GF3, GF3 Ultra or Radeon 8500?

[Guest]

I'm building a new PC soon so which should I pick? Money isn't a problem. At the moment I'm inclined to go for GF3 Ultra though...

Your nice new PC might be faster then my 286, but my 286 makes a better door stop

 

[rcf84]

Radeon 8500 Maxx [-peep-]'n 15gb of bandwith.

Nice Intel and AMD users get a Cookie.... Yummy

 

[AMD_Man]

I don't think the MAXX will be out for another six months. Get the Radeon 8500, it's potentially faster than a Geforce3 Ultra.

AMD technology + Intel technology = Intel/AMD Pentathlon IV; the <b>ULTIMATE</b> PC processor

 

[rcf84]

i would say but look at the MAXX:

17.6gb of Bandwith
2x 60 million transistors
able to make 120million triangles
pixel fill rate of 2 GPixels/s
texel fill rate of 6 GTexels/s.
4 GTexels/s
can use up too 512mb of DDR
Can do 16x FSAA
makes the Geforce 3 ultra out of date

Nice Intel and AMD users get a Cookie.... Yummy

 

[Guest]

those specs are bogus, u expect us to believe those bullsh.it numbers?

 

[AMD_Man]

They're not! The Radeon 8500 MAXX is basically two Radeon 8500 chips on one card which virtually doubles the Radeon 8500's performance in every aspect.

AMD technology + Intel technology = Intel/AMD Pentathlon IV; the <b>ULTIMATE</b> PC processor

 

[FatBurger]

Let me be the first to actually help out the person who asked a question.

Barring any unforseen changes (drivers, etc.)
Radeon 8500
That's also assuming the problems in the A12 chip revision are ironed out by the A13 "final" revision.



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[juin]

That's also assuming the problems in the A12 chip revision are ironed out by the A13 "final" revision.


???????????? can i got a explain please

 

[FatBurger]

Sure, no prob. Give me a minute...

Current test samples of Radeon 8500 are using chip with the stepping 'A12'. This stepping has still got several known issues, as already mentioned above. It was neither able to run FSAA, nor video playback or HydraVision. ATi is currently waiting for stepping 'A13', which is supposed the final stepping for the cards that will go on sale in September.

That's from Tom's review. I haven't read any others, so I'm sorry if it doesn't exactly match what others say.



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[Guest]

Damn now I wanna wait for the MAXX...

Why can't companies stop making decent stuff that I want to put in my new PC for a while so I'm not constantly waiting for the next big piece of tech...

Your nice new PC might be faster then my 286, but my 286 makes a better door stop

 

[xxsk8er101xx]

i say wait until benchmarks that compare the geforce 3, geforce 3 ultra and the radeon 8500. Not the last review u saw! that was bogus. ATI don't even have the drivers ready let alone the actual board! But an official review when the boards are actually out and running about or in stock heh.

I'm waiting for the price to drop but also an official review of both cards whatever has the best price/performance ratio is the one i'm buying (ie. geforce 3 or radeon 8500)

<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?id=9933" target="_new"> My Rig </A>

 

[SerArthurDayne]

"I don't think the MAXX will be out for another six months. Get the Radeon 8500, it's potentially faster than a Geforce3 Ultra."

I don't mean to sound like an ass.... but benchmarks with the Radeon reference boards look like they're getting schooled by the regular Geforce3. "Potential" performance is nice, and ATI may very well have the potential with the 8500 to outclass the imminent arrival of the Geforce3 Ultra, but how long is it going to get them to produce that full potential? 6 months after release, a year? If so, why not just buy a Geforce3 and have the guaranteed high performance of one of Nvidia's top selling points - timely and efficient drivers.

I'm no Nvidia nut, but I bought a Geforce2 GTS a good while back because it was not too expensive (was around 200 back then), had great drivers, and delivered fantastic performance over what I saw the Radeon offering. I'm waiting for the 8500 to give it a chance... but if they're not performing on par with Nvidia upon release, chances are Nvidia is going to get my money on the next upgrade.

I don't buy based on promises of potential, I buy based on what actually performs - Which is the reason I bought AMD over Intel Screw the potential for "possibly" having great performance on optimized apps, I want a processor that kicks ass with whatever it has to chug through.

"Laziness is a talent to be cultivated like any other" - Walter Slovotsky

 

[noko]

Well wait a few months and see what people think, plus by then I will probably have one if they iron out the known problems. Be careful which GF3 you get, some have very poor image(2d) quality. Gainsward was the top image performer when tested at AnAndTech. What good is a $300 graphics card if the image is a blurry mess above 1024x768? Plus Nvidia may have more choices for you. If you must buy now then a Gainward GF3 would probably be the best game card you can buy right now with excellent image quality.