HARDOCP 2900xt Review! (a proper review)

[apoppin]

*overload*

*danger* will robinson *danger!*

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/449/13

Let?s recap what we found out.

On 3DMark03, which simulates older games based on DirectX 9 (Shader 2.0 model), Radeon HD 2900 XTX with no image quality settings enabled achieved the same performance level as GeForce 7950 GX2 and was 43-50% faster than GeForce 8800 GTS and 56-61% faster than GeForce 7950 GT. However, when we increased image quality settings, GeForce 7950 GX2 was 30% faster, but Radeon HD 2900 XTX was 43-50% faster than GeForce 8800 GTS and 56-61% faster than GeForce 7950GT.

On 3DMark06, which simulates games based on DirectX 9.0c (Shader 3.0 model) and puts a lot of weight on High Dynamic Range (HDR), Radeon HD 2900 XTX was 31% faster than GeForce 7950 GX2, 24-25% faster than GeForce 8800 GTS and 100-107% faster than GeForce 7950 GT.

Quake 4 continues to be AMD/ATI?s Achilles? Heel, even thought Radeon HD 2900 XTX improved a little bit on this game: it achieved the same performance level as GeForce 8800 GTS at 2048x1536. At 1600x1200 GeForce 7950 GX2 was 7-8% faster and GeForce 8800 GTS was 14% faster.

On F.E.A.R. with no image quality settings enabled, Radeon HD 2900 XTX was 25-30% faster than GeForce 7950 GX2, 53-55% faster than GeForce 8800 GTS and 117-119% faster than GeForce 7950 GT. However when we maxed out the image quality settings, the new video card from AMD achieve the same performance level as GeForce 7950 GX2, being 42-55% faster than GeForce 8800 GTS and 50-52% faster than GeForce 7950 GT.

On Far Cry with no image quality enhancements enabled, Radeon HD 2900 XTX achieved the same performance level as GeForce 7950 GX2 and GeForce 8800 GTS at 1600x1200, being 13% faster than GeForce 7950 GT on this same resolution. At the other two resolutions we tested, GeForce 7950 GX2 was 6-8% faster, but the new video card from AMD was 8-12% faster than GeForce 8800 GTS and 30-36% faster than GeForce 7950 GT.

When we enabled image quality settings, Radeon HD 2900 XTX achieved the same performance level as GeForce 8800 GTS at 1600x1200 but was 29-54% faster on the other two resolutions we tested. Here, however, all other video cards we included in our comparison were faster than Radeon HD 2900 XTX. GeForce 7950 GT was, for example, 45-50% faster.

And finally on Battlefield 2142 with no image quality settings enabled, Radeon HD 2900 XTX achieved the same performance as GeForce 7950 GX2, was 26-31% faster than GeForce 8800 GTS and 72-77% faster than GeForce 7950 GT. When we maxed out the image quality settings, GeForce 7950 GX2 was 26-29% faster than Radeon HD 2900 XTX, while the new video card from AMD achieved the same performance as GeForce 8800 GTS at 1600x1200 but was 16-19% faster on the other two resolutions we tested, and was also 30-34% faster than GeForce 7950 GT.

Is Radeon HD 2900 XTX a good high-end video? Yes, especially for its price range: with a maximum suggested price of USD 399 for the North-American market it makes a terrific option for those who want more performance than a GeForce 8800 GTS can deliver and don?t want to pay for a GeForce 8800 GTX.

 

[HigherGround]

techpowerup did not include GTS numbers, without them, their conclusion, as it stands, is without merit.

 

[apoppin]

http://www.chilehardware.com/Revisiones...TI-Radeon-HD2900XT-200705131808/7.html

espanol

Pros

* Buen rendimiento general
* Gran rendimiento DX10
* Layout bien pensado
* Construcción Robusta

Contras

* Altos requerimientos electricos
* Ruido más notorio que la solución de la competencia
* Drivers inmaduros

:Q

they like it in Chili

and sorry, bon ami

but my italiano is no good

http://www.hwupgrade.it/articoli/skvide...d-2900-xt-e-il-momento-di-r600_21.html

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: HigherGround
techpowerup did not include GTS numbers, without them, their conclusion, as it stands, is without merit.

ok toss out both HardOCP and techpowerup

overall ... it seems to be a " cautious 'thumbs-up' "

as a Competitor to the GTS
of course

the price, the bundle, the features are right ... size is good too

the power consumption sucks and the drivers are immature

what did i miss?

