I don't like to see this renaming / rebranding scheme starting with AMD / ATI GPUs the way Nvidia has been doing it for so long. If it is not a clear and significant HARDWARE upgrade over the 5000 series, it should not be labeled starting with a 6.
I agreed whole heartedly Tim, Here's a simple analogy of what they are doing: It's as if a car company were to take a 95' model car and put a spoiler on it and declare it a 05' model car that also is now a hybrid. It's incredibly misleading to the consumer!!!
Graphics update so quickly that marketing from one generation to the next has always been a bit of a challenge. I'd like to see it get to a point where the model number was a secondary marketing designation, because it can be confusing for the uninitiated. I'd like to see AMD employ a little bit more of their vision strategy and start really simplifying what these parts can do for people.
Its one of those hurdles for growing PC gaming as a hobby. More people have to be able to pick up the marketing material and go, okay, this one is for me. I know it seems sacrilegious to "degeek" the marketing a little, but if I were in charge I'd put the model number way in the background and find a new naming scheme.
Heck, someone said Cars, I could completely see just getting on a yearly refresh schedule with original model name designations. Everyone knows the Cavalier is what you drive when you just need to get there, the Camaro is what you drive to pick up chicks while keeping a reasonable budget, and the Corvette is for the driving enthusiast.
The 2011 AMD Radeon HD video.
The 2011 AMD Radeon 3D Basic.
The 2011 AMD Radeon Pro Gamer.
The 2011 AMD Radeon Extreme Enthusiast.
Probably no more or worse than the model numbers for BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Acura, etc. All numbers.
I like how you include three European car manufactures, and then throw in Acura, which doesn't use any numbers on their models. (RL, TL, TSX, MDX, and RDX)
I was just going back to Cliff's analogy and pointing out that a large number of auto-makers use completely nonsensical letters and numbers. People accept this because they've undertaken the effort to learn the numbers. So it goes.
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BlackHawkBible music connoisseurThere's no place like 127.0.0.1Icrontian
edited April 2011
IIRC the model numbers at least for BMW and Mercedes do mean something. Series, displacement and other info. BMW 325 is a 3 series with a 2.5L engine. Similar for the Mercedes.
More what I meant is that you can have a model designation that is the enthusiast model each year. Last years Corvette vs. this years may be a little different, but the model still represents a certain kind of driving experience. The same could be managed for computer hardware model designations, and to some degree it is. We knew the difference between a Sempron and Athlon at one time. There is still a little of that in the market, but it could be more refined.
What is AMD supposed to believe? This sentence confuses me.
AMD is hoping that everyone believes some actual 6-series voodoo has been performed on these cards
Based on the same hardware as the ATI Radeon™ HD 5700 Series, be ready for the hottest DirectX® 11 games with an award-winning architecture featuring full DirectX® 11 support.6 (Source)
6. AMD Radeonâ„¢ HD 6770 Graphics are based on the same hardware as the ATI Radeonâ„¢ HD 5700 Series, with added support for HDMI 1.4a and hardware-accelerated Blu-ray 3D (MVC) decode. (Source)
Sure, they acknowledge that it's the same chip with just a couple new tricks, which NVIDIA won't do. That's great. But they still put a 6 where a 5 used to be, and it's 99% a marketing move that will trick the large majority of people that don't do their research or even read the AMD webpage.
I'm not saying that's wrong, I'm just calling it what it is. I have two 5770s, and I'm quite happy with them. I paid a premium, twice, for what in my opinion was the best model on the market (Sapphire VaporX). At this point, though, I just don't think it's a smart move for anybody else.
It's an updated card so has to get a new name, do you call it a 5770 v2? mkII? OMGxtremePWNz edition?
Or give it a 6000 series moniker anyway and just reduce it to a 6750/30?
99% a marketing move that will trick the large majority of people that don't do their research or even read the AMD webpage.
The 99% who don't do their research or read the AMD webpage probably don't even know what a video card is, let alone looking to upgrade to the latest and greatest. For the 1% of computer users who are enthusiasts like us, we do our research and won't be tricked. It's an upgrade for certain users, like me, who are on the 3-series AMD cards, not for people who already have 5-series cards. Would it have been better to label them as new 5-series? Perhaps. Like the answer to how many licks it takes to get the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop, the world may never know. At least AMD disclosed the similarities to the 5-series cards.
mertesn
I am Bobby MillerYukon, OK Icrontian
Comments
Of course, AMD is hoping that everyone believes some actual 6-series voodoo has been performed on these cards.
It's actually just a clever way to keep 5770s selling at close to $150 while the more powerful 5850s can be had for cheaper.
How would yoooouuuu know? Did you write them or something? /sarcasm.
Its one of those hurdles for growing PC gaming as a hobby. More people have to be able to pick up the marketing material and go, okay, this one is for me. I know it seems sacrilegious to "degeek" the marketing a little, but if I were in charge I'd put the model number way in the background and find a new naming scheme.
Heck, someone said Cars, I could completely see just getting on a yearly refresh schedule with original model name designations. Everyone knows the Cavalier is what you drive when you just need to get there, the Camaro is what you drive to pick up chicks while keeping a reasonable budget, and the Corvette is for the driving enthusiast.
The 2011 AMD Radeon HD video.
The 2011 AMD Radeon 3D Basic.
The 2011 AMD Radeon Pro Gamer.
The 2011 AMD Radeon Extreme Enthusiast.
You get the idea.
Really, Model #'s on anything computer now must really confused the shit out of mom and pop consumers
Remember: BIGGER NUMBER MEANS BETTER!!!!
I like how you include three European car manufactures, and then throw in Acura, which doesn't use any numbers on their models. (RL, TL, TSX, MDX, and RDX)
What is AMD supposed to believe? This sentence confuses me.
I'm not saying that's wrong, I'm just calling it what it is. I have two 5770s, and I'm quite happy with them. I paid a premium, twice, for what in my opinion was the best model on the market (Sapphire VaporX). At this point, though, I just don't think it's a smart move for anybody else.
It's an updated card so has to get a new name, do you call it a 5770 v2? mkII? OMGxtremePWNz edition?
Or give it a 6000 series moniker anyway and just reduce it to a 6750/30?
The 99% who don't do their research or read the AMD webpage probably don't even know what a video card is, let alone looking to upgrade to the latest and greatest. For the 1% of computer users who are enthusiasts like us, we do our research and won't be tricked. It's an upgrade for certain users, like me, who are on the 3-series AMD cards, not for people who already have 5-series cards. Would it have been better to label them as new 5-series? Perhaps. Like the answer to how many licks it takes to get the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop, the world may never know. At least AMD disclosed the similarities to the 5-series cards.
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