r420 & nv40 tidbits from anandtech

[hahher]

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.html?i=2018

the wait will be over soon enough.

also it seems to be hinted that nv40 will be more powerful

 

[SneakyStuff]

That was sort of a given, ATI has even confirmed that their new card is a HIGHLY revised 9800 core. Although it is expected to perform well, nVidia has created a totally new card, with 16 full pipelines. I'm curious though, as we all remember the 5800 Ultra fiasco

that was SOOO awesome

 

[us3rnotfound]

Originally posted by: SneakyStuff
That was sort of a given, ATI has even confirmed that their new card is a HIGHLY revised 9800 core. Although it is expected to perform well, nVidia has created a totally new card, with 16 full pipelines. I'm curious though, as we all remember the 5800 Ultra fiasco

that was SOOO awesome

lol, it was such a joke.

 

[sparkyclarky]

The 5800ultra took a whole lotta crap, but it really wasn't a horrible card. Just loud and roughly the same performance as a card that had been out for 6 months at that time. If they wouldn't have done that PR fiasco, it most likely would have just slowly slid away.

 

[VIAN]

Every day, the Nv40 keeps getting more attractive. Now we just have to see performance. But feature wise, the NV40 definitely takes the cake.

 

[Acanthus]

512MB cards are going to be pricey... the memory alone will be over $100 @ cost.

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: shminu

Originally posted by: SneakyStuff
That was sort of a given, ATI has even confirmed that their new card is a HIGHLY revised 9800 core. Although it is expected to perform well, nVidia has created a totally new card, with 16 full pipelines. I'm curious though, as we all remember the 5800 Ultra fiasco

that was SOOO awesome

lol, it was such a joke.

Not as much of a joke as your lack of knowledge. I have a 5800Ultra, it is not a "bad" card. You've probably never even seen one, yet here you are slamming something you know nothing about.


Sneaky Stuff:
Men with 5700s shouldn't talk about far better cards being a joke, know what I mean?

 

[Zephyr106]

Originally posted by: Rollo

Originally posted by: shminu

Originally posted by: SneakyStuff
That was sort of a given, ATI has even confirmed that their new card is a HIGHLY revised 9800 core. Although it is expected to perform well, nVidia has created a totally new card, with 16 full pipelines. I'm curious though, as we all remember the 5800 Ultra fiasco

that was SOOO awesome

lol, it was such a joke.

Not as much of a joke as your lack of knowledge. I have a 5800Ultra, it is not a "bad" card. You've probably never even seen one, yet here you are slamming something you know nothing about.


Sneaky Stuff:
Men with 5700s shouldn't talk about far better cards being a joke, know what I mean?

Calm down boys, you're talking about video cards. But seriously, the 5800 is uhhh a joke compared to similarly priced 9700 and 9800s.

Zephyr

 

[yhelothar]

I don't get why NVIDIA removed the FX name. The FX name was originally given because the 3Dfx team supposedly worked closely with NVIDIA with producing the card. This new 6800 has more 3Dfx features than before!

 

[InlineFive]

Originally posted by: virtualgames0
I don't get why NVIDIA removed the FX name. The FX name was originally given because the 3Dfx team supposedly worked closely with NVIDIA with producing the card. This new 6800 has more 3Dfx features than before!

Because the FX earned a solid bad name.

 

[nRollo]

But seriously, the 5800 is uhhh a joke compared to similarly priced 9700 and 9800s.

I've owned and used all three Zephyr, have you?

Since you don't seem to know much about video cards, let me help you:

5800U faster than 9800Pro 256MB at Doom3

5800U as fast as 9700Pro at UT2003, at the 2 usable resolutions

5800U faster at Q3 than 9700Pro

5800U faster than 9700 Pro 2/3 resolutions at Jedi Knight 2

5800U basically tied with 9700Pro at Commanche

So ...uhhhhhh...Zephyr...uhhhhhh......why ...does...uhhhhhh....Anand's testing.....uhhhhh......seem to say the 5800Ultra is equal to the 9700Pro .....and....uhhh....you say...it's..uhhhh....seriously....uhhh...a joke?


Damnit. Here's one of those damn conundrums college never prepped me for:

On one hand I've got the "most knowledgeable" trio of Zephyr, Sneaky Stuff, and Shminu saying my 5800Ultra is a "joke". They have probably never seen one.

On the other hand, I've got this Anand Lai Shrimpi guy who run this site showing it's about equal to it's competition, the 9700 Ultra.

On top of all this, I've got my own long term eperience with all three cards, which seems to agree with that guy Anand: the 5800U is about the same as my 9700Pro was, and a bit less than my 9800Pro was.

I don't know if we'll ever be able to know the answer to this mystery: who to believe, Anand and personal experience, or the 3 "wise" men.

