GPU Week In Review

H

heatlesssun

Extremely [H]
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It's been a hell of a week for GPU's, undoubtedly the most interesting in years. The GTX 280, GTX 260, HD4850 and 9800 GTX+ came all at once with the 4870 coming up in three days and the 4870x2 just on the horizon.

Perhaps the most intriguing part released was the 4850 in that AMD has now raised the performance vs price ratio to an all time high. Congratulations AMD, in rough economic times you came through with a part that can fit most budgets without compromising performance. I will be picking up one of your products in the near future to show my support!:)

The surprise story was obviously the 9800 GTX+. nVidia has yet again executed brilliantly. They are not conceding any space in GPU's and look to have a pretty effective answer to the 4850, though it would have been even more impressive if they actually had product to sell, that's about three weeks out.

Last, and probably least to the most are the beasts, the GTX 280/260. I had pretty much decided to grab 2 280's when I first heard about them and actually ended up getting three. What can I say, I just wanted a high end rig this time and went for it. One of my first pair that I ordered is bad and the third is on the way, so I'm stuck in single GPU land for now. Not a bad place to be with this monster.

I know that the 280 reviews are mixed but just one 280 has taken me a couple of steps above my 9800 GX2, there's simply no comparison. It's a HUGE leap over the 9800 GX2 at high resolutions and settings a lot of things I've thrown at it, Crysis, Call of Juarez, Call of Duty 4, even Quake 4.

So that takes us to the high end fight. It's looking like 4870 CF or 4870x2 will be more than a match for a GTX 280 for less. We know that nVidia will respond, the question is how. It may be as big of a surprise as the 9800 GTX+, but at the very least its all but certain that the 280 & 260 will see a price cut.

No matter if you're an nVidiot or a Red Boy, there was something good out there for you this week at just about every price range. The consumer won this week with GPU's at least!:D

So what are your thoughts?
 
nissanztt90 said:
Honestly? My thoughts are youre just starting another flame-war thread...

No offense or anything...but i know for a fact youve seen first hand the maturity level of some on this forum...
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I like to start threads like these because not everyone is a troll. Some people have interesting thoughts and insight and I don't believe that we shouldn't engage in discussion because of a few nuts, and sometimes I admit, the trolls provide some laughs!:p

Seriously though, it's been such an active week in GPU's and its looking so competitive that I really wanted to see if there were some good insights into it, thats all. I value the opinion of others when they take the time to think and are courteous.
 
nissanztt90 said:
Honestly? My thoughts are youre just starting another flame-war thread...

No offense or anything...but i know for a fact youve seen first hand the maturity level of some on this forum...
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I didn't get that at all. We can't make comparisons on here without flame-wars?
 
I just want to see how the HD 4870 with DDR5 does. That, and the GTX260. I really don't care for the 9800 GTX+, it seems like a step just to make everyone buy another card that really isn't all that much of a breakthrough. The GTX280 is a different story, but putting a + on a revision just makes it seem like nVidia is trying to buy itself some time.
 
nissanztt90 said:
Honestly? My thoughts are youre just starting another flame-war thread...

No offense or anything...but i know for a fact youve seen first hand the maturity level of some on this forum...
Click to expand...

You got to be kidding me! :p

Anyways heatlesssun, I agree with mostly with your thoughs. It was One hell of a week for GPUs.

One thing I would add, the price drop on the 9800 because of the 4850. Looks like nVidia finally had to do react because of ATI, and showed some weaknesses (as u pointed out the 9800+ not being here).

Man, I envy those that are in the market for their 1st gaming build. Such amazing choices for so such reasonably priced components, most of all graphic cards.

I do have one question for you heatlesssun. Why did you decided to get such awsome GPU horsepower before geting a 2560x1600 monitor? I decided to go the other way, mainly because I needed a large monitor for non gaming purposes. But of course, I have been waiting ever since for the right time to get the horsepower to game on it "full blast".
 
