DigiTimes reports that with AMD's ATI Radeon HD 4800-series graphics cards successfully cutting into the US$200-300 mainstream market forcing Nvidia to cut the price of its previous generation GeForce 9800 GTX down to US$199, sources at graphics card makers see AMD's discrete graphics card market share as having a chance to increase to 40% in the third quarter this year from around 30% at the beginning of 2008.

Since Nvidia's GeForce 9800 GTX does not provide advantages in power consumption or performance over the same priced Radeon HD 4850, graphics card makers are more optimistic over AMD's upcoming performance.

Well-known graphics card maker GECUBE, released today with great fanfare, the new HD 4870 series of high-end graphics cards, the successor to its popular HD 4850 series. The GECUBE HD 4870 series comes with exclusive GDDR5 memory and the latest AMD graphics technology. Built on the 2nd generation 55nm chip process, it incorporates the PCI-Express 2.0 interface, as well as support for DirectX10.1/SM4.1 and ATI CrossFireX. Also included, are built-in HDMI and HDCP together with support for Blu-ray and HD-DVD decoding technology. Extreme processing power, coupled with high-speed memory performance, delivers world-class video visuals that will introduce gamers to the most realistic audio and video experience to date.

BFG Technologies, Inc., the leading North American and European supplier of advanced NVIDIA-based 3D graphics cards, power supplies and other PC enthusiast products, announced today, the BFG GeForce GTX 280 OC2 and the BFG GeForce GTX 280 OCX factory overclocked graphics cards.

With the launch of each new NVIDIA graphics processing unit (GPU), BFG typically releases three increasing levels of factory overclock: OC, OC2, and OCX. All BFG factory overclocked graphics cards go through extensive testing to find the right mix of speeds for the core, memory, and shader clocks that will produce the best performance and uncompromised stability at each level. As with all BFG Tech graphics cards, the BFG GeForce GTX 280 OC2 and OCX versions are backed with 24/7/365 free technical support and a lifetime warranty.

A new beta version of ATI's Catalyst display driver has been leaked onto the internet, although there's very little information about it. The build number is 8.49 (although that doesn't mean too much - this is most likely a beta version of the 8.5 Catalyst which will be released next month) and the driver supports all Radeon 9500 and above cards. The Windows XP version (which apparently works with both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the OS) can be downloaded here, and the Vista 64-bit version can be downloaded from here. There's no Vista 32-bit download available at the moment.

Diamond Multimedia introduced today the 1 gigabyte, overclocked version of the ATI Radeon HD 3870 graphics card. This card offers maximum speed and power at an incredible value. Utilizing 55nm technology, this card runs cool and quiet.

The HD 3870 is a dual slot card, PCIE 2.0, with 1024MB of DDR3 memory and an overclocked speed of 825 MHz. The memory speed is 900 MHz. As with the original HD 3870, the 1 gigabyte version is designed with 320 stream processors and plug-and-play ATI CrossFireX upgradeability with up to quad-GPU support.

S3 Graphics today announced the S3 Graphics 4300E graphics processor for embedded markets, bringing the latest in HD video playback, graphics rendering, display connectivity, and power management to developers of gaming, digital signage and other multimedia intensive embedded applications.

Until now, the only graphics cards supported by the Folding@home GPU client were ATI's Radeon 16xx, 18xx and 19xx series cards. However, a new beta version is now available from here which will allow owners of HD 2xxx and 3xxx cards to contribute some of their graphics processing power to the project. The Folding@home project is run by Stanford University and simulates protein folding in the hope of finding cures for diseases including Alzheimer's, Mad Cow (BSE), CJD, ALS, Huntington's, Parkinson's disease and many Cancers. Even if you do not own a supported graphics card, you can still download the standard CPU client and contribute your idle processing power - all you need is an internet connection. To find out more, why not take a look at techPowerUp!'s Folding@home team?

SPARKLE today announced the SPARKLE GeForce 9600 GT 1GB Graphics Card, which redefines mainstream graphics card market with unbeatable 1GB high capacity video memory and exclusively designed cooling system. It can bring amazing visual experience on the next-generation windows games.

According to VR-Zone, NVIDIA's upcoming GeForce 9800 GT graphics card will be the first desktop GPU from the company to be manufactured using a 55nm process. The new chip is called the G92b core, and should help NVIDIA to reduce its costs. The current G92 core uses a 65nm process.

BFG Technologies announced today the BFG NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX OC, OC2, and OCX 512MB PCI Express 2.0 graphics cards.

BFG GeForce 9800 GTX OC, OC2, and OCX graphics cards offer customers a choice of three different levels of factory overclocked Graphics Processing Units which are all thoroughly tested and backed by the company's famous lifetime warranty.

NVIDIA's lack of marketing for the 8800 GS meant that it didn't really catch on particularly well when it was first launched. However, the company is now planning to try and rectify this by rebranding it as the GeForce 9600 GSO according to Expreview. Assuming the current price remains more or less the same, this card should sell for a little below the 9600 GT and offers similar performance levels.

EVGA is now introducing an update to the fastest graphics solution, the EVGA 9800GX2 Superclocked, KO and SSC. Up to 86.4 Billion/sec Texture Fill Rate on the SSC Model gives you the ultimate in extreme performance. 100% testing ensures the highest level of performance and stability possible. This same level of testing and quality allowed Vince "k|ngp|n" Lucido to hit nearly 30,000 points with a single EVGA 9800GX2. EVGA makes the GX2 even more extreme giving you the ultimate in high-definition gaming performance.

Version 4.0 of the popular NVIDIA BIOS Editor (NiBiTor) has been released, which brings a number of minor fixes as well as limited support for unknown devices. The listed changes are:

• Added Support for GeForce 9800 GTX
• Added Support for GeForce 9500 GT
• Added Support for GeForce 8800M GTX
• Added Support for GeForce 8600M GT
• Fixed Bug with Fan Speed IC Settings

You can download the software from this page.

