Retailer spills the beans on GTX280

[FifthFreedom]

ARRRRGGGHHH!

Now I don't know what to do.

I've got all the rest of the parts for my PC siting around and I was just waiting for this.

But now the Price -> Performance ratio is horrible I don't know whether to wait longer or just pay out the £470 and buy one...

EDIT:" Now don't go thinking, hey my GX2 will be faster in most circumstances. No ... it's really way more complicated than that. See the GX2 has 2x512MB cloned memory to function in SLI mode. While that works just fine, the GTX 280 has 1024MB dedicated memory. So in memory bound situations like applying a lot of extremely high-res textures or high AA levels in high resolutions, the GTX 280 will perform just much better based on the 512-bit memory bus and framebuffer size, especially for future games which will have much larger requirements." From http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforc...review-test/20

[shaithis]

weeeell 2x 8800GT=£200 and 1x GTX280=£400+, so......

And 50%+ of games will run a LOT worse on SLI 8800GTs then they will on a single GTX280.

Really, comparing single-GPU solutions to multi-GPU solutions is silly when some games will perform FAR FAR FAR below what you expect because they don't run in multi-GPU setups very well/at all.

If you limit the context of the test to certain games, then you can make a multi-GPU setup look considerably better then it really is and for some people that is enough (as they only play games that play well with multi-GPUs)...........for others it can be very misleading.

[dangel]

How?

The boards harden with the heat.

[shadowmaster]

But now the Price -> Performance ratio is horrible I don't know whether to wait longer or just pay out the £470 and buy one...

Wait to see what Ati offer, and even if thats no good, spending £470 on a gfx card is IMO a waste of money. Depending on what res you play at, you will get better value for money if you buy a 8800gts 512, 9800gtx or even a 9800gx2.

[shaithis]

I guess he is referring to driver maturity.....

Personally, after reading all the info and benchmarks, I will not only wait to see what ATI have (and ultimately how much nVidia cards may drop in price when these are released) but also for the inevitable GTX280 "die shrink" to occur.

[SiM]

How?

Maybe he meant PhysX?

[FifthFreedom]

So when are the new ATi cards released and what are they called?

[kalniel]

So when are the new ATi cards released and what are they called?

You've managed to miss all the news and banner adverts then?

They're the 4850 and 4870, look for them around June 24th.

[dangel]

Just a few days away..

[staffsMike]

£200 is my upper limit for graphics.. well actually it's my upper limit for any single component and I'd rather spend a lot less if I can. £450 is rediculous.

Yes it will last a long time and yes it will allow you to game at high resolutions but damn!

[Thorsson]

Basically the GT280 is too much, and not fast enough for the money, and the GT260 is quite a bit more expensive and actually slower than the existing 3870X2 in the games I play. I will definitely be waiting to see what ATI's new cards offer, and I haven't bought an ATI for years...

Maybe this will be a beast when they shift to 45nm and can up the clockspeed, but that'll be at least a year away.

[EarlGrey]

Common sense says wait until ATI's card launch

Yup, as the GTX 260 is the only sensible (!?!) card and the 4870 may just be competitive with it. Even if its not it should drive down prices for the 260 a bit, I hope...

[=assassin=]

I'm not impressed with Nvidia's new GPU at all - moderate gains for a ridiculously high price and over-the-top power consumption. :/ 9800GX2 makes alot more sense in Nvidia's own lineup.

[Tetsu]

£200 is my upper limit for graphics.. well actually it's my upper limit for any single component

I'm the same

[dmuz]

And 50%+ of games will run a LOT worse on SLI 8800GTs then they will on a single GTX280.

Really, comparing single-GPU solutions to multi-GPU solutions is silly when some games will perform FAR FAR FAR below what you expect because they don't run in multi-GPU setups very well/at all.

If you limit the context of the test to certain games, then you can make a multi-GPU setup look considerably better then it really is and for some people that is enough (as they only play games that play well with multi-GPUs)...........for others it can be very misleading.

[link nicked from L'Inq]

http://en.hardspell.com/doc/showcont.asp?news_id=3584

In some games 2x8800GT is faster (Crysis, Bioshock, COD4, AC) and some it's slower, but it's never far behind and it still costs half as much.

[FifthFreedom]

Yeah, but if people wanted to have the issues that come with SLi they should just buy a 9800 GX2. It beats the GTX 280 in most tests and you can find it for £300 online.

NVIDIA have produced the single fastest graphics card ever made and noone wants it. Thats quite laughable really.... Maybe if it wasn't for the 9800 GX2 and the price was £350 people would buy a GTX 280 easier...