NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 Technology Report

Dashken · 4th Mar 2009, 07:23 PM

When we were recently invited to one of NVIDIA's many conference calls, we were quite excited. After the shocking mauling by ATI's Radeon HD 4870 and its ilk, we expected NVIDIA to strike back with a new GPU or two. Something along the lines of the Empire Strikes Back, perhaps?

However, that hope was quickly dashed. The big announcement (with NDA and all) was nothing more than a rebranding exercise, and it was a weak one at that. If this is the best response NVIDIA can come up with, then 2009 is going to be a really painful year for them.

Don't believe us? Well, see for yourselves.

Link : NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 Technology Report

PsYkHoTiK · 4th Mar 2009, 10:56 PM

Yeah. Silly NVIDIA. They must really be feeling the pinch between ATI pulling a fast one and their alleged massive midrange and mobile card failures if they have to rebrand a 9800GTX+ (the 512MB at least).

At least they kinda bothered to make the vendors use a new pcb for the 1GB models instead of making that revision optional for the 512MB. That probably shows that there is a lot of stock of 9800GTX+/GTS250 512MB in the channel...

goldfries · 5th Mar 2009, 11:03 AM

I just got my GTS 250 last night (2 days delay).

And I'd like to contribute my findings to too!

I confirm that the performance is that of a 9800GTX+.

Thank you.

Adrian Wong · 5th Mar 2009, 04:45 PM

I came to the same conclusion without even testing it.

It's just a slightly improved GeForce 9800 GTX+, so its performance should be no different.

But NVIDIA is obviously hoping a name change will make the GeForce GTS 250 more enticing. The rebranding makes the card sound like the latest generation, instead of being a slight upgrade of the "old" GeForce 9800 GTX.

goldfries · 6th Mar 2009, 03:50 AM

i think most of us came to that conclusion earlier.

benchies are just evidence to support the conclusion.

the GTS 250 does consume less power than the 9800GTX+ (55nm version). That's the good part.

and from this, i wonder how's the effect on 9800GTX+ pricing.

Adrian Wong · 6th Mar 2009, 10:51 PM

You mean second-hand units? The new pricing effectively drops the price on all 9800 GTX+ units by at least 20 bucks.

goldfries · 7th Mar 2009, 01:37 AM

referring to new units.

i'm sure there's plenty of 9800GTX+ in stock. so with the introduction of the new name, i think a lot of people are going into a loss.

The_YongGrand · 7th Mar 2009, 11:03 AM

Ooh, that GTS 250 looks like another copy of the 9800GTX+ according to the benchmarks? How could nVidia have relabelled that? Strange...

Also, will a 4850 be identical to a 9800GTX+ in terms of performance?

goldfries · 7th Mar 2009, 11:12 AM

not identical with HD4850 but they perform similarly.

btw how is it strange when nVidia has been doing it for the past few cards?

this is nothing new, just adds to their shame.

PsYkHoTiK · 7th Mar 2009, 01:17 PM

Indeed. Some G92 cards are 8800GT/GTS 512, 9800GT, 9800GTX/+, and now GTS 250. Same GPU across 3 generations FTL!

4th Mar 2009, 07:23 PM	#1 (permalink)
Dashken Administrator! Join Date: 21 Apr 2003 Location: Penang Posts: 30,231 Reputation: 2352 Rep Power: 60	NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 Technology Report When we were recently invited to one of NVIDIA's many conference calls, we were quite excited. After the shocking mauling by ATI's Radeon HD 4870 and its ilk, we expected NVIDIA to strike back with a new GPU or two. Something along the lines of the Empire Strikes Back, perhaps? However, that hope was quickly dashed. The big announcement (with NDA and all) was nothing more than a rebranding exercise, and it was a weak one at that. If this is the best response NVIDIA can come up with, then 2009 is going to be a really painful year for them. Don't believe us? Well, see for yourselves. Link : NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 Technology Report __________________ \| Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 @ 3.2Ghz \| ASUS P5B-E Plus \| G.SKILL 2x1GB DDR2 800 \| 6 HDDs (2TB+ only ) \| NVIDIA GeForce 7600GT \| Dell E248WFP 24" Widescreen \| \| Intel C2Q Q9450 \| MSI P45 Neo3-FR \| 2 x 2GB OCZ DDR2 PC2-6400 Gold Edition \| 1 x Seagate 250GB HDD \| 2 x Seagate 750GB HDD \| 3 x Seagate 1TB HDD \| NVIDIA GeForce 9500GT \| Cooler Master CM690 chassis \| Cooler Master eXtreme Power Plus 550W PSU \| Dell E248WFP 24" Widescreen \| Windows 7 Ultimate x64 \| Blog : Dashken's I-Blog Gallery : Dashken's I-Paintings

