*yawn*... People, this is a tide over from nvidia to get off of more expensive 90nm, and to just step things up a bit more while waiting to see ATi's next move. NVidia's been in a very comfortable position, as such they can hold back the big gun until they absolutely have to launch it(think R700).

Calling it the 9 series is a marketing decision so customers don't think "Well, ATi have gone up to the 38** series, so that must be better than the older 8*** series".

Also, that picture isn't a 9800GTX...