 9800GX2 has been a complete let down. Under UT3 it actually looks like we have a CPU bottleneck with performance pretty much the same across all resolutions.

It out-performs the HD 3870 X2 in 3DMark06 under XP, along with it also out-performing the AMD counterpart in Half Life 2: Episode Two; a game that has always favored the AMD offerings.

Come launch day, I'm not too sure if this is going to be a card worth picking up. While we see gains under XP, not everything sees the same success like UT3 and HL2:E2. There has to be a new driver coming out soon. Websites have posted a newer driver than the one we received on the driver CD, but it doesn't actually work. It refuses to install even though the driver is stated to be for the GX2.

The card has potential, and we can see it's got the power in some applications. It just needs to be harnessed better. If you had been reading the reviews online and thought "Bugger this, I'm off to get a HD 3870 X2", we would hold off, at least for a week or two.

As soon as word of a new driver comes out, we will be placing the card back on the test bench to hopefully get the gains that we expected.

At the moment the card doesn't deserve to carry a new generation naming scheme, but with a little bit of hope seen from under Windows XP we could be alright. Now we just have to wait and see if we get a new driver in the next day or two.

Last minute add: I just performed a run of Unreal Tournament 3 at 2560 x 1600 and received an average of 90.66FPS which is just below what the HD 3870 X2 scores at 1920 x 1200.