 

[rmed64]

Originally posted by: Gstanfor
I guess we'll soon see "hardocp rigged the review", "that dirty no good nvidia loving Kyle cheated" style claims flying thick and fast.

Im sorry, but I do feel he is either an nvidia fanboy or gets sponsors or something from them to say alot of the stuff he says.

Just look at their 8600GTS review, where he shows nothing but love for the cards (which everyone knows are underwhelming) and goes as far as saying they "blow Geforce 7 series out the water".

I no longer trust their reviews

 

[coldpower27]

The Hardware Secrets review lacks the most important competitor to the X2900 XT the 8800 GTS 640, so terribly disappointing. I don't really care that a MSRP 399 beats a MSRP 299 or the old outdated 7950GX2, which is inferior to the 8800 GTS 640 as it relies on SLI technology.

 

[Laminator]

Originally posted by: apoppin
*overload*

*danger* will robinson *danger!*

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/449/13

There is something fishy with that review. They have the 7950GX2 whupping the butt of the "X2900 XTX" (?) and the 8800GTS 320MB at high settings. Huh?

 

[Matt2]

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: HigherGround
techpowerup did not include GTS numbers, without them, their conclusion, as it stands, is without merit.

ok toss out both HardOCP and techpowerup

overall ... it seems to be a " cautious 'thumbs-up' "

as a Competitor to the GTS
of course

the price, the bundle, the features are right ... size is good too

the power consumption sucks and the drivers are immature

what did i miss?

I dont understand why HardOCP is being "thrown out".

If you dont like his conclusion, then so be it, but the numbers dont lie. Just ask DailyTech.

 

[apoppin]

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=715&num=1
interesting info not found elsewhere

The AMD R600 series was originally scheduled for launch towards the end of last year, however, engineering problems had led to this multi-month delay. Phoronix had seen an earlier revision of the R600 in hand, which was especially interesting. However, these multiple delays have allowed additional time for the Catalyst development teams to fine-tune the R600 driver support. Since January we have been reporting that ATI/AMD has in fact been working on Radeon HD 2000 (or at the time, the Radeon X2000 series) product support. We seen the PCI ID entries initially in the 8.33 beta display driver and since then we know AMD has been working further on R600 generation support. Official support wasn't appended last month in the fglrx 8.36.5 driver and it will not arrive this month in fglrx 8.37 either. We do anticipate, however, that this support for the HD 2400, HD 2600, and HD 2900 in Linux will arrive shortly.

AMD hasn't officially told us when the R600 Linux support will arrive, but having already seen the 8.37 driver we know that it will not come this month. However, as HD 2000 series Linux support has been in development for at least six months now, we would expect the support to come very soon. We would hope and expect that the official R600 product support will come next month or in July (by fglrx version 8.40). When this support does finally arrive, do not expect to see Custom Filter Anti-Aliasing or MultiGPU / CrossFire support -- though there may be some video playback improvements.

It is also worth pointing out that a new rewritten AMD Catalyst Linux driver for OpenGL is under development and ATI has admitted its problems along with stating recently they would be seriously working on improving their Linux position. We will also be sharing The Truth About AMD's Development Cycle in an upcoming article. Things this year for ATI/AMD should be extremely interesting -- perhaps even more so than last year with all of the driver improvements (ATI A Year in Review 2006). Last month with the 8.36.5 driver introduction we also seen the introduction of two new X.Org modules: esut.a and glesx.so

so *engineering problems* ... as i said

and .. linux support
:Q

that would be from AMD .... not ATI
:roll:

i think i can form a good "picture" ... now


and i kind of like it

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Matt2

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: HigherGround
techpowerup did not include GTS numbers, without them, their conclusion, as it stands, is without merit.

ok toss out both HardOCP and techpowerup

overall ... it seems to be a " cautious 'thumbs-up' "

as a Competitor to the GTS
of course

the price, the bundle, the features are right ... size is good too

the power consumption sucks and the drivers are immature

what did i miss?

I dont understand why HardOCP is being "thrown out".

