Pre-release ATI R600 Benched, Beats 8800GTX
Garg
Purveyor of Lincoln Nightmares Icrontian
Level 505 staff got their hands on a pre-release ATI R600 card, and tested it against the nVidia 8800GTX, 7950GX2, and ATI X1950XTX in Crossfire.
Quick results summary:
1701 A.D.: R600 is 42% faster than 8800GTX
Oblivion: R600 is 34% faster than 8800GTX
Half-Life 2, Lost Coast: R600 is 10% faster than 8800GTX
Be sure to read the article to get results for F.E.A.R., Battlefield 2, Doom 3, and 3DMark06.
On average, the R600 was 20% faster in games. The R600-based card is expected to drop on January 22nd at around $630, which is just a little more the cost of the 8800GTX. So if you're about to buy a new high-end card, you might consider waiting a couple of weeks.
The interesting thing is that the whole test was conducted with pre-release drivers for the R600, vs. optimized drivers for the other cards. Potentially, the R600's performance could increase with release edition drivers.
Keep an eye on that article, as the authors are promising an updated version detailing R600 Crossfire vs. 8800GTX SLI around January 8th.
Source: Level 505
Quick results summary:
1701 A.D.: R600 is 42% faster than 8800GTX
Oblivion: R600 is 34% faster than 8800GTX
Half-Life 2, Lost Coast: R600 is 10% faster than 8800GTX
Be sure to read the article to get results for F.E.A.R., Battlefield 2, Doom 3, and 3DMark06.
On average, the R600 was 20% faster in games. The R600-based card is expected to drop on January 22nd at around $630, which is just a little more the cost of the 8800GTX. So if you're about to buy a new high-end card, you might consider waiting a couple of weeks.
The interesting thing is that the whole test was conducted with pre-release drivers for the R600, vs. optimized drivers for the other cards. Potentially, the R600's performance could increase with release edition drivers.
Keep an eye on that article, as the authors are promising an updated version detailing R600 Crossfire vs. 8800GTX SLI around January 8th.
Via: The InquirerThe HDR rending quality of the R600 is excellent and adds substantially to the graphics; future owners of ATI’s upcoming flagship will love the graphics this card is capable of rendering. ATI definitely did lots of improvements here, which surprisingly does not compromise the frame rate. Two thumbs up!
Source: Level 505
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Comments
The unfortunate thing is that these power-hungry cards will be the bargain entry-level cards after a couple more generations. Soon, maybe in a year or two, we may all have GPUs taking 200W of power.
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Garg: I think we're going to see video cards go the way of efficiency, rather than brute strength pretty soon here. Something has to give, and the GPU market closely parallels the CPU market in style.
Ok, on that note, how much power does a 7X00 series GPU consume?
The inq claims 230W.
I hope you're right. I hope it mirrors it something like the P4 -> Core architecture shift.
That is probably the best analogy I've ever read to describe the current Vid card trend.....
Well put!
The Inq asks what kind of parties would be interested in perpetrating a hoax like this. Personally, I suspect fanboys. Too much bad press risked by ATI or their manufacturers.
Still- I think ATI may start tipping their hand here
It's either a weird attempt at viral marketing by AMD themselves, or somebody who created a fake-o site just for google revenue (there are TONS of google ads on that site), or an established tech site who created the domain just for the sake of not blowing their relationship with AMD due to breaking NDA.
I'm leaning towards the shady seo/quick google buck option, myself.
They make it sound like "they know a guy who has this card..." rather than getting it straight from the Canadian pixelmakers.
Personally I don't buy their excuse anymore. The "major ID tags" could be blacked-out in Photoshop.
now.. why would they do something like that?
lets just face it... its a hoax...
The MPAA does it all the time.
On a side note, off course it SHOULD beat the 8800 series since that have been out for nearly a quarter. Anything else would be suicide by AMD.
I'd like to go back to when a 350W PSU was enough for a fairly high end system... I like SLI too but only if the price is right and only for use as a cheap upgrade. Like buying a $200 card now and 6-12 months from now the same card for like $100.
This kind of thing seemed to work just fine a couple years ago. Aren't the chips supposed to use less energy as they go down on the core size?
One factor influencing the rate that new super power-guzzling chips are coming out could be the importance of a "halo chip." It's sort of like in the automotive industry, when someone goes to look at the Corvette in the showroom, but ends up buying an Impala. Since there are so many automobile manufacturers, I'd say that the value of having a halo vehicle is pretty small (Toyota hasn't had one for years and they're the #2 automaker in the US).
But in the 3d graphics industry, we've got two main players, and A LOT of fanboys. Chevy/Ford fanboyism has nothing on nVidia/ATI fanboyism. I think the value of having the best card on the market, even if very few people will buy it, is pretty high. And of course, development costs are spread over the whole range when they cripple the chip and send it downmarket, so even without the fanboyism the strategy might work.