8600 GTS jumps the shark

IF YOU THOUGHT you were going to have to wait until later on this month for availability on the 8600 GTS, the latest mid-range card from the Nvidiots, think again.

Retail boxes are already turning up for sale at Best Buy stores across the US, although not on the retailer's website, tellingly.

Cards from PNY have been spotted with 675MHz core and 2000MHz memory clocks, pitching up at $249.

Other reports have found a BFG OC edition of the card clocked up at 710/2000 for a small price premium.

The downside of this pricepoint is that the 8800 GTS 320MB is now sufficiently available in quantity to make some cards as cheap as $280, even lower after rebate. $30 is not a lot of price delta for the performance delta.

Expect online retailers to have the card a little cheaper, but not a whole lot. µ