GeForce 9800GTX is not a Power-hungry monster
According to VR-zone, 9800GTX is very power-hungry, power consumption as high as 168W. For your information, 8800 Ultra’s power consumption is around 175W, and 8800GTS 512MB is around 140W. lets see the 9800GTX is really that hungry or not.
Testbed:
·Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 (333MHzX9 Dual core) CPU
·Foxconn MARS | EIST and C1E disabled
·GeIL Plus+ DDR2-800 3-3-3-8 2.4V(Run:DDR2-800 4-4-4-12) Memory
·AVC Napoleon Cooler
·Seagate 7200.10 250G HD
·Acbel ATX-550CA-AB8FB 550W PSU
·ASUS BC-1205PT BD COMBO
We use (Seasonic)PowerAngle to record the actual power consumption of the whole platform. The tests run in idle mode and load mode. The idle mode means the whole platform idles in Vista for 15 minute, and load mode means the platform runs ATITool”Show 3D view” for 15 minute.

So it is clear,9800GTX’s is not that hungry.In the comparison you can see the card’s power consumption is lower than 8800 ultra, But more higher than 8800GTS 512MB.

February 29th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
I’m always seeing these power consumption reviews and no one seems to indicate if the efficiency of the power supply was taken into account.
If the PSU is 85% eff, then the actual system load w/9800GTX would be 196W
If the PSU is 75% eff, then the actual system load w/9800GTX would be 173W
February 29th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
Pavan - AFAIK: higher the efficiency of PSU - lower the power consumption.
March 1st, 2008 at 3:02 am
For being just an overclocked g92, it is quite hungry indeed: 20W more in idle and 40W more under load is a hefty price to pay for a little OC.
March 1st, 2008 at 4:13 am
musek — yes, higher the efficiency of the PSU may mean lower total consumption. But, at stock clocks, the 9800GTX will have a constant idle and load that isn’t being indicated in many power consumption tests because reviewers seem to based their conclusions on the wall socket draw. That’s what I meant I guess.
March 1st, 2008 at 7:02 am
Would the equipment used to measure power consumption be a factor in the results?
March 8th, 2008 at 12:12 pm
Wether its power hungry or not it rules
April 22nd, 2008 at 7:50 pm
[...] If the two do not differ much in price go for the 9800GTX, since the latter one is more energy-efficient than the 8800GTX, so more performance per watt. See here for a comparison the power consumption etc. by using several high end gfxcards: XFX 9800GTX 512MB review (Bjorn3d.com) - Power Consumption & Temperatures GeForce 9800GTX is not a Power-hungry monster - Expreview.com [...]
April 23rd, 2008 at 5:49 pm
[...] If the two do not differ much in price go for the 9800GTX, since the latter one is more energy-efficient (well, relatively energy-efficient for a high-end gfxcard) than the 8800GTX, so more performance per watt. See here for a comparison the power consumption etc. by using several high end gfxcards: XFX 9800GTX 512MB review (Bjorn3d.com) - Power Consumption & Temperatures GeForce 9800GTX is not a Power-hungry monster - Expreview.com [...]
May 6th, 2008 at 1:15 am
Will the 9800GTX work with a 400W PSU?
May 17th, 2008 at 5:31 am
[...] should work with your psu http://en.expreview.com/2008/02/28/g…ungry-monster/ __________________ CPU-Z: 2.7 OC I am 38% addicted to Counterstrike. What about you? Portable: [...]