the new GTX295 in jan 09

[johnwillyums]

I notice that the new 55nm GTX 260 is available soon so this will probably be two of those.

Nvidia are saying "no fuss" about the new 260, I hope this doesn't mean no OCd cards as one of those could be sweet price wise.

I'm being affected by the world economic crisis.
I would like to get a better card next year but with the dollar fluctuating I don't know whether prices will go up in the UK in the medium term. If so I'm better getting a card asap. Just not sure which to get.

According to the Tom's Hardware list posted by Skunksmash in another thread my BFG 8800 GTS OC 512MB is still not too shabby and seems great to me. However, none of my friends game so mine is the best gaming rig I've ever seen.
Would I really notice a lot of difference if I were to upgrade to a 260, 280, 295 etc.
I'm tempted by ATI but have no experience of them but my mobo will do crossfire and I don't think it'll do SLI.
Suggestions would be welcome and a happy holiday to you all, J:D

 

[SCSIraidGURU]

Tom's Hardware can be paid for a good review.

You need a new card, figure out your budget and ask what is the best card for the money. I am getting a 4870x2. They should be in the $450-$500 range after Christmas with the 295 coming out.

 

[johnwillyums]

Thanks for your reply Michael.
I just had a look on Newegg and a couple of other US sites and the 4870x2 seems to be in that price bracket already.
In the UK it's minimum £400 with top spec ones nearer £500 so it looks like we both pay about the same right now.
I can't really afford more than £300 so it looks like that ones out unless something drastic happens.
Best wishes, John

ps. I'm not sure who's paying the most in real terms

 

[Everlong]

Why don't you look at at 4850x2, John? Quite a bit cheaper on Computer Hardware - All - Scan.co.uk and I don't think the performance difference would be that great.

 

[johnwillyums]

Thanks Everlong18. I'll do some research on that one. had a quick look and it looks like it exhausts into the case which doesn't sound ideal. thanks, john

 

[Everlong]

Some opinions of what to expect from the 295 when it's released:

Futuremark - News - Newsarticle

 

[Everlong]

Found some other interesting stuff too:

The two-in-one card, dubbed the GeForce GTX 295, is reported to combine two 55nm GeForce GTX 260 GPUs via internal SLI. What's interesting, though, is that the die shrink brings other benefits to the table - the complete card's suggested TDP is around 290W, which although too hot for our liking, is less than expected.

Furthermore, the card is said to feature 480 stream processors. That isn't the result of two 216-cored GTX 260s, that's a pair of 240-core GTX 280s. It's possible that the 55nm shrink has allowed NVIDIA to squeeze in more stream processors, but it could be a hybrid design that makes use of GTX 260 and GTX 280 features.

It's reported to provide a total 1,792MB of GDDR3 memory - double the GeForce GTX 260 - but either way you look at it, this is the card that should hand the desktop performance crown back to NVIDIA. Unless AMD has any CES surprises in store, that is.

HEXUS.net - News :: NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 295 makes an early appearance : Page - 1/1

 

[johnwillyums]

That's some interesting stuff Everlong. I'm still a bit dubious about SLI/Crossfire type cards though and I suspect this one will be out of my price range anyway.
The 55nm GTX 260 is already on sale/pre-order at Scan and it seems to be cheaper than the old 65nm card.
Haven't seen any reviews yet but I imagine it will have more oc headroom. I wonder if there will be a 55nm version of the 280.
I hope so because I'd be happier with a single chip card and maybe the die shrink will result in a price shrink.
I had a look at the 4850x2 and it's getting mixed reviews. It's slower than the 280 and is beaten by the 1gb 4870 in a lot of games (plus the heat issue.)
DX 11 should be coming along soon as well. Hate this treadmill sometimes.
Hope you've had a good christmas, John

 

[MrNeeds]

