5150 Joker
04-18-04, 04:45 PM
Prior to the 9700, ATI always made crap, be it 2D or 3D. They were the reject brand when you couldn't afford a better card. Dominated by S3, Tseng, and Matrox in 2D, dominated by 3dfx and Nvidia in 3D. :)
Because of this, I too am doubtful about whether R3xx was a one time thing, or whether they can successfully evolve to a new architecture - because their past history is very sketchy.
Well considering you never have a negative thing to say about nVidia, I'll take your word with a ball of salt.
Re-read what I posted. We are talking about pre-9700 ATI history. When I say 2D, I mean cards made prior to the advent of 3d technology, cards without 3D acceleration. ATI had poor 2D cards. They could not compete with the likes of S3, Tseng, or Matrox chipsets. When 3D first came around, they could not compete with 3dfx or Nvidia chipsets. ATI half the time was the junk you got in pre-built store computers, stuff you needed to upgrade to get nice performance - similar to integrated Intel graphic chipsets these days. Yes, the 9700PRO was an exceptional feat for ATI, but they still haven't proved they can evolve yet. So far, they have one truly successful series of chipsets based on the R3xx series, and that's it. That's not a prediction that the R420 isn't going to kick ass, it's just a fact based on ATI's history.
What do you think the first 2-3 iterations of Geforce was? It was essentially the same stuff recycled with shaders thrown in at the end.
Because of this, I too am doubtful about whether R3xx was a one time thing, or whether they can successfully evolve to a new architecture - because their past history is very sketchy.
Well considering you never have a negative thing to say about nVidia, I'll take your word with a ball of salt.
Re-read what I posted. We are talking about pre-9700 ATI history. When I say 2D, I mean cards made prior to the advent of 3d technology, cards without 3D acceleration. ATI had poor 2D cards. They could not compete with the likes of S3, Tseng, or Matrox chipsets. When 3D first came around, they could not compete with 3dfx or Nvidia chipsets. ATI half the time was the junk you got in pre-built store computers, stuff you needed to upgrade to get nice performance - similar to integrated Intel graphic chipsets these days. Yes, the 9700PRO was an exceptional feat for ATI, but they still haven't proved they can evolve yet. So far, they have one truly successful series of chipsets based on the R3xx series, and that's it. That's not a prediction that the R420 isn't going to kick ass, it's just a fact based on ATI's history.
What do you think the first 2-3 iterations of Geforce was? It was essentially the same stuff recycled with shaders thrown in at the end.