After NVIDIA introduced its 7800GTX graphics adapter to the world, perhaps one of the first things that crossed everyone?s minds was the unveiling of NVIDIA?s midrange and low-end cards that would make GeForce 7 series a viable option, economically. Speculations have been floating around for quite a while regarding the specifications and other information surrounding the upcoming 7800GT part. Although NVIDIA has not confirmed anything in hopes of surprising everyone with an unlikely launch, it looks the company is planning on launching the 7800GT at this year?s Quakecon 2005 gaming event, which is scheduled for August.
The specifications were not available to us at the time of publication, but we did manage to find the price. According to the insider, NVIDIA?s 7800GT would cost $449.99 retail. Although our source did not confirm availability, we believe NVIDIA would probably not do a paper launch this time around, remembering back to its 7800GTX launch. It?s possible that there may be a delay of a week or so before the retail cards are available, but it definitely won?t be anything close to what ATI and NVIDIA try to pull off with their last generation of cards in the name of competition. Of course, NVIDIA would be on an impressive roll if the card is available in retail right when NVIDIA officially makes the announcement, which could very well happen.
Although Quakecon appears to be an unlikely event for a launch, it may not be. Considering the amount of coverage it would gain from online publications, the company has a great opportunity for publicity. Furthermore, NVIDIA is one of the key sponsors of Quakecon this year, which also hints something. Simply put, NVIDIA?s 7800GT would be the talk on the web comes next month.
As far as ATI is concerned, they must bring their R520 with competitive performance and instant availability, or else it?s going to have a troubling time in the market.