8800GT - Lack of avaliablity?

Does anyone find it hard to understand why there is a lack of he 8800GT 512MB cards?

I have read posts about nVidia holding them back, but see no reason why they would do this.
Also that there has been manufacturing problems, but considering there is a fare few 256MB cards around I see this as not true either.

I also find it strange that the pricing within the UK is higher than it should be, nVidia state it should retail around £140-£160, but a majority of them are being sold in excess of £180.

I am slowly considering moving back to ATI though their 3870 isn't up to the overall scratch with the 8800GT's, its still more available than them.

I didn't think there was much of a shortage now, anyway.

Due to how good they were considered to be when they first came out, and the anticipation of the card by the masses it might be that nvidia simply couldn't supply the demand for them.

They may be concentrating on the more expensive GTS as it's fairly closely priced, out performs the GT (and nearly the GTX).

The GT prices are slipping down into the bracket now. We had some good deals on palit GT's recently where the the 512mb was £116 on amazon, a fantastic deal i'm sure you will agree.

Amazon.co.uk: Palit PCX GF Nvidia 8800GT 512MB 256Bit Dual DVI DDR3 PCIE Graphics Card - NE/8800TxT352: Electronics & Photo

bit of a wait but worth it i'm sure.

I think the shortage is over with now, not sure why there was, i heard something about manufacturing problems. I managed to get one a few weeks back and it is well worth the money. Runs quite hot but then the fan is only set to about 30% by default, turning it up is a bit noisy but i am quite happy with a bit of noise and cod 4 running at max

They are still a little short if you are after a certain make rather than any 8800gt

Speaking of ATI the HD3870 is not great for stock availability, loads of HD3850 about but far fewer HD3870 in stock.


EDIT: Just spotted Palit HD3780 on Amazon for £133.43

Leadtek 8800GT 512Mb - £164.37 @ Scan, in stock
Inno3D 8800GT OC 512Mb (650 core, 1900 mem) - £179.99 @ Ebuyer, in stock

Those would be my picks from those two stores :)

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Originally Posted by Bazz

Does anyone find it hard to understand why there is a lack of he 8800GT 512MB cards?

I have read posts about nVidia holding them back, but see no reason why they would do this.
Also that there has been manufacturing problems, but considering there is a fare few 256MB cards around I see this as not true either.

I also find it strange that the pricing within the UK is higher than it should be, nVidia state it should retail around £140-£160, but a majority of them are being sold in excess of £180.

I am slowly considering moving back to ATI though their 3870 isn't up to the overall scratch with the 8800GT's, its still more available than them.

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There was a shortage because the new 8800GTS was fast coming up for release and the GT took a back seat. The core and PCB are the same for both cards so nVidia put the new GTS into production as it is a better card.

Amazing how much the price varies for what is the same card packaged differently, I bought the cheapest I could find Asus EN 8800GT for £139+VAT and really pleased with it overclocks to higher than most 700 & 1015 and still rising!!!!

I have a eVGA 8800GT Superclocked and I love it. I've never seen it peak over 65c with the fan running full speed running F.E.A.R. on Ultra Settings, or Doom 3 on Ultra w/ 8x AA at 1680x1050 resolution. I honestly thing the new GTS isn't worth the extra money unless noise bothers you (get some headphones; gaming's better with 'em), or youer case runs hot, or you live in a warm location. Performance-wise, you'll likely only see performance gains at high resolutions (I've been satisfied with Oblvivion running with max settings (except I turned down shadows to compensate for running Unique Landscapes) w/ HDR at 1680x1050; I'ven ever seen my framerate drop to unplayable levels). Maybe if you have a 24"+ monitor its worth it. *shrug*

I'd say the 512MB 8800GTS is probably worth the extra £50 if you have a 24" monitor. :)

Has anyone seen this with 1x D-Sub and 1x DVI instead of dual DVI? Used a DVI to D-Sub adapter before on a 6800GT, the quality is just awful. Switched to a card that had the above configuration, and I couldnt tell the difference between a DVI and D-Sub fed screen.

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Originally Posted by javalord

Has anyone seen this with 1x D-Sub and 1x DVI instead of dual DVI? Used a DVI to D-Sub adapter before on a 6800GT, the quality is just awful. Switched to a card that had the above configuration, and I couldnt tell the difference between a DVI and D-Sub fed screen.

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I personally haven't, but honestly, I only looked at a couple of brands when I was trying ot get one (typically BFG or eVGA), but all the ones I did see have dual DVI.

i managed to get an 8800gt from pny mid December but i had to watch my online shop every day until any 88gt's came in and pny was the first one and they were all sold in 6 hours...brilliant card for the money.

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Originally Posted by PenguinJim

I'd say the 512MB 8800GTS is probably worth the extra £50 if you have a 24" monitor. :)

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what about 22" monitors? Would a gt be able to cope with 1680x1050 on high settings (generally)

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Originally Posted by sammie377

Amazing how much the price varies for what is the same card packaged differently, I bought the cheapest I could find Asus EN 8800GT for £139+VAT and really pleased with it overclocks to higher than most 700 & 1015 and still rising!!!!

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A few things are the same but they are definitely not one and the same card..

The GTS 512 is superior to the 8800GT in every way.
Faster
Cooler
Quieter

I toyed with the 8800GT but i went with the EVGA GTS 512mb instead and i am very glad i did as i am waiting on a new monitor to be delivered.
As the resolution go up, so the gap in performance of the GTS over the GT increases.

There is no doubt the GT, if bought sub £150 is good value though. I just dont think that nVidia gave it alot of thought design wise.
It seems the GTS was devised first, they then scaled the GTS down and threw the GT into the market whilst the GTS was in production.
Hence, the 8800GT just being a stop-gap affordable card (once in the correct price range) for nVidia until the GTS was in full flow. I think this was to stop people going for the ATI 3850/3870 as there is no doubt in my mind that they are very good value also.

Interesting - that Amazon link is no longer valid and they've stopped listing the Palit.

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Originally Posted by RoBe

what about 22" monitors? Would a gt be able to cope with 1680x1050 on high settings (generally)

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Yes. A 512MB 8800GTS pulls ahead of the 8800GT in Crysis at 1680x1050, but all other games out at the moment will be fine.

Possibly worth mentioning that the GTS 512 is not superior to the GT in every way, despite yet another factually incorrect post by Blitzen. It's more expensive. :P But for Crysis and future games, that extra 10-15% performance at very high resolutions could be worth the extra ~35% cost (or extra ~20% cost if you factor in aftermarket cooling for the 8800GT).