Buy now or wait - Nvidia 9x00 series vs 8800.....

[indyjones]

Hi all

Just a quick thread to get some of your opinions. My old AMD Athlon 2500+ (running at 3200+ speeds) with geforce 6800 GS (running at 6800 ultra speeds) is in desperate need of an upgrade. I have been squeezing more life out of it but I am thinking enough is enough.
Problem is I seem to be stuck in an endless loop waiting for the next technology, first it was motherboard I was waiting for the 780i chipset to surface but then it’s just a rehash of the 680i so the intel x38 series is supposedly the best bet…..
Then it was CPU but I don’t mind just going for the Q6600 for now as it’s very good for the money…
Finally the latest one, the GFX card, this is causing the most aggravation. The 8800 series is over a year old now and there are lots of rumours about the 9800 series hitting next month, the problem is there is nothing solid about this.

What do people think then to wait for the 9800GTS/GTX to hit, or just to go with the G92 refresh and get an 8800, 512 GT/GTS instead?

Cheers

 

[Dark Atheist]

wait 3-6 months then buy, then use your old pc as a server and or firewall

 

[Not Bman]

I didn't know about the 9 series coming soonish, well should of known but even if I did I would of still got my 8800GT because I felt that what I wanted to do with my system needed an upgrade. And it looks like your system needed it more then I did.

You can get good deals on the cards now, so even when the new ones come out you can still upgrade then.

 

[Dark Atheist]

from what i hear supposed to be late feb early march

 

[indyjones]

from what i hear supposed to be late feb early march

That the problem its all rumours, there are no facts or solid release information. Some site are now saying that it wont be a new card both rather a single card sli offering (such as the 7950) based on two 8800GTS

 

[wasted_d]

Taken from the link below...

http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTQ0MCwxLCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==

While a continued GPU die shrink to 65nm is certainly welcome, many of our readers are going to be disappointed by the fact that no next-gen technology is on the outlook as of yet. It has been over a year since the 8800 family of GPU was launched.

GeForce 8800 Ultra will be replaced by the GeForce 9800 GX2 in February / March timeframe. More information and pictures are here.

The GeForce 8800 GTX will be replaced by the GeForce 9800 GTX in February / March timeframe. This card will support Tri-SLI.

The GeForce 9800 GT should appear in the March / April timeframe. We have limited information on this card currently.

The recently “released” GeForce 8800 GS will be a limited GPU in terms of production. Do not expect more than 100,000 GPUs to be shipped worldwide, but soon. ASUS will supply Asia, Palit will supply China, EVGA will supply North America, and XFX will supply Europe. The GS is an “inventory solution.” The 8800 GS is 192-bit bus and will ship in 320MB, 512MB, and 640MB versions with a trimmed down number of stream processors as well. Will fall in line below 8800 GT but above the 9600 GT.

The GeForce 9600 GT will fall in line below the 8800 GT, but give better performance than the GeForce 8600 GTS. The 9600 GT will be a whole new card not based on the 8800 GT PCB. Price point should be at $169 in retail/etail and plans are to carry this GPU throughout 2008.

So as it looks right now, we should not expect anything out of NVIDIA in terms of next-gen technology at least until mid-2008. Don’t be confused by the new “98XX” model numbers as they don’t signify much more than the die shrink to 65nm. You might agree or disagree with this naming scheme, but the entire NVIDIA card market is getting confusing and this might at least help things be a bit not-as-confusing to consumers looking for a newer product, but most likely is being done for the big system builders needing “new” specs for new system builds

GeForce 9800 GX2 Exclusive Pics & Specs
http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTQzOSwxLCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==

 

[Electronic Punk]

Still gonna wait a little while til the new Intel chips are out.
They might not be a newer generation, but no point me getting an 8800 when they are out.

 

[indyjones]

EP do you know when the new intel chips are expected for release? Nothing seems availible now apart from the mega expensive quad core extreme cpus

 

[indyjones]

Right, I have decided to wait till mid year now. So to fill the gap I have now got myself a XBOX360 elite which is hooked up nicely to my monitor using the VGA cable

Thanks for all the advice

 

[Electronic Punk]

First quarter I believe, no firm date.
Saz tells me to wate for Nihelm tho which will be native quad rather than two duals glued together.

 

[indyjones]

First quarter I believe, no firm date.
Saz tells me to wate for Nihelm tho which will be native quad rather than two duals glued together.

Thank you, good job I went for the XBOX360 gap filler then

 

[nod32]

is January 20th still the date for new dual cores?

 

[Electronic Punk]

"Dual core desktop processor-based PCs using these new processors begin shipping this month; quad core-based systems plan to arrive later this quarter."

That is from Intel's own press release so could be any time up until the end of the month

 

[Electronic Punk]

Seem to have appeared on Overclockers for pre-order:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=701&catid=6&subid=793

Pretty cheap to be honest

 

[Dark Atheist]

why im waiting to replace my system, swap the amd 64 x2 over to 64bit bsd for the server and have a spanking new intel for main/htpc pc