Fermi is set to launch on the 26th of March Prices Announced

[crosko42]

Original article source: http://www.semiaccurate.com/2010/02/22/fermi-set-launch-26th-march/

article:

Fermi is set to launch on the 26th of March
At PAX East 2010
by Lars-Göran Nilsson

February 22, 2010

NVIDIA HAS REVEALED when it will unveil “The world’s fastest PC graphics gaming technology” and it’s all going to happen on the 26th of March 2010 from 6 to 7PM at PAX East. Indeed, Nvidia is launching Fermi, sorry, the GTX480 and GTX470 at a glorified LAN party in Boston.

If you hurry up and pre-register it’ll let you in for $50 and you’ll be allowed to attend the three day LAN party as well, although if you turn up late, that price goes up to $55. The good news is that press gets in free, so at least Nvidia will be able to smuggle in a few hacks without having to spend money on tickets for them, then again, a single day ticket for the Friday is $30.

There isn’t much in terms of details as to what Nvidia is going to show and we’re sure it will try to keep it under wraps for as long as possible. Seating is apparently limited though and Nvidia claims that “If you’re even vaguely a fan of PC games and miss this special event, you’ll likely be spending the next few months kicking yourself,” although we’re not sure if this really is the case.

If you miss the launch event, then Nvidia will also be having a booth at PAX where it’ll let you have a play with its new toys and “you may even be able to buy one before anyone else,” which makes us wonder if Nvidia will actually have any stock of the new cards at all, as it doesn’t even seem to know if it does. There will of course be some gaming demos with 3D glasses, a preview of “the coolest new PCs and gadgets, including the revolutionary Tegra-powered mobile devices,” and even some gaming competitions.

Well, we can’t wait to see what Nvidia has cooked up, but we’re also highly disappointed that Nvidia decided not to launch its new cards at CeBIT which kicks off next week. Not only does this make the big trade shows feel less and less important for media to attend, but it’s also going to make CeBIT a really boring affair for Nvidia’s partners, who won’t be allowed to show off their GTX480 and GTX470 cards.S|A


First GTX480 and GTX470 retail listings appears

source: http://www.semiaccurate.com/2010/02/22/first-gtx-480470-retail-listing-appears/

article:

First GTX480 and GTX470 retail listings appears
Not a lot of details, but we have pricing
by Lars-Göran Nilsson

February 22, 2010

WE DON'T KNOW how accurate these first listings of GeForceGTX 480 and GTX470 cards are, but SabrePC has listed cards from both XFX and PNY on its website for pre-order. The total lack of details makes us wonder if this is just a drive to get people to its website, or if it’s indeed the real thing.

The GTX480 cards will apparently ship with 2GB of GDDR5 memory while the GTX470 cards will have to make do with 1GB of GDDR5 memory. Some of the details seem a bit off though, as cards based on both GPUs are listed as having 512 Stream Processors which is very unlikely to be the case. And if you wondered, both the GTX480 and GTX470 will use a PCI Express x16 interface (well, duh).

So what about the pricing then? Well, SabrePC are kind enough to offer a $20 discount on both the XFX and PNY GTX480 cards, although its two GTX470 cards have to make do without a discount. However, that $20 discount doesn’t even make a dent in the price, as both cards are listed with an “original price” of a whopping $699.99 and the tiny discount gets this down to an almost as insane $679.99. This means that you can get an ATI Radeon HD 5970 for less - Newegg has one model in stock for $649.99 - and we’d expect these cards to outperform the GTX480.

The good news is that the GTX470 cards are significantly cheaper, but sadly not cheap enough, as at $499.99 they’re about $100 more expensive that a Radeon HD 5870 which can quite easily be found for $399.99. If these prices hold true, then we can’t really see a lot of people buying either card, unless of course they’re a diehard Nvidia fanboy. We hope, for Nvidia’s sake, that these prices are way off, but truth be told, they do seem to be in the right ballpark considering the cost involved in manufacturing these cards. Just don't miss reading the "customer reviews" on SabrePC, they're good fun if you've got the time to spare.S|A

 

[crosko42]

also...sorry if this is old news / misplaced.

 

[Mousemonkey]

Oh lookie another Fermi thread.

 

[FunSurfer]

But... can it max out crysis???

 

[MARSOC_Operator]

But... can it max out crysis???

I highly doubt that. Unless you go dual or triple SLI, but at those prices you're much better off sticking with ATI offerings.

 

[Mousemonkey]

But... can it max out crysis???

Who really cares?

 

[capt_taco]

Well, at least if the prices are accurate, they didn't disappoint. I was actually being sarcastic when I was going around predicting $700, but apparently they were serious.

 

[Mousemonkey]

Well, at least if the prices are accurate, they didn't disappoint. I was actually being sarcastic when I was going around predicting $700, but apparently they were serious.

Well the 8800GTX 768MB wasn't exactly cheap and the 5970 isn't what I would call a bargain so 650 - 700 sounds about right, and if the drivers work from day one and the cards don't bomb out when they clock down to 2D mode then what's the problem?

 

[capt_taco]

Well the 8800GTX 768MB wasn't exactly cheap and the 5970 isn't what I would call a bargain so 650 - 700 sounds about right, and if the drivers work from day one and the cards don't bomb out when they clock down to 2D mode then what's the problem?

Nothing, if you're willing to pay that much.

Mostly, I'm having a good chuckle at all the people who have been going around for the past three months saying "OMG, I'm going to wait for Fermi to come out because it'll drive down the price of other cards!" To which I'd respond "yeah ... if other cards cost more than $700. Good luck with that."

