i wanta geta Nvidia 280

Don't preoder, just get it at the Egg, I'm sure they wont be sold out.

There's a pretty good chance that the new cards from ATI will perform better then the 280s, definitely the 4870X2 if not the 4870.

I don't think the 4800 series or the 280 series pertains to mainstream users or enthusiasts in particular. The 4800 series is supposed to perform better, and since ATI wants to regain market share there prices will be extremely competitive.

EDIT: Grammar

I don't think AMD/ATI would really want to regain top spot.
Maybe they would with the 4870, but now the mainstream market is just great and it represent the mass and if you conquer mainstream, you'll gonna get lots of profits.
Yeah, I think I made my point there

Isn't there going to be a die shrink to 55nm after the first release? Those are the GTX280's and 260's for Nvidia fans to wait for -- especially if you have anything like an 8800gtx 320 or better.

That's the problem: things I've read questioned the viability of the 65nm version that's coming out first. The die shrink to 55nm should solve some of that, but why are they even bothering with 65nm?

It strikes me as similar to Phenom at 65nm not being as viable as 45nm is supposed to be. Perhaps Nvidia's just pushing the product out to beat ATI's 4870 and 4870x2?

Total disregard of the fanbase, if you ask me. The GTX could turn out to be Nvidia's mimicking of ATI's X2900XT in terms of performance and thermals.

The market does not dictate that either company release their next product at the same time as the other, only that people buy the best price/performance with a bit of influence from whichever company has the high end in that generation.

If it were truly a "no holds barred" high end mentality, then they would not announce that they're transitioning to 55nm with the same GPU. If they had confidence in the first generation of GTX, they would hold off on 55nm until they came up with the GTX300. Nvidia knows they're pushing something a bit dodgy on their fanbase just to get benchies a bit higher than ATI in Crysis.

yipsl, perhaps you would be able to give me some insite to what the 55nm die shrink will really mean to someone who purchases the first release GTX 280. The reason that I am asking is that I will be on holiday to the states when these are released. Given the current exchange rates and newegg's awesomeness I was considering upgrading my GTS 640.

From what I understand, the GTX 280 will run hot, miss it's target clocks and be fairly expensive. The price I can deal with. Not only have I been ferreting away cash since the G80 was released, the US prices will be much cheaper for me. In your opinion, how large will the benefits of waiting for the shrink be?

Make sure you buy the card tax free in the US, as you will have to pay import duties upon arrival in the UK, plus a fine if you don't declare and are found to have it.

Thanks for the thoughts.
I do love to overclock but if this GPU is as powerful as they are claiming I am not sure if I will need to for a while. I would defiantly agree that the die shrink will bring benefits overclocking. I am just hoping they will not make improvements to the architecture in the (possibly) short time to the update. Has anyone heard rumors about a switch to GDDR5 with the update? It would seem like the perfect opportunity to me.

@ The_Abyss
I think I have that worked out.
While I am in the states I am going to complement some of the old parts I left there to build the Gf a HTPC. I am hoping that customs in Frankfurt will skip over an "old (looking) personal computer". Hopefully no one in the department is smart enough know the difference between the just released parts and old worthless parts

With 512 bit memory interface... why would they need GDDR5? Hmmm... power saving... maybe, but otherwise It seems not to be valid alternative, other tweaks maybe... 280 would cost even more, even after die shrink than 65nm version with GDDR3...

I can never understand why people are so in a hurry to pay way too much money for brand new release hardware that will likely go through a couple of revisions, and driver re-writes during the first six months.
I always say wait at least 6 months and let everyone else be the guinea pigs. The first release cards are not going to be that much better than cards you can buy right now for half the price. And depsite what everyone thinks or predicts, or hopes for, they will NOT be cheap.

Well a build that I did for a friend had an 8800GTX in it about 2 weeks after launch or so and it is still the card he uses today. It is also the exact same as an 8800GTX that you could get today. He paid $550 for the card. I believe that he has gotten his money's worth from it considering how long it was the dominant card and as you say...is still pretty good. Plus, from what your saying above you kinda need those people that will buy it on release dont you....ya know to be your guinea pigs and such...just a thought! lol, oh and if the the GTX 280 isnt much better than the 8800GTX then I would be quite surprised...and disappointed!

Best,

3Ball

Yea you want to talk about a HOT running card. I had a launch X1900XTX which I put an Accelero X2 cooler on because the stock was so terrible and loud and that thing still ran 90 - 92c on load, but it was a great card and is still running fine with no problems at almost 3 years old now in my roommates computer.

Best,

3Ball

I also bought a 8800GTX release day... here in canada i paid a cool $800 for it. I still use it and have no reason for an upgrade, maybe add another.

Buying on release day isnt always a bad idea, assumning you have the cash.

Wow, thanks for all the advice.
I understand the benefits to waiting awhile to purchase. And I know I could get the “wrong” one (I own 2 HD DVD players, lol). However I passed on the 9xxx cards because they did not have enough memory on board to meet my needs.
I play mostly flight sim and racing sims. I own Crysis but running it full blast is not my goal, although I plan to play for the first time through sometime in the future. I bought it mostly to support the idea that a game so demanding tends to push the gaming PC industry. Or maybe it’s just me.
Anyway I am going to upgrade to a 24” monitor and I need more power to run it.
Right now running GTR2 with 30 cars on the track in the rain my frame rates drop into the teens. I am currently running an AMD 2core @3.3 with 8800gts 512 in sli, 22”Samsung @1680x1050.
Now it may seem decadent to upgrade from 8800gts sli, however it is much cheaper than owning a real Ferrari.
And since PCs are now my main hobby, and a hobby less expensive some other hobbies.
Anyway, I am going with the Great Grape Apes advice. So on the 17th and 18th of this month you will find me camped at the egg till I get a card.
I hope I can get an EVGA or BFG card and when they reduce die and release an Ultra version make a trade up.
Once again thx for the advice.
As soon as I get it I post some benchmarks. (By then benchmarks may already be everywhere).

Yep, even with benchies elsewhere always nice to see variety in the setups and settings.

Good Luck... Camper!