Topic: Held out for a video card? UPDATE: Official anandtech review.

[Pugnate]

8800GT is out at $249 only. It is quite close in performance to the 8800GTX and at $250 is a STEAL.

8800GT performs at 82% of a GTX, 124.5% of the 2900XT, and 110% of the GTS

Basically they decreased the process size like they did on the 360, which means it is cheaper to produce and us as consumers are seeing the benefits. The ATi version is at the same price point but faster.

So yea, Que, your patience paid off buddy.

A more detailed discussion:

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=31&threadid=2110122&enterthread=y

edit:

And Anandtech reviews:

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3140&p=1

They LOVE it. There is a $199 version planned at 256MB. This card has shocked a lot of people. A fast video card for every person.

It's really not often that we have the pleasure to review a product so impressively positioned. The 8800 GT is a terrific part, and it is hitting the street at a terrific price (provided NVIDIA's history of properly projecting street prices continues). The performance advantage and price utterly destroyed our perception of the GPU landscape. We liked the value of the 8800 GTS 320, and we were impressed when NVIDIA decided to go that route, providing such a high performance card for so little money. Upping the ante even more this time around really caught us off guard.

This launch really has the potential to introduce a card that could leave the same lasting impression on the computer industry that the Ti4200 left all those years ago. This kind of inflection point doesn't come along every year, or even every generation. But when architecture, process enhancements, and design decisions line up just right, the potential for a revolutionary product is high. Maybe our expectations were lowered due to the lack luster performance of the 8600 and 2600 series of cards, as well as the lack of true midrange cards priced between $200 and $250. Even without the sad state of the low end and lack of a midrange part, the 8800 GT is a great option.

[idolminds]

This is actually good news for me as well. I'll probably spring for it in my new system.

[Quemaqua]

Thanks for the post, Pug.  That's pretty sweet news.

gpw, you still interested in maybe purchasing my 7800?  I talked to the wife about it and she thinks this would be a decent time for us to upgrade the system, so since she's open to it I can probably give you a better price on the card than I might have if she was less positive about it.  Let me know if you're still interested.

[JacksRag(e)]

The only thing I've read about the 8800 gt that worries me is the heat.  People have been noticing it runs pretty hot for having a 65nm die and that the cooler is pretty much crap.  I wonder what's the psu requirements for this guy, too...I don't want to replace my psu just yet.  It's just such a hassle.  Bah.

[WindAndConfusion]

I hear that the 8800 series adds about $5-10 a month to your electric bill.

[WindAndConfusion]

Come to think of it, this is probably as good a time as any to ask:

My sister wants to connect her TV to her computer, so she can download movies off Netflix and watch them on her television. Her computer doesn't currently have TV-out, so I need to buy and install a new video card. Her husband plays some games, but not a lot of them.

I'm looking to spend about $100. Video cards in this price range include:

• GeForce 8600 series
• Radeon X2600 HD series
• Radeon X1900 series
• Pre-historic and ante-deluvian video cards

What do I buy?

[Cobra951]

This is not a specific answer, sorry.  Many, maybe most, good video cards have TV out.  NVidia's have had S-Video out for a long time.  I imagine some of them come with HDMI these days.  I don't know the status of component video.

What kind of TV?  HD 16:9?  What kind of inputs does it take?  This would be helpful for whoever else answers your post to know.

[gpw11]

Thanks for the post, Pug.  That's pretty sweet news.

gpw, you still interested in maybe purchasing my 7800?

Well, that's certainly not the best timing.  I just picked up a 7900GS yesterday morning.  I would have double checked with you first, but it was a limited quantity deal that I really couldn't really pass up and the last time that happened they were gone in a few hours.  Sorry buddy.

ebay?  MysterD?

[Cobra951]

W&C, I found this link after a quick search.

[JacksRag(e)]

Come to think of it, this is probably as good a time as any to ask:

My sister wants to connect her TV to her computer, so she can download movies off Netflix and watch then on her television. Her computer doesn't currently have TV-out, so I need to buy and install a new video card. Her husband plays some games, but not a lot of them.

I'm looking to spend about $100. Video cards in this price range include:

• GeForce 8600 series
• Radeon X2600 HD series
• Radeon X1900 series
• Pre-historic and ante-deluvian video cards

What do I buy?