BFG Technologies announced today the BFG NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT OC2 512MB PCI Express 2.0 graphics card for a suggested retail price of $249.99 USD.

NVIDIA has updated its beta ForceWare driver to version 174.74, which supports just about all GeForce FX, 6, 7, 8 and 9 series graphics cards. The changes in this release include improved performance for DirectX9 and OpenGL applications, as well as a number of game and application compatibility fixes. Download locations are as follows:

• Windows XP 32-bit - here
• Windows XP 64-bit - here
• Windows Vista 32-bit - here
• Windows Vista 64-bit - here

Although official release of the card is still scheduled for April Fools' Day, a number of European retailers are already listing NVIDIA's upcoming GeForce 9800 GTX graphics card for pre-order. There are offerings from a number of companies including ASUS and Gigabyte, but the cheapest so far looks to be Palit's card, which has been given a price tag of €273 (about $430). The card comes equipped with a G92 core running at 675MHz, 128 stream processors at 1688MHz and 512MB GDDR3 memory at 2200MHz. The card is on sale at German site ComputerHandlung.de, and is listed under the XpertVision brand name.

TechConnect Magazine has acquired some pictures and specs of ASUS' upcoming EN9800GTX/HTDP/512M graphics card, which is expected to be released on April 1st. It will run at what are thought to be NVIDIA's reference clocks of 675MHz core and 2200MHz memory, with 128 stream processors at 1688MHz. This version will come equipped with 512MB GDDR3 memory, with a price tag somewhere below $350.

Catering to avid users who require exceptionally fast graphical solutions, ASUS has today introduced the overclocking version of the latest generation of AMD dual RV670XT GPUs with the ASUS EAH3870X2 TOP/G/3DHTI/1G graphics card. Equipped with the fastest DRR3 0.8ns memory modules, the EAH3870X2 TOP provides peak performance with GPU memory clock boosts of 6%; while both the EAH3870X2 TOP/G/3DHTI/1G and EAH3870X2/G/3DHTI/1G utilize specially designed dual fansinks for efficient heat dissipation compared to reference designed single fansink solutions. The EAH3870X2 TOP/G/3DHTI/1G also comes exclusively with two extra DVI outputs for a maximum of four-display video output; as well as the hottest DX10 game: Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts.

BFG Technologies announced today the BFG Trade Up program. The program is designed to give customers a one time opportunity to exchange their current BFG graphics card within 100 days of the original date of purchase for a better model and only pay the difference in price, plus applicable taxes.

Although there's not yet been an official press release directly from NVIDIA, a number of graphics card manufacturers have today released their GeForce 9800 GX2 graphics cards. The card itself features two graphics processors with a reference speed of 600MHz core and 2000MHz memory, with 256 stream processors and DirectX 10 support. All cards released so far come equipped with 1GB GDDR3 memory. You can take a look at techPowerUp!'s own Zotac GeForce 9800 GX2 review here. Companies that have already released a 9800 GX2 include Zotac, XFX, Point of View, BFG, Club 3D, Leadtek, SPARKLE, Inno3D, EVGA, Albatron, Walton Chaintech and Foxconn.

ASUS, producer of top quality graphic solutions, has today introduced a new way for effective and simple overclocking with the ASUS EAH3850 SMART OC/HTDI/1G. This new Smart OC Series will allow users to increase voltages only when needed with the simple push of a button - providing them with up to 12% performance upgrades. The EAH3850 SMART OC also comes with a patent-approved luminant LED DVI output and stylish back sustainer; while the exclusive Glaciator Fansink will keep the GPU 20ºC cooler than reference designed fansinks. On top of all this, the ASUS EAH3850 SMART OC incorporates a large onboard memory size of 1GB - designed specifically to provide feature-rich DirectX 10 gaming and the best multimedia playback at ultra-high resolutions and maximum quality settings.

Admittedly HIS isn't the first company to launch an AGP HD 3850 (SAPPHIRE, PowerColor and GECUBE already have, possibly others), but it is refreshing for any users still running an AGP platform to see new cards being released. HIS has introduced two versions of its AGP HD 3850 - a standard version running at reference speeds and an IceQ 3 Turbo version overclocked from 668MHz to 720MHz core frequency and 1656MHz to 1820MHz memory. Both feature 512MB GDDR3 memory and use the AGP 8X interface. The cards come equipped with all the standard HD 3850 features that you would expect, such as DirectX 10.1 support and AVIVO, although pricing is not listed on HIS' website. It's slightly surprising to see AGP models still being released, as you would have thought most people that are likely to upgrade to a card like this would already have a PCI-Express motherboard, but HIS obviously thinks there is still a market for these cards.

According to NordicHardware, several leaked slides have revealed the price of NVIDIA's upcoming GeForce 9800 GTX card to be $349 (one even said $299-$349, but the higher value seems much more likely). The card should go on sale on March 25th, and the reference specifications have a G92-420 core running at 675MHz with 512MB of GDDR3 memory at 2000MHz.

NVIDIA's upcoming GeForce 9800 GX2 graphics card is now available to pre-order from shopblt.com, for a price of $598.41. Although the release date is still unconfirmed, the site has an estimated time of arrival as 03-22-2008, which could well be the official launch day. The actual card being listed is from PNY Technologies, although no extra details are given.

There are not many details on this unfortunately, but WE.PCINLIFE seems to have acquired a number of close-up images of NVIDIA's upcoming GeForce 9800 GTX, which will be the company's first high-end single GPU 9 series graphics card. There are 18 pictures in all, with some of the better shots shown below.