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Nvidia said today its ultra high-end GeForce 8800 processor is now available in
cards that retail for as low as $299. What is the catch, since high-end GeForce 8800 graphics cards typically go for $599-$649? Just the size of the frame buffer.
Instead of 640MB, you get a 320MB frame buffer capacity with the same number of pipelines, DirectX 10 and all the rest--except, of course, the amount of data the card can cache is cut in half.
Will you notice the difference? It depends on what kinds of games you play and how they are programmed. My guess is that you won’t notice much while playing Counter Strike or Call of Duty--but just don’t try playing the more graphically intensive Oblivion at full resolution.