4th Mar 2009, 10:56 PM	#2 (permalink)
PsYkHoTiK "Little" Devil Join Date: 8 Apr 2004 Location: On the "throne" Posts: 14,661 Reputation: 4442 Rep Power: 64	Yeah. Silly NVIDIA. They must really be feeling the pinch between ATI pulling a fast one and their alleged massive midrange and mobile card failures if they have to rebrand a 9800GTX+ (the 512MB at least). At least they kinda bothered to make the vendors use a new pcb for the 1GB models instead of making that revision optional for the 512MB. That probably shows that there is a lot of stock of 9800GTX+/GTS250 512MB in the channel... __________________ Intel SLAPL 4.3GHz @ 1.35v : 2x2GB OCZ Platinum DDR2 1066 : Asus P5K Premium : WD RE3 250GB x2 RAID 0 : 3ware 9650SE-2LP : G92 8800GTS 512mb 820MHz Core : XFi Platinum : Silverstone OP650 : Silverstone TJ-07 : Dtek FuZion CPU : Swiftech MCW60 : MCP655 : Thermochill PA120.3 w Scythe Ultra Kaze CPU-Z: SLAPL : SLA9U : FX-55 : DDR 600 : VX www.techarp.com PsYkHoTiK's Meanderings

5th Mar 2009, 11:03 AM	#3 (permalink)
goldfries www.goldfries.com Join Date: 22 Jan 2003 Location: KL/PJ Malaysia Posts: 7,953 Reputation: 539 Rep Power: 19	I just got my GTS 250 last night (2 days delay). And I'd like to contribute my findings to too! I confirm that the performance is that of a 9800GTX+. Thank you. __________________ no computer specs \| no photography gear list \| no userbars \| no quotes

5th Mar 2009, 04:45 PM	#4 (permalink)
Adrian Wong Da Boss Join Date: 10 Oct 2002 Location: In front of my ASUS F8V notebook! Posts: 32,304 Reputation: 3574 Rep Power: 75	I came to the same conclusion without even testing it. It's just a slightly improved GeForce 9800 GTX+, so its performance should be no different. But NVIDIA is obviously hoping a name change will make the GeForce GTS 250 more enticing. The rebranding makes the card sound like the latest generation, instead of being a slight upgrade of the "old" GeForce 9800 GTX. __________________ Dr. Adrian Wong Tech ARP \| Blog @ Tech ARP \| The Free Trade Zone DYKT : The only offshore account I have is at the sand bank? We need PROGRAMMERS and TECHNICAL WRITERS! Contact us if you are a hot shot programmer or technical writer! My items for sale : 50x SD Card \| Memory Stick PRO \| Cyclone Energy Saver \| Seiko SS watch \| Tiger/Carlsberg beer jugs \| Travel Speakers \| Motorola V600 \| Nokia N90 SOLD! \| New Lowepro Mini Trekker AW Other items for sale @ the FTZ : Zalman CNPS9500 LED @ $20 \| Zalman CNPS7700 Cu @ $20 \| Zalman CNPS7000 Cu @ $20 \| Swarovski bracelet watches \| Dell 17" LCD \| Hi-Fi speakers \| English DIVX movies \| HP LaserJet toners! \| Office chairs

6th Mar 2009, 03:50 AM	#5 (permalink)
goldfries www.goldfries.com Join Date: 22 Jan 2003 Location: KL/PJ Malaysia Posts: 7,953 Reputation: 539 Rep Power: 19	i think most of us came to that conclusion earlier. benchies are just evidence to support the conclusion. the GTS 250 does consume less power than the 9800GTX+ (55nm version). That's the good part. and from this, i wonder how's the effect on 9800GTX+ pricing. __________________ no computer specs \| no photography gear list \| no userbars \| no quotes

