First R600 a joke ?

[sabenfox]

I was reading some reviews and something came to mind. I read that AMD/ATI already have R600 ready, but they are choosing not to release it yet.

So what i'm thinking is, the 8800gtx holds the performance crown right now. Lets say that the first R600 card comes out and it is at least decently faster then the 8800gtx. Well it's not like Nvidia has been sitting around doing nothing, they will wait a little bit and most likely release the 8900gtx.

in which case ATI will have to release another product to compete (i'm guessing/hoping they have been working on this as we speak)

So would buying the first R600 that comes out be a mistake, knowing that there are cards right around the corner that are already better ?

 

[cleeve]

So would buying the first R600 that comes out be a mistake, knowing that there are cards right around the corner that are already better ?

If it has great price/performance, it's no more of a mistake than buying an 8800 today.

We'll see what it brings to the table, and how much it costs...

 

[TSIMonster]

So would buying the first R600 that comes out be a mistake, knowing that there are cards right around the corner that are already better ?

If it has great price/performance, it's no more of a mistake than buying an 8800 today.

We'll see what it brings to the table, and how much it costs...


There is always going to be something else just around the bend!

 

[cb62fcni]

I agree. It just depends on what you want. There will always be another card "just around the corner" that will wreck whatever you have just purchased.

 

[anticupidon]

So would buying the first R600 that comes out be a mistake, knowing that there are cards right around the corner that are already better ?

well it's seems that always are better cards around the corner it's just the way it is in the gpu market,everybody has a few tricks left and at least an ace in their sleeve :twisted:

 

[bruce555]

I would say the exact opposite, since their desicion to release the R600 with the model name of X2900, that there will be no more major revisions to the R600 like the diff between X1800 and X1900. Also the best you have to look for is to a overclocked version of R600 (X2950) with DDR4. Since they've manufactured it already on 80nm, you're not going to get the difference like the 7800 to 7900 of the optical shrink because 80nm to 65nm would be allot of work and it would be best just to use the time to R700.

 

[Eviltwin17]

not really, all high performance cards like that are just to answer the call of super enthusiasts who have huge pockets, so even if the 8900gtx beats the r600 its not gonna affect you is it? so you dont really need to worry about it unless you want to spend the $500+ it will be to get either card


what you really want to worry about is the pricing on the the lower high-end cards like the upcoming 8900gs and 8900gt. im not buying any dx10 cards until i see benchmarks and how much better the cards perform over my current 7900gto, if its worth the money then ill get a new card, if not ill wait

 

[CompTIA_Rep]

The trick to these things is to wait until there is no foreseeable technology replacing the latest and the greatest.... that is the time to buy.

 

[sabenfox]

The trick to these things is to wait until there is no foreseeable technology replacing the latest and the greatest.... that is the time to buy.

I tend to agree with you, but like i said the 8900's are just around the corner, along with the R600, so i was thinking on waiting till the 8900's were out and seeing is there was a response from ati, if not, bam go with the 8900's

 

[CompTIA_Rep]

I was being sarcastic.

There is always something around the corner and if you always waited until what was around the corner to hit the shelves, you would never upgrade and aways be waiting.

 

[mad_murdock]

My method is a little more crude and caveman like.
I play games.
Games don't perform good. (by my personal standard)
I look at cards, see which card performs best for games.
Buy card
keep card until games no play good
I look at cards, see which card performs best for games.
Buy Card
Keep card until game no play good.
Repeat every 12-18 months

I do tend to buy the higher-end, but that normally tops out around $400-450. And I try not to buy the first 2-3 months a card comes out. There always seems to be about a $75 price break after that. Which last time was the difference between getting a 1800XT versus 1900XTX.

Same process for CPUs.

Sound cards, I tend to skip 2 generations

The only place where you really have to debate yourself is stuff like knowing that DDR3 memory is on it's way to mainstream. So I'm holding off as long as possible and hoping to jump on that bandwagon, By passing DDR2 altogether.

 

[dtq]

I brought the 8800 GTX in December fully expecting it to be trounced by the R600 in January. I brought the card not for DX10 or future proofing. but for playing current games. Im shocked its still the top card but it doesnt really matter if another card comes out it doesnt change the fact that Im still getting what I paid for. Buy what you can afford when you need it. Its gonna be beaten hands down in 6 months anyway. Might as well have 6 months top flight gaming for your money.

