GeForce 9800 GX2 vs Radeon HD 3870x2 - Legacy GPU Battle vol.2

[@doompenguin7453]

Ah yes, the GrillForce era of GPUs. I miss the days when I had 3 GPUs in SLI, they were drawing like 900W, they heated my room, my PC sounded like a jet engine, and my cards all ran at 90C or more. Those were the good old day. These days the GPUs are so well behaved thermally and so quiet that it makes it really boring + no SLI/CrossfireX.

[@nexus_tech]

Agreed! This card took GPU temps right up to "extreme" :) So fragile yet fascinating

[@crowse3200]

My 9800 GX2 melted itself. Nvidia gave me a GTX 460 after I made a warranty claim. Good times

[@AvidDiving]

Dude same here my card would hit 100C all the time till it died just before the warranty. Got a 480 in my case. And still had to bake that one twice before I replaced it a few years later

[@tyler6602]

Good Lord my 1080 ti using 300w makes my room warmer I couldn't imagine three of them

[@talison4634]

Man, i love your videos! Seeing this graphics cards again makes me feel nostalgic. Thank you.

[@kennekekenneke]

I owned a few dual gpu cards. All amazing and flawed at the same time 8800m GTX SLI in my xps M1730 => When it works it gives a large boost to fps, usually i have to run it in single card mode for the majority of titles even from that era because of micro stuttering The low amount of memory made it hard to run most games at 1920x1200. 290gtx => Had lots of fun with this card, upgrade for my 8800GT and it was again amazingly fast when SLI worked. It was fun to play around with 590gtx => Used it only for a while before seling it and using a 580GTX instead. Too little SLI support and lower performance in single card mode then the 580GTX 690GTX => Tested it over a weekend on loan from a friend. It was the same story as the 590GTX but with better single card performance. All these GPU's ran fairly hot and loud. I wouldn't reccomend using any of them. They are however fun to play around with and for showing wat SLI was capable of. If it runs amazing, if you can live with a little micro stutter. If it wasn't supported it was buggy, crashy, annoying, not worth the powerdraw and you were almost certainly better off with a single card solution. After this I got a 780TI and never looked back.

[@nexus_tech]

Thanks for sharing your story - love reading those lines! A true enthusiast, welcome haha! I know! Almost never worth it, but, we still like to play. haha! Of course, a single card setup is the best way to be, but then...where's the fun in that :)

[@TheLionAndTheLamb777]

I still have my HD 3870x2 1GB. I don't use it, I just have it.

[@willianpareira1930]

Really nice temps on 3870X2!. Insane 104ºC on 9800 GX2!

[@Frederic91fr]

More noise for the 3870x2 but a lot cooler too. Noise and temp are linked.

[@gandrurass]

A note on not having audio through the HDMI port on the 9800GX2: theres a little connector next to the power plugs that is used exactly for that, out of the box they used to come with an adaptor cable that you would plug into the card and into an SPDIF header either on your motherboard or your sound card.

[@10WA]

Your videos should have thousands of veiws. Love this old tech.

[@SPNG]

I really liked this era of graphics cards. So much competition! I'll say though, it's such a shame that 9800 GX2 ran so hot. Seems like those cards just cook themselves to death.

[@nexus_tech]

Hello mate! Agreed - this is some crazy engineering right there. My card was not very happy - but, it was like this from the day I got it - don't think I've harmed it in any way. The fan needs to be spinning faster or be bigger haha!

[@alexandreconfiant-latour2757]

Two different materials on the HD3870x2 because it's cheaper to produce. The GPU closest to the fan gets a less efficient and less expensive aluminium cooler. Because the fan blows better on it. The other gpu gets a copper cooler because it is farther and receive hotter air (heated by the first gpu). So it gets a more efficient cooler. On the HD4870x2, which share she same cooler design, both coolers are copper made.

[@nexus_tech]

That makes sense, thanks for checking out the video

[@DanielCardei]

Fantastic video. I notice you finish the university and you got a degree to open the 9800 GX2 :D Aside from loud noise, high temperature, compatible games and overpriced i think the GPUs are awesome :D

[@nexus_tech]

Hehehe! Oh my, I really did not want to open the beast again, flashbacks of the pain from before! Yes, there's not much life left in this particular card - I can only imagine a good working example would be nicer to use ? :)

[@ChezRG-YT]

Great video i think you deserve more subs ! Glad i found your channel

[@nexus_tech]

Hello mate! Thanks for your comment - much appreciated! :)

[@MRGilD0]

Man, it's such a trip seeing GPUs you used to long for as a kid now be completely outdated and outclassed by even igpu offerings nowadays

[@nexus_tech]

Right ? That's progress for you! In 10 years time, we would look at RTX3090 and be like, MEH! haha!