Perhaps there is only one conclusion that can be drawn:
My 5800U has over double the pixel and texel fillrate, more memory bandwidth, and much higher performance than Sneaky Stuff's 5700U, and cost me about the same as his 5700 U cost. Yet Sneaky for some reason thinks the far superior 5800 U is no good.

Fear not Sneaky. My four year old will get the 5800U soon, and I'll buy a nV40 or R420, then you can respect my video card again.

 

[BFG10K]

with 16 full pipelines

You are being sarcastic right? I can't tell.

5800U faster than 9800Pro 256MB at Doom3

Don't be silly Rollo. We all know that nobody cares about the handlful of PS 2.0 games already on the shelves.

 

[Jeff7181]

Rollo, you should know by now that it's cool to hate the FX5800 because of it's loud cooling design. Go easy on the kids... they're just trying to fit in.

 

[sodcha0s]

The price of the 5800u was definitely a joke when it was released.

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: Jeff7181
Rollo, you should know by now that it's cool to hate the FX5800 because of it's loud cooling design. Go easy on the kids... they're just trying to fit in.

I suppose you're right. How about this:

"Errr..my 5800Ultra is ...errrr..louder..than my 9700Pro was....and... errr...generates more heat.....and....oh yeah! If I crank up the resolutions and AA/AF settings to unplayable levels, the 9700 Pro was a little faster! Truly when you factor in the ...errr....louder...and warmer AND the slower at unplayable resolutions and settings, it's clear the 5800 Ultra is a joke.

I'd even rather have Sneaky's way slower 5700U, due to the 5800s, errr, "jokiness".

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: sodcha0s
The price of the 5800u was definitely a joke when it was released.

The price of everything is a joke when it's released.

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: Jeff7181

Originally posted by: sodcha0s
The price of the 5800u was definitely a joke when it was released.

The price of everything is a joke when it's released.

With the possible exception of new flavors of bubble gum.....

 

[Corporate Thug]

Originally posted by: Jeff7181

Originally posted by: sodcha0s
The price of the 5800u was definitely a joke when it was released.

The price of everything is a joke when it's released.

i scored my 9700 pro for $330 the day it was released, worth ever penny

 

[Insomniak]

Originally posted by: VIAN
Every day, the Nv40 keeps getting more attractive. Now we just have to see performance. But feature wise, the NV40 definitely takes the cake.

Well, that is the test isn't it? Features don't mean much if you can't use them.

I still consider everything at this point to be speculation. Until I see benchmarks, it's anyone's game. I am cautiously optimistic though that Nvidia will retake the crown (frankly, the way I think it should be) but nothing is certain. It could go either way.

 

[LTC8K6]

I think the 5800U rep is from when it was released. How it compared then, not now.
Few people were willing to buy an expensive card in the hope that drivers would eventually make it more competitive.
It may have gotten competitive later, but it was too late by then. How long after the 9700's release are those Anandtech benchmarks?

Now then, to get back on topic.

What about prices? It seems from the rumors that there is a possiblility that R420 could be cheaper than NV40 if it's a hopped up 9800 core. What if R420 is 10%-15% slower but 25 or 50 dollars cheaper? What price difference would get folks to accept the slower card? The gotta have it's are obviously going to buy the fastest for the mostest.

I see a lot of folks here advising to get the the slightly slower card and save the money, including myself. 9800pro over XT / 5900XT over 5900 or Ultra, etc. I guess we will see the same thing in action again. The question is, will people cross mfg's for the same deal? Take a slightly slower ATI over a faster more expensive Nvidia?

Of course if NV40 is a lot faster, or the R420 is very close to it, my post is moot.

 

[nRollo]

Features don't mean much if you can't use them.

This is obviously wrong. As any ATI fan here can tell you, having better PS2 performance for the last year and a half has been VERY important, even in the absence of PS2 games.

 

[Keysplayr]

Does anyone know if ATI is once again employing the efforts of ARTX for this R4xxx series? Or are they going at it solo...

 

[ronnn]

Now that it has been totally confirmed, the 5800u was a darn good card, botched by poor marketing, drivers and cooling design.......... (like who really cares).

I agree that the NV40 seems like it will be the performance winner, unless ATI has a surprise for us all. For me price will be an issue, but am sure it will drop over the next six months. After that the best bang for the buck in a quiet, pci express solution will get my money. By then my p2.4c at 3.0 will be totally out of date and time for the big upgrade. :beer:

last I heard ATI bought ARTX?

 

[Pete]

Um, ATi's new CEO is ex-ArtX. I think that's a small clue that ArtX is now in ATi's blood. Seriously, ArtX engies probably merged with ATi, just like 3dfx engies merged with nVidia. Remember, ATi bought ArtX.

 

[Keysplayr]

Nope, didn't know that thanks.