For old tech, this is one bad ass card, but it has SERIOUS heat issues!
The 9800 GX2 arrived in great shape and fired up with no problems in my rig (Phenom 2 X4 840, 4gb RAM, Windows 7). I tested it out with the original "Assassin's Creed" running at 1680x1050 at full graphic quality. It churned out the frames with no problem whatsoever until....it overheated. Then it clipped out and gave me the blue screen of death. After adding 4 fans to my case, It ran just fine. I did, however, dial back the screen resolution (1280x800) and dropped the graphic quality settings to "high" from "max".
I kept an eye on the card with a program called "Speccy" which shows the GPU core temperatures in real time. At max loads, the card clipped out around 110 degrees Celsius and locked the computer. Dialing back the resolution and adding numerous case fans brought the temperature down to around 85 degrees Celsius which seemed to work fine for extended gaming sessions.
The card ran without issue for a month...then it croaked. It started producing pixelated startup screens and the PC only recognized it as a generic card. In addition, it ceased playing video games or displaying my screen saver.
I do not recommend this card. Don't get me wrong, it IS nice for the money, but it's power hungry and produces a TON of heat! Unless your PC case has side mounted fans and a bunch of internal fans blowing across this card constantly, you will suffer the same fate as me.
If you're thinking about buying this card, you have been warned!
