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NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GT SLI vs NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GS vs NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GT

NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GT SLI

► remove from comparison NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GT SLI

The Nvidia GeForce 9800M GT is based on the G92 architecture and is essentially a reduced 9800M GTX chip with only 96 shaders instead of the usual 112 found on GTX chips. Like with the 8800M GTX, the chip is produced in a 65nm fabrication process and even share comparable specs. Since this is an SLI system, the amount of available shaders is doubled due to the use of two 9800M GT cards. Note, however, that the available memory is not doubled because the same content is stored onto each card.

Like all DirectX 10 graphic cards, the GeForce 9800M GT SLI contains "Unified Shader" cores, 2x96 stream processors to be exact. These cores take the place of dedicated pixel and vertex shaders and are even clocked higher than the core GPU itself.

 

Hybrid Power is a Windows Vista only option that allows switching between onboard graphics (with Nvidia chipset) and dedicated graphics cards, in this case the 9800M GT SLI. Therefore, the dedicated graphics card can be disabled at will for power-saving purposes. Future Nvidia cards are expected to allow automatic switching through drivers, now known as Optimus Technology. GeforceBoost does not work with the 9800M GT because the connection with the SLI chipset would not result in any increase in performance.

The performance increase of two 9800M GT cards in SLI mode is between 0% and 40% over a single 9800M GT, depending on the application. For current DirectX 10 games such as Crysis, World in Conflict, Bioshock or Age of Conan, the performance of dual 9800M GT cards should be sufficient for smooth play at high levels of detail.

The phenomenon known as micro stuttering can occur in all SLI systems, including this 9800M GT SLI setup. The user may experience stutterings despite average frame rates of around 30fps. See here for more information on micro stuttering.

A hardware feature of the GeForce 9000 series is the integrated PureVideo HD video decoder. This allows the GPU to aid the CPU in decoding H.264-, VC-1-, MPEG2- or WMV9 video files.

The high current consumption of up to 130 Watt (when including both the VRAM and MXM board) means that the 9800M GT SLI is reserved for large and heavy laptops with sufficient cooling only. Therefore, the 9800M SLI series can only be found in big and heavy laptops.

NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GS

► remove from comparison

The Nvidia GeForce 9800M GS is a graphics adapter for laptops and based on the G94 core with 64 shader processors. The chip is produced in 55nm (as the 1024 MB versions of the 9800M GTS and the GTS 160M). Because of the max. 512 MB GDDR3 the TDP is lower (60 Watt) than the 9800M GTS (512 and 1024 MB version: 75W).

Because of the additional shaders but lower clock speed than the GTS, the 9800M GS is between the 9700M GTS and 9800M GTS. Therefore, DirectX 10 games of 2008 should all be playable in medium to high details.

As all cards with DirectX 10 capabilities, the GeForce 9800M GS renders the 3D images using "Unified Shaders". There don't exist any more dedicated pixel- and vertex shaders but 64 so called stream processors make the graphic work (which has been done by pixel and vertex shaders in former days). Furthermore, the shader units are higher clocked than the chip.

An advantage of the GeForce 9000 series is the integrated PureVideo HD video processor. It is able to help with the decoding of H.264-, VC-1-, MPEG2- and WMV9 video material in HD quality and eases the CPU.

In conjunction with the Nvidia 9100M G integrated graphics, the 9800M GS supports Hybrid-SLI (only HybridPower). HybridPower is a technique to choose between the integrated and dedicated graphics core, if performance or battery runtime is needed. This works only in Windows Vista. Up to now the user has to use a tool to switch between the GPUs. Later Nvidia wants to switch automatically in the drivers. GeForceBoost is not supported with this card, as there would be no performance gain to combine the integrated GPU with the 9800M GS.

Compared to desktop graphics cards, the 9800M GS should be a bit slower than the GeForce 9600M GT.

NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GT

► remove from comparison NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GT

The Nvidia GeForce 9800M GT is a graphics adapter for laptops and is based on the  9800M GTX (G92 core), but with only 96 shaders instead of the 112. The 9800M GT is produced in 65 nm and is therefore more similar to the 8800M GTX as both cores have similar shader counts. The chip is intended for relatively large desktop replacement laptops with more powerful cooling. 

