GTS250 Reviews

[SKYMTL]

IMO, the Bit-Tech blog piece about this card and the shenanigans that went on behind the scene was spot on. Sites inquiring as to what the status was of their review samples, Nvidia passing the buck to AIBs and then the AIBs claiming they couldn't send samples until after launch. To be honest with you, if this shows the way future launches will be handled, everyone from reviewers to readers is in a hell of alot of trouble.

I was actually in the process of copy / pasting Anand's conclusion here when the article was mysteriously taken down so I didn't have the chance to jump back to the conclusion...Luckily, there are quite a few people who DID read said conclusion so if there are any significant changes, there will be an uproar.

[waver_01]

An utter failure seeing how it competes with the 4870 512 MB now. I guess that's the price you pay for constant recycling.

[Jowy Atreides]

In the beginning there was the GeForce 8800 GT, and we were happy.

Then, we then got a faster version: the 8800 GTS 512MB. It was more expensive, but we were still happy.

And then it got complicated.

I laughed. I remember the day I bought my first 8800gts (g80)
and the day I bought my second, 8800gts (g92)

When I bought my third 8800gts (9800gtx+) things got dull fast, that new hardware thrill was gone.

[Avan]

Anand's article is back up. Same link that's in the OP

[perkam]

Anand's article is back up. Same link that's in the OP

It's been circumcised X_X

Perkam

[ToTTenTranz]

If we focus on what is likely to be the target resolution of 1680x1050, the Radeon HD 4850 ties its direct competition, the GTS 250 512MB, the Radeon HD 4850 leads more often than it trails or looses. The 1GB GTS 250 does edge out the 4850 in one more benchmark, but it does cost $20 more and we haven't tested the 1GB 4850 which might make the difference.

We've recommended the 4850 over the 9800 GTX+ in the past, and we'll continue to do so now that it's called the GTS 250. But the extra memory does help out, especially if the card is to be used for 1920x1200 on a budget (or maybe with an HDTV).

Power consumption is an advantage the GTS 250 1GB holds. The new board design is only required on the 1GB model, and board vendors may opt for the new design on their 512MB parts, but they may also stick with their current 9800 GTX+ designs. We expect that at first the 512MB GTS 250 will more closely resemble the 9800 GTX+. This does mean we are left with the oddity of the 1GB part drawing less power than the 512MB part for now. Once we get a 512MB version with the new board revision we'll have to take another look at power draw.

The GTS 250 1GB is a better option than it's 512MB brother, and it's also a better option than the 4850 based on our tests. It isn't a game changing difference, but its an edge nonetheless. Is the added performance worth the extra $20? That has to come down to the individual gamer.

Someone got censored..

[perkam]

Someone got censored..

More like someone got bullied.

Bit Tech and HardOCP shared a worse fate: they were disallowed from getting cards.

As for the reviews, what exactly is the point of comparing a $130 card now (4850 512MB) with a $150 card (GTS 250 1GB) which will now be fighting the 4870 512MB ??

Perkam

[ToTTenTranz]

As for the reviews, what exactly is the point of comparing a $130 card now (4850 512MB) with a $150 card (GTS 250 1GB) which will now be fighting the 4870 512MB ??

Perkam

To get this kind of favorable reactions.

[rogueagent6]

Fot THAT price is this CARD GREAT porduct, far better then HD 4850 ... especially with 1 GB

Can I have some of what you're smoking? Cause that MUST be some good ish!

[SKYMTL]

It's been circumcised X_X

Perkam

Woah. You are right.

[jam2k]

So no one has original conclusion from Anand ?

[slapmehard]

The 4850 vs 98gtx+ battle is a joke,theres no"game changing difference" between cards.
If you go to far either way you sorta sound like a company spokeperson.

I sure would not make a whole new card for this class in these hard ecomomic times.
hell i would lower the price of the leftover 192 260's to fit this range and call it a 255 first.

Sure i want new cards also but in this range who cares.

[SKYMTL]

The 4850 vs 98gtx+ battle is a joke,theres no"game changing difference" between cards.
If you go to far either way you sorta sound like a company spokeperson.

Actually, I beg to differ to a certain extent. Gamers very rarely look at an "overall scenario". Rather, they look at the performance of GPUs in the games they play or will be playing. That means that either the GTS 250 or the HD 4850 COULD offer gameplay-changing differences in certain people's cases.


On a side note, anyone else see that Anandtech thanked Charlie from the Inq? Great stuff there...

[slapmehard]

Actually, I beg to differ to a certain extent. Gamers very rarely look at an "overall scenario". Rather, they look at the performance of GPUs in the games they play or will be playing. That means that either the GTS 250 or the HD 4850 COULD offer gameplay-changing differences in certain people's cases.

true i look at cooling if performace is even thuo...but thats just me.

i dont want to get off topic but newegg has RAISED prices of the 4850 and the 4870's in the last few days wth??.

