View Full Version : nV News 9700 Review
Yup...you read that right folks...
I've been given the green-light to conduct a review of the Sapphire 9700 Pro and would like some input regarding what information should be in the review.
Respond with a list of games/benches that you would like to see as well as any "other" features that would make the review more beneficial to you...
I hope everyone ( fanATIcs ) sees this as an effort to make it known that we are fans of great hardware...regardless of brand...I've been saying it for a long time...now I can actually back it up...
:D
The review sample is already installed and ready to go, so let's get that input in and get the review online!
:)
saturnotaku
10-07-02, 12:46 PM
So you finally got that card working did 'ya pelly? :D
What I'd like to see is benches of games/demos that have traditionally favored NVIDIA hardware - like SpeedTree among others.
After making the heatsink flat enough to touch the core and using some thermal compound...it finally worked...who would have guessed... :rolleyes:
As for the suggestion...consider it done... :D
saturnotaku
10-07-02, 01:13 PM
Originally posted by pelly
After making the heatsink flat enough to touch the core and using some thermal compound...it finally worked...who would have guessed... :rolleyes:
Can I assume you will make this point very clear in your review so others who might be having problems can see this as a possible solution?
Another couple things if you're able to do them:
- DVD quality/playback performance on software other than ATI's own. This was a major concern for me with my old Gigabyte 8500 because PowerDVD XP hardly worked with while ATI's own DVD player worked beautifully. This would be especially pertinent for people who buy non-Made by ATI cards.
- A dual display comparison between the latest versions of Hydravision and nView.
- OpenGL benchmarks that do not include Quake 3. Q3 engine games (Jedi Knight II, MOHAA, SoF II) are perfectly acceptable in my book, though.
This stuff is pretty much strem of consciousness writing so if I'm not making sense, please ask and I'll clarify. Further, if any of this won't work for you, let me know. :)
Bigus Dickus
10-07-02, 01:18 PM
I'll refer you to my previous post (http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1456) on what my "ideal review" would be, made the last time you asked this question. I still would love to see that general approach to doing benchmarks, complete with tons of screenshots to see what the money is buying for the consumer.
As for what material to test on, that's something I'm not to concerned about I guess, as long as Q3 and 3dMark2001 are not part of the suite.
Adding DVD and dual head testing would be extra special. Oh, and I don't think it's necessary to cover the technology behind the card at all, since other sites have done such a wonderful job of that (Beyond3D).
Can I assume you will make this point very clear in your review
Certainly... :D
DVD quality/playback performance on software other than ATI's own. This was a major concern for me with my old Gigabyte 8500 because PowerDVD XP hardly worked with while ATI's own DVD player worked beautifully. This would be especially pertinent for people who buy non-Made by ATI cards.
Dah....no DVD drive here.... :(
A dual display comparison between the latest versions of Hydravision and nView.
Sure....that would be a cool addition to the review...
Oh, and I don't think it's necessary to cover the technology behind the card at all, since other sites have done such a wonderful job of that
Amen to that... :p
I still would love to see that general approach to doing benchmarks, complete with tons of screenshots to see what the money is buying for the consumer.
Sure thing...
TheFrnchTickler
10-07-02, 03:00 PM
Forget the benchmarks altogether with this review, unless you really want to delve deep, it's not worth the time for you, or us.
Everyone already knows just how fast the card is, unless you want to take some sort of instantaneous framerate mark that deplays as a line graph showing any weird extreme dips in play plainly (like the ones the 8500 had) then it'd just be a rehash of what every other site has put up.
You should be focusing on compatibility, especially being this is an nVidia fansite. Compatibility with hardware and software is what nVidia can really hang their hats on right now. I'm sure anyone looking to switch to ATi would want to know about any game issues, no matter how insignificant (flashing textures, zbuffer-esque errors [polygons protruding through each other])
An image quality analysis of FSAA would be nice, and at least a subjective analysis of the differences between 'performance' and 'quality' anisotropic filtering settings would be great.
Good luck.
nin_fragile14
10-07-02, 03:31 PM
Just don't make it biased and pro-nvidia. If you do, you'll be getting emails for the rest of your life from every ati loving inebriate in cyberspace.
Make sure you do benchmark comparisons. Benchmarks mean nothing to most people unless it's pitted against another recent graphics card (TI line of Geforce 4).
Make sure you test stability on Direct3d games. A lot of users have been having lockups with them.
Don't go overboard on 3dmark because no one cares anymore.
Try some FRAPS averages on new games like Mafia and NOLF 2. Graphics are finally starting to get better, and there are some system-straining Direct3D games being released that struggle for high framerates.
Just remember, don't make it anti-ati. You will get so much **** for that you'll wonder why you even wanted to write the review in the first place.
Not a problem...the point is to show that we're not an anti-ATI hardware website. Granted, we prefer NVIDIA...but we can surely appreciate good hardware when it comes along...
In this case, we'll look to find the good and the bad with this card...
One thing is for sure, they pushed the envelope a bit with this card and we are all going to benefit because of it...
