ED#75 : Limited Release Of NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS?

Recently, NVIDIA quietly released two graphics card - the GeForce 8800 GS 768MB and the GeForce 8800 GS 384MB. Both cards are based on the NVIDIA G92 GPU. However, the GeForce 8800 GS 768MB will not only have more graphics memory, but also higher core and memory clock speeds than the 384MB model.

The two cards are positioned between the GeForce 8600 GTS and the GeForce 8800 GT, which puts them in the right place to put a stop to the ATI Radeon HD 3870/3850 graphics cards. The Radeon HD 3850 card, particularly, has been having a riot of a time, killing NVIDIA's mid-range GeForce 8600 GTS/GT cards left and right.

It has taken NVIDIA long enough but now they finally have the cards to fill the performance gap. By our reckoning, the GeForce 8800 GS 768MB would be targeted at the Radeon HD 3870 with the GeForce 8800 GS 384MB targeted at the Radeon HD 3850.

However, before you go rushing out to the stores, it appears that NVIDIA never intended the GeForce 8800 GS to be sold worldwide. We were recently told that NVIDIA only intends for the GeForce 8800 GS to be sold in China and Europe, possibly because these are the markets where ATI has been making the greatest inroads with their Radeon HD 3870/3850.

NVIDIA probably doesn't want the GeForce 8800 GS to eat into sales of the GeForce 8800 GT and the GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB in the other countries. With that said, the vendors probably make the final decision on where they would sell their GeForce 8800 GS cards. ASUS, for one, is already selling the GeForce 8800 GS 384MB in Singapore and Malaysia.

Questions & Comments

If you have a question or comment on this editorial, please feel free to post them here!