So.. Is R600 any good?

[MustangSVT]

I haven't been paying attention to benchmarks and news in the video card world as of lately.

Anyone helpful enough to fill me in on the details? Is it any good in terms of performance/price compare to 8800 GTS and 8800 GTX? Is it only X2900XT out for now, or another version out too?

I've been waiting for this video card to come out before I make my choice.

Thanks for help.

[DMx]

Well 2 in Crossfire can beat a single Ultra for less $$$, but then again, the power draw, heat and noise can be a problem

[fivefeet8]

Well 2 in Crossfire can beat a single Ultra for less $$$, but then again, the power draw, heat and noise can be a problem

If you're willing to spend that much money on 2 x2900xt's in crossfire, what's 2 GTX's to you.

[Xion X2]

I don't think anyone really knows yet. Drivers are still immature, and benchmarks are all over the place. But there appears to be a lot of untapped potential there.

One thing that is certain, though, is that the core architecture is designed w/ DX10 as its primary concern, and there aren't many DX10 apps to test with right now.

[fivefeet8]

I haven't been paying attention to benchmarks and news in the video card world as of lately.

Anyone helpful enough to fill me in on the details? Is it any good in terms of performance/price compare to 8800 GTS and 8800 GTX? Is it only X2900XT out for now, or another version out too?

I've been waiting for this video card to come out before I make my choice.

Thanks for help.

It's performance is generally between a 8800gts and 8800gtx. Not as fast as the GTX, but faster than the GTs in some games and slower in others. It's also hotter, uses more power, and louder than both G8x cards.

The new CFAA modes causes slight blurring, but it's really down to personal preference if you like it or not.

Anisotropic filtering has not changed from previous x1k series(HQ mode). The g8x cards still have less invariant AF.

[MustangSVT]

So as the thread title mentions, is it any good? It's no use to me if 2 crossfire cards are faster than 1 ultra, in that case I would have money for 2 GTX's, which I don't. I have money for maybe 1 GTS 640mb. Is this Radeon much more expensive than this? You mention it's louder, if that's true, then I don't think I will even consider it.

Any price drop on 8800 GTS 640mb coming soon?

[fivefeet8]

So as the thread title mentions, is it any good? It's no use to me if 2 crossfire cards are faster than 1 ultra, in that case I would have money for 2 GTX's, which I don't. I have money for maybe 1 GTS 640mb. Is this Radeon much more expensive than this? You mention it's louder, if that's true, then I don't think I will even consider it.

Any price drop on 8800 GTS 640mb coming soon?

It's a good card in it's own, but when compared to the competing products, it's not that good IMO.

8800gts's can be found on newegg for well below $400 US these days, but I think you should get whatever is cheapest from where you're buying from. If noise, heat, and power is an issue, get the GTS. It also depends on what resolution you'll be playing at with the cards. If you're stuck at 1280x1024, get a 8800gts 320 meg. It's a heck of a lot cheaper than either cards. If you plan to play at 1600x1200 and above, get one of the 2 latter options.

8800gts 640 meg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130071

8800gts 320 meg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814122022

x2900xt 512 meg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161091

[MustangSVT]

I play at 1920x1200, so resolution is an issue. Power is not an issue at all (or heat for that matter), but I would like as noise-less as possible. I currently have a X1900XT and noise is very good with this card if that means anything.

Also I am from canada so can't buy from newegg. 8800GTS 640mb over here is $480cad cheapest for an eVGA from a good local retailer (usually cheaper than various canadian online stores), that's about $420 US or something like that.

[fivefeet8]

I play at 1920x1200, so resolution is an issue. Power is not an issue at all (or heat for that matter), but I would like as noise-less as possible. I currently have a X1900XT and noise is very good with this card if that means anything.

Also I am from canada so can't buy from newegg. 8800GTS 640mb over here is $480cad cheapest for an eVGA from a good local retailer (usually cheaper than various canadian online stores), that's about $420 US or something like that.

The x2900xt is noisier than your x1900xt at full load according to most reviews. Another review even went as far as saying they wouldn't use it near a TV while you were watching it.

1920x1200? Either a GTS 640 meg or x2900xt would be ok if your funds aren't enough for the GTX. Get whatever is cheaper where your at.

[DMx]

If you're willing to spend that much money on 2 x2900xt's in crossfire, what's 2 GTX's to you.

2 x GTX = Around £740
2 x XT = Around £500

[fivefeet8]

2 x GTX = Around £740
2 x XT = Around £500

That pretty much depends on where you're getting them at. In the US, the difference isn't quite as much. Still, if you're willing to spend that much money.

[MustangSVT]

Prices are different in Canada and I don't have the $1100+ CAD to spend on 2 X2900XT, that would be ridiculous. I have at most about $500cad to spend, which is a bit more than 8800gts 640mb price. I think I'll just wait for a price drop or something.

