G71 and R580: Where are the Previews?

[imported_X]

If the next gen cards are slotted to release this month, why haven't we seen any previews of the cards? In the past, the previews typically come out a few weeks before the cards are available in retail. Are Nvidia and ATI using a different marketing tactic, or are the release dates overly optimistic?

 

[Lonyo]

There are none anymore.
People complained they couldn't buy cards on release, so now ATi and nVidia don't let reviews get out until the date of retail availability.
"Hard launch"

 

[KeepItRed]

The cards don't exist, maybe? Sure the GPU's are in mass production but there's no card to put it on yet.

 

[M0RPH]

You can thank Nvidia and all its fans for pushing the "hard launch or nothing" concept. Now neither company can give info on products before they're available or they'll be accused of "paper launch".

 

[RichUK]

Trust me as soon as there are benchies, it will be posted in here ASAP, along with the crap which will follow from fanbois

 

[nitromullet]

Originally posted by: KeepItRed
The cards don't exist, maybe? Sure the GPU's are in mass production but there's no card to put it on yet.

HKEPC had pics of an R580 card, but the link appears to be dead now. Leads me to beleive they were legit.

 

[JBT]

Originally posted by: Lonyo
There are none anymore.
People complained they couldn't buy cards on release, so now ATi and nVidia don't let reviews get out until the date of retail availability.
"Hard launch"

yep thats pretty much how it is now. I personally think its stupid but w/e I had no prolbem knowing how a product was going to perform before it was released in the market oh well...
The thing I didn't like was saying cards were going to be available at such and such date and then there were non for a few weeks and even just small trickles at that.

 

[Chocolate Pi]

In my computer.

 

[RichUK]

Originally posted by: Chocolate Pi
In my computer.

?

 

[Munky]

I like the hard launch idea. It's nice to know the performance of a card before you can buy it, but when there's a several months delay between the press edition and the retail edition, things get really ugly, so it's better to just stick with having it in stock on the launch day.

 

[ElFenix]

i'm still waiting on my 6800 ultra extreme

 

[biostud]

Didn't AT hint last time when they had recieved "something interresting" which were under NDA.

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: M0RPH
You can thank Nvidia and all its fans for pushing the "hard launch or nothing" concept. Now neither company can give info on products before they're available or they'll be accused of "paper launch".

Well at least it's good to see that Nvidia is the one who sets the standards.
The reviews will get here when they get here.

 

[Corporate Thug]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
i'm still waiting on my 6800 ultra extreme

ROFL

 

[Lonyo]

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003

Originally posted by: M0RPH
You can thank Nvidia and all its fans for pushing the "hard launch or nothing" concept. Now neither company can give info on products before they're available or they'll be accused of "paper launch".

Well at least it's good to see that Nvidia is the one who sets the standards.
The reviews will get here when they get here.

Some people liked an advanced look at the upcoming cards.
What they did not like was promised release dates that never came.

If nVidia and ATi had released preview cards to reviewers, and set an ACTUAL release date, none of this mess would have arisen.
It was not a lack up cards upon release of reviews that annoyed people, it was a lack of ards on the supposed release date that did.

Sure, this new method of only releasing reviews on launch day is nicer, but having advanced guides and a HARD launch date would be, IMO, nicer.

 

[Munky]

Originally posted by: biostud
Didn't AT hint last time when they had recieved "something interresting" which were under NDA.

They're probably benching the r580 right now as we speak. Or will be very soon.

 

[akugami]

Thank nVidia for actually releasing a video card when it was suppose to be released as opposed to the previous method (shared by both ATI and nVidia so don't go spouting the old paper launches by ATI cause nVidia has been just as guilty until recently) of announcing a launch date, hyping it up and then having nothing to show for months. I have no doubt that an engineering sample, if not a production sample of the R580 are in reviewers hands and there likely is or will be an engineering sample very soon of the G71. However, NDA's have pretty much killed any information that is received by sites like AT, Hard OCP, etc. I doubt we'll see any information until probably a few days before the actual launch date of the R580.

 

[allies]

Originally posted by: munky
I like the hard launch idea. It's nice to know the performance of a card before you can buy it, but when there's a several months delay between the press edition and the retail edition, things get really ugly, so it's better to just stick with having it in stock on the launch day.

I agree with you. For the people complaining about not knowing the performance before you can buy the card, what's the big deal. You CAN'T BUY THE CARD. Fapping material? Maybe... anyway, I wasn't opposed to having the performance numbers a week before launch (as previously mentioned, fapping material ) but it was getting out of hand with launches and no product for over months. I'm glad that hard launches are in place now.

 

[Killrose]

Previews kill current gen GPU sales. Especially the further from actual Hard Launch they are and I would suspect neither company wants to flatten out sales with vaporware.

