We now have the image used by the French site, showing the scores of the cards involved. Details of other test results are not available but you can see the full image by following the screens tab above. A big thank you to Timothy for sending in the image.
The first benchmarks pitting nVidia's new baby, the Geforce FX 5900 Ultra DetR50, against the Radeon 9800 Pro have hit the web and then left it. French site tt-hardware.com presented a full set of benchmarks comparing the two main competitors for the graphics speed crown. The site has however, replaced the results and comparison with a message claiming News withdrawn at the request of nVidia.
The exact reasons behind nVidia's request are not specified but it is most probably the usual story of unfavourable results which, the manufacturer almost always claims, are caused by the last minute tweaking needed before the product is actually released.
Having no access to the original benchmark results it is hard to comment on what may have caused any unfavourable performance, if it is something suggesting that drivers may be responsible then it is easy to assume that any performance issues can be addressed in time. If there are other performance issues than it may be harder for nVidia to tackle them before the card is made available. Another possible reason why nVidia asked for the benchmark results to be removed may be that they want rivals, ATI, to remain in the dark a bit longer. It is no secret that the rivalry between the two graphics leaders has reached an all-time peak.
In any case the fact that nVidia requested the removal of the results gives an unfavourable impression and will certainly cause some negative comments in the hardware community. nVidia's recent performance has not been of a standard which would allow them to act in such an aggressive way and they still have to fight ATI for the top spot.
Fortunately for nVidia, they still have some time before the product is made available and we all expect them to get their act together and deliver a board that will truly challenge their Canadian rivals.