NVIDIA just let loose the fastest graphics card it has ever produced - the dual-GPU GeForce GTX 590.
Our benchmarks have shown that the monster card doesn't quite have the power to dethrone AMD's Radeon HD 6990 as the fastest single graphics card in the world, but it's no slouch and it chews through frame rates at ludicrously high resolutions with every bit of eye candy enabled.
Such extreme performance doesn't come cheap, and we're following up our review with a look at launch-day availability and pricing. NVIDIA reckons its first Fermi-derived dual-GPU behemoth should fetch roughly £570, but will limited supply of what's clearly a niche product force day-one pricing to rocket upward? Here's a snapshot of what became available immediately after launch:
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 3,072MB |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| retailer | product | availability | price |
 |
ASUS GTX 590 3GB | In stock | £569.00 |
| Zotac GTX 590 3GB | In stock | £569.00 | |
| MSI GTX 590 3GB | Pre-order | £570.20 | |
| ScanFX GTX 590 3GB | Pre-order | £575.00 | |
| Gainward GTX 590 3GB | Pre-order | £584.60 | |
| Gigabyte GTX 590 3GB | In stock | £605.00 | |
| ebuyer.com | Zotac GTX 590 3GB | In stock | £569.00 |
| ASUS GTX 590 3GB | In stock | £569.00 | |
| Gigabyte GTX 590 3GB | In stock | £605.00 | |
| Gainward GTX 590 3GB | Pre-order | £584.50 | |
| dabs.com | Zotac GTX 590 3GB | Pre-order | £575.98 |
| Gainward GTX 590 3GB | Pre-order | £587.98 | |
| Gigabyte GTX 590 3GB | Pre-order | £599.98 | |
| ASUS GTX 590 3GB | In stock | £623.98 | |
| novatech.co.uk | Zotac GTX 590 3GB | In stock | £589.98 |
| ASUS GTX 590 3GB | In stock | £599.99 | |
| overclockers.co.uk | MSI GTX 590 3GB | In stock | £614.99 |
| ASUS GTX 590 3GB | In stock | £629.99 | |
| Gigabyte GTX 590 3GB | In stock | £666.66 | |
| *As always, UK-based HEXUS.community discussion forum members will benefit from the SCAN2HEXUS Free Shipping initiative, which will save you a further few pounds plus also top-notch, priority customer service and technical support backed up by the SCANcare@HEXUS forum. | |||
At the time of writing, both Scan and Ebuyer have cards available at the suggested £569 retail price - with models from both ASUS and Zotac in stock and ready for despatch.
The picture isn't as pretty elsewhere, though. Novatech has a grand total of six cards available from £590, while Overclockers has in-stock cards priced in the lofty region of £615 - £667. The only card available immediately from Dabs.com is an ASUS GTX 590, but with a launch-day price of £623.98 - roughly £85 more than an HD 6990 - it isn't particularly appealing.
We'd expect to see pricing settle at around the £570 in the coming days, but if you're waiting with credit card in hand, Scan and Ebuyer look like your best bets.
