NVIDIA to Launch GeForce 8600 Series on April 17th

[DeathReborn]

http://www.vr-zone.com/?i=4723

NVIDIA is set to launch mainstream 8600GTS (G84-400) and 8600GT (G84-300) as well as 8500GT (G86-300) on 17th of April. GeForce 8600GTS and 8600GT will have 256MB GDDR3 memories onboard and sports 128-bit memory interface but no HDMI yet. GeForce 8600GTS is meant to replace 7950GT and 7900GS while 8600GT to replace 7600GT and 8500GT to replace 7600GS.

8600GTS will be clocked at 700MHz core / 2GHz memory and comes with dual D-DVI, HDTV, HDCP but requires external power. 8600GTS will be priced between US$199-$249. Another mainstream model, the 8600GT will be clocked at 600MHz core / 1.4GHz memory and has 2 variants; one with HDCP (G84-300) and the other without (G84-305). This model doesn't requires an external power. 8600GT will be priced between US$149-$169.

The last model meant for budget segment is actually a G84 core but downgraded to meet the value segment pricing structure. The 8500GT will be clocked at 450MHz core / 800MHz 256MB DDR2 memory and comes in 2 variants; one with HDCP (G86-300) and the other without HDCP (G86-305). 8500GT will be priced between US$79 to US$99. Towards end of April, we can expect NVIDIA to release GeForce 8300GS for the budget market to replace 7300 series.

The NVIDIA 80nm G84 and G86 line-up will meet head on with ATi's DX10 65nm offerings where mainstream RV630 is slated to arrive in May and value RV610 is slated to arrive earlier in April.

700/2000 looks pretty nice specs for midrange, even if it is 128bit.

 

[Sniper82]

Yeah the 8600GTS looks nice. I am wondering though where the 8800GTS 320mb will be priced at once they are released. If I can pickup a 8800GTS 320mb for $50 more I would rather do that. It looks like the 8600GTS might be my next upgrade.

I hope its $199 but I ain't holding my breath since it will likely be $249 or close to it at launch. I know some of the XFX,BFG,eVGA versions will be.

 

[xtknight]

So how should the 8600GTS compare to the 7800GT I have? Haven't been keeping up with numbers lately.

 

[Munky]

It'll be interesting to see how the 8600gts compares to last gen card like the 7950gt or the x1900xt. I'm thinking half the mem and a 128-bit bus might bottleneck the gpu core.

 

[CU]

If they say meant to replace card "x" does that mean it is that fast. If so I think I would rather get a 7900gs or x1950pro now for $150 or so than by the same speed card but with DX10 which I won't use for awhile for $199-$250.

 

[Sniper82]

Originally posted by: CU
If they say meant to replace card "x" does that mean it is that fast. If so I think I would rather get a 7900gs or x1950pro now for $150 or so than by the same speed card but with DX10 which I won't use for awhile for $199-$250.

My guess is its on par. But more likely to outperform it. Only time when tell when benchmarks start coming out. I would wait though because we should see some DX10 patches for some games coming in the next few months.

 

[ahmurat]

One question to experts:
I am upgrading my HTPC system and i mainly use it for HD videos, not gaming. I'm looking for a card that would just give me good 2D video performance. (720p mostly). Which of the above do you think would satisfy me?
Thanks in advance.

 

[secretanchitman]

hmm, the 8600GTS might actually outperform the high end 7 series...how will that stack up against the 8800GTS 320MB, possibly even the 640MB if it gets cheap enough by then?

the 128bit bus and *maybe* the 256MB of memory might hold it back like munky said...who knows, we'll see in approx a month from now. but then again, the clocks are extremely high for a midrange card (those are going into 7900GTX speeds and beyond), so it can (should) outperform the 7950GT and 7900GS.

 

[secretanchitman]

Originally posted by: ahmurat
One question to experts:
I am upgrading my HTPC system and i mainly use it for HD videos, not gaming. I'm looking for a card that would just give me good 2D video performance. (720p mostly). Which of the above do you think would satisfy me?
Thanks in advance.

a 6600GT or higher would be fine for you.

 

[ahmurat]

Really? Because I can get it in AGP and wouldn't need to upgrade the whole system. But do u actually mean a 6600Gt on a Core 2 Duo setup?
Currently i've got an Athlon XP 2800.