[BMV]

i dont want to get off topic but newegg has RAISED prices of the 4850 and the 4870's in the last few days wth??.

Maybe there's a bigger demand of them?

But from what I'm hearing for quite a few last months...I'm happy that I left green camp(after having fx5200 and 6600gt...) and joined the red ones... Because they realy shouldn't fool people "that" much...

[JohnJohn]

On a side note, anyone else see that Anandtech thanked Charlie from the Inq? Great stuff there...

Really amusing

Early last week Charlie over at The Inquirer posted a story saying that a number of reviewers were cut out of the GeForce GTS 250 launch. We felt a bit hurt, by the time the story launched we weren't even asked to be briefed about the GTS 250. Cards had already gone out to other reviewers but we weren't on any lists. Oh, pout.

Magically, a couple of days after Charlie's article we got invited to a NVIDIA briefing and we had a GTS 250 to test. Perhaps NVIDIA was simply uncharacteristically late in briefing us about a new GPU launch. Perhaps NVIDIA was afraid we'd point out that it was nothing more than a 9800 GTX+ that ran a little cooler. Or perhaps we haven't been positive enough about CUDA and PhysX and NVIDIA was trying to punish us.

Who knows what went on at NVIDIA prior to the launch, we're here to review the card, but for what it's worth - thank you Charlie

BTW, SKYMTL were is your review ?

[munim]

I can't find a cache of the anandtech article. Is anyone able to supply a link or the page from their cache?

[SKYMTL]

BTW, SKYMTL were is your review ?

We were left out of Nvidia's sampling this time. I asked our contacts to send us full retail samples since the many of the cards sent out to other sites were early engineering cards without the proper connectors (note the lack of a HDTV out on the cards). Palit seems to have sent out the retail cards however.

[SamHughe]

More like someone got bullied.

...what exactly is the point of comparing a $130 card now (4850 512MB) with a $150 card (GTS 250 1GB) which will now be fighting the 4870 512MB ??

Perkam

4650-512 is still around $150. Palit's 2GB 250 is $170. 20 bucks is not much for a recently updated card with an extra 1.5GB video memory. Even though I don't defend NVidia's renaming policy in any way, I don't see the release of gts 250 as the end of the times. We all know 250=9800+ and they will sell it even cheaper so what's the problem? I think it would have been much more confusing if we've had 8800 gts v1, 8800 gts v2 (9800+), 8800 gts v3 (250). Now at least we know which one is which.

I had a chance to compare 9800+ with a 8800GTX in the same system and saw that 9800+ performs slighly better with less power consumption and smaller footprint. I purchased my 8800gtx for $700 (sold it for $100), paid $180 for a 9800+ 1gb (3 months back). So if they will sell GTS 250 for 150 bucks, I think it's a fair deal. I would definetely pay $170 for Palit's 2gb model and feel good about it. As far as 4850 vs. 250 goes, I think it's a personal choice. Most 4850 owners in this forum paid $180-$200 for their cards (I know it because they've been preaching about their cards since the day it came out) so nobody should be judged if they prefer to purchase a $150-dollar card performing same as 4850 or maybe slightly worse in one of two games. If I need to buy a video card now, I wouldn't try to get a 8800gts because it's basically the same chip. I'd go with 250 because it is a cheap, updated version. I don't care what Nvida calls it.

[Monstru]

Here's another one for the list

http://lab501.ro/placi-video/nemurit...eforce-gts-250

I think that all conclusions are better drawn from 2-3 weeks from now, when we will actually see who will cut the price for what, and what actual cards hit the market.

[perkam]

Here's another one for the list

http://lab501.ro/placi-video/nemurit...eforce-gts-250

I think that all conclusions are better drawn from 2-3 weeks from now, when we will actually see who will cut the price for what, and what actual cards hit the market.

M8. April 6th = Dday for Nvidia...for 2009 at least.

Perkam

[Humminn55]

4650-512 is still around $150.

....so nobody should be judged if they prefer to purchase a $150-dollar card performing same as 4850 or maybe slightly worse in one of two games.

Guess you've not been looking at current prices, then. the 512MB 4850 is now down as low as $125-$135 AR...guess the rebates are being used to move the prices down to where ATI cut them yesterday.

That makes the 4850, a 512MB version that was about the same in performance as a 1GB GTS 250, for $15-$25 more. And the 512MB 4870 is now, AR, down to $155......so I'd think the GTS 250 will have to suffer further repricing, in addition to its rebadging, to be truly competitive.

[clayton]

So it has come down to the conclusion that 512mb is not enough for AA+high resolution.

[soundood]

any idea what the next name will be?


i heard its gonna be, GTS250 GTX+

[grimREEFER]

the 1gb gts 250 certainly cant compete with the 1gb 4850, so when the market brings it down to between 512mb 4850 prices and 1gb 4850 prices, it will be a good card in that niche. the 512mb gts 250 needs the market to bring it down to 4830 levels.