Final Thoughts
Assuming you cannot wait another month or two and see how the next-generation GeForce and Radeon cards turn out, the GeForce 9800 GTX is an attractive option.
Considering that the 9800 GTX is positioned in the low $300 price bracket, it's actually quite a good value given the level of performance that it offers. Compared to the more expensive dual-GPU solutions, the 9800 GTX is a much less risky bet given what is potentially right around the corner.
Those of you who have already purchased a GeForce 9800 GTX and to whom heat is a major concern, odds are you have already considered upgrading the cooler. While the 9800 GTX hardly runs hot at ~70 degrees, the card contributes greatly to case heat.
After watching the impressive results achieved by the Accelero Xtreme 9800 cooler, we were pleasantly surprised with Inno3D's price point for the iChiLL 9800 GTX Accelero Xtreme. At $315 the card matches or even undercuts the competition that offers standard cards. Add to that a 3-year warranty and a free copy of Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts, and we believe Inno3D has a real winner on their hands.
We were also able to pull a higher overclock thanks to the added cooling, which affected performance more considerably than the modest factory settings.
On a less positive note, we were unable to find the iChiLL 9800 GTX selling in any of the major online retail outlets, which begs the question where these cards will be selling and when.
Having the Accelero Xtreme cooler as its key attraction, the Inno3D iChiLL 9800 GTX delivers on a number of levels, from pricing to performance, low noise emission and heat output. Only bad timing, and a possibly short life span of the GeForce 9800 GTX prevents us from wholeheartedly recommending you to buy this otherwise great videocard and giving it our Outstanding product award.