GTX 960 is expected to launch next month.

[RussianSensation]

But the R9 290 rapes games at the $270 price point and will probably be dropped back to the $250 range due to pressure from the 970, so I don't see why it's unrealistic to think Nvidia's answer at this price point should also.

I would say 960 at $249 is OK, but nothing special if it's only as fast as a 780. Perf/watt will be impressive which seems to be a major selling point with gamers now.

Asus R9 290 is $240 on Newegg with 4 free games after MIR.

Asus R9 290X is $280 on Newegg with 4 free games after 6% off + MIR.
You can probably get another $25 credit with the AMEX/Twitter deal.

Performance at 1440P:

780/960 $249 (?) = 87%
After-market R9 290 $240 = 290X = 104%
290X $280 = > 104%
970 $350 = 107%
980 $550 = 115%

If 960 only has 2GB of VRAM, it has to be $199 or otherwise it's pretty disappointing as so little VRAM is a big limiting factor now. I think it'll be $249-269 with 3GB of VRAM and performance between a 970M and 980M. 2GB of VRAM for a $250 range card is not acceptable in 2015 imo. 2GB of VRAM was a big detriment to 285's lack of appeal over 280/280X.

NV sold 760 and 770 2-4GB for inflated prices vs. 280/280X for months, which to me sounds like they don't need to go below $249 for a 960 since a lot of people only consider NV and 960 would automatically fill in that demand in the $200-330 backet for NV. NV doesn't need to beat AMD in performance to sell as superior brand name, newer tech association and power usage will sell the card (as well as negative stigma in the average gamer's mind regarding R9 200 series).

With R9 290 prices regularly in the $240-250 range, R9 280/280X/760 really need to be in the $149 level or below. Yet, because 760/280/280X are hovering in the $150-200 range, NV knows that R9 290 isn't $240-250 in the rest of the world and thus can easily go for the $249 level.

 

[Kippa]

Forgive me but I am a bit of a noob. Is this card going to be a 28nm based one, or have the made the move to the next node yet? Also any more news on the supposedly Titan II? I'd love a 12gb video ram for rendering purposes, though to be honest I am not fully pushing my Titan I's 6gb limit yet, though it would be nice to have 12gb and not worry about running out of video ram.

 

[SteveGrabowski]

I would say 960 at $249 is OK, but nothing special if it's only as fast as a 780. Perf/watt will be impressive which seems to be a major selling point with gamers now.

Asus R9 290 is $240 on Newegg with 4 free games after MIR.

Asus R9 290X is $280 on Newegg with 4 free games after 6% off + MIR.
You can probably get another $25 credit with the AMEX/Twitter deal.

Performance at 1440P:

780/960 $249 (?) = 87%
After-market R9 290 $240 = 290X = 104%
290X $280 = > 104%
970 $350 = 107%
980 $550 = 115%

If 960 only has 2GB of VRAM, it has to be $199 or otherwise it's pretty disappointing as so little VRAM is a big limiting factor now. I think it'll be $249-269 with 3GB of VRAM and performance between a 970M and 980M. 2GB of VRAM for a $250 range card is not acceptable in 2015 imo. 2GB of VRAM was a big detriment to 285's lack of appeal over 280/280X.

NV sold 760 and 770 2-4GB for inflated prices vs. 280/280X for months, which to me sounds like they don't need to go below $249 for a 960 since a lot of people only consider NV and 960 would automatically fill in that demand in the $200-330 backet for NV. NV doesn't need to beat AMD in performance to sell as superior brand name, newer tech association and power usage will sell the card (as well as negative stigma in the average gamer's mind regarding R9 200 series).

With R9 290 prices regularly in the $240-250 range, R9 280/280X/760 really need to be in the $149 level or below. Yet, because 760/280/280X are hovering in the $150-200 range, NV knows that R9 290 isn't $240-250 in the rest of the world and thus can easily go for the $249 level.

I think a 3 GB 960 Maxwell that performed like a 780 would be enough to completely take over the midrange market, since you wouldn't have to worry about power supplies, having great cooling in your case, and so on. Especially considering it selling for $250 instead of $270 with a rebate like the R9 290. As for the games, Nvidia has the edge here, offering one highly anticipated new game vs 3 old ones and a fourth I haven't heard a lot of interest in.

 

[tential]

the only thing I am learning atm is how good nvidia PR team is vs amd's pr.

Like I said, GTX 960 could have 2 GB of VRAM, perform worse than a R9 290 at the same/higher pricepoint, and STILL sell like hotcakes.

Even with ZERO press release.

That's just how much more coveted a brand like Nvidia is to AMD. They are just a better buy, no matter what. Nvidia has better performance and higher power consumption? Who cares about power consumption. Nvidia has better power consumption, lower performance? Screw performance, Cooling!!!!

