Originally posted by: Arkaign
Originally posted by: cmdrdredd
Originally posted by: Arkaign
Originally posted by: cmdrdredd
the 8800gts has 384bit and many consider that alot for that card. Lets say we wait for cards to be in hand and benchmarks to be run before we declare doom on ATI.
Well, I don't declare doom on ATI

I think that a 256-bit X2950Pro could be their saving grace, under the following conditions :
It's $179 or thereabouts (could stick to 256MB Ram even, look at the excellent performance of X1950XT w/256MB)
It is more or less in the range of 8800GTS performance, perhaps between 320 and 640MB version.
They squeeze it out in time for some holiday sales!
The market is crying out for a decent midrange DX10 solution that can play current games better than their DX9 cards already can. Nvidia and ATI have both let the midrange go, and the first company to offer a decent solution will sell TONS and TONS of cards
If they can do it, GO ATI! I remain a fan of the X1950XT (I recommend one over the overpriced, gigantic, power-slurping X2900s any day of the week), and think they really need a hit right now to keep afloat.
Well, the 2900xt can be considered midrange. I suppose that the $350-$420 pricepoint is the current midrange area. High end being over $450 but obviously ATI has no cards to fit in here.
The HD2900xt is a good card overall, thanks to very good drivers for Vista. I think ATI tried to do too much and it didn't work out so they just cut features and released it. Bad for them really.
Ouch, I think midrange needs to come back down to the $200 price point, as in the 6600GT days. At that point, you could play pretty much anything at decent res/detail, without breaking the bank. Not so anymore
I'd
LIKE to see :
Low-end : $49, can play new games at lowest settings, HD Video @ HD res, passive cooling, 64-bit memory interface
Entry-level gaming : $99, can play new games at midrange settings, 128 or 256-bit memory interface
Midrange gaming : $149-$199, can play new games at pretty high settings, 256 or larger memory interface
High-end gaming : $249-$299, can play new games at maximum settings, 384 or larger memory interface
Bleeding-edge gaming : $400 and up, can play anything at any detail, and will do so for at least 6 months.