Similar to all cards with DirectX 10 capabilities, the GeForce 9800M GT renders 3D images using "Unified Shaders". There no longer exists any dedicated pixel- and vertex shaders. Instead, 96 so-called stream processors handle most of the the graphics work previously done by vertex and pixel shaders. Furthermore, these shader units are clocked higher than the core GPU processor.

The performance of the 9800M GT is similar to the Geforce 8800M GTX (same specs). The GTS 360M with GDDR5 and the 9800M GTS both with higher clock speeds) also perform on the same level as the 9800M GT. Therefore, the performance of the 9800M GT in 2008 and 2009 was sufficient for most games in high details. A detailed performance analysis of the 9800M GT can be found in our 9800M GT review.

An advantage of the GeForce 9000 series is the integrated PureVideo HD video processor. The GPU can assist the CPU in decoding  H.264-, VC-1-, MPEG2- and WMV9 videos.

In conjunction with the Nvidia 9100M G integrated graphics, the 9800M GT supports Hybrid-SLI in the form of HybridPower. HybridPower is a Windows Vista-only technique to switch between the integrated and dedicated graphics core for power-saving purposes. Up to now, the user had to use a tool to switch between the GPUs. Eventually, graphics switching can be done automatically in drivers (now known as Nvidia Optimus). GeForceBoost is not supported with this card as there would be no performance gain from combining the integrated GPU with the 9800M GT.

Compared to desktop graphic cards, the 9800M GT is most similar to the GeForce 8800 GS. The latter, however, still features higher memory clock rates and has a slight edge over the 9800M GT.

NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GT SLINVIDIA GeForce 9800M GSNVIDIA GeForce 9800M GT
GeForce 9800M Series
GeForce 9800M GT SLI 192 @ 0.5 GHz256 Bit @ 800 MHz
GeForce 9800M GTS SLI 128 @ 0.6 GHz256 Bit @ 800 MHz
GeForce 9800M GTX 112 @ 0.5 GHz256 Bit @ 800 MHz
GeForce 9800M GT 96 @ 0.5 GHz256 Bit @ 800 MHz
GeForce 9800M GTS 64 @ 0.6 GHz256 Bit @ 800 MHz
GeForce 9800M GS 64 @ 0.53 GHz256 Bit @ 800 MHz
GeForce 9800M GT SLI 192 @ 0.5 GHz256 Bit @ 800 MHz
GeForce 9800M GTS SLI 128 @ 0.6 GHz256 Bit @ 800 MHz
GeForce 9800M GTX 112 @ 0.5 GHz256 Bit @ 800 MHz
GeForce 9800M GT 96 @ 0.5 GHz256 Bit @ 800 MHz
GeForce 9800M GTS 64 @ 0.6 GHz256 Bit @ 800 MHz
GeForce 9800M GS 64 @ 0.53 GHz256 Bit @ 800 MHz
GeForce 9800M GT SLI 192 @ 0.5 GHz256 Bit @ 800 MHz
GeForce 9800M GTS SLI 128 @ 0.6 GHz256 Bit @ 800 MHz
GeForce 9800M GTX 112 @ 0.5 GHz256 Bit @ 800 MHz
GeForce 9800M GT 96 @ 0.5 GHz256 Bit @ 800 MHz
GeForce 9800M GTS 64 @ 0.6 GHz256 Bit @ 800 MHz
GeForce 9800M GS 64 @ 0.53 GHz256 Bit @ 800 MHz
CodenameNB9E-GT2NB9E-GS1NB9E-GT2
ArchitectureG9xG9xG9x
Pipelines192 - unified64 - unified96 - unified
Core Speed500 MHz530 MHz500 MHz
Shader Speed1250 MHz1325 MHz1250 MHz
Memory Speed800 MHz800 MHz800 MHz
Memory Bus Width256 Bit256 Bit256 Bit
Memory TypeGDDR3GDDR3GDDR3
Max. Amount of Memory512 MB1024 MB512 MB
Shared Memorynonono
APIDirectX 10, Shader 4.0DirectX 10, Shader 4.0DirectX 10, Shader 4.0
Power Consumption130 Watt60 Watt65 Watt
Transistors1.5 Billion504 Million754 Million
technology65 nm55 nm65 nm
Features