That PR team.... just amazing. Not to mention whoever prices their GPUs and staggers their GPU launches. Nvidia really just does so many things right(not related to GPU manufacturing).

 

[exar333]

Partial leaked specs from a Guru3D article:

http://www.guru3d.com/news-story/nvidia-geforce-gtx-960-in-january.html

GRAPHIC CARD GTX 960 4GB DDR5,256 BIT,993/6008 HDCP,DUAL DVI,HDMI,DP P PAKC (PCI,PCB POPULATED,VGA CARD,COMP. ACCESS)

Sounds pretty solid, if accurate.

 

[Silverforce11]

Great to see NV isn't gimping the vram. If its around 780 class, it deserves 4GB vram and definitely not 2, just for longevity sake and the option for SLI 960s with good performance for cheap.

Even if you dislike AMD products, definitely give some credit to the fierce competition from AMD for keeping NV honest with their products & prices.

 

[SirPauly]

Not to mention whoever prices their GPUs and staggers their GPU launches. Nvidia really just does so many things right(not related to GPU manufacturing).

If you looked at Q2 market share data -- you could see that nVidia lost some noticeable share to AMD -- this translated that the GTX 970 would be priced very competitive by me, with rumors of very high prices at that time.

Market place is key!

 

[exar333]

Great to see NV isn't gimping the vram. If its around 780 class, it deserves 4GB vram and definitely not 2, just for longevity sake and the option for SLI 960s with good performance for cheap.

Even if you dislike AMD products, definitely give some credit to the fierce competition from AMD for keeping NV honest with their products & prices.

This. With the 970 at $330 and AMAZING AMD offerings between $220-299 for 280/290s, I don't see another option unless they totally concede that marketprice area.

 

[skipsneeky2]

Next 6 months should be pretty exciting for gpus,maybe not for top end performance but the whole mid-range should have quite a dramatically change up coming soon in performance and pricing.

 

[tviceman]

yeah I think 192 bit with 3gb of vram sounds logical too but I dont recall any rumors even about that. if they do go 256 bit then it would likely get half the ROPS of the 980/970 and probably 6000 mhz ram. I think they would make it 4gb only if they did that with maybe a cut down 192 bit 3gb version.

It could definitely be using GM107's memory controller's (8 ROP's per controller) and stay at 256-bits. I'd rather see them go with 192-bit with 48 ROP's. 3 GB of vram should be the new mid-range. 2GB just isn't going to cut it with new games in 2015.

 

[tviceman]

Great to see NV isn't gimping the vram. If its around 780 class, it deserves 4GB vram and definitely not 2, just for longevity sake and the option for SLI 960s with good performance for cheap.

Even if you dislike AMD products, definitely give some credit to the fierce competition from AMD for keeping NV honest with their products & prices.

It's not going to be 780 class. It will probably be slightly faster than a GTX770, so somewhere between 770 and 780 but probably closer to 770. I would have rather seen GM204's memory controllers with 192-bit bus / 48 ROPs and 3gb of VRAM instead of GM107 / Kepler memory controllers 256-bit / 32 ROPs.

 

[Carfax83]

These are going to sell like hotcakes. They will be excellent mid range cards and will further draw more people to PC gaming by getting them to part with their hard earned cash

 

[Kallogan]

I heard u can run a GTX 960 even on a 300W PSU.

That's what i heard.

 

[toyota]

I heard u can run a GTX 960 even on a 300W PSU.

That's what i heard.

people "hear" a lot of things. most 300 watt psus are oem garbage that cant even reliably make but around 150-170 watts max on the 12v line in realistic conditions. considering even the 750 ti would be borderline for long term use on most oem 300 watt psus there is no chance a 960 will be safely able to run on one.

 

[psolord]

Can anyone speculate a performance delta from a 7950 @1Ghz?

Or from the GTX 970?

 

[netxzero64]

Let's wait and see until the 960 is out. there's a lot of speculations going on and we can only wonder in the end. Nvidia really does have a good PR team to plow their products into the limelight.

 

[Kallogan]

people "hear" a lot of things. most 300 watt psus are oem garbage that cant even reliably make but around 150-170 watts max on the 12v line in realistic conditions. considering even the 750 ti would be borderline for long term use on most oem 300 watt psus there is no chance a 960 will be safely able to run on one.

My mini-itx sugos sg05 with 300W psus disagree, i have two mounted with quadcore i7 and 150W gpus (HD 6850).

No overclocking obviously.

Still rockin after years of gaming. It's some good 300W 80+ psu with a good 12V rail though.