To go with what you want, I'd go with the 8600 if you're an Nvidia fan or maybe the X1900.  They both should be able to handle games relatively well and should have both S-Video outs and component outs.  At least, I'm pretty sure the 8600 does. 
And you'd be hardpressed, I think, to find an X1900 for around $100.  They're still pretty pricey.  Of the three, I'd say the 8600 is closest to what you want to do and in the price range. 

[WindAndConfusion]

I've owned several video cards in the last several years, and every card I've had since the GeForce 3 supported TV-out. The thing is, every one of those cards had godawful video quality. Reds look purple, blacks are dark brown, and whites are pale grey. It's not something you'd want to watch a movie on, unless maybe you were blind.

What I'm looking for is a cheap card capable of providing an NTSC signal that doesn't look like ass. And also, that can play games (but this is secondary).

Many, maybe most, good video cards have TV out.  NVidia's have had S-Video out for a long time.  I imagine some of them come with HDMI these days.  I don't know the status of component video.

Basically all video cards nowadays have TV-out, even the ones that don't have TV-out. Thanks to the economics of fabbing, it's much cheaper to have one model of RAMDAC that you can use in every product, even those products that don't have video connectors.

What kind of TV?  HD 16:9?  What kind of inputs does it take?  This would be helpful for whoever else answers your post to know.

A regular, analog TV. If I wanted to connect an HDTV, all I'd need is any cheap-ass video card with DVI-I out (since HDMI is basically just DVI with a new connector).

[Quemaqua]

Well, that's certainly not the best timing.  I just picked up a 7900GS yesterday morning.  I would have double checked with you first, but it was a limited quantity deal that I really couldn't really pass up and the last time that happened they were gone in a few hours.  Sorry buddy.

ebay?  MysterD?

Eh, don't sweat it.  I can't be bothered with the hassle of ebay.  I'll probably just continue to hold off on the purchase.

[Pugnate]

The only thing I've read about the 8800 gt that worries me is the heat.  People have been noticing it runs pretty hot for having a 65nm die and that the cooler is pretty much crap.  I wonder what's the psu requirements for this guy, too...I don't want to replace my psu just yet.  It's just such a hassle.  Bah.

Well apparently it is giving off less heat and requiring less power than the 8800GTS. That's what initial reports said anyway. I won't reach judgment till Anandtech does a review.

[Xessive]

On the box of the 8800 GTS 320mb it says the minimum requirement for the PSU is 400w, but the more the merrier.

[idolminds]

After reading the Anandtech review, I think I know what card I'm buying. Holding out 2 weeks for ATI to show its new stuff, but it'll have to be damn good and cheap.

[Pugnate]

It seems the ATi competition will be tough, even faster than this card. If these are the mid range cards, I can only image what the high end will look like.. *drool*

[scottws]

I'm afraid of ATi after the debacle that was the 9800.  Now I understand why the 9800 was so much better than anything nVidia had to offer at the time... it was because they pushed the hardware beyond its limits.  Pretty much everyone I know that's had a 9800 product has had overheating problems with it.

I'm never buying another ATi card again.  Not only did mine overheat, but the fan bearings were wearing out and making a racket.  My sister is still using my GeForce 3 and it is still whisper quiet.

[Pugnate]

I'll testify to the 9800 crapping out. I had one as did my brother. Would you believe they both died because of overheating? Well mine was a 9700, but same series.

The 2900XT is also a very fast card, but is a damn powerhog. Plus it is 20% hotter than the 8800GTX, so who knows how well it will last in a year. It is funny how AMD bought ATi and are having the same issues with their quadcores.

Yes the ATi cards are always released at their limits. Ever wonder why NVIDIA partners manage to release overclocked versions of their cards while ATi seem to develop problems at even their factory settings?

Still the Radeons brought me a lot of joy. Esepcially the 8 series. *sheds tear* ATi do give the best bang for your buck. Well till the card goes bang.

[Cobra951]

. . . pairing a x16 PCIe 2.0 GPU with a x16 electrical PCIe 2.0 slot on a motherboard will offer 8GB/sec of bandwidth upstream and downstream (16GB/sec total bandwidth). This actually brings us to an inflection point in the industry: the CPU now has a faster connection to the GPU than to main system memory (compared to 800MHz DDR2).

Oh my God.

*Sigh*  I could almost use an AGP version of this thing with my current PSU.  Almost (not that I expect AGP versions).

[JacksRag(e)]

Actually, after reading the review, I'm more excited.  And they actually said the stock-clocked 512 mb card will start at $200 and the 256 mb card will be available for less than $200.  I really like that price point.