PureVideo HD, CUDA, PhysX-ready, SLI

PureVideo HD, CUDA, PhysX-ready, Hybrid-SLI (HybridPower)
Notebook Sizelargelargelarge
Date of Announcement15.07.2008 01.11.2008 15.07.2008
Information2xMXM 3MXM 3MXM 3
Link to Manufacturer Pagewww.nvidia.comwww.nvidia.com

Benchmarks

3DMark Vantage
3DM Vant. Perf. total + NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GT SLI
3DMark Vantage - 3DM Vant. Perf. total
min: 6120     avg: 6271     median: 6271 (2%)     max: 6422 Points
3DM Vant. Perf. total + NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GS
3245 Points (1%)
3DM Vant. Perf. total + NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GT
4011 Points (1%)
3DM Vant. Perf. GPU no PhysX + NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GT SLI
3DMark Vantage - 3DM Vant. Perf. GPU no PhysX
7591 Points (4%)
3DM Vant. Perf. GPU no PhysX + NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GS
2955 Points (2%)
3DM Vant. Perf. GPU no PhysX + NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GT
3725 Points (2%)
3DMark 2001SE - 3DMark 2001 - Standard
min: 27477     avg: 28741     median: 28740.5 (30%)     max: 30004 Points
min: 34871     avg: 35285     median: 35284.5 (37%)     max: 35698 Points
3DMark 03 - 3DMark 03 - Standard
min: 25967     avg: 26271     median: 26270.5 (14%)     max: 26574 Points
min: 30129     avg: 30224     median: 30223.5 (16%)     max: 30318 Points
3DMark 05 - 3DMark 05 - Standard
min: 13245     avg: 13587     median: 13586.5 (15%)     max: 13928 Points
min: 14713     avg: 14869     median: 14869 (16%)     max: 15025 Points
3DMark 06 3DMark 06 - Standard 1280x1024 + NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GT SLI
3DMark 06
min: 14000     avg: 14400     median: 14400 (19%)     max: 14800 Points
3DMark 06 - Standard 1280x1024 + NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GS
min: 8000     avg: 8467     median: 8449.5 (11%)     max: 8970 Points
3DMark 06 - Standard 1280x1024 + NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GT
min: 9228     avg: 9416     median: 9258 (12%)     max: 9762 Points
3DMark 06 - Score Unknown Settings + NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GS
3DMark 06
8400 Points (11%)
3DMark 06 - Standard 1280x720 + NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GS
3DMark 06
8773 Points (12%)
Cinebench R10 Cinebench R10 Shading (32bit) + NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GS
Cinebench R10 - Cinebench R10 Shading (32bit)
min: 3684     avg: 3692     median: 3684 (3%)     max: 3707 Points
Cinebench R10 Shading (32bit) + NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GT
min: 4460     avg: 4527     median: 4526.5 (3%)     max: 4593 Points

Average Benchmarks NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GT SLI → 100% n=3

Average Benchmarks NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GS → 50% n=3

Average Benchmarks NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GT → 59% n=3

- Range of benchmark values for this graphics card
- Average benchmark values for this graphics card
* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance
1 This benchmark is not used for the average calculation

Game Benchmarks

The following benchmarks stem from our benchmarks of review laptops. The performance depends on the used graphics memory, clock rate, processor, system settings, drivers, and operating systems. So the results don't have to be representative for all laptops with this GPU. For detailed information on the benchmark results, click on the fps number.

GTA IV - Grand Theft Auto

GTA IV - Grand Theft Auto

2008
low 800x600
GeForce 9800M GS:
41.4 50 ~ 46 fps
Far Cry 2

Far Cry 2

2008
high 1024x768
GeForce 9800M GS:
49  fps
Call of Duty 4 - Modern Warfare

Call of Duty 4 - Modern Warfare

2007
low 800x600
GeForce 9800M GS:
187.5 215.2 ~ 201 fps
med. 1024x768
GeForce 9800M GS:
83.9 84.9 ~ 84 fps
high 1280x1024
GeForce 9800M GS:
46 47.7 ~ 47 fps
Supreme Commander - FA Bench

