Most influential Graphic cards in history

Concillian

Diamond Member
May 26, 2004
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They hit most of what I would have mentioned.

I made a list before I read it and it was:
Verite
Voodoo
TnT2
GF2
GF4 Ti 4200
Radeon 9700
8800GT

These were the cards that made people really stand up and take notice. Mostly on the price vs. performance standpoint. These are the cards that put significant technology improvements into the hands of everyday people. We're due for another GF2 / Ti 4200 / 8800GT in another year or two.
 

cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
27,052
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Leaving out the GeForce 256 is stupid regardless of what it cost.

Also stupid is no mention of the Voodoo3,4,5 cards which had some impressive FSAA features that changed how we play games. No more jaggies! (the V5 6000 doesn't particularly count because it wasn't released)
 

Cheex

Diamond Member
Jul 18, 2006
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Also, if cost isn't the concern....then...I think the 8800GT should not be in that list.....the 8800GTX should...it had a much larger impact.
 

cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
27,052
357
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Originally posted by: Cheex
Also, if cost isn't the concern....then...I think the 8800GT should not be in that list.....the 8800GTX should...it had a much larger impact.

Eactly, I was under the impression this was to be a writeup and list of the top video cards ever in their day. Not a "oh well the ti4200 was cheap and could overclock" well duh...overclock that ti4600 too.
 

nitromullet

Diamond Member
Jan 7, 2004
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Originally posted by: Cheex
Also, if cost isn't the concern....then...I think the 8800GT should not be in that list.....the 8800GTX should...it had a much larger impact.

I was thinking the same thing. The 8800GTX was pretty much the most revolutionary card since the 9700 Pro. The 8800GT was just it's cheap little brother.
 

qliveur

Diamond Member
Mar 25, 2007
4,087
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I think it's because the 8800GT introduced high-end performance at a far cheaper price. I remember the huge wave of people trying to get their hands on one a year ago.

EDIT: But yeah, the impact that the original 8800GTX made was just insane. It really was revolutionary.
 

postmortemIA

Diamond Member
Jul 11, 2006
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lame, it is almost listing every early card. three that matter are GeForce 256 (first TnL card), GeForce 3 (first card with shaders) and Radeon 9700 Pro (first powerhouse)
 

Xellos2099

Platinum Member
Mar 8, 2005
2,277
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Originally posted by: nitromullet
Originally posted by: Cheex
Also, if cost isn't the concern....then...I think the 8800GT should not be in that list.....the 8800GTX should...it had a much larger impact.

I was thinking the same thing. The 8800GTX was pretty much the most revolutionary card since the 9700 Pro. The 8800GT was just it's cheap little brother.

That is exactly the point. 8800Gt was pretty cheap when it was release and it seriously rival GTX at less than one half of the cost.
 

Wreckage

Banned
Jul 1, 2005
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Originally posted by: MarcVenice
If the 8800gt fits in, then so do the HD4850/4870.

The 8800 series was a huge leap over the previous generation. The 48xx series was actually slower than what was already on the market.
 

cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
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357
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Originally posted by: Wreckage
Originally posted by: MarcVenice
If the 8800gt fits in, then so do the HD4850/4870.

The 8800 series was a huge leap over the previous generation. The 48xx series was actually slower than what was already on the market.

:roll:

The 4870 was slower than? no it wasn't...at its price point, and when compared to it's competitor (no it wasn't supposed to compete against the GTX280) it beat the GTX260 in most areas. Cheaper too, it forced Nvidia to drop prices.
 

Wreckage

Banned
Jul 1, 2005
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Originally posted by: cmdrdredd


The 4870 was slower than?
The GTX280 which had been out for awhile. Very much so.

When the 8800 series came out it absolutely demolished any other card on the market regardless of price point.

The 4870 was between second and third place. Hardly "influential" or even mildly impressive.

Had it passed the GTX280 by 30% or more maybe, but it fell behind. In a 2 horse race 2nd place is last place.

 

Concillian

Diamond Member
May 26, 2004
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Originally posted by: MarcVenice
If the 8800gt fits in, then so do the HD4850/4870.

How so?

When the Ti 4200 came out it soundly beat everything available in the market for close to half the price... except the 4600 which was not worth it.

This is a pretty direct comparison to the 8800GT, which was similar performance to a GTX at half the price.

Kinda the same story with the GF2 / GF256 debate. The GF256 brought the technology to the market (at a price). The GF2 brought it to the masses.

IMO the real winners are not the cards that bring technology that nobody can afford. Evolutionary bigger / pricier --> faster is nothing special. The real gems are the ones that smash the existing price / performance paradigms.

Everyone expects next generations top tier to beat the previous generation's top tier. This is evolutionary performance gains. The real winners are the ones where the next generations midrange price point beats the previous generations top tier.

That happened with the 8800GT, that didn't really happen with the HD4850 / 4870.
 

Concillian

Diamond Member
May 26, 2004
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Originally posted by: Wreckage


When the 8800 series came out it absolutely demolished any other card on the market regardless of price point.

That's not technically correct. The 8800GTX had been out already. The 8800GT was what really broke the mold, competing with the ~$400 8800GTX at a ~$200 price point.
 

Seggybop

Member
Oct 17, 2007
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The 8800GT was actually closer to $300 when it came out. Everyone seems to forget how high the initial prices went from the huge demand. It had been out for quite a while before it got to the $200 range.
 

Wreckage

Banned
Jul 1, 2005
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Diamond Monster Fusion using the Voodoo Banshee would be #1 as it used 3d and 2d all in one card.

This list is obviously listing GPUs so it's a bit incorrect at least in title.
 

ViRGE

Elite Member, Moderator Emeritus
Oct 9, 1999
31,516
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Originally posted by: clandren
s3 virge DX

the first graphics decelerator !!
Exactly! How could anyone forget the ViRGE?:(
 

zerocool84

Lifer
Nov 11, 2004
36,041
472
126
Voodoo 5 5500, FSAA, motion blur, depth of field, and soft shadows, nothing else at that time had those.
 

lavaheadache

Diamond Member
Jan 28, 2005
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Originally posted by: zerocool84
Voodoo 5 5500, FSAA, motion blur, depth of field, and soft shadows, nothing else at that time had those.

I still fire my v5 up everyonce in a while
 

zerocool84

Lifer
Nov 11, 2004
36,041
472
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Originally posted by: lavaheadache
Originally posted by: zerocool84
Voodoo 5 5500, FSAA, motion blur, depth of field, and soft shadows, nothing else at that time had those.

I still fire my v5 up everyonce in a while

I still remember the day I got mine. With the free mousepad and all lol. Giving a free mousepad cus they took forever to get it out was funny.