ATi on schedule to stomp back against nVidia (1 Viewer)

[Collin]

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2609&p=1

There's a few interesting things to get out of that article:

- ATi will be offering a 'PE' version to their X1800XTs to directly compete against the 512MB 7800GTX. I'm kinda really glad to hear that.

- The X1800's delay and stock problems are independent to that of their R&D department, so supposedly the R580 is still on schedule for a January 06' release.

- According to Anardtech's benching, Crossfire X1800XTs (basically 2x X1800s together, like nVidia SLi) on the upcoming RD580 chipset vs. 256MB GTXs in SLi pretty much resulted in a win for ATi in every benchmark, where the titles benched included F.E.A.R, Quake 4, Spinter Cell -CT, Doom 3, Far Cry and 3DMark05 all @ 16*12, 4xAA/8xAF.

So assuming the following which is quite plausible:
1. X1800XT-PE does a good job against the 512MB GTX
2. They can sell them same price or cheaper
3. R580 comes out in time (Jan)
4. RD580 mobo comes out in time (also Jan), which of course supports the new X1800XT-PEs...... we may at the beginning of next year suddenly see ATi turning the tables very quickly, giving nVidia a huge run for their money in both the single & multi-card configuration (for the first time ever, I should add).

So like Anandtech quite eloquently said: "Those of you who believe ATI is far behind nVidia are in for a surprise".

 

[darksbane]

I'm glad to hear it, healthy competition is always a good thing and that motherboard sounds just as nice as the video card

 

[insert-username]

I'm taking a 'wait and see' approach to this. R520 was supposed to be an uber l33t nVidia killer, and it disappointed. You still can't reasonably expect to get hold of an x1800XT since supply is so low. x1800XT CrossFire cards aren't due to begin mass production for another month, and ATi faces a huge challenge in matching nVidia's stock on launch day. nVidia's G80 is in about the same production state as R580, so they'll be neck and neck in that arena. Unfortunately for ATi, it's all well and good to have the fastest card, but if no one can get it, who cares. The onus is well and truly on ATi to not only produce a fast card, but to produce it in quantity on launch like nVidia has done.


I_F

 

[Collin]

I'm glad to hear it, healthy competition is always a good thing and that motherboard sounds just as nice as the video card

I totally agree, nothing beats healthy competition. Hate seeing either nVidia or ATi getting edged out to a big degree, so it's great to see ATi with a roadmap on the works to effectively come hitting back.

I'm taking a 'wait and see' approach to this. R520 was supposed to be an uber l33t nVidia killer, and it disappointed. You still can't reasonably expect to get hold of an x1800XT since supply is so low. x1800XT CrossFire cards aren't due to begin mass production for another month, and ATi faces a huge challenge in matching nVidia's stock on launch day. nVidia's G80 is in about the same production state as R580, so they'll be neck and neck in that arena. Unfortunately for ATi, it's all well and good to have the fastest card, but if no one can get it, who cares. The onus is well and truly on ATi to not only produce a fast card, but to produce it in quantity on launch like nVidia has done.

Well to be honest I'm quite impressed with the R520, besides Doom 3 it manages to pull some pretty impressive performances in many titles. Even in Quake 4 which uses the same engine, the X1800XT really shined at high res/AA/AF settings. Infact thanks to better designed memory controllers and cache, the X1800s really kick butt at high AA/AF, and with a card like this.. people really would want to run their games at high TSAA/AF settings. Just that it was highly unfortunate for ATi that nVidia suddenly managed to pull the 512MB GTX out of nowhere. As for the whole out of stock business, you have a strong point. If people can't get it, then alot of people will of course go for the competition (which is available), but remember there are always people out there who would wait for the better card. In other words, what I'm trying to say is ATi being out of stock is going to be a killer for business, but that whole issue remains irrelevant to the point of who has the better card. With the X1800XT kicking butt at high AA/AF settings in popular titles like Quake 4, HL2, F.E.A.R, Battlefield etc., better SM 3.0 support, HDR w/ AA compatibility.. and assuming the 512MB GTX wasn't on the map, I know I would of waited for it (assuming I was purchasing this gen).. even for months perhaps.

