GeForce 8800: Here Comes the DX10 Boom
Conclusion
Amazing! That is the long and short of what we have covered today. To keep with tradition, Nvidia has these new cards available right now. There are e-tailers willing to sell them to you if you wish to spend the suggested price of $599 for GeForce 880GTX and $449 for GeForce 8800GTS. After seeing the results and what will be in store for the future, let us leave you with one more thought: the games are just around the bend, and not only will DX10 hardware play them when they arrive, but more importantly, they can play your games better NOW.
Here is an example of what a supermodel can look like when rendered in DX10. Meet Adrianne Curry in all her Direct3D 10 splendor. (Click for a larger image)
Author's Opinion
I am impressed by Nvidia's implementation DX10/D3D10. Seeing Crysis running in real-time and seeing some of the demos that Curtis Beason and his team put together is amazing. The implementation of CUDA into the picture makes the graphics card something much more than a frame rendering device. C+ compiled programs running on the CPU in conjunction with the parallel computing power of a versatile shader core with Stream Out is beyond comprehension as the possibilities are endless. I can't wait to see the community's implementation of such a wonderful tool.
G80 leaves me wanting more. Why, might you ask? The only thing lacking is the CONTENT! Come on software developers... we want to see the DX10 games NOW!
Read on: More on DirectX 10
What Direct3D 10 Is All About
Today's launch of the Nvidia GeForce 8 series marks the advent of next-generation graphics. What can we expect from graphics makers with respect to DirectX 10 hardware?
The New Graphics
A tale of Direct X 10, and rumors of the hardware to drive it. While the demand for Direct X 9 hardware is not slipping, and more graphics cards are constantly being launched, there is much interest in this new standard and the hardware that will support it.
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
The Graphics State Of The Union
Tom's Hardware graphics presidente Polkowski is concerned about the 3D arms race. Power and heat dissipation are skyrocketing, but external graphics boxes could eliminate the imminent need for 1,000 W power supplies.
Related Links:
slide show: GeForce 8800GTX/GTS
Buyer's Guides:
The Best Video Cards For Your Money: November 2006
Performance Charts (Overview on all available graphics solutions):
Interactive VGA Charts Update October 2006
News on TG Daily:
Nvidia fires away with new Geforce 8800 GPU
Technology:
Nvidia Tightens Up Midrange Performance With The $300 GeForce 7950GT
The GeForce 7900GS is Nvidia's New Mid-Range
Can SLI in a Notebook Beat Desktop Graphics?
ATI's Radeon X1950XTX: You Say You Want A RAM Revolution