[MustangSVT]

What if I just buy a 8800 GTS 640 or 8800 GTX on ebay? I think I'm just gonna do that. Might find a good deal somewhere.

[MustangSVT]

Ok I've decided the 8800 GTS 640mb isn't enough of an upgrade from X1900XT.

That leaves only the 8800 GTX as it sounds the R600 isn't that great after all, I was hoping it'd be better than 8800 GTX so I can get more value for my money.

My last question would be, when do you guys think the next refresh cards are due, like 8900 GTX?

[Danik]

Ok I've decided the 8800 GTS 640mb isn't enough of an upgrade from X1900XT.

That leaves only the 8800 GTX as it sounds the R600 isn't that great after all, I was hoping it'd be better than 8800 GTX so I can get more value for my money.

My last question would be, when do you guys think the next refresh cards are due, like 8900 GTX?

Well I'd personally wait it out a little bit and see more DX10 demos. My gut feeling is that not much better is going to come out of the 2900xt. The new alpha drivers helped performance a bit, but there are so many bugs and image problems that it is very hard to say. It doesn't matter if right now there is a 5 to 30% increase in some games with the current alpha build when they don't render the image correctly and on top of that in some games don't even apply AA.

Personally I think the scalar approach by Nvidia will end up better off this round because of far too many complications with the 2900XT getting even close to the full ability of its shaders.

The refresh time is a good question. If I had to take a guess I'd say Fall because AMD more than likely needs to get their 65 nm parts out very quickly to help ease the disappointment of this launch. Nvidia probably has something in the works and has been for quite some time.

[Vasot02]

The 8800GTX is generally faster from the X2900XT in most tests (GAMES)

Until ATI decides to launch their 65 nm parts and a XTX model
Nvidia will have G8900 in their sleeves

[Blacklash]

If you haven't upgraded from the 7900 series there is a serious argument for the HD 2900XT. If you own a 8800GTS 640MB or GTX and overclock I'd wait and see what nVidia and AMD have down the line.

The wide tent AA the HD 2900XT has many call "too blurry" and it carries a heavy performance hit. On the AA YMMV and it will be open to taste. The G80 also has technically better AF and for some that "may not matter" either.

So if you're on a 7900 whatever or older, definitely consider it.

[Xion X2]

The G80s had beautiful IQ, but one thing I never could get over is how distant textures still aliased. Is there a setting in the CP to help that? Because I think ATI's wide-tent AA is supposed to help with the shader aliasing on distant textures.

I remember it happening on Oblivion w/ distant trees and wondering if there was a way to get rid of it w/o a major performance hit.

[Blacklash]

Transparency Supersampling AA always treated me well in "Oblivion".

I don't believe its hit is heavier than using wide tent. Personally, I wouldn't want to lose distant aliasing at the expense of distastefully blurring the overall scene.

In defense of AMD, I will add the reviewer @ Techreport liked AMD's AA with wide tent a lot. So I am not asserting everyone dislikes it. Also he was of the opinion the relaxed AF did not reduce IQ in a manner he could see with his naked eye.

I'll say again, the HD 2900XT is a good value for the cash and if you're on an older card like the 7900 it's definitely worth serious consideration.

[SLINROB]

The G80s had beautiful IQ, but one thing I never could get over is how distant textures still aliased. Is there a setting in the CP to help that? Because I think ATI's wide-tent AA is supposed to help with the shader aliasing on distant textures.

I remember it happening on Oblivion w/ distant trees and wondering if there was a way to get rid of it w/o a major performance hit.


If im not mistaken the distant trees in Oblivion are 2 dimensional trees made from sprites and sprites unlike polygonal objects cannot be anti aliased.

Oblivion and Call of Juarez are the only two games I have noticed doing this but then again those are the only two I can think of that use sprites in the far off distance (FAR CRY IS ANOTHER ONE) all the others look perfect even in the far off distance such as BF2 etc.....

[|MaguS|]

If im not mistaken the distant trees in Oblivion are 2 dimensional trees made from sprites and sprites unlike polygonal objects cannot be anti aliased.

Oblivion and Call of Juarez are the only two games I have noticed doing this but then again those are the only two I can think of that use sprites in the far off distance (FAR CRY IS ANOTHER ONE) all the others look perfect even in the far off distance such as BF2 etc.....

You can set Oblivion to render the trees fully if you do an ini tweak.

[SLINROB]

You can set Oblivion to render the trees fully if you do an ini tweak.


Yeah I was thinking you could do that but at what performance cost?

[|MaguS|]

Yeah I was thinking you could do that but at what performance cost?

There is one but not that bad actually... I have it enabled and its playable for me.

[SLINROB]

There is one but not that bad actually... I have it enabled and its playable for me.


I might have to try it since im running Dual 8800GTX's.