I'd just like to say this is just nuts. G80. G92. 3 different GTS cards. 9800GTX with smaller memory stats then the 8800GTX that it replaces. The 8800GS that fits in ??? And now all of these changes? They might be making solid cards, but how are we supposed to know which on the good ones with this horrible naming scheme? I'm sure even Nvidia fanboys would admit that AMDs scheme is better...
Come on Nvidia. Stop releasing new names and start releasing new cards!
oooo Shiney! Says the idiot still running the 8600gt cause he's cheap (er, broke).
You can get a Palit 9600gt for $109 after rebate: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] rchInDesc= Just remember selling Blood Plasma fetches more $$$ than donating blood. You can always donate sperm and bone marrow (that fetches ALOT I hear). haha
Yeah, I hear you. Enough with refreshes and a "new" card with same old technology with downgrades and so on. Bring on the new generation already.
I understand they really did not increase performance with the g80 to g92 switch. They really brought down the prices and power consumption. THAT was a big deal to me. You no longer need a 700W+ power supply to run the top dogs. And with everything trying to go "GREEN" it was inevitable.
But the 9800 series is really bugging me, nothing is new besides label, clock speeds, and oh the GX2 that flips a card, slaps them together, and shares a cooler. WHooppppie!.. Out of the 9800 series the only one that makes sense is the GX2 because you get 2 cards in one sli'ed package. That will cater to the non SLI supported mobo group, but that is such a small market.
The 9600GT is nice because it's cheap and runs most games reasonably well, and SLI'ed they rock a hot totty for $300.
This is more of a Blog then a Tech Question , but it has many answers to many questions currently being asked by tech hardware buyers. So read on and hopefully you gain something.
I think some of you are slightly confused about Nvidia and AMD and how this whole graphics card battle works. If most of you would stop insulting the companies and look at their mindset, you would clearly see why they do what they do.
First off, yes you might say I am an "Nvidia Fan Boy". But please.. its for good reason. They make the best video cards this side of the moon. Most of you know this to be a fact.
The naming schemes are actually quite simple,
GS = Low End version of that cards chipset, or in the past the AGP offering of a particular model, as in 6800 GS, 7800 GS ETC.
GTS = Midrange version, which typically includes more features, more power and more ram than the lower class GS.
GTX= High End, for the enthusiast or performance gamer requiring the best performance you can practically buy.
GX2= Typically two PCB's being cooled and run in Sli, but designed in function to act as one massive card, with awesome graphics capability.
ULTRA= The Best of the Best, for Extreme resolutions and gaming systems that you want to rock any game (Except Crysis) with.
They give "you" the consumer 4 separate options in quality and performance much like a car manufacturer will make a 4, 6, and 8 cylinder engine to fit into everyones budget.
Now as far as the names go, 5900, 6800, 7800, 7900, 8800, and now 9800 all represent a new generation of technology for which a new chipset or card spec as been created to meet the requirements of the latest software. Again I will reference car manufacturers who do the same thing with engine size, displacement and horse power.
Consistently changing the product to be stronger and faster(better) to meet customers demands , is something that every manufacturer (who knows what they are doing) does to maintain product demand, ouput, and yes profits as well.
Now granted many of you might say "How come there are 2 versions of an 8800 GTS? The answer is simple again.
Because they knew that AMD was going to release its new cards before the release of the 9800 series. If they made the consumers wait all the way until the 9800 series launch with no fresh product to keep our appetites at bay, and consumers had the option of purchasing the new AMD cards instead of waiting for the new 9800's , they would and Nvidia would lose a percentage of its hold on the graphics card market.
So they release a tiny morsel to keep our taste buds craving that Nvidia flavor by putting out the new G92 chip but in a slightly toned down flavor. However still strong enough to keep us interested in whats next. Then we all jump on it, we like it and we want more power, more speed, and more frames per second.
I don't know if many of you realize this but graphics cards sure have come a long way in the 15 years I have been installing them. Let me tell you something, I remember when there was only onboard video, and when the first Geforce was released. I remember 4mb of onboard memory, and a whopping 8 mb total system memory on a 386 or a 486 DX2 processor. I also remember installing the first Pentium processor and thinking that 50 mhz was fast. Hell, we used to think 100 mb of storage space was huge. This was of course when games like Doom and Wolfenstein 3-D came on 4 or 5 floppy disks and you ran them from the DOS prompt.
People just stop complaining, find your budget, research your card choices and pick the one that best fits your needs for the time being, don't go with the latest technology if you don't need to. Or perhaps go with the best you can buy, the choice is up to you.
But what you need to realize is that nomatter what, technology will always change, there will always be some crazy name change or model number, and companies like Nvidia and AMD will always make graphics cards to fit into every persons budget at different levels of life. Whether you are a diehard gamer looking for 150 fps, or a grandma who just wants to surf the web on occasion, these companies must cater to all of us to stay profitable and in business.
Just bask in the glory of the technology as it changes around you, watch it become more powerful than you will ever need. ( Unless your playing Crysis.. HA!!)
That's all that when on with the 8800GT/GTS and and the 9800's. The 9800GTX uses NO new technology. The 8800GT/GTS uses the same GPU that is in the 9800, the G92 GPU. YES the 9800 GTX is a different gpu than the 8800GTX, but is not a "new" chip.
The refresh and relabeling is all PURE marketing. I see that in the company I work for. They just relabel products and affiliate company names, its the same people, the same applications, the same products, just a different label with minor changes.
I am a tech guy. I don't look at labels, I look at specifications, benchmarks, features. So to the Marketing types out there. You can take a big pile of poop, rename it, shine it up, remarket it, but it's still a steaming pile of POOP!
I remember when there was only onboard video, and when the first Geforce was released. I remember 4mb of onboard memory, and a whopping 8 mb total system memory on a 386 or a 486 DX2 processor. I also remember installing the first Pentium processor and thinking that 50 mhz was fast. Hell, we used to think 100 mb of storage space was huge. This was of course when games like Doom and Wolfenstein 3-D came on 4 or 5 floppy disks and you ran them from the DOS prompt.
Graphics adapters have been available as seperate cards since the days of 8088 processors and hercules 64k monochrome adapters for PC's Im sure I remember first time I saw onboard video thinking it was a new technology, bit like integrated IO, I remember building PC's and having a huge choice of different IO cards to choose from (fdd IDE serial parralel ports etc were all controlled by an add in card ) and thinking that onboard ones were likely to be cheap and nasty
Mind you I also remember building PC's with half a megabyte of ram and later drooling over 1mb cirrus logic VESA video cards I had to make do with a 512k one at the time but upgraded later About the same time as I was humming and harring over EDO ram
Mind you my first IT job I worked with 8" floppies But as far back as I can remember PC's have had Video on a seperate add in card, rather than being on motherboard only!
what if we all just threw away our gaming pcs and didn't buy a new one or any upgrades for lets say five years. then consoles would die and computers. then we don't have to worry. we need to get 6 billion people(at least) to do this.
) and thinking that onboard ones were likely to be cheap and nasty 
and later drooling over 1mb cirrus logic VESA video cards I had to make do with a 512k one at the time but upgraded later 