Low and Mid-range GeForce 8 cards soon?

Author: Brett Thomas
Published: 20th November 2006
Comments (20) Stumble
Low and Mid-range GeForce 8 cards soon?

"Rumour, Rumour, read all about it!" - Could we be seeing the lower-end GeForce 8 soon?

Rumours are flying around the net detailing the possibility of what's coming next for NVIDIA's GeForce 8 product line. GeForce 8800, codenamed G80, may be getting some little brothers just shortly after the holidays in the form of the G84 and G86, if they hold true...January or February, in fact.

The rumour was first splashed up by the guys over at DigiTimes, who credit the push forward to some weak sales for the GeForce 8800 series. Not that it wasn't an utterly impressive piece of hardware, mind you, had you read Tim's in-depth review.

However, it is a definite possibility that the high price tag and lack of DX10 games in the marketplace yet has caused many gamers to take a pass, even if temporarily. In saying that though, all of the reports we've heard from e-tailors in the UK suggest that GeForce 8800-series cards are selling well.

Of course, the rumour has at least a little substantiation in the fact that NVIDIA's latest Forceware drivers found additional support for the G80_200, G80_400 and G80_600. However, it is unknown which two of these parts are the G84 and G86, particularly since no official information has been released.

As usual, this info came from an anonymous source at an unnamed Taiwanese graphics manufacturer, so take it for what it's worth. NVIDIA has yet to comment on any of the rumour or the parts itself. But, if it does hold true, there should be a nice line-up of DX10 compliant cards available right around Vista's launch.

Are you waiting for a more attractively priced GeForce 8-series card, or are you waiting to see what ATI has up its sleeves?
Quote DougEdey 20th November 2006, 17:42
I hinted to Tim about this on the G80 launch review. Dailytech had hinted about it the day before the NDA for G80 was off.
Quote samkiller42 20th November 2006, 17:48
Ive heard about the G80's older brother, something like a 8900 series card, with 1 and 1.5gb GDDR4 RAM, which if true, would be some power :D But like these younger brothers, suposed due after christmas.

Sam
Quote Mankz 20th November 2006, 17:54
I think nVidia really shot themselves in the foot with the launch price of the 8800 GTS, and have realised that they need a £200ish GPU, as thats what most of us enthusiasts want.

I mean, the 7800 GT and the 7900 GT were £220ish when they came out, but £320 ???

I would be quite interested in the 8 series version of the 7600 GT....
Quote M4RTIN 20th November 2006, 18:23
right now there is no dx10 so you'd use the card on normal dx9 games. a mid range dx10 card still wont be cheap, so why not buy a high end dx9 card instead? until theres a good saturation of vista mid-range dx10 cards are a waste of money to develop.
Quote Woodstock 20th November 2006, 19:56
hmmmm should be out when ive got the money to build my new pc... one can hope anyway
Quote Krikkit 20th November 2006, 20:01
A mid-range G80 is just what everyone's waiting for. This was inevitable tbh.
Quote Tulatin 20th November 2006, 20:29
Unfortunately, considering the shite AMDTI is pulling lately, it's really hard to see them pulling out a showstopper soon. Still, if they do, it's got to be devestating to make a mark in this race...
Quote Krikkit 20th November 2006, 20:31
Depends what they're keeping quiet - I haven't really seen any "shite" recently. The X1950 was a good last-gen DX9 card, rounding off a great bunch of battles with nVidia.
Quote perplekks45 20th November 2006, 20:47
Hopefully they'll be out like January as I plan to upgrade after Christmas.
8600GT anyone? Being very happy with my 6600GT I'd love to get my hands on a 8xxx GF.
Quote M4RTIN 20th November 2006, 20:52
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tulatin
Unfortunately, considering the shite AMDTI is pulling lately, it's really hard to see them pulling out a showstopper soon. Still, if they do, it's got to be devestating to make a mark in this race...

its only the amd part thats dubious, ati is doing some good things for dx9 to bow out on.
Quote Lazarus Dark 20th November 2006, 22:31
"Low and Mid-range GeForce 8 cards soon?"

yes, please.


unified shaders seems to be a much better solution, especially once they throw in physics. oh yeah, and hdr plus full aa and all that fancy pretty stuff. half the price of the current 8800gtx and im in.
Quote Tyinsar 20th November 2006, 22:48
My last few cards in reverse order: 7600GT, 6600GT, 9600AIW-Pro, .oO(come to think of it, shouldn't an 8600 be a step down from my old 9600? Oh well) I suspect my next upgrade will be to a 8600?? or AMD/ATI equivalent.
Quote DXR_13KE 21st November 2006, 00:04
a 8600 for me.... or a 8800 gt.... depends on the money i have at the time and if AMD has something better.....
Quote Aankhen 21st November 2006, 02:11
I'm in no hurry to get a DX10 card, since there are no applications for it, so I'm getting myself a nice ATI Radeon X1950 Pro for now, and I'll wait for the manufacturers to lay all their cards on the table before I spend on any DX10 cards. :)
Quote:
Originally Posted by M4RTIN
right now there is no dx10 so you'd use the card on normal dx9 games. a mid range dx10 card still wont be cheap, so why not buy a high end dx9 card instead?
Because it's not worth spending large amounts of money on something that isn't even future-proof? I dissuaded someone from doing just that the other day. I can understand not wanting to spend a lot of money on a DX10 card until all the dust has settled, but in that case, why not just get a low to mid–range DX9 card, like the X1950 Pro?
Quote Gravemind123 21st November 2006, 03:55
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tyinsar
My last few cards in reverse order: 7600GT, 6600GT, 9600AIW-Pro, .oO(come to think of it, shouldn't an 8600 be a step down from my old 9600? Oh well) I suspect my next upgrade will be to a 8600?? or AMD/ATI equivalent.

Yeah, I bought my cards for mid-range prices by the time I got them, and one was new midrange when I got it. They were a 9600 and an x850xt, so I think a 8600GT or the ATI equivelent are a good next step for when I have money to upgrade. The 8800s are way out a normal persons price range, and they will need to make a more affordable card before long.
Quote Mother-Goose 21st November 2006, 08:57
I'm waiting for ATI's answer and then I'll get whatever is best me thinks. Id be pissed if brought the 8800GTX and then found the ATI was better. Same for the mid ranged
stuff.
Quote overdosedelusion 21st November 2006, 09:06
while im waiting for ati's solution, im not passing judgement until at least summer when both companies should have a nice range, and all you at bit-tech give us a nice comparison of whats hot and whats not. besides, there wont be any games running dx10 until that time comes so im happy to sit tight for quite some time =)
Quote Iago 21st November 2006, 10:52
Quote:
Originally Posted by M4RTIN
right now there is no dx10 so you'd use the card on normal dx9 games. a mid range dx10 card still wont be cheap, so why not buy a high end dx9 card instead?

Because for the price of a x1950XTX you can almost get a 8800GTS, wich is quite faster in DX9 games and somehow future-proofed against DX10 games. If you are already spending 350€ or so, what's 50€ more for a much better card?
Quote M4RTIN 21st November 2006, 13:20
i never passed any judgement on the 8800 gts, i was talking about mid range cards. which would quite possibly be worse in dx9 than the high end 7900's and x1900's yet cost the same.

i guess it depends how often you upgrade, if you are the kind of person who buys midrange then keeps them for a year or two then a 8600 right now would be good
Quote Woodstock 21st November 2006, 23:41
Just out of curiosity how long is the average DirextX life-cycle
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