Nvidia 9 series?

Originally posted by kahlsted I haven't seen much in any searches but does anyone know when the Nvidia 9 series is thought to be coming out?

They're going to be way overpriced just like any first run card.  Although, I'm sure they're going to rock. 

Haven't heard anything over hear yet.

Originally posted by kahlsted I'm sure they'll be overpriced but when they're released, I'm betting that all the current card prices will drop!

Absotootly!

The only thing I'm looking forward to about the 9k series from nvidia is a cheaper 8800GTX. Mmmm, freshly outdated components... 

Yeah, supposedly Nvidia is on track for a November release.  If they do, then I would think you're going to see an 8900 within the next month.

Originally posted by Dashuu The only thing I'm looking forward to about the 9k series from nvidia is a cheaper 8800GTX. Mmmm, freshly outdated components...

I still think 10.1 is not the same thing as 10.0 because I have read that the current generation of cards will not support all of the features the next generation of cards will, and that it will not be something a driver can fix. I also read that the 10.0 cards will function without any problems in DX 10.1, just maybe a bit less crisp on the visuals. 

SkyR, I think the second part of your 3rd sentence is the reason there is a bit of a fuss.

I imagine that DX10 vs. DX10.1 will be much like the current impending mini-crisis in gaming with Pixel Shader 3.0.

Basically, not all DX9 cards are created equal - while many older cards are DX9 compatible, only nVidia GeForce 6000-series (or higher) and ATI Radeon x1000-series (or higher) support Pixel Shader 3.0.  For a long time, this wasn't a big deal, but now there is a crop of new games coming out (including CoD4 and the Unreal 3-engine powered FPSes) that require Pixel Shader 3.0 support.  However, it'll have taken 2.5-3.5 years (depending on whether or not you use nVidia or ATI) from the first day a consumer could buy a Pixel Shader 3.0 card before a game came out that required it.

So, the end result is going to be that even if you have a "DX9-compatible" card that still gives relatively decent performance but doesn't support Pixel Shader 3.0 (like a late-model Radeon x800), you'll be incapable of playing all DX9 games.  The only difference is Microsoft didn't make a "DX9.1 standard" to differentiate, so now they look dull because not all of the hardware they certified as DX9-compatible can run all DX9 games.

It may be that in 2.5-3.5 years from now, we'll be having the same problems with DX10 (Pixel Shader 4.0) vs. DX10.1 (Pixel Shader 4.1), but only if there are games that are developed to require Pixel Shader 4.1 features specifically.  However, consider that games requiring Pixel Shader 3.0 are only just now hitting the market, and if anyone's developing a game that requires (not just optionally takes advantage of) Pixel Shader 4.0 - let alone 4.1 - it's likely a long way off.  Plus, by the time a hard requirement for Pixel Shader 4.1 hits the market, most of us will have upgraded video cards - if not whole computers - anyway, so I'd imagine that the risk is very small.

Whoa.

Huh. I guess the rumors of a recall of the card by Nvidia were inaccurate. I think it was the Inquirer that had listed something about a need for further "thermal testing" and a request sent out to Nvidia's partners to send back their sample cards.