If you dont like his conclusion, then so be it, but the numbers dont lie. Just ask DailyTech.

sure they do

*out of date drivers*

that's all

toss 'em

or UPdate them

their results are IRRELEVANT to what i would have if my HD-XT arrived tomorrow

 

[golem]

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: Matt2

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: HigherGround
techpowerup did not include GTS numbers, without them, their conclusion, as it stands, is without merit.

ok toss out both HardOCP and techpowerup

overall ... it seems to be a " cautious 'thumbs-up' "

as a Competitor to the GTS
of course

the price, the bundle, the features are right ... size is good too

the power consumption sucks and the drivers are immature

what did i miss?

I dont understand why HardOCP is being "thrown out".

If you dont like his conclusion, then so be it, but the numbers dont lie. Just ask DailyTech.

sure they do

*out of date drivers*

that's all

toss 'em

or UPdate them

Does anyone know which drivers are shipping when the card is released?

 

[josh6079]

It's strange how the entire family didn't launch as well considering they delayed this product for that very reason.

There does seem to be some possibilities with drivers, although that's something that almost always exists with video cards.

From what I can tell so far, this seems to be just another X1800 repeat. Late, initially unimpressive but potentially a solid card to own so long as the price falls and drivers progress.

It's a let-down, but hopefully it will drive the GTX's price to at least $500. Though I don't think that will happen quite yet.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: golem

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: Matt2

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: HigherGround
techpowerup did not include GTS numbers, without them, their conclusion, as it stands, is without merit.

ok toss out both HardOCP and techpowerup

overall ... it seems to be a " cautious 'thumbs-up' "

as a Competitor to the GTS
of course

the price, the bundle, the features are right ... size is good too

the power consumption sucks and the drivers are immature

what did i miss?

I dont understand why HardOCP is being "thrown out".

If you dont like his conclusion, then so be it, but the numbers dont lie. Just ask DailyTech.

sure they do

*out of date drivers*

that's all

toss 'em

or UPdate them

Does anyone know which drivers are shipping when the card is released?

who gives a fig?

i never - ever - install drivers from the CD

you ALWAYS go to the website for he latest and these reviewers would have "access" to those the latest drivers ... if they CHOOSE to use them

HardOCP is damn sloppy - at least this review

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: josh6079
It's strange how the entire family didn't launch as well considering they delayed this product for that very reason.

There does seem to be some possibilities with drivers, although that's something that almost always exists with video cards.

From what I can tell so far, this seems to be just another X1800 repeat. Late, initially unimpressive but potentially a solid card to own so long as the price falls and drivers progress.

It's a let-down, but hopefully it will drive the GTX's price to at least $500. Though I don't think that will happen quite yet.

the 'family' was a "cover story" for the *engineering problems*
- evidently it isn't quite 'ready' either ... the "new story" is that AMD wants to KILL the 8600 series and is respinning THEM

that's WHY i was so damn pissed at AMD - for LYING to us

Ruiz finally cleared it up ... and anand's article

 

[golem]

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: golem

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: Matt2

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: HigherGround
techpowerup did not include GTS numbers, without them, their conclusion, as it stands, is without merit.

ok toss out both HardOCP and techpowerup

overall ... it seems to be a " cautious 'thumbs-up' "

as a Competitor to the GTS
of course

the price, the bundle, the features are right ... size is good too

the power consumption sucks and the drivers are immature

what did i miss?

I dont understand why HardOCP is being "thrown out".

If you dont like his conclusion, then so be it, but the numbers dont lie. Just ask DailyTech.

sure they do

*out of date drivers*

that's all

toss 'em

or UPdate them

Does anyone know which drivers are shipping when the card is released?

who gives a fig?

i never - ever - install drivers from the CD

you ALWAYS go to the website for he latest and these reviewers would have "access" to those the latest drivers ... if they CHOOSE to use them

HardOCP is damn sloppy - at least this review[/q

Well it depends. Are the latest drivers available at ATI website? If the older ones are all that you can download, then what you would use when you got ur card tommorrow is the older drivers.

Also depends on what ships with the card, because while it might be irrevalent to you, and I guess most of the people on anandtech, it is not irrevalent.

Also, to release new drivers 3 days before NDA expires and expect everyone to re bench is sort of unfair. AMD should have give the sites more time to re bench.