That's some interesting stuff Everlong. I'm still a bit dubious about SLI/Crossfire type cards though and I suspect this one will be out of my price range anyway.
The 55nm GTX 260 is already on sale/pre-order at Scan and it seems to be cheaper than the old 65nm card.
Haven't seen any reviews yet but I imagine it will have more oc headroom. I wonder if there will be a 55nm version of the 280.
I hope so because I'd be happier with a single chip card and maybe the die shrink will result in a price shrink.
I had a look at the 4850x2 and it's getting mixed reviews. It's slower than the 280 and is beaten by the 1gb 4870 in a lot of games (plus the heat issue.)
DX 11 should be coming along soon as well. Hate this treadmill sometimes.
Hope you've had a good christmas, John

i was thinking of investing in a 295GTX but it looks like il have to invest in a wind tunnel as well. i dont think my antec 900 can take the heat.

 

[johnwillyums]

Just found this:

The First Review of 55nm GeForce GTX260 - Expreview.com

I know it's about the 260 and this threads about the 295 but it doesn't bode well in terms of power/heat and if the 295 is basically two of these on one board it'll have similar problems.
Hey ho, John

 

[Everlong]

That's some interesting stuff Everlong. I'm still a bit dubious about SLI/Crossfire type cards though and I suspect this one will be out of my price range anyway.
The 55nm GTX 260 is already on sale/pre-order at Scan and it seems to be cheaper than the old 65nm card.
Haven't seen any reviews yet but I imagine it will have more oc headroom. I wonder if there will be a 55nm version of the 280.
I hope so because I'd be happier with a single chip card and maybe the die shrink will result in a price shrink.
I had a look at the 4850x2 and it's getting mixed reviews. It's slower than the 280 and is beaten by the 1gb 4870 in a lot of games (plus the heat issue.)
DX 11 should be coming along soon as well. Hate this treadmill sometimes.
Hope you've had a good christmas, John

Yea my Christmas was fine thanks, hope yours was the same

And I thought it was interesting how they've used the 55nm chip on the 295, but unlocked the extra cores on it to what the GTX280 has.

Shame about the 4850 though, I'd have thought it would be quite the performer

 

[SCSIraidGURU]

What is wrong with the 295 that they dropped the price to $499? I can't believe its to compete with the 4870x2.

 

[johnwillyums]

Hi Michael. Did you read this:

The First Review of 55nm GeForce GTX260 - Expreview.com

If it's accurate it bodes ill for Nvidia's whole die shrink refresh I would have thought.

Seasons greetings, John

 

[SCSIraidGURU]

So I doubt the 4870x2 drops in price with the 295 having issues.

 

[johnwillyums]

Yeah that's right. I'm getting fed up with waiting and early reports seem to indicate that the poor cooling etc will mean that the 55nm cards won't be anything amazing anyway.
I reckon it'll be at least mid summer before DX11 comes along and that'll probably be premium price to begin with.
I can get an XFX GTX 260 Black for £225 right now (+Farcry).
Every time I look at retail sites the prices have gone up due to the dollar/pound fluctuations so I might get this card right now and wait until 2010 for a DX11 card.
The XFX Black has some great reviews and should keep up with most games for the next year.
Suppose I better do a separate post to get people's opinion on this.
Happy New Year, John:D

 

[SCSIraidGURU]

I would wait for DX11 games to be readily available before getting the hardware. DX10.1 was supposed to fix DX10 and did not happen. Many spent $400+ to get DX10.1 hardware for few games.

 

[johnwillyums]

Thanks Michael. That's pretty much what I was thinking. I will do a new post to see if anyone's got views on the XFX GTX 260 Black.
Cheers,John

 

[SCSIraidGURU]

The Sapphire 4870x2 was $474 at Amazon. You might want to get it. I was considering it.

 

[johnwillyums]

That's about £130 more than the 260. I know it'll be incredibly fast in comparison but I'm a fan of Nvidia and I prefer single card solutions. Although it's on one card it's still crossfire and I often read of people having driver problems with crossfire.
It's out of my price range right now anyway, J

 

[SCSIraidGURU]

I went to Micro Center. My sales rep recommended the 4850x2 for $299-$329 over the 4870x2. Its 10% slower but significantly cheaper. It also competes well against the 280.