SpeedyVV said:
I do have one question for you heatlesssun. Why did you decided to get such awsome GPU horsepower before geting a 2560x1600 monitor? I decided to go the other way, mainly because I needed a large monitor for non gaming purposes. But of course, I have been waiting ever since for the right time to get the horsepower to game on it "full blast".
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The main reason I haven't gone to a 30" is because I really think they are too big but I'm sure I'll like it when I go that route. I've been looking to get one of these: http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=233602&prodlist=celebros

If you have any opinion about this monitor your thoughts are welcome!
 
RikkAndrsn said:
I just want to see how the HD 4870 with DDR5 does. That, and the GTX260. I really don't care for the 9800 GTX+, it seems like a step just to make everyone buy another card that really isn't all that much of a breakthrough. The GTX280 is a different story, but putting a + on a revision just makes it seem like nVidia is trying to buy itself some time.
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I'm waiting to see the results of the 4870 as well. I had a build planned, but these new cards put a slight delay on that. I got everything but the mobo and the card(s), just waiting to see the reviews on the 4870 and how it compares to the 260 and 280.

Even though it causing me to wait, I'm really glad that AMD/ATI was able to put together a competitive product this time around. Let's hope they can keep it up (always good for the consumer) and also hope they can close the gap on the CPU race as well.
 
nissanztt90 said:
Honestly? My thoughts are youre just starting another flame-war thread...

No offense or anything...but i know for a fact youve seen first hand the maturity level of some on this forum...
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm not seeing that at all. It really has been one hell of a week, and I'm kinda finding the Clif's Notes version laid out here fairly accurate and helpful...so I know where to direct my attention for further reading if I'm interested in upgrading, instead of wading through the endless pages of speculation to get to the meat. Mind you, I've already jumped on the upgrade bandwagon, but what I mean to say is I can see this thread being fun for those who have kept up, and potentially informative for those who have not, provided no one starts trolling. So far, nothing inflammatory's been said.
 
I have a 30" dell 3007WFP-HC and its the best damn purchase I've ever had. The real estate is just awesome and games look amazing at this setting.

This was easily one of the most exciting weeks in GPU history in a long time as both sides managed to hard launch cards at the same time, albeit at different levels. ATI really surprised a lot of people with how much they crammed into the die and so the 4870 is intriguing, as well as the 4870X2. I'm not going to lie, but I was really impressed that ATI really *did* fix AA on their cards and not only that, they actually begin to out perform the GTX series at 8xAA and higher.

I had a build planned out for the summer but now I'm waiting to see how these cards do (GTX260 and 4870) before I choose whether I end up SLI or CF. But first things first: I need a new 45nm quad and most of the rest of my water cooling loop ready.
 
heatlesssun said:
So what are your thoughts?
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I think your summary is pretty much on. I waited for reviews of the GTX 280, even though only a massive disappointment would have deterred me from buying one. Honestly, even though the reviews didn't make the 280 as much of a slam-dunk decision as I had hoped, I considered my options, bought one anyway, and am very happy with it. I do not miss my 8800GT SLI setup at all, and have no buyer's remorse so far.

I honestly would like to have had the patience to wait for the 4870x2/4890, because I agree that it may outperform a single 280, but, at the moment, I'm still skeptical of multi-GPU setups and didn't want to wait to find out. Either way, I'm glad that AMD is being competitive.
 
ZerazaX said:
ATI really surprised a lot of people with how much they crammed into the die...
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No joke. Especially for the price. The real surprise was when the reviews and cards actually started showing up almost a week early! Took the etailors by surprise, really screwed up some B&M operations (BB anyone?), and just watching the scramble to get the "previews" out was both fairly funny and exciting. It all paid off when ATI really delivered on the price/performance scale. Best part is, both NV and ATI still have a lot to show, and the next few weeks should prove to be newsworthy as well.
 
You guys hijacked this thread into a thread about flame wars before it even had a chance to turn into one...

Its' been an aggervating week for me, as I had plans to build a specific system by the end of the month and now tons of news is rolling out causing delays, rapid price changes, etc. Good for consumers either way you look at it.
 
Does anybody know when this week the original NDA lift for the HD 4850 and 4870 was planned (before AMD allowed the 4850 to be reviewed, of course)?
 
TKD said