6th Mar 2009, 10:51 PM	#6 (permalink)
Adrian Wong Da Boss Join Date: 10 Oct 2002 Location: In front of my ASUS F8V notebook! Posts: 32,304 Reputation: 3574 Rep Power: 75	You mean second-hand units? The new pricing effectively drops the price on all 9800 GTX+ units by at least 20 bucks. __________________ Dr. Adrian Wong Tech ARP \| Blog @ Tech ARP \| The Free Trade Zone DYKT : The only offshore account I have is at the sand bank? We need PROGRAMMERS and TECHNICAL WRITERS! Contact us if you are a hot shot programmer or technical writer! My items for sale : 50x SD Card \| Memory Stick PRO \| Cyclone Energy Saver \| Seiko SS watch \| Tiger/Carlsberg beer jugs \| Travel Speakers \| Motorola V600 \| Nokia N90 SOLD! \| New Lowepro Mini Trekker AW Other items for sale @ the FTZ : Zalman CNPS9500 LED @ $20 \| Zalman CNPS7700 Cu @ $20 \| Zalman CNPS7000 Cu @ $20 \| Swarovski bracelet watches \| Dell 17" LCD \| Hi-Fi speakers \| English DIVX movies \| HP LaserJet toners! \| Office chairs

7th Mar 2009, 01:37 AM	#7 (permalink)
goldfries www.goldfries.com Join Date: 22 Jan 2003 Location: KL/PJ Malaysia Posts: 7,953 Reputation: 539 Rep Power: 19	referring to new units. i'm sure there's plenty of 9800GTX+ in stock. so with the introduction of the new name, i think a lot of people are going into a loss. __________________ no computer specs \| no photography gear list \| no userbars \| no quotes

7th Mar 2009, 11:03 AM	#8 (permalink)
The_YongGrand Hyperactive Join Date: 12 Feb 2005 Location: Somewhere in 甲洞... Posts: 2,744 Reputation: 1144 Rep Power: 18	Ooh, that GTS 250 looks like another copy of the 9800GTX+ according to the benchmarks? How could nVidia have relabelled that? Strange... Also, will a 4850 be identical to a 9800GTX+ in terms of performance? __________________ Intel Core 2 Duo E7200, 2GB DDR2-667 RAM, Gigabyte 945GCMX-S2, Sapphire ATi Radeon HD4850 512MB DDR3 Intel Pentium Dual Core E2140, 2GB DDR2-667 RAM, Asus P5B-E Plus, nVidia Geforce 7950GT 512MB DDR3

7th Mar 2009, 11:12 AM	#9 (permalink)
goldfries www.goldfries.com Join Date: 22 Jan 2003 Location: KL/PJ Malaysia Posts: 7,953 Reputation: 539 Rep Power: 19	not identical with HD4850 but they perform similarly. btw how is it strange when nVidia has been doing it for the past few cards? this is nothing new, just adds to their shame. __________________ no computer specs \| no photography gear list \| no userbars \| no quotes

7th Mar 2009, 01:17 PM	#10 (permalink)
PsYkHoTiK "Little" Devil Join Date: 8 Apr 2004 Location: On the "throne" Posts: 14,661 Reputation: 4442 Rep Power: 64	Indeed. Some G92 cards are 8800GT/GTS 512, 9800GT, 9800GTX/+, and now GTS 250. Same GPU across 3 generations FTL! __________________ Intel SLAPL 4.3GHz @ 1.35v : 2x2GB OCZ Platinum DDR2 1066 : Asus P5K Premium : WD RE3 250GB x2 RAID 0 : 3ware 9650SE-2LP : G92 8800GTS 512mb 820MHz Core : XFi Platinum : Silverstone OP650 : Silverstone TJ-07 : Dtek FuZion CPU : Swiftech MCW60 : MCP655 : Thermochill PA120.3 w Scythe Ultra Kaze CPU-Z: SLAPL : SLA9U : FX-55 : DDR 600 : VX www.techarp.com PsYkHoTiK's Meanderings

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
NVIDIA GTX 280 & GTX 260 Technology Report	Dashken	Reviews & Articles	5	19th Jun 2008 02:16 AM
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT Technology Report	Dashken	Reviews & Articles	19	3rd Nov 2007 09:59 AM
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX/GTS Tech Report	strawroot	News	4	9th Nov 2006 07:24 PM
NVIDIA GeForce 7950 GX2 Technology Report!	Dashken	Reviews & Articles	14	11th Jun 2006 10:00 AM
NVIDIA SLI Physics Technology Report!	Dashken	Reviews & Articles	2	22nd Mar 2006 08:32 PM