Competition is key when you want each company to release their absolute best...
:D
saturnotaku
10-07-02, 04:03 PM
Okay, pelly - save it for the review. We don't want you wasting all your words here. :D
But I think there will be a consensus around here of no 3dmark. I agree with what nin said about using fraps for games like Mafia and NOLF2. Those are sweet, modern games that people all over the world are playing. And that's what's most important in a review - how the card works for real games that consumers can buy and play. Emphasize testing the actual - not the theoretical. :)
Rogozhin
10-07-02, 04:17 PM
I would like to see the average fps of two identical systems, one running the 9700 and the other a ti4600, when running Free Cell.
;)
rogo
Originally posted by saturnotaku
So you finally got that card working did 'ya pelly? :D
What I'd like to see is benches of games/demos that have traditionally favored NVIDIA hardware - like SpeedTree among others.
Uhh... so you want him to review things that have been proven to be biased towards nvidia? Besides, who plays speedtree? :p
I think it's better to concentrate on games people are playing rather then tech demos etc. Also, be sure to show games scores with aa & af on.
UT2k3 in d3d and openGL would be nice assuming you can still manually set it to openGL like the demo.
saturnotaku
10-07-02, 04:34 PM
Originally posted by Mono
Uhh... so you want him to review things that have been proven to be biased towards nvidia?
Why not? This is the first product from ATI that clearly trounces anything NVIDIA has to offer so why not show how ATI can stick it to their rivals by running a test faster on its hardware than on the hardware it was designed for?
Bigus Dickus
10-07-02, 04:48 PM
Actually, I wouldn't object to 3DMark if it was done in the general format I outlined: increase settings on the 9700 (AF/AA/res) until you get the same score as a comparable system with another card (perhaps one setting just upping the res, another adding AF and AA at default resolution). Using the screenshots from the pro version, that would make a very nice IQ comparison... what you get with each card IQ-wise at the same performance level.
vitocorleone
10-08-02, 10:49 AM
one of the other concerns is heat. put it in an average modern box (higher end p4 and higher end amd, 512mb ddr, 80 gig hdd, stock cooling, etc.) and measure the temp under light, medium and heavy loads.
benchmarks - try newer games like Warcraft3, UT2k3, Morrow Wind, etc instead of the same old boring benchmarks from what seem like the prior millenia.
image quality comparison - wasn't there some comparison of the matrox parahelia that had numeric comparisons of accepted values of 2d (and 3d?) quality? Is the 9700 any more accurate in its rendering of a scene (gf3 was more accurate per pixel than 8500 but more people preferred the overall look of the 8500... but not if you're a 3d artist perhaps).
I think I'll try to use the Pro version of 3dMark to use the "Image Quality Test" for each card. Posting them side by side, the differences shoudl be clearly illustrated...
Please no Quake 3 benchmarks, it's so old skewl now :|
Are you going to use WHQL drivers for nvidia card?
I'm thinking of using 2 driver sets for the NVIDIA card...one WHQL driver and one Beta....
That should cover all the bases...
:D
the use both the 7.76 and 7.77 Ati drivers.
travbrad
10-08-02, 04:11 PM
Originally posted by saturnotaku
Why not? This is the first product from ATI that clearly trounces anything NVIDIA has to offer so why not show how ATI can stick it to their rivals by running a test faster on its hardware than on the hardware it was designed for?
Why not test New World Order. I hear that game is designed around the 8500 so that would show both benchmarks favoring ATI and benchmarks favoring Nvidia :)
Rogozhin
10-09-02, 03:08 PM
What? Nobody plays free cell?????
I would like to see what the king does with full AA and full AF @ 1600 with flight sims. Preferably IL-2 patched and MSFS.
Rogo
I'm tempted to just pick games randomly... :p
I'd love to get NOLF2 in there.....great game.....
In addition...I might spice things up with a few "different" titles like Madden2003 ( there is a great example of the benefits of Aniso Filtering when looking down the field ).
Well I myself have lost interest in radeon 9700pro reviews.Seen a million of them.I'd be interested in a radeon 9500pro review though!!:)
Radeon 9700pro costs around 500euros here in europe and I just think it's way too much money for a graphics card.
anxdiety
10-10-02, 06:47 AM
Just curious but i would love to see some real world benchmarks in games when things are left running like messangers, virus scanners, firewalls, and the general utilities that people use on an everyday basis. I hate the fact that no benchmarks are done in a real setting such as that. Its like everyone presumes that if we are going to play a game we take a couple mins before that to stop everything just for a few fps. The other thing is to include reviews of the tv out features and video capabilities other than the 3d graphics and not just the mention that they are there and if they work they work. Image quality of them and so on and so forth like DVD quality and comparison as well.
Honestly, I think you are representing the vast minority with your approach to gaming.
I believe the majority of users out there do shut-off applications and utilities. In the case of the Anti-Virus software, you are talking about a measureable performance hit when running a taxing game...
:confused:
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