So...whats the big deal with SM3.0?

[PingSpike]

I'm thinking of getting a x800gto2 to unlock or just plain finding one of those x850xt deals or something. It seems like nvidia has nothing better at $200 price point. The only real draw back I can see is that these cards don't have SM3.0. I'm not that concerned...but I also don't know a ton about SM3 or what implications not having it will bring.

So tell me about it!

 

[Munky]

I'll tell you the same thing I said a year ago - by the time SM3 features become widely used, the 6800 series will be too slow to run them smoothly at decent settings. SM3 is usually used to add higher detail shader effects than what can be done easily in SM2, and if your card is not fast enough to run those games at max detail settings, then you'll only be watching a SM3 slideshow, or you'll be limited to 1024x768 0x0x. For anyone seriously interested in SM3, I strongly suggest a 7800gt or x1800xl as a minimum.

 

[beggerking]

H.263 acceleration support for 6600gt and above + sm3.0

x800gto2 is very good bang for the buck though.

 

[deeznuts]

Originally posted by: beggerking
H.263 acceleration support for 6600gt and above + sm3.0

x800gto2 is very good bang for the buck though.

Did you mean to type H.264? Just checking to make sure 263 isn't a new standard or something.

And I did read the stories about 6xxx series cards and above getting H.264 capabilities, but haven't seen it mentioned or drivers since. I hope it is true since I bought a 6800GS.

 

[PingSpike]

I'm guess that since I don't really know what h.264 is that I'm not going to miss it. Wasn't it some video encoding thing?

 

[beggerking]

Originally posted by: deeznuts

Originally posted by: beggerking
H.263 acceleration support for 6600gt and above + sm3.0

x800gto2 is very good bang for the buck though.

Did you mean to type H.264? Just checking to make sure 263 isn't a new standard or something.

And I did read the stories about 6xxx series cards and above getting H.264 capabilities, but haven't seen it mentioned or drivers since. I hope it is true since I bought a 6800GS.

lol oops.my bad

ya, I think the next driver will support it ( hopefully NVidia follow through their claims).