Radeon 9800XT launchdate

[Luagsch]

so the inquirer has some info on the 9800XT and the launch of it.
the inquirer news article

The cards are close to being finalised, with ATI boffins hoping the clock speeds will be a little less than 415MHz for the core, and 730MHz for the memory.
We're not certain that these are the final numbers, but you probably already know that the 30th is also the day when Valve will introduce its highly anticipated Half Life 2 with its now famous benchmarks.
......
The card will cost $399 and will be in the shops two to three weeks after the Alcatraz announcement in serious quantities.

so half life 30th september after all? 9800xt largely available mid october? 400 $....

EDIT 3: changed title again (seems like everybody has seen enough about gpu's for the next few days...)

 

[MatthewMaes]

eh, i'll keep my ti4200 until i have been proven that the half-life2 doesnt work so well

 

[GTaudiophile]

I don't always take theInq as the gospel.

I'm sure one person knows for sure, though...Having fun with R360/RV360 in your lab, Anand?

 

[ElFenix]

yay marginal speed increases!

 

[dmw16]

so half life 30th september after all?

Nope, that is when a benchmarkable demo will be released. THe full game is still slated for mid-november last i heard.
-doug

 

[ndee]

man luaaaagsch use sä sörtsch fönction. Jetzt gangi is Papa Joes go Nachos con Queso esse und irgendwelchi Fajitas.... de hammer

 

[KMHPaladin]

What do you think this will do to 9800 and 9700 prices? I would imagine it will drive them down, but does anyone want to pose a guess on how much? I am interested in building a new machine with a 9800 but I'm not sure whether it'd be advantageous to wait a month. I'd rather build it now than save $20 in a month, but on the other hand, if it's going to drop $50 after the 9800XT comes out, then I can wait.

 

[BoberFett]

Paladin

I don't foresee too much more of a price drop. ATI won't let it happen. Currently a 9800 can be had for less than $250 online. Heck, I think even Best Buy has a $250 9800 this week. If the 9800 dropped any lower, it would start pushing on the 9600 Pro, which is already pushing on the 9600 and below that the 9200. I think the lowest the 9800 will go before it's phased out for the next generation will be about $210. The 9800 Pro will come in around $300. The 9800XT will stay at about $400.

This is just my guess.

 

[Sunny129]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
yay marginal speed increases!

LOL

well hopefully the release will just push down prices on the 9700s and 9800s...

 

[GTaudiophile]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
yay marginal speed increases!

HellBinder, a member at Rage3D who is in the know, claims that there is more to R360/RV360 than a simple increase in the core clock. He claims tweaks will be made to the core and better, faster memory will be used. The core clock is rumored to be between 415-450Mhz. Mem clock could reach 800Mhz.

 

[KMHPaladin]

Originally posted by: BoberFett
I don't foresee too much more of a price drop. ATI won't let it happen. Currently a 9800 can be had for less than $250 online. Heck, I think even Best Buy has a $250 9800 this week. If the 9800 dropped any lower, it would start pushing on the 9600 Pro, which is already pushing on the 9600 and below that the 9200. I think the lowest the 9800 will go before it's phased out for the next generation will be about $210. The 9800 Pro will come in around $300. The 9800XT will stay at about $400.

Thanks for the input, BoberFett. I should have clarified, I'm mostly interested in the 9800 Pro. It looks like you can get an OEM 9800P for $295 and a Sapphire 9800P for $315. I'm not sure if there's an advantage to the Sapphire since I believe it's a wholly reference design anyway. Newegg advertises the "Sapphire OEM" (I presume this refers to OEM packaging, not an OEM ATi board) for $305 but the image they have of it does not look like any other I've seen (Newegg "Sapphire OEM") of the 9800 Pro - it looks like a Sapphire 9700 Pro. I would imagine they've screwed up the image name, though. So it looks like prices may be pushing on that $300 point you mentioned already. Any input on going with an OEM ATi board, or would you recommend the Newegg Sapphire 9800P in OEM packaging?

 

[BoberFett]

Like I said, that's just a wild guess on my part. But from what I've seen in the consumer graphics market recently, they don't really let the top of the line part ever get too cheap. They'll phase out the old products and bring out an entirely new line where the only thing faster than the previous top of the line card is the new top of the line card. The middle and bottom tier products are lower priced, and usually perform worse than the previous top of the line.

There was the 9000/9500/9700
Now we've got 9200/9600/9800

The prices on 9700s aren't really all that cheap, even though they've been phased out. 9700s are still $225 and 9700 Pros are $275. Perhaps in 6-9 months the 9800 Pros will drop to $250.

 

[wetcat007]

Originally posted by: MatthewMaes
eh, i'll keep my ti4200 until i have been proven that the half-life2 doesnt work so well

I'm with ya on that