I'm sure some people will buy them and be perfectly happy with them. But the price just makes me go lol.

 

[Mousemonkey]

But we need these early adopters or cannon fodder as I like to call them so that we can get an idea of how the second gen might turn out.

 

[notty22]

Nothing, if you're willing to pay that much.

Mostly, I'm having a good chuckle at all the people who have been going around for the past three months saying "OMG, I'm going to wait for Fermi to come out because it'll drive down the price of other cards!" To which I'd respond "yeah ... if other cards cost more than $700. Good luck with that."

I'm sure some people will buy them and be perfectly happy with them. But the price just makes me go lol.

Yeah I get a good chuckle with this low price. For that, You could buy a gtx295 and I5750.

 

[MagicPants]

Ouch... for $700 it's got to beat a 5970.

 

[capt_taco]

But we need these early adopters or cannon fodder as I like to call them so that we can get an idea of how the second gen might turn out.

Those folks are always around. They're the same people who traded in their crossfired 5850s for crossfired 5870s a few months ago. Now they'll be trading those in for SLIed GTX 480s. But only One will have what it takes to earn the sacred title of the new Benchmark King.

 

[AMW1011]

Yeah I get a good chuckle with this low price. For that, You could buy a gtx295 and I5750.http://i482.photobucket.com/albums/rr185/notty222/ACTUALPRICES5970.png

Please don't cherry pick prices:

http://www.provantage.com/asus-eah5970g2dis2gd5~AASU916V.htm

Also note that the inflated prices are a result of a lack of supply and not of MSRP.

 

[Mousemonkey]

But according to some (not you) there are no more supply issues as TSMC have sorted themselves out and there are now no excuses.

 

[roofus]

so prices come down right?

 

[AMW1011]

Oh yeah, just ask nVidia and ATI. They are turning out 5970s and Fermi cards like MAD!!!

 

[AMW1011]

so prices come down right?

Totally depends on Fermi's position in the market.

 

[Mousemonkey]

so prices come down right?

I wouldn't bank on it if I were you.

 

[roofus]

i guess that depends on how factual the rumors are from Charlie Doucherman. if he is even in the ballpark, we are looking at limited supplies so Nvidia will have not one reason to sell their product cheap. they can sell all 10 they make a day fairly easy.

 

[roofus]

no need for me to bank on anything this round. there is nothing compelling for me to upgrade this generation. nothing excites me this round other than DX11 but i don't see developers going gangbusters to convert their console ports to DX11 with the exception of a very few that take pride in their creations.

 

[JAYDEEJOHN]

Im thinking therell be plenty of 5970s soon, say by the end of march or so
If so, that means theres plenty of 40nm to go around Id guess

 

[FunSurfer]

Who really cares?

Show me a game that a 5870 can't run on very high details. So why would I pay $700 (in the USA or $1200 in other counrties) for a gtx480? The main reason that pops to my mind is the one thing that a 5970 can't do - max out crysis...

 

[welshmousepk]

Show me a game that a 5870 can't run on very high details. So why would I pay $700 (in the USA or $1200 in other counrties) for a gtx480? The main reason that pops to my mind is the one thing that a 5970 can't do - max out crysis...

well i dont know where that comes from.

my overclocked 5870 can get a very steady 40fps when maxing crysis (and 4x AA to boot), so a 5970 should be more than capable of doing the same no?

i have to say though, this is even worse than i had expected. as much as i like seeing ATI in the lead, it cant be good for us that they have virtually no competition. if nvidias top end card is competing with a 5970, then it will lose. the leaked fermi benchmark showed it as 40 percent faster than a GTX285, so even if that was a bad run, its still nowhere near a 5970 (and to expect it to be would be bonkers)

all i see here is nvidia failing to compete, ATI keeping prices high and everyone losing. i has expected the fermi card at 500 dollars, as it stands, it won't sell.

but i guess this could all be false anyway.

 

[capt_taco]

Show me a game that a 5870 can't run on very high details. So why would I pay $700 (in the USA or $1200 in other counrties) for a gtx480? The main reason that pops to my mind is the one thing that a 5970 can't do - max out crysis...

Seriously, if a 5970 cannot max out Crysis, who the hell even cares what card can max it out? We are talking about the best available video card in 2010 not being able to max out a game from three years ago, and the only thing that points to is that the game is horribly optimized.

Yes, Crysis a great mechanism for testing out components in a theoretical sense, but from a practical standpoint, if you think you "need" more than a 5870 can provide, you're out of your mind. I've played the game through, and it's got amazing graphics, but from a gaming standpoint, you can seriously get the same experience playing it with a 1GB 4870 and an OK quad core as you can with crossfired 5870s and an i7. The rest is just nitpicking over the final 1% so you can claim some obscure and fleeting technological victory without even noticing it in the gameplay.

Note: this is not an attack at you -- because there is some truth to what you said -- but mostly at the general totally overboard mentality behind this.

all i see here is nvidia failing to compete, ATI keeping prices high and everyone losing. i has expected the fermi card at 500 dollars, as it stands, it won't sell.

That ... is the ongoing problem, but then again, I didn't really expect nvidia to come out with a $300 version of the 5970 either. It's pretty clear that nvidia is going to be $100+ at the high end, and this is just continuing it. There's a market for it, because some people insist on nvidia, and some people just cannot control their boner for the absolute latest technology. Comparatively, ATI has honestly been not that bad about prices for the last couple years. But I do worry that if nvidia continues to come out at such a high price, whatever ATI does will hover longer. People were thinking Fermi would bring down overall video card prices for some reason, which it was never going to do ... but consistently coming in at Rolls Royce prices could seriously mess up the market.