 

[insert-username]

Just that it was highly unfortunate for ATi that nVidia suddenly managed to pull the 512MB GTX out of nowhere.

I know you like anandtech.com, and they had a very nice article link up the other day on how nVidia created the GeForce 7800 GTX 512 MB. Apparently, nVidia was actually sitting on the card for a while, playing a wait-and-see with ATi only when to release it.

The x1800XT handles AA/AF much better than the GTX you're spot on there, but sadly, the GTX is currently about $US100 cheaper than the XT, and, to be blunt, gives almost identical performance (you just can't notice the difference most of the time). ATi's challenge is to compete against the cheaper, but equally priced card.


I_F

 

[Templar]

The 7800GTX 512 was meant to be the 7800 Ultra, but since nVidia was dominating the market already there was no point in releasing a card that might hurt the sale of 7800GTX.

The high cost associated with the 7800GTX 512 is simply because it is unrivalled. nVidia is not expecting to make much profit from it. It is simply there as a technological showcase to show that what they can do. Should there be an ATi rival it would become cheaper.

 

[Collin]

Ooh, glad you saw that article too insert-username! Someone gave me that link 2 days ago, but I haven't had time to read it yet. Taking your word for it, I would say that was a very smart move by nVidia. Realising ATi can't suddenly implement more pipes to compete, they effectively forked ATi by waiting till their X1800s were finalised before unleashing the 512MB GTX. What a bunch of sneaky bastards.. lol.

Templar: Just went to AusPCMarket btw, the 512MB GTX is coming..... at $1,200. I'll pass thanks.. .. so yes, I certainly do hope the X1800XT-PE runs out fairly soon, because I'd consider the new GTX @ around $800-$1,000.. but $1,200, I think I just fainted. Right now I'm far more inclined to go 2x7800GTs, which costs pretty much the same as the 512MB GTX at the moment, it seems.

Yes, the 512MB would probably hurt their current lineup sales.. but I reckon it was also smart of them to sell it THAT much more expensive. I mean, I'd feel pretty cheated if they sold the 512MB GTX same price or lower than the current 256MB.. which was of course originally rumoured. So nVidia can sell their new GTX considerably more expensive, yet still benefit from it. That's pretty nifty.

 

[Collin]

You know, you don't have to read these threads if you don't want to. Just a thought.

 

[SashatheMan]

i dont understand if those expensions they add to their cards PE, LE , GT GTX are a faster version or a slower version. however i think when there is an X somewhere, it always makes the card look faster

 

[Collin]

PE = Platinum Edition, ATi's flagship high-end model.
LE = slower.

Another thing worth mentioning, the 'XT' tag is usually ATi's flagship high-performance model yet nVidia use that tag for the exact opposite; value model.

Observing that the 6800GT was so popular, nVidia retained the GT tag, and simply added an X to the end to finalise their new Geforce 7's flagship model, the GTX.

 

[SashatheMan]

PE = Platinum Edition, ATi's flagship high-end model.
LE = slower.

Another thing worth mentioning, the 'XT' tag is usually ATi's flagship high-performance model yet nVidia use that tag for the exact opposite; value model.

Observing that the 6800GT was so popular, nVidia retained the GT tag, and simply added an X to the end to finalise their new Geforce 7's flagship model, the GTX.

yes i noticed that.

i hear the 6600 GT is on the similar lever to a 6800 LE



EDIT

i tihnk i read it wrong

it was 6800LE is similar to 6800 Xt

 

[Collin]

.. and we all know nVidia XTs suck bollocks.

 

[theone123]

nothing beats my 64MB GeForce4 MX 420, end of story

 

[equiski]

Man im tired of hearing about new ATI and nVidia cards. Admin should make a separate section for 'IT News'.

It should be called "JKDDrAgn MAEK THRED ABOT GRAPHIX CARDES".

 

[withoutaface]

Rofl .

 

[Collin]

Yes, it would be quite awesome if there was my own section of IT, thanks equiski.

 

[equiski]

Yes, it would be quite awesome if there was my own section of IT, thanks equiski.

When I'm king of the world, you'll have your own damn TV channel. You can count on that.

 

[Collin]

That's awesome, I vote [1] equiski for king of the world.