GeForce 9800 GX2 - state of play the day after launch.

HEXUS took a look at the twin-GPU NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GX2 graphics card yesterday and surmised that whilst expensive, it was the fastest single board that's ever been released for the avid gamer.

NVIDIA's PR indicated that it would be available on launch day, albeit in small quantities, at around £399, including VAT - thereby effectively replacing the erstwhile champ, the GeForce 8800 Ultra, at the very top of the NVIDIA performance tree.

Now, one day on, let's see how the availability and pricing stacks up against what's been put forward.

As far as we can tell, all the current cards are based on the reference design and therefore operate at 600/1,500/2,000MHz frequencies for the engine, shader and memories, respectively. Card packages differ with respect to bundle and warranty.

We've canvassed four leading etailers that ply their main trade in the UK market. The GeForce 9800 GX2 findings are listed below. Those hyperlinked are in stock (09:30 on 20/03/08).

ebuyer.com

Two GeForce 9800 GX2 cards listed - ASUS (£414.99) and XFX (£411.51).

Average price £413.25

Scan

Nine cards listed. ASUS (£434.73); BFG (£407.35); eVGA (£422.98); Gainward (£410.08); Gigabyte (£411.24); Leadtek (£405.36); MSI (£410.06), Palit (£387.73); and XFX (£434.73)

Average price £413.82

What's more, UK-based HEXUS.community readers can benefit from free shipping, too.

Komplett

Four cards listed. Gigabyte (£419.01); eVGA (£419.01); XFX (£425), MSI (£425).

Average price £422

Dabs

Three cards listed. Gigabyte (£434.72); XFX (£434.72); and eVGA (£422.87).

Average price £430.77



Summary

Out of the 18 cards that are listed on the four etailers' websites eight are showing as being in-stock. The average selling price of all cards is £418.40 and the average for in-stock cards is £422.39.

NVIDIA, then, has had a relatively hard launch with the GeForce 9800 GX2; it's available if you really want to buy it.

First-week pricing is such that the in-stock average, £427.45, was always going to be somewhat higher than NVIDIA's on-street estimates, but we should see pricing fall to around £400 next week, where the majority of cards will be available.

US-based Newegg, though, lists five GeForce 9800 GX2s for $599.99, plus any local taxes and shipping. That's a galling £301, sans taxes. How we wish that the UK had similar prices.