Nvidia to Delay the 9800 X2 Video Card Until March

The rumors regarding Nvidia's GeForce 9 series seem to come true. I have told you about the chip manufacturer having delayed the mid-range GeForce 9600GT video card due to a voltage offset bug. The bad news does not end here, as it seems that the GeForce 9800GX2 will also be delayed.

The card's delay will push back the other new products as well, including the 80a, 750a, 790i and 790i Ultra chipsets. Moreover, rumor has it that motherboard manufacturers are somewhat bored with Nvidia's dismissing attitude and its extremely expensive chipsets, so the conflict between the graphics expert and the motherboard manufacturers could end badly, with the consumer in a losing position.

The delay seems not to be related through a technical issue with Nvidia's products, but rather through the Chinese New Year holiday, that will shut down the manufacturing units for about a week or even more. This brings no comfort, however, since Nvidia's delay is likely to crush more than the enthusiasts' hearts. Nvidia's failing the launch will make the company lose momentum and media attention. The situation is already complicated, since AMD's Radeon 3870 x2 is already rocking the market and constantly eats up Nvidia's high-end market share.

Moreover, delaying the 790i and 790i Ultra chipsets will make them hit aggressive competition from the upcoming Intel X48 chipset, one of the most important products of the year. At the moment, Nvidia seems to stick to a single piece in its roadmap: the GeForce 8200. However, this brings extremely little comfort, as its rival, the AMD's 780G has been released on the Chinese market some time ago and is getting ready for worldwide availability in the short future.

AMD did a hell of a job counteracting Nvidia's products. While the GeForce 9600GT is still agonizing on the designer's table, its AMD archrival, the Radeon HD 3600 series has been selling since January the 23rd. It seems that Nvidia's products will kick in just in time to find a saturated market and plenty of ATI fans out there.