 

[LittleNemoNES]

Originally posted by: CU
If they say meant to replace card "x" does that mean it is that fast. If so I think I would rather get a 7900gs or x1950pro now for $150 or so than by the same speed card but with DX10 which I won't use for awhile for $199-$250.

Think about it...if that were true we'd NEVER see performance increases... 6800-7800-8800 would all perform about the same but with better features?


::buzzer::

 

[CU]

Originally posted by: Sniper82

My guess is its on par. But more likely to outperform it. Only time when tell when benchmarks start coming out. I would wait though because we should see some DX10 patches for some games coming in the next few months.

Patches don't help without Vista though. So through another $100 on top of the video card to get DX10.

 

[CU]

Originally posted by: gersson

Originally posted by: CU
If they say meant to replace card "x" does that mean it is that fast. If so I think I would rather get a 7900gs or x1950pro now for $150 or so than by the same speed card but with DX10 which I won't use for awhile for $199-$250.

Think about it...if that were true we'd NEVER see performance increases... 6800-7800-8800 would all perform about the same but with better features?


::buzzer::

That is why I am asking. Did nivdia say before that the 8800 was meant to replace the 7800 and the 7800 was meant to replace the 6800? Or did they say they would be faster?

 

[chizow]

The latest roadmap showed an 8900GS that looked to fill the $250-300 price range. 96 shaders, smaller memory bus, but more memory than the 320MB GTS. Hard to say which part will perform better since the 320MB GTS is clearly crippled at higher resolutions bc of memory. I think the 320MB GTS is going to be phased out relatively quickly, so if you can pick it up for $250 or so before the 8900 launch, that'd be the best buy in this mid-range area.

The 8600s look great though in terms of specs and pricing. They should fill the sub-$200 price range well. I'd expect the GTS to perform better than a 7900GTX, but hard to say until we see some benchmarks.

 

[PingSpike]

Originally posted by: CU

Originally posted by: gersson

Originally posted by: CU
If they say meant to replace card "x" does that mean it is that fast. If so I think I would rather get a 7900gs or x1950pro now for $150 or so than by the same speed card but with DX10 which I won't use for awhile for $199-$250.

Think about it...if that were true we'd NEVER see performance increases... 6800-7800-8800 would all perform about the same but with better features?


::buzzer::

That is why I am asking. Did nivdia say before that the 8800 was meant to replace the 7800 and the 7800 was meant to replace the 6800? Or did they say they would be faster?

I'd say they mean that it will now occupy the pricepoint that the previous card held. There is most likely an increase in performance over the prior part as well.

 

[Munky]

The benefits of upgrading to this card also depends on how much additional stress DX10 features will put on the hardware. Two generations ago, a 6600gt wasn't exactly a smart choice if you wanted to run games with additional SM3-exclusive eye candy, so I'm wondering how much gpu power DX10-exclusive effects will require for plyable performance.

 

[Acanthus]

Originally posted by: gersson

Originally posted by: CU
If they say meant to replace card "x" does that mean it is that fast. If so I think I would rather get a 7900gs or x1950pro now for $150 or so than by the same speed card but with DX10 which I won't use for awhile for $199-$250.

Think about it...if that were true we'd NEVER see performance increases... 6800-7800-8800 would all perform about the same but with better features?


::buzzer::

Youre describing the mid range and low end markets

128 bit :roll:

Is this 2001?

 

[XMan]

Originally posted by: ahmurat
Really? Because I can get it in AGP and wouldn't need to upgrade the whole system. But do u actually mean a 6600Gt on a Core 2 Duo setup?
Currently i've got an Athlon XP 2800.

A 6600GT will be more than fine. I used a 6600 non-GT in my HTPC for a long time, and had no problems with HD. I think you miss out on a few features of PureVideo that are there in the 7XXX and 8XXX series of cards, but it's nothing critical.

 

[SunnyD]

Originally posted by: Acanthus

Originally posted by: gersson

Originally posted by: CU
If they say meant to replace card "x" does that mean it is that fast. If so I think I would rather get a 7900gs or x1950pro now for $150 or so than by the same speed card but with DX10 which I won't use for awhile for $199-$250.

Think about it...if that were true we'd NEVER see performance increases... 6800-7800-8800 would all perform about the same but with better features?


::buzzer::

Youre describing the mid range and low end markets

128 bit :roll:

Is this 2001?