Supreme Commander - FA Bench

2007
high 1024x768
GeForce 9800M GS:
36.1  fps
Crysis - GPU Benchmark

Crysis - GPU Benchmark

2007
low 1024x768
GeForce 9800M GS:
48.7 88.2 103.5 ~ 80 fps
GeForce 9800M GT:
67.3 98.4 ~ 83 fps
med. 1024x768
GeForce 9800M GS:
32.4 47.5 50 50 ~ 45 fps
GeForce 9800M GT:
49.8 55.6 ~ 53 fps
high 1024x768
100%
GeForce 9800M GT SLI:
51  fps
55%
GeForce 9800M GS:
22.6 30 30.1 ~ 28 fps
67%
GeForce 9800M GT:
33.1 35.5 ~ 34 fps
Crysis - CPU Benchmark

Crysis - CPU Benchmark

2007
low 1024x768
GeForce 9800M GS:
50.8 101.8 107.7 ~ 87 fps
GeForce 9800M GT:
75.3 115.9 ~ 96 fps
med. 1024x768
GeForce 9800M GS:
29.8 44.2 50 50.3 ~ 44 fps
GeForce 9800M GT:
46.1 52.2 ~ 49 fps
high 1024x768
GeForce 9800M GS:
20.8 28.7 28.8 ~ 26 fps
GeForce 9800M GT:
30.9 33.1 ~ 32 fps
World in Conflict - Benchmark

World in Conflict - Benchmark

2007
med. 1024x768
GeForce 9800M GS:
56 57 66 ~ 60 fps
GeForce 9800M GT:
66  fps
high 1024x768
GeForce 9800M GS:
32 34 37 ~ 34 fps
GeForce 9800M GT:
37  fps
The Elder Scrolls IV - Oblivion

The Elder Scrolls IV - Oblivion

2006
high 1280x800
GeForce 9800M GS:
60  fps
F.E.A.R.

F.E.A.R.

2005
low 640x480
GeForce 9800M GS:
102  fps
GeForce 9800M GT:
551 558 ~ 555 fps
med. 800x600
GeForce 9800M GS:
55  fps
GeForce 9800M GT:
273 274 ~ 274 fps
high 1024x768
GeForce 9800M GS:
48  fps
GeForce 9800M GT:
117 118 ~ 118 fps
Doom 3

Doom 3

2004
low 640x480
GeForce 9800M GS:
120 138.2 ~ 129 fps
GeForce 9800M GT:
150.9  fps
med. 640x480
GeForce 9800M GS:
117.7 140.9 ~ 129 fps
GeForce 9800M GT:
146.2  fps
high 800x600
GeForce 9800M GS:
120.8 135.8 ~ 128 fps
GeForce 9800M GT:
144.9  fps
ultra 1024x768
GeForce 9800M GS:
117.8 134 ~ 126 fps
GeForce 9800M GT:
141.1  fps
Quake 3 Arena - Timedemo

Quake 3 Arena - Timedemo

1999
high 1024x768
GeForce 9800M GS:
1122  fps
GeForce 9800M GT:
624  fps

Average Gaming NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GT SLI → 100%

Average Gaming 30-70 fps → 100%

Average Gaming NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GS → 55%

Average Gaming NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GT → 67%

Average Gaming 30-70 fps → 67%

NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GSlowmed.highultraQHD4K
GTA IV - Grand Theft Auto46
Far Cry 249
Call of Duty 4 - Modern Warfare2018447
Supreme Commander - FA Bench36.06
Crysis - GPU Benchmark804528
Crysis - CPU Benchmark874426
World in Conflict - Benchmark6034
The Elder Scrolls IV - Oblivion60
F.E.A.R.1025548
Doom 3129129128126
Quake 3 Arena - Timedemo1122
< 30 fps
< 60 fps
< 120 fps
≥ 120 fps

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3
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NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GTlowmed.highultraQHD4K
Crysis - GPU Benchmark835334
Crysis - CPU Benchmark964932
World in Conflict - Benchmark6637
F.E.A.R.555274118
Doom 3150.9146.2144.9141.1
Quake 3 Arena - Timedemo624
< 30 fps
< 60 fps
< 120 fps
≥ 120 fps


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NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GT SLIlowmed.highultraQHD4K
Crysis - GPU Benchmark51
< 30 fps
< 60 fps
< 120 fps
≥ 120 fps







1










For more games that might be playable and a list of all games and graphics cards visit our Gaming List

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Redaktion, 2017-09- 8 (Update: 2023-07- 1)