 

[dtq]

Something funny there?

 

[dtq]

What would be funny about buying a 8800gtx for current games, it is the best performing card out there for current games, I dont really care about directx10 yet the games arent out, 8800gtx performance in DX10 is not proven, and Crysis doesnt look like my sort of game..

Being as I wanted to run my games at 2048x1536 I needed a decent graphics card.

What would be funny about expecting the R600 to beat the 8800GTX and Im sure I wasnt alone in expecting the R600 along sooner than its actually going to come out.

 

[dtq]

Still cant see why you would be laughing??

Surely you can see the advice buy the best you can when you have the money to, and dont worry about whats coming out next month?

Dont see much funny about that. Unless you are running into issues with the 8800gtx in SLI? Not having any issues with mine.

 

[dtq]

I brought mine home from the office where it got delivered /shifty

ok you got me that would be the devonshire grammar coming through there. RobsX2 1 DTQ 0

 

[dtq]

Not a problem got a grin on my face here. :lol:. Have to say my typing and use of the english language can both leave a lot to be desired at times, however I think my IT decisions are normally pretty good. Would rather be pulled up for brought bought or minor typos than l337 Speak.

Only got a C in English from what I remember :lol:

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

Since they've manufactured it already on 80nm, you're not going to get the difference like the 7800 to 7900 of the optical shrink because 80nm to 65nm would be allot of work and it would be best just to use the time to R700.

80-65 is not an optical shrink, it's a completely new process, 90->80 was the optical shrink.

Yields from the 65nm transition should actually look very beneficial, but the thing about the GF7800->7900 is that they also change the # of transistors significanlty (dropping about 15%) so it was far more than just a move from 110nm to 90nm.

 

[mcain591]

Well, after nvidia releases their response to the R600, ATi already has another thing waiting. A new PCB that can do 1ghz core clocks.

 

[rickpcnerd]

ATI Video Cards R600 coming out this may. They already tested a pre ATI R600 vs Nvidia 8800 GTX and ATI clearly beat nvidia in all game bench marks. All games it looked better on ATi like always, And these pre R600 drivers were not optimized during bench marks. So these cards will be even much faster than Nvidia once optimized. Also, ATi R600 has much better pixel shaders than nvidia.
Check here for benchmark results http://level505.com/2006/12/30/the-full-ati-r600-test/1/

 

[mcain591]

If I were you, I'd delete that post right now. Cause EVERYONE (Except for me) is gonna flame you.

That lvl505 article? It MAY be true, but it seems like something happened to those guys. Trust me, don't quote from them. I've seem many o' people get flamed for it.

Also, it seemed slightly biased, since the 8800GTX scores did not even come close to what other users had seen.

 

[cb62fcni]

Yes, the lvl505 "benchmark" is probably the most notoriously fake technical review of the past decade. Of course its conclusion is likely not too far off the mark, I'm pretty sure the X2900 will beat the G80 by a good margin in most apps. It darn well better anyway, since it's coming out nearly a year after G80 was introduced.

 

[quantumsheep]

My method is a little more crude and caveman like.
I play games.
Games don't perform good. (by my personal standard)
I look at cards, see which card performs best for games.
Buy card
keep card until games no play good
I look at cards, see which card performs best for games.
Buy Card
Keep card until game no play good.
Repeat every 12-18 months

Word.

 

[chunkymonster]

So would buying the first R600 that comes out be a mistake, knowing that there are cards right around the corner that are already better ?

My opinion, jumping on the 8800gtx bandwagon was a mistake let alone jumping on the first release of R600. NVidia and ATI have established a pattern of first releasing a version of a card and then releasing an updated version with better driver support, less power consumption, and less heat issues. Don't get me wrong, the 8800gtx and the 1st release of the R600 is and will be great performing cards but with early adoption comes all the bugs and issues.

 

[everett]

So would buying the first R600 that comes out be a mistake, knowing that there are cards right around the corner that are already better ?

Ati will release more than one r600 at the same time.