Finally someone hit it on the nose. Part of the reason the 8800 has been so successful in terms of performance is it's ginormous memory bus. I don't rightfully see how a 128-bit card is going to out-perform across the board last gen cards with a 256-bit bus.

 

[ibex333]

Originally posted by: DeathReborn
http://www.vr-zone.com/?i=4723

NVIDIA is set to launch mainstream 8600GTS (G84-400) and 8600GT (G84-300) as well as 8500GT (G86-300) on 17th of April. GeForce 8600GTS and 8600GT will have 256MB GDDR3 memories onboard and sports 128-bit memory interface but no HDMI yet. GeForce 8600GTS is meant to replace 7950GT and 7900GS while 8600GT to replace 7600GT and 8500GT to replace 7600GS.

8600GTS will be clocked at 700MHz core / 2GHz memory and comes with dual D-DVI, HDTV, HDCP but requires external power. 8600GTS will be priced between US$199-$249. Another mainstream model, the 8600GT will be clocked at 600MHz core / 1.4GHz memory and has 2 variants; one with HDCP (G84-300) and the other without (G84-305). This model doesn't requires an external power. 8600GT will be priced between US$149-$169.

The last model meant for budget segment is actually a G84 core but downgraded to meet the value segment pricing structure. The 8500GT will be clocked at 450MHz core / 800MHz 256MB DDR2 memory and comes in 2 variants; one with HDCP (G86-300) and the other without HDCP (G86-305). 8500GT will be priced between US$79 to US$99. Towards end of April, we can expect NVIDIA to release GeForce 8300GS for the budget market to replace 7300 series.

The NVIDIA 80nm G84 and G86 line-up will meet head on with ATi's DX10 65nm offerings where mainstream RV630 is slated to arrive in May and value RV610 is slated to arrive earlier in April.

700/2000 looks pretty nice specs for midrange, even if it is 128bit.

One more reason to buy a 640mb 8800GTS, enjoy your life, and not wait for anything... (if u can afford off course)

 

[ahmurat]

Originally posted by: XMan

Originally posted by: ahmurat
Really? Because I can get it in AGP and wouldn't need to upgrade the whole system. But do u actually mean a 6600Gt on a Core 2 Duo setup?
Currently i've got an Athlon XP 2800.

A 6600GT will be more than fine. I used a 6600 non-GT in my HTPC for a long time, and had no problems with HD. I think you miss out on a few features of PureVideo that are there in the 7XXX and 8XXX series of cards, but it's nothing critical.

Have you tried playing the "high bitrate" 720p quicktime videos , as in from apple.com/trailers/hd
My system can't play those however i could play a divx 1280x720 no problem.

 

[Cookie Monster]

Memory interface isnt a big factor in terms of performance. Its the architecture that matters the most. You can clearly see this in the form of the 7600GT 128bit, beating the 6800ultra all across the board. The 6600GT 128bit outperformed both 9700pro/5950FX ultra, while being toe to toe with the 9800pro.

 

[secretanchitman]

Originally posted by: Cookie Monster
Memory interface isnt a big factor in terms of performance. Its the architecture that matters the most. You can clearly see this in the form of the 7600GT 128bit, beating the 6800ultra all across the board. The 6600GT 128bit outperformed both 9700pro/5950FX ultra, while being toe to toe with the 9800pro.

QFT...hopefully the 8900 series come out too, so the 8800 can get phased out.

 

[nikkai]

Honestly, w/ the dropping prices of the 7900 series... it sure is hard to convince onself to pay more than 150 bucks for shinier objects (ie Vista's stacked windows)

 

[XMan]

Originally posted by: ahmurat

Originally posted by: XMan

Originally posted by: ahmurat
Really? Because I can get it in AGP and wouldn't need to upgrade the whole system. But do u actually mean a 6600Gt on a Core 2 Duo setup?
Currently i've got an Athlon XP 2800.

A 6600GT will be more than fine. I used a 6600 non-GT in my HTPC for a long time, and had no problems with HD. I think you miss out on a few features of PureVideo that are there in the 7XXX and 8XXX series of cards, but it's nothing critical.

Have you tried playing the "high bitrate" 720p quicktime videos , as in from apple.com/trailers/hd
My system can't play those however i could play a divx 1280x720 no problem.

No, usually OTA HD and upconverted DVDs.