[@AeroFix94]

Jesus.... over 100c! No wonder the failure rate was so high with these 9800GX2. They sure look amazing!

[@nexus_tech]

I know! Such absurd design, but I admit, looks lovely :) Thanks for checking out the vid!

[@mealot7613]

Your 9800 gx2 seems to be bad. Maybe oil the fan? Mine hardly ever goes past 85 degrees even with mild overclock. Besides that gta4 works just fine on xp x64 and 9800 gx2 here using driver 197.45, everything newer gives micro stutter for me.

[@nexus_tech]

Yes, the fan is spinning freely - it reaches out 4k RPM no problem - I think it's just old and tired - if I ever come across another one of them, I will be sure to return to test bench! :) Thanks for checking out the video

[@Typhon888]

I remember running 3 GTX 260’s back in 2009. They were too hot to even touch lol that was b4 the GTX 480 heater.

[@kommandokodiak6025]

take some packing tape and tape over the backplates on the side that could make contact with the rear pcbs because over time the film that normally would protect the pcb from the metal of the backplate degrades somehow (techyescity figured this out)

[@maynardcrow6447]

There a lot of leeway with the ati cards fan speed. You could lower it's fan speed way down and still have good enough temps.

[@xanelgames]

Hi friend, what is the millimeter of the RAM thermal pad, I need to change mine.

[@wertywerrtyson5529]

Maybe it is old and tired as you say but it could be something as simple as using another driver. I had issues with the latest driver on a video card and used the older that came on the disc (I like to buy cards that come with the box and disc) and it worked better. But it was another card. I remember the 9000 series back in the day being fairly uninteresting since they were basically a rerelease of the 8000 series. However I also remember that AMDs 3000 series was not as well loved as the 4000 series so maybe it wasn’t a good generation for either brand.

[@nexus_tech]

Hello mate :) I've tried few versions, this was the most "stable" of them, sadly! I so wanted the card to blow me away!!! It's cooking itself alive this thing! :)

[@wertywerrtyson5529]

@@nexus_tech That’s a shame. But old 2 GPUs cards don’t seem to be holding up that well. Not really surprising since there is so much heat in one device and the components probably age faster. And because of their price and performance they were probably used for longer than a mid range card would so it might have been working hard for many years. Sometimes I think it would be cool if they made old cards again. Kind of like the NES mini that Nintendo released. A new GeForce 256 for example but I doubt it would be worth it. I learned recently that the GeForce FX series of cards got a PCI express version however I can’t seem to find them or much information about them outside the GPU database on Techpoweredup. It would be interesting to see something that old in a new PC. I thought the 6000 series were the first from nvidia with PCIe.

[@postmann1000]

Did remember one guy fried eggs on 2× 9800 gx2 cards. I have one new in box

[@stevin47]

i had 3 3870's ran them in tri-fire was great next build was 2 5870's in crossfire and next build was a amd 1100t with a asus ares 5870x2 4 gig card

[@ChezRG-YT]

Wait. You had 2 HD 5870 eyefinity 6 2 edition ?!

[@stevin47]

@@ChezRG-YT no the hd5870 ver 2 had 2 of those in crossfire later i bought the asus ares hd5870x2 a dual GPU card that was limited production of 1,000 cards

[@stevin47]

@@ChezRG-YT there was many versions of the 5870 w/1 gb gddr 5 first then the eyeinfinity version 6 monitors and then the hd5870 ver. 2 from asus higher clocks and 2 gb gddr5 . then asus came out the asus ares hd5870x2 with 4 gb of gddr 5

[@stevin47]

@@ChezRG-YT 2 of these kzbin.info/www/bejne/qpbQdpSal52oi5Y

[@stevin47]

@@ChezRG-YT and one of these well still got this one put back kzbin.info/www/bejne/apfHfmqLhqiKnLc

[@madarab]

There is something wrong with your gpu, I had 9800GX2 and it ran @ around 80C, if just one gpu was running and the game didn't support SLI, it was around 60C.

[@Buutenks]

Wow, that temperature on the gtx card

[@billchildress9756]

I have a hd3870 a 4870 x2 and a hd4890. I recently acquired a hd8990.

[@nexus_tech]

Nice! What are your plans ?