 

[RussianSensation]

My mini-itx sugos sg05 with 300W psus disagree, i have two mounted with quadcore i7 and 150W gpus (HD 6850).

No overclocking obviously.

Still rockin after years of gaming. It's some good 300W 80+ psu with a good 12V rail though.

That's exactly why I never understand gamers who spend $200-300 on GPU upgrades every 2-3 years but refuse to spend $75 for a better PSU when a good PSU lasts 10-15 years easily:

http://m.newegg.com/Product/index?itemnumber=17-256-063

I am pretty sure that 600W SFX Silverstone was $90-100 on sale plenty of times. Even if you dump the 300W for $30, it's peanuts to spend $60-70 extra for a PSU that will allow one to run any single GPU for the next 10-15 years vs. always sacrificing performance because of reflucance to spend $75-100 once. Not saying 960 won't be a great card, but don't get people's unwillingness to upgrade their PSU. For example what happens if there is a $300 GPU on sale that's 20% faster than a 960 but uses 100W of extra power? Just my 2 cents.

 

[Erenhardt]

That's exactly why I never understand gamers who spend $200-300 on GPU upgrades every 2-3 years but refuse to spend $75 for a better PSU when a good PSU lasts 10-15 years easily:

http://m.newegg.com/Product/index?itemnumber=17-256-063

I am pretty sure that 600W SFX Silverstone was $90-100 on sale plenty of times. Even if you dump the 300W for $30, it's peanuts to spend $60-70 extra for a PSU that will allow one to run any single GPU for the next 10-15 years vs. always sacrificing performance because of reflucance to spend $75-100 once. Not saying 960 won't be a great card, but don't get people's unwillingness to upgrade their PSU. For example what happens if there is a $300 GPU on sale that's 20% faster than a 960 but uses 100W of extra power? Just my 2 cents.

That is a point. Im running old Chieftec CFT-750-14C from early 2000's
If only nv made a PSU...

 

[Magic Carpet]

For example what happens if there is a $300 GPU on sale that's 20% faster than a 960 but uses 100W of extra power? Just my 2 cents.

I would say, avoid like a plague. 100 extra of watts dumped in the case for only 20% gain. No, thank you. But I see your point, it's good to be flexible with the choice of components. IMO, a Platinum class PSU today, is a good investment for the next 5-10 years.

That is a point. Im running old Chieftec CFT-750-14C from early 2000's
If only nv made a PSU...

Quality piece, just maybe not that efficient by todays standard.

 

[Silverforce11]

I would say, avoid like a plague. 100 extra of watts dumped in the case for only 20% gain. No, thank you. But I see your point, it's good to be flexible with the choice of components. IMO, a Platinum class PSU today, is a good investment for the next 5-10 years.

Its actually not that significant when you compare real power used while you are gaming, total system power may go from 300W to 400W, but if you get 20% extra performance at a great price, that's very justified.

 

[jpiniero]

Fine, here is my prediction:

960, GM204, 1408 cores, 4 GB, $269, 125 W
950 Ti, GM206, 1280 cores, 2 GB, $199 (4 GB for $229), NO SLI, 105 W
950, GM206, 896 cores, 2 GB, $149, NO SLI, 90 W
940, (Rebrand of 750 Ti), $129
930, (Rebrand of 750), $99

 

[toyota]

Fine, here is my prediction:

960, GM204, 1408 cores, 4 GB, $269, 125 W
950 Ti, GM206, 1280 cores, 2 GB, $199 (4 GB for $229), NO SLI, 105 W
950, GM206, 896 cores, 2 GB, $149, NO SLI, 90 W
940, (Rebrand of 750 Ti), $129
930, (Rebrand of 750), $99

there is no logic in that prediction. they are not going to double the TDP of the 750 Ti like that. the 960 will use GM206 not the 950.

 

[jpiniero]

there is no logic in that prediction. they are not going to double the TDP of the 750 Ti like that. the 960 will use GM206 not the 950.

They could call the GM204 part the 960 Ti and the full GM206 960. I thought that was a tossup. They could fit in a 1024 core part if they wanted to but was thinking that would be mobile only. Perhaps the 896 part would also have an lower clocked OEM only version which was below 75 W.

 

[toyota]

They could call the GM204 part the 960 Ti and the full GM206 960. I thought that was a tossup. They could fit in a 1024 core part if they wanted to but was thinking that would be mobile only. Perhaps the 896 part would also have an lower clocked OEM only version which was below 75 W.

the whole point of the 750/750 ti was low power with no power connector needed for reference. they are not going to just toss that out and make the 950/950 ti use way more power. thats going backwards. there is zero chance that a 1208 core GM206 gpu is going to be a 950 ti.