Between a Rock and a Hard Launch
In the wake of the recent, very successful hard launch of the X1900 series by ATI, NVIDIA has had quite a bit of pressure placed on them to make up for the stumbles that they have had with 7800 GTX 512 availability and the limited regional availability of the 7300 series at launch. We have certainly been putting a lot of pressure on these companies to deliver tangible product on the day of a launch. Doing so helps reviewers and consumers alike. We are able to report on a product that we know exists, and we are better able to make a solid recommendation about what to buy. Those interested in the cards don't have to wait for some far off date in the future to get their hands on hardware. Hard launches are a good thing and we want to keep seeing them happen.
And, as is usually the case, we would love to see even more: more parts, more stores with parts, and more countries included at launch. But these kinds of things tend to get a little complicated, and sometimes we end up in situations like what we see today.
We have full retail boxes from both BFG and EVGA. NVIDIA is calling this a hard launch, and we know that they have product out there. Only, no one can buy it until Sunday and Monday. The reason for this is that Best Buy is working with NVIDIA on this launch, and they will start selling their stock on Sunday. NVIDIA has informed us that Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are poor days to launch new products, and in order to get the word out before Best Buy started selling cards, the most logical choice is to launch today. Right?
So, we are left with an odd situation where NVIDIA is launching a product that will be available in a brick and mortar store before it is available online, but without immediate availability at launch. This time, we're asking what you think. Is this a good thing? Certainly, getting parts out to physical locations anywhere near a launch is a great thing, but what do we need to see from a company in order to call something a hard launch?
This time around, we will adopt a wait-and-see attitude. We will base future reaction to and analysis of launches like this on what actually happens with this launch (when we go to Best Buy Sunday, there had better be some parts on the shelf) and the feedback that we get from our readers. The power is in your hands; let us know what you think in the comments.
UPDATE: We stand corrected. It has been brought to our attention that CompUSA has 7800 GS boards and is selling them. With that, we are quite impressed with the level of hardness that NVIDIA has brought forth: it's right off the end of the Mohs' scale.
In the wake of the recent, very successful hard launch of the X1900 series by ATI, NVIDIA has had quite a bit of pressure placed on them to make up for the stumbles that they have had with 7800 GTX 512 availability and the limited regional availability of the 7300 series at launch. We have certainly been putting a lot of pressure on these companies to deliver tangible product on the day of a launch. Doing so helps reviewers and consumers alike. We are able to report on a product that we know exists, and we are better able to make a solid recommendation about what to buy. Those interested in the cards don't have to wait for some far off date in the future to get their hands on hardware. Hard launches are a good thing and we want to keep seeing them happen.
And, as is usually the case, we would love to see even more: more parts, more stores with parts, and more countries included at launch. But these kinds of things tend to get a little complicated, and sometimes we end up in situations like what we see today.
We have full retail boxes from both BFG and EVGA. NVIDIA is calling this a hard launch, and we know that they have product out there. Only, no one can buy it until Sunday and Monday. The reason for this is that Best Buy is working with NVIDIA on this launch, and they will start selling their stock on Sunday. NVIDIA has informed us that Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are poor days to launch new products, and in order to get the word out before Best Buy started selling cards, the most logical choice is to launch today. Right?
So, we are left with an odd situation where NVIDIA is launching a product that will be available in a brick and mortar store before it is available online, but without immediate availability at launch. This time, we're asking what you think. Is this a good thing? Certainly, getting parts out to physical locations anywhere near a launch is a great thing, but what do we need to see from a company in order to call something a hard launch?
This time around, we will adopt a wait-and-see attitude. We will base future reaction to and analysis of launches like this on what actually happens with this launch (when we go to Best Buy Sunday, there had better be some parts on the shelf) and the feedback that we get from our readers. The power is in your hands; let us know what you think in the comments.
UPDATE: We stand corrected. It has been brought to our attention that CompUSA has 7800 GS boards and is selling them. With that, we are quite impressed with the level of hardness that NVIDIA has brought forth: it's right off the end of the Mohs' scale.
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Jojo7 - Thursday, February 2, 2006 - link
I agree.We need AGP 6800U thrown into the mix.
fl0w - Thursday, February 2, 2006 - link
did you compare SC with SM1.1 path or did you run it on 3.0 for the Geforce?Didn't see it written somewhere so I thought I ask, because it would make a big difference....
RamarC - Thursday, February 2, 2006 - link
"Our 7800 GS was tested with SM3.0 enabled and all the options while the X850 XT PE does not support these features.The price the 7800 GS pays for enabling HDR and other SM3.0 eye candy is that it is limited in playability to lower resolutions. Disabling the SM3.0 features would give performance quite a boost without AA (SM3.0 features are not available with AA enabled). "
fl0w - Thursday, February 2, 2006 - link
thanks didn't see that... still can't find it btw, but at least now I know ;)Cygni - Thursday, February 2, 2006 - link
Im a little bit dissapointed, overall. While I guess the 850XTPE is a pretty lofty card to try to beat, i was hoping for a little more power from this piece, to keep my AGP rig alive a little longer. :DMight have been a good idea to compare AGP and PCI-Ex versions of this card on the same board with a ASRock 939Dual-SATA2. I know weve gone over that terriroty before, but it would have still been interesting to me to see it again using this higher end part that likely would take a little bigger hit going through the HSI bridge. Just an idea.
DerekWilson - Thursday, February 2, 2006 - link
To be very clear -- in case the title didn't sink in :-)The 7800 GS will not have a PCI Express counterpart. This is an AGP only card.
The engineering sample we tested last year was simply that and will never be anything more. There are a few differences as well, so a direct comparison isn't really possible.
Thanks,
Derek Wilson
Cygni - Thursday, February 2, 2006 - link
Doh, didnt get that the PCI-Ex version was NEVER coming out. Just thought it was coming out later. I read the title more as "NVIDIA's AGP Only VERSION of the 6800 GS" Im a jerk-face. My bad. :DCygni - Thursday, February 2, 2006 - link
PS, throwing in the engineering sample would have still been pretty interesting, for me at least. :)gooser - Thursday, February 2, 2006 - link
Or maybe, better yet....the 6800 GS agp? Those two would be the one of the top choices for an AGP upgrade.kalaap - Thursday, February 2, 2006 - link
I think its great that nvidia and ati are still releasing AGP parts. I've beeen planning on replacing my 9700pro so I like having so choices even if its very limited.