From what i have heard the GTX480 has 480 cores, meaning nvidia have HAD to have disabled some cores to improve yields or to get under the 300w limit, earlier slides have shown fermi is designed as 512 core part. The board also now is known to have a TDP of at least 250w which is absolutely insane, further pointing to the issues reported being true. This sort of crazy cooler is required to dissipate the mad heat these things will knock out.

GTX480 needs to be a LOT faster than 5870 to make it worthwhile if it is going to cost 100 dollars more, 5870 sneaks under 200w for a start. We are but 5 days away from knowing the truth

@vulcanproject

That is exactly the issue next gen consoles will have to face. The power consumption. A 5970 would require 400watts of power to run at full power, the fan would need to be turned up to 100% speed to dissapate all that heat(sounds like a jet engine, already tried my 5970 at speeds it was originally intended to run at but then couldnt due to the ATX spec limit of 300watts).

I turned the GPU back down to stock levels since there is no game that warrants that much power, even in eyefinity mode 5760*1080 (aside crysis of course which i cant play in eyefinity due to how demanding it gets).

I wonder what sort of PSU's the next consoles will use and how will all the heat will be dissapated, if microsoft and sony do decide to go all out the way they did this gen. Over coming these limitations wont be easy without making the console too expensive(we all know how that went for the PS3) doubt any of them would like to repeat that history.

I think the next gen consoles will stick to single GPU designs, and they usually launch with slightly less than cutting edge GPU parts. They will get hot but i dont think we are going to see a dual GPU console for the next gen- those are the PC cards that usually push the limits. When PS3 launched RSX was already dated and actually shrunk from its design, 7800 was originally a 110nm GPU and required little more power than a 6800, but by the time it was inside PS3 it has been taken down to 90nm with half its bandwidth and ROPs functioning. It crippled the performance, but it also would have reduced power consumption and improved yields.

I think ati in particular will be more aware of overall power and heat dissipation requirements for next gen consoles. If the new consoles are still 3 years away though you could expect them to be at least as fast as a 5970, probably in single GPU form however as thats another 2 generations or so in PC terms

Sorry my friend but PC gaming sold just over 500 million in 2009 (retail gaming INCLUDES some retail online sites ....and steam sales are trivial). This data comes from NPD which is the ultimate authority on the game industry for analysts.

http://www.npd.com/press/re...

Also, check out Pachter's video on the PC gaming industry released yesterday (start at 5 minute mark)

http://www.gametrailers.com...

PC gaming is DEAD my friend. Oh...how does it feel to get owned?

Did you even bother to read my post. 80% of PC sales are now digital, This has been confirmed by the PC Gaming Alliance.

NPD doesnt track Digital sales. Think you owned yourself with your remarks.

Dont think most PC gamers here have been to a retail shop in years. Personally i havent bought a game from retail in 2years, with over 80games bought on steam now.

Dont worry consoles are playing catch up just like usual, 5years from now when things start going digital. NPD will catch up then.

Until then NPD is a tool used to market consoles.

Edit: how does it feel to get milked by sony or microsoft on every game bought by yourself on their console? must be fun being told how to play or being told what you can and cannot do on their system. Consoles look like a way for developers and big organisations to take away user rights, they got ppl like Mr. Pachter hired to brainwash the unaware.

Wow your comment was completely necessary in what was until then a civilized discussion oh and btw pc gaming is alive and kicking.

Do you think steam is selling 13 billion a year in digital downloads? No.

Do you think the PC has more software sales than consoles? not even close

Every major developer is giving a cold shoulder to the PC b/c the platform is becoming irrelevant. Piracy, leaked games, etc.

http://www.vg247.com/2010/0...

How does it feel to have to upgrade every year or so? How does it feel to miss out on most games? How does it feel to game on a ridiculous keyboard and mouse? How does it feel to get smoked for thousands when the performance is marginally better than consoles?

Oh, so you are saying that Pachter, an extremely well regarded analyst at wedbush is lying when he says that pc is 6% of the industry?

So I guess the major devs have it all wrong when they choose to snub the pc from now on.

Ignarance is bliss my friend. PC gaming is becoming IRRELEVANT.

PS: That 13 billion in software sales you see....That factors in worldwide SUBSCRIPTION REVENUES for MMO's, which is the only thing PC's are good at. 95% of that number consists of subscription revenues

Upgrade every year or so? LOL Where are you getting that notion. Little fairy land? Its not necceary to upgrade every year or so. It is only neccesary to upgrade every 4 years or so. Also Gaming with a redicolous Keyboard and mouse (LOL) is more precise than a very inprecise joypad.

Also about games leaking early on pc and piracy is stupid , for the simple fact that a lot of games get leaked early (earlier than PC games) on the Xbox 360 and piracy is rampant on the Xbox 360 also. So are devs going to give the cold shoulder to the Xbox 360?

Piracy on PC is much, much, much, MUCH greater than on 360. Like 95% v 5%.

So let me get this straight steve, do you think that devs are not snubbing the PC? bwahahahahahhaaha.

The PC is basically a massive MMO platform (and that will probably change too with Blizzard coming to 360 and Sony pushing the Agency, Free Realms, DC Online, etc.) For gaming (other than MMO's) it is irrelevant.

As for not having to upgrade, that's because there are barely any games other than MMO's made for the PC anymore. LMAO.....bwahahahhahahhahahaah ahahahhhahhaaa

just stop feeding the troll guys he already knows hes wrong and if you ignore him he'll go away

Does steam need to sell 13 billion and does PC software need to outsell the consoles to be doing well? no.
Piracy is also a problem on the consoles although more prevalent on the PC.
You don't absolutely need to upgrade pc every year unless you have money to burn or are mentally dysfunctional. A two year old pc will easily run any game better than the consoles. Keyboard and mouse offer precision you could not dream of with a gamepad.
Are we talking about the same Pachter that said that a ps3 is more powerful than a $2000 pc. Even you cant be retarded enough to argue that.
You are trying convince me by showing Ubisoft's revenues how about looking at Blizzard's or Valves profits to see exactly how PC gaming is doing.
I have nothing against the consoles and i play my ps3 quite a bit and i would defend that too if someone made a remark such as yours about it.

Ok well lets see for a retail game shall we? Hmm Bad Company 2 over 100000 PC players compared to 24000 for each 360 and PS3. Wow that doubles the two put together. Yep PC gaming is really dying, also your comment on the controls is ludicrous, try telling me you can get the same accuracy as a mouse with a contloller.

First you argue that we have to upgrade every year or so and when you are told you are wrong you change your argument (You remind me of my brother in that sense)

You are truly a one sided fanboy that doesnt know anything about PC gaming. Since when is NFS Shift , Mass Effect , Btattlefield Bad Company 2 , Settlers 7 , Command and Conquer 4 , Crysis , Crysis Warhead , Aliens vs predator , Call of Duty games , Anno games , Batman Arkam Asylum , Dirt 2 , Far Cry 2 , Fuel , German Truck Simulator , Uk Truck Simulator , Metro 2033 , Bioshock 2 , Race 07 , GTR2 , Star Wars Empire At War , Star Wars Force Unleashed , Lord of the Rings Battle for middle Earth II , Lord Of the Rings Return of The Witch King (The list can go on) MMO Games? There are just as many non MMO games out there as the Console is. Your blind if you think that there is just MMO games out there.