New Nvidia Cards Nearly Double GPU Performance

TechReport has the details on Nvidia's follow-up to its monstrous GeForce 9800 GX2 video card, the GTX 260 and GTX 280

Whereas the massive 9800 GX2 runs in a two-GPU SLI configuration, the GTX 280 and 260 still only have one GPU. However, that single GPU nearly matches and even exceeds the performance of the GX2's two in many tests.

Once Nvidia enables SLI for the GTA 280 and 260 cards, it will most likely result in a near doubling of performance for top-of-the-line PC video cards. AMD-owned rival ATI is also expected to be announcing a new line of cards in the next few weeks.

As expected, the GTX 280 and GTX 260 performance comes at a significant price. While the 9800 GX2 can be bought for $470, the GTX 260 will go for $400 while the GTX 280 is priced at $650.

Though the GTX line only has one GPU, the physical card and its attached cooling mechanism still occupy the space of two PC card slots. As with the equally-massive 9800 GX2, the card only plugs into one PC slot.

At present, the usage rates of the GeForce 9800 GX appear extremely low, as the hardware does not even appear in a list of the 40-plus most common video cards installed by Steam users. The GeForce 8800, utilized by 9.36% of survey respondents, currently tops the chart.