[@billchildress9756]

@@nexus_tech The 4870x2 is still fairly new in the box because I never really got the time to work with it. same go's for the 4890. the 3870 is the one I bought after my first pcie board purchase years ago. The 8990 is for a new project I'm working on now" I do have another one coming in" and with the old com-server case I bought" I got it about 15 years ago". This the first case I have ever seen that you can completely take apart with just 2 philips screwdrivers. It is 4U and I found early that you can set it up for any motherboard you want. My only items to get would be a board and proc to use with these cards and since they are DX12 compliant I say why not! Quad firing these things should be interesting! I like to experiment around a little and since my case is water cooled and air vented pretty well I'm not concerned with heat. For people who think old parts will not work with newer computers" I have an old PC Power& cooling Turbo Cool 1200 watt P-supply with a single 100 amp 12 volt rail and it has enough pcie connectors for 3 cards, 3 cpu power, and various other connectors. The only thing is It's not modular and this thing is a heavy beast. I figure this setup will weigh in around 60 to 70 LBS when finished. Power suppl and all drives mount in the front compartments. for only $10.00 it was well worth it and I haven't seen any other case like it since. I'll send you some pics if you like when its done.

[@koreannom]

I'm currently putting together a 2x HD 6770 Crossfire Setup! Even bought a new bridge haha. Instead of going for a GTX 750 etc, I'm going to use this setup because I've never really messed with crossfire before and it seems fun to tinker around with. Specs: i5 3550 4GB ram (planning on dual booting into Windows 10 and XP) 2x HD 6770

[@nexus_tech]

Hello mate :) Crossfire will give you some challenges, but that's the added fun I miss with new hardware! Good shout on the XP - that will defo allow most of games to be played in the best way :) Good luck with the build matey! :)

[@koreannom]

@@nexus_tech thanks!

[@hanslanda7319]

Think you made messed up resembling the 9800gx2. No way on earth it should run that hot, still got mine XFX too from launch, just ran it up on old PC and sits at 75 degrees on GPU1 and 72 degrees on GPU2. This is under full load after an hour on hour on Furmark. Repasted, repadded and gutted the cooler chamber two years ago.

[@nexus_tech]

Hello mate! I though the same, took it apart 3rd time hahaha! Still as hot. I've looked at forums reddit and there are fair few of folks who are seeing 105C under load too, it might be that tired this card. Thanks for checking out the vid! Appreciated!!! :)

[@hanslanda7319]

@@nexus_tech I just remember mine bring same years ago when I first pasted it. Stripped it again loads of paste and screws super tight and it was fine.

[@LcFan96]

i wonder if liquid metal would improve the temps of tthe gx2

[@nexus_tech]

Ah, might be an idea for a video, but very much doubt it will change anything - the units gets dangerously hot after just 20 minutes of gaming, I might look to replace all thermal pads and hope that does help! :)

[@fenixlolnope361]

Take the cooler off the GeForce and install a pair of those cheap universal waterblocks o.o

[@NukesAH0Y]

This is proof ATi/AMD has always been the top choice

[@DemeDemetre]

hm i didn't think it would have HDMI

[@nexus_tech]

YUP - my happiness was shortly over when I realised no AUDIO comes trough ! :)

[@wilfrido16]

@@nexus_tech it would if you plug the audio cable from the motherboard to the gpu. Its a small 2 pin audio cable. Hdmi on this generation only had audio passthrough. no audio hardware onboard the gpu. Also your card is defective and the drivers are probably not the best. I have one and it performs as it should. Definitely should be beating a 3870x2

[@rare6499]

At one point I had a pair of 9800 GX2’s in quad fire. An absolute headache. Crazy piece of engineering from nVidia. Lots of these cards died due to heat. I eventually sold them on, though I wish I would have kept one now just for the fun of it….

[@suchyraz]

😀

[@ВитяСкалецкий-в5ю]

you dont you in tests old gold game crysis for this card its most need

[@ICANHAZKILLZ]

Cool vid! I bought a 3870x2 cheap on ebay to fix, had no idea the GX2 existed! From what I've seen and in forums, AMD has unreasonably good legacy drivers compared to nVidia, they're not exactly 'supported' but even the HD 7xxx series runs almost perfectly on DX11 titles for seemingly no benefit to AMD. Can't wait to try mine out too!! Thanks for the video!

[@LutorKF]

Your 9800gx2 is to hot, bga problem 4 sure.

[@nexus_tech]

Hello mate, possibly! That furnace of a card will return, I'm determined to improve those temps! :)

[@draganraxrax7497]

Your nvidia card is broken and probably drivers are not best one for that card.

[@nexus_tech]

I feel the same! Hard to get replacement - If I ever do - it's coming back onto the test bench! :)

[@DeridderEvelien]

i had 3 9800gx2 it was a blast in thoose days you card is to hige you need to fix that mine were 70c and if i use 3 cards it was geting 90c but i never have seen 100c