ECS GTX285 Black edition...is....non-existant?

[individual]

I went down to my local computer store, and I put the ECS GTX 285 black edition card on hold, as I am (was) going to buy it tomorrow after I had done some research on it.

But, I can't find it online.

Anywhere.

No reviews, no other places are selling them, I mean even the manufacturers website doesn't list them!

Has anyone heard of this card/knows if it is any good for the price ($449 AU)

It is also called the "Elite Group" instead of ECS on some pages.

Just seems a bit fishy, as i have never had this problem before, where the internet has failed me in my search for something.

Any help on this would be extremely appreciated.

[JohnZS]

My guess is that this is an "OEM" card usually sold with a system or to system builders or to certain markets
Anyway here is your card.

I would hold off for a while tho, as Fermi is due in March, this will bring prices down even more
John

[individual]

I can't wait that long haha, I've got all my other components, i7 940, coolermaster v8 for now, 6gb G.Skill CL6 Trident RAM, Asus P6T6 WS revolution motherboard, Enermax 85+ 1050w PSU, 250 GB os drive, later upgrade to a 60GB SSD, 250GB apps/games drive and a 1TB storage drive. Originally i was going to save up more for the 5970 but i figured the 285 is good performance for the CPU i have anyway.

[JohnZS]

The picture I linked appears to be not working
Anyway it could be a Chinese market card?

[iTravis]

It's hard to find GT200 these days, not as hard as the HD5xxx series but since Nvidia is probably get ready for Fermi, the availability is limited. I totally understand how you feel when you have all the components ready but for $400, you might reconsider a better card. I would hold till March like John said grab a temporary card for now, by then you'll have more options with a better pricing to decide. In term of performance, go with a HD5850 if you can, it's a little bit better than the GTX 285 and cheaper.

[individual]

its alright im bidding on a 5970 at the moment and its on 800 with no other bidders and 4 hours left. 800 is my max, otherwise it cuts into my savings too much for comfort. and if i don't win, it just means ill get a 5870 and a 64GB SSD instead

EDIT: iTravis, thats the card alright. But since you and I can't seem to find any other info, I wouldn't trust it. Not to mention the headsink/fans take up a total of almost 4 slots :O

EDIT: so the 5970 ended up at $950 on the bid, so I pulled out and grabbed a 5870 for $440 and a 40GB Intel SSD for $140.

[iTravis]

$800 for a HD5970 ain't worth it, I could go to my local Chips and Memory store to grab 2 HD5870 for the same price and totally blow that HD5970 away. And I don't know what kind of info you would need for the HD5850 but anyway, you won't be disappointed with the HD5870 you just got, better than the GTX 285 in every aspects IMO. I myself would like to get rid of the HD4870X2 as well and CF either the HD5850 or HD5870 but I still wanna hold my breath for Fermi, it's just around the corner anyway.

[individual]

800 dollars australian though :P bout 700 US i think.

Yeah most reviews i read said its like -10% to +150% better against the 285 in all tests. I don't give a crap about the -10, i mean its got +150 in some areas hopefully it ships fast, as i live in AU and its from the States. I chose express mail but that still takes up to week sometimes -__-

EDIT: Been a week and no SSD or 5870 socket cap screws and RBG FX controller came in today which is good, but the chip on the RGB controller is dead -__- sigh.