 

[RaynorWolfcastle]

I liked the way they did things when they had ~2 weeks between "preview day" and "on-the-shelf day". That way you could get a sense of what's what should you decide to buy when the cards became available. Previews several months before availability were useless but I prefer to get a heads up a bit before the cards appear on the shelves.

 

[imported_X]

I don't see the correlation between previews and having a hard launch date. They are two separate things. Why not allow the review sites to post their benches, without providing a specific release date for the cards? Knowing how a card performs is different from knowing when it will be in your greedy little hands.

A paper launch is defined by a missed released date, not by a card that is previewed before being available to buy.

I think Killrose hit on the real reason. It isn't because Nvidia and ATI are afraid of another paper launch. It is because the G71 and R580 are better performers, and they don't want to kill the sales on the G70 and R520. Also, they don't want to piss off people that recently paid a premium for an X1800XT or a 7800GTX/512, only to learn that their card is obsolete in a matter of months.

 

[NoStateofMind]

Originally posted by: RaynorWolfcastle
I liked the way they did things when they had ~2 weeks between "preview day" and "on-the-shelf day". That way you could get a sense of what's what should you decide to buy when the cards became available. Previews several months before availability were useless but I prefer to get a heads up a bit before the cards appear on the shelves.

That's just it bro, they don't want you to think. They want you to buy! Impulse buying, hyping it up on launch day. L@@K!! IT'S THE NEW ANTVIIDIA X71990000GXTXX!!! IT BLOWS AWAY LAST GENERATION CARDS, CHECK OUT THE BENCHIES!! IT'S FOR SALE NOW!!! Your face lights up like a christmas tree, seeing all the dazzle and glazzle. Cha ching bada bing! Bank account goes :thumbsdown: the tubes and they pat themselves on the back for such great marketing. Consumers want it NOW, and they are happy to give it to you.

 

[allies]

Originally posted by: X
I don't see the correlation between previews and having a hard launch date. They are two separate things. Why not allow the review sites to post their benches, without providing a specific release date for the cards? Knowing how a card performs is different from knowing when it will be in your greedy little hands.

A paper launch is defined by a missed released date, not by a card that is previewed before being available to buy.

I think Killrose hit on the real reason. It isn't because Nvidia and ATI are afraid of another paper launch. It is because the G71 and R580 are better performers, and they don't want to kill the sales on the G70 and R520. Also, they don't want to piss off people that recently paid a premium for an X1800XT or a 7800GTX/512, only to learn that their card is obsolete in a matter of months.

I would agree with this, but the fact of the matter is that most people that bought high end cards are probably more in the know with GPU technology than Joe Sixpack. I think that buyers of the G70/R520 were well aware that within a half year newer cards would be released that were considerably faster than what they purchased. I honestly don't see how this really "kills GPU sales". Whatever though.

 

[imported_X]

I think many on the bleeding edge go with the "don't wait for tech, or you'll always be waiting" adage. But if they KNEW a new card was coming out in a few weeks, offering X% performance increase over what they would buy otherwise, they might be willing to set that adage aside. I do think the manufacturers could cannibalize current sales by releasing performance numbers on upcoming cards too early. But I have a hard time thinking it would make much of a difference if we're only talking a couple of weeks. The pre-release hype would more than make up for that, one would think.

Incidentally, here's an interesting report from the Inquirer (taken with the proverbial grain of salt) on the status of R580 vs. G71. Looks like G71 is possibly MIA, or else Nvidia is just holding their cards very close to the chest:

NVIDIA is being dead silent about its upcoming 90 nanometre part, codemaned G71. We posted most of the details about it but we are still missing the clock speeds for the chip.

We asked around some of the big guys who say that ATI has been shipping its R580 - the Radeon X1900 XTX - to them for some time. More than one source confirmed that ATI is preparing for a massive hard launch of its new line, as it will be able to ship the cards when it announces them. In fact, the cards are being sent to shops and OEMs as we speak and they are in production, so everything looks hunky dory for the Canadians right now.

We asked the same sources - and further afield - about Nvidia's cards and so far no one could confrim having seen a G71 not even a sample, which suggests that Nvidia is lagging somewhat behind ATI's agenda. There are still three more weeks till the end of January so the situation might change, but it's looking unlikely now.

Nevertheless, Nvidia did surprise us with the Quad SLI implementation it just announced in cooperation with Dell. That, indeed, was a well-kept secret that Nvidia managed to keep from its key partners, so we were not the only one surprised by it. Nvidia keeps its cards close to its chest these days.

 

[the Chase]

Yeah the Inq. article from above makes it sound like you could walk into Best Buy or wherever and buy one next week.