 

[MadBoris]

Originally posted by: Matt2

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: HigherGround
techpowerup did not include GTS numbers, without them, their conclusion, as it stands, is without merit.

ok toss out both HardOCP and techpowerup

overall ... it seems to be a " cautious 'thumbs-up' "

as a Competitor to the GTS
of course

the price, the bundle, the features are right ... size is good too

the power consumption sucks and the drivers are immature

what did i miss?

I dont understand why HardOCP is being "thrown out".

Apopping is the biggest ATI fanboy I have seen in quite sometime.
He's defended ATI strenuously with anything that may show they have lesser performance than a GTS. Made sure to argue how broke Nvidia's drivers are. Wants to diresgard a site like HardOCP even though they are using the authentic .7 driver that reviewers used.
All this in just 24 hours.

Apoppin, give it a break we all want a good card, your pouring it on a little strong though for someone who isn't even getting a kickback.

 

[swtethan]

Originally posted by: MadBoris

Originally posted by: Matt2

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: HigherGround
techpowerup did not include GTS numbers, without them, their conclusion, as it stands, is without merit.

ok toss out both HardOCP and techpowerup

overall ... it seems to be a " cautious 'thumbs-up' "

as a Competitor to the GTS
of course

the price, the bundle, the features are right ... size is good too

the power consumption sucks and the drivers are immature

what did i miss?

I dont understand why HardOCP is being "thrown out".

Apopping is the biggest ATI fanboy I have seen in quite sometime.
He's defended ATI strenuously with anything that may show they have lesser performance than a GTS. Made sure to argue how broke Nvidia's drivers are. Wants to diresgard a site like HardOCP even though they are using the authentic .7 driver that reviewers used.
All this in just 24 hours.

Apoppin, give it a break we all want a good card, your pouring it on a little strong though for someone who isn't even getting a kickback.

I dont see how he's elite.....

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: golem

Originally posted by: apoppin

Does anyone know which drivers are shipping when the card is released?

who gives a fig?

i never - ever - install drivers from the CD

you ALWAYS go to the website for he latest and these reviewers would have "access" to those the latest drivers ... if they CHOOSE to use them

HardOCP is damn sloppy - at least this review[/q

Well it depends. Are the latest drivers available at ATI website? If the older ones are all that you can download, then what you would use when you got ur card tommorrow is the older drivers.

Also depends on what ships with your card, because while it might be irrevalent to you, and I guess most of the people on anandtech, it is not irrevalent.

Also, to release new drivers 3 days before NDA expires and expect everyone to re bench is sort of unfair. AMD should have give the sites more time to re bench.

Yes they are available to the reviewers - not the public .. it is a secure site

and *everyone else* used the latest drivers - except that lazy ass at HardOCP
he is "professional" ?

:roll:

i think not

toss his angry conclusions

 

[golem]

Yes they are available to the reviewers - not the public .. it is a secure site

and *everyone else* used the latest drivers - except that lazy ass at HardOCP
he is "professional" ?

:roll:

i think not

toss his angry conclusions

If they aren't available publically then I don't see your point. These drivers may be "reviewer" specials and never see the light of day.

Heck, doesn't Anandtech only review with shipping drivers or drivers that will be released very shortly?

And according to your own critieria, if you got an HD2900xt in your hands tomorrow, you would not be using the new drivers. So reviews using these drivers would not be what you experience, making all the reviews using the new drivers irrelevant to you.

Disregard my arguments if there are strong indications that these drivers will be released shortly to the public. But if the opposite is the case, then Hardocp is actually acting quite professional and the other sites aren't, using drivers aren't what the buying public will be able to use in a reasonable amount of time

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: MadBoris

Originally posted by: Matt2

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: HigherGround
techpowerup did not include GTS numbers, without them, their conclusion, as it stands, is without merit.

ok toss out both HardOCP and techpowerup

overall ... it seems to be a " cautious 'thumbs-up' "

as a Competitor to the GTS
of course

the price, the bundle, the features are right ... size is good too

the power consumption sucks and the drivers are immature

what did i miss?

I dont understand why HardOCP is being "thrown out".

Apopping is the biggest ATI fanboy I have seen in quite sometime.
He's defended ATI strenuously with anything that may show they have lesser performance than a GTS. Made sure to argue how broke Nvidia's drivers are. Wants to diresgard a site like HardOCP even though they are using the authentic .7 driver that reviewers used.
All this in just 24 hours.

Apoppin, give it a break we all want a good card, your pouring it on a little strong though for someone who isn't even getting a kickback.

HARDOCP's review is bullcrap

the guy used OLD drivers in a comparison

and evidently *my view* agrees with the majority of *other reviewers*
-so far

- the ones that YOU toss out because you don't like their conclusions

well i don't like yours

and i DO actively defend my views

so what?

 

[MadBoris]

Originally posted by: apoppinand *everyone else* used the latest drivers - except that lazy ass at HardOCP
he is "professional" ?

I'm going to have to start calling you on these crazy allegations you throw around.
Proof now!

Just cause he mentioned a newer driver that popped up (although he using the .7 official one) that is not proof, you will have to do better to prove everyone else is using newer.

waiting...


Edit:

- the ones that YOU toss out because you don't like their conclusions

What are you talking about?
I have no agenda here I am just letting the picture develop, not strenuosly defending a position.

 

[golem]

Deleted

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: golem

Yes they are available to the reviewers - not the public .. it is a secure site

and *everyone else* used the latest drivers - except that lazy ass at HardOCP
he is "professional" ?

:roll:

i think not

toss his angry conclusions

If they aren't available publically then I don't see your point. These drivers may be "reviewer" specials and never see the light of day.

Heck, doesn't Anandtech only review with shipping drivers or drivings that will be released very shortly?

And according to your own critieria, if you got an HD2900xt in your hand tommorrow, you would not be using the new drivers. So reviews using these drivers would not be what you experience, making all the review using the new drivers irrelevant to you.

you don't know anything about the review porcess, do you?

up till today ... EVERYTHING was UNDER NDA

that means *everything* was supposed to be released 'at once' ...
when drivers are made available to reviewers, they are NOTIFIED and told where and how to D/L them
OR if the security is rally "tight" they get a courier and a CD with the drivers

NOW that the HD2900xt is actually *released* you and i can go to AMD's website and get the SAME drivers that were available to the reviewers - 3 days ago

there are NO "reviewer specials" ... just 'beta' and sometimes certified drivers

i expect they will be *certified* tomorrow - unlike nvidia drivers that were not certified for some time AFTER release to the public


--do i have it make it simpler for you to understand ?

i don't think i can

 

[Matt2]

Originally posted by: apoppin
HARDOCP's review is bullcrap

the guy used OLD drivers in a comparison

and evidently *my view* agrees with the majority of *other reviewers*
-so far

- the ones that YOU toss out because you don't like their conclusions

well i don't like yours

and i DO actively defend my views

so what?

So how much did the new drivers increase performance compared to HardOCP's numbers?

And just to be fair I'm throwing out this review,http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/449/13 that you seemed to like so much because they didnt even test it against an 8800GTS 640mb.

Now THAT is bullcrap. Especially since you can get an 8800GTS 640mb for ~$50-$75 cheaper than you can a HD2900XT. For the time being.

 

[golem]

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: golem

Yes they are available to the reviewers - not the public .. it is a secure site

and *everyone else* used the latest drivers - except that lazy ass at HardOCP
he is "professional" ?

:roll:

i think not

toss his angry conclusions

If they aren't available publically then I don't see your point. These drivers may be "reviewer" specials and never see the light of day.

Heck, doesn't Anandtech only review with shipping drivers or drivings that will be released very shortly?

And according to your own critieria, if you got an HD2900xt in your hand tommorrow, you would not be using the new drivers. So reviews using these drivers would not be what you experience, making all the review using the new drivers irrelevant to you.

you don't know anything about the review porcess, do you?

up till today ... EVERYTHING was UNDER NDA

that means *everything* was supposed to be released 'at once' ...
when drivers are made available to reviewers, they are NOTIFIED and told where and how to D/L them

NOW that the card is actually *released* you and i can go to AMD's website and get the SAME drivers that were available to the reviewers - 3 days ago

do i have it make it simpler for you to understand ?

i don't think i can

Stop being an ass. I made arguments that I think are very sound and you come back treating me like I'm an idiot.

Unless these drivers are available to the public when NDA is released then NO, if you got your card tommorrow, all the reviews using them would not apply. Only the reviews using the older drivers. Do you dispute this?