[Fozzik]

Nvidia will be releasing their update to the 7-series tomorrow, and it's looking like it will be very fast along with carrying prices that should make users very happy.

Although this launch is not a new graphics processor, it does mark Nvidia's first 90nm production parts, sports some architectural improvements, and should make Nivida much more competitive again performance-wise.

The highest-end will be the 7900 GTX, with 512MB of RAM. This will have a core and memory clock of 650MHz and 1600MHz respectively, with 24 pipelines, 8 vertex shader engines and 16 pixel shading engines (I think ). All in all, this 90nm GPU will be much smaller than the X1900 chip, but should be very competitive in terms of performance (most likely not faster though).

The 7900GT will only be a lower clock speed part, it will still have all the pipelines and hardware available in the high-end version. The clock speeds will be 450MHz and 1320MHz. It will only have 256MB of memory, though.

The GTX will likely retail right off the bat for as low as $499, and the GT will be around $299. Nice prices indeed...and in anticipation of this downward move by Nvidia, ATI seems to have also dropped their prices. Let's hope there's more of this to come. Better value is a welcome direction for both companies to move in. Let's have a serious price war!

[rabb1t]

Originally Posted by Fozzik

Nvidia will be releasing their update to the 7-series tomorrow

eeeeeEEEEeeeeeEEEeeeeeEEE

7900 GTX, with 512MB of RAM.

/cry
I was hoping for a full gig.

The GTX will likely retail right off the bat for as low as $499

Hum. Higher than I was hoping for. I wonder if they feel it will be 'worth it' compared to the lower priced ATi x1900s or if that is just a hiked launch price due to supply/demand.

[Fozzik]

It's a considerably lower price than what the 7800, or the X1900, started at. I'd guess we'll see some lower prices pretty quick...but honestly, I'm happy to see starting prices trending down.

Besides, most of the X1900s are still quite a bit more than $500. You can find a few lower-priced OEM versions...but the average for the XTX is like $580, and the XT is at about $500. I'm guessing the 7900GTX will be faster than the X1900XT.

[Labyrrinth]

Here's one evaluation of the GeForce 7900 Technology

[rabb1t]

They are all over now.

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2717
http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/03/...launch_mayhem/

PS - NewEgg does have them, but they can't be searched. Just look for the vendor you like and only search by that and PCIe.

*hugs XFX 7900 GTX Extreme receipt*
*bops ears around and hums happily*

[Nubb]

Ooh good reading, thanks rabb1t. Pouring over tom's right now, some interesting benchmarks! Being an nVidiot I'm impressed so far and blah I want to spend money... must resist...

Thanks,
Nubb

[Traldan]

I still like my overclocked X1900XT, so nyah. :P

Looks like a decent card - its not a huge winner over the 1900's, though. Benchmarks were going both ways, so it's split pretty much down the middle - prices are similar on both, too.

[rabb1t]

Originally Posted by Nubb

must resist...

Do what I do, "justify" it by saying you can ebay the old card and thus instantly pay off ~50% of the new one.

New XFX 7900 GTX extreme ~$525, sell old Evga 7800 GT CO for ~$250 = ~$275 "real" cost for the 7900 GTX.

I look at it like 'an investment' that every now and then needs reinvesting in.

Originally Posted by Traldan

Looks like a decent card ... Benchmarks were going both ways, so it's split pretty much down the middle

It is often like that, things going back and forth. I think that may change in the future though once MS puts their foot down about the unified, standardized, whatever they are doing so both produce more similar testing results.

[rabb1t]

Found a listing for a few more reviews (at [H]ard OCP)

Beyond 3d - 7600 GT
Bjorn3d - XFX: 7900 GTX XXX, 7900 GT XXX, 7600 GT XXX
Guru 3d
Hot Hardware - XFX 7900 GTX XXX Extreme
Legit Reivews - XFX 7900 GTX XXX Extreme
Neo Seeker - Evga 7900 GTX
nV News - Evga 7900 GT
PC Perspective
PC Stats - MSI 7900 GTX
Tech Report - 7600 GT, 7900 GT, 7900 GTX, ATi x1800 GTO

[Fozzik]

Lower power requirements, less heat, smaller and quieter fans... all very nice ideas. It's great to see competitive performance, while still paying attention to things that just make a card nicer to own. As Anandtech pointed out, though...the ATI cards are coming with more bells and whistles...

Pretty soon all this will be moot though...once ATI and Nvidia start making hardware for DirectX 10, they will be forced into feature parity...and once both sides have the same list of features, it will be speed, temps, and volume levels that really differentiate these cards from each other.

[rabb1t]

/cry
/cry
/cry

I knew this might happen. Stupid XP 64-bit. No drivers were recognizing the card when I installed the new 7900 GTX. However, a few hours after I called and informed XFX of this they got the super early beta drivers from nVidia (83.9) up onto their site.

But, as is the nature of beta drivers, they aren't fully functional - I'm locking during the 1 game I currently play randomly (Thief 3), and every time I attempt to run the HDR/Shader 3 tests in 3dMark'06.

/cry

Hopefully they will fix it soon.

[Nubb]

In the interest of a better world, I think it best if you send me that 7900, which will run on my WinXP 32-bit.

Thanks,
Nubb

p.s.
I believe my collection is growing:
CPU from Fozzik (I'm still waiting for FedEx to pull up)
Lord V's PSU & mboard (and memory)
Your video.

Heck I won't have to spend money this year on upgrades. Huzzah!

[Liin]

Just today I went through the EVGA step up program. Going to trade my 7800gt CO for a 7900gt CO for the price of shipping both cards around. Not a bad deal for the speed bump.

[rabb1t]

Originally Posted by Liin

Going to trade my 7800gt CO for a 7900gt CO for the price of shipping both cards around.

Whuuuutttt hehehe