NVIDIA’s CEO was too optimistic by saying that the code-named NV35 GPU also now known as the GeForce FX 5900 would be announced when the AIB partners are ready to ship the graphics cards into the retail. As we recognize at the moment, actual retail graphics cards powered by the GeForce FX 5900 GPU will be available only in late June or even early July, not in early or mid-June.

The big, the green, the hot, the powerful, the GeForce FX 5900 will be for sale in Japan starting from the 24^th of June. The first graphics cards will come straight from one of NVIDIA’s largest AIBs, ASUSTeK Computer, this Japanese web-site said. Our sources in the USA also confirmed that the GeForce FX 5900-based graphics cards will show up in the US only in late June or early July.

An NVIDIA’s official said during the last quarters conference call that the GeForce FX 5900 GPU have been in production since January, hence, there was a stock of such chips already back in March and April (see this news-story). Thus, it may seem a bit strange that graphics card makers postpone the release of the GeForce FX 5900 now. Nevertheless, there may be a logical explanation for this. Despite of the fact that there was a very few GeForce FX 5800 graphics processors ever made, all the graphics cards were eventually supplied to distributors and resellers. We now hear that not all the GeForce FX 5800 products are sold and that they are not selling really well, as a result, graphics card manufactures may have been asked by their partners not to release the GeForce FX 5900 early since it would totally kill the GeForce FX 5800 sales. There may be other reasons of the delay, I believe.

According to the report, the GeForce FX 5900 Ultra with 256MB of DDR SDRAM memory and VIVO capabilities will be sold for roughly $585 in Japan. The GeForce FX 5900, a bit less advanced graphics card with 128MB of memory and without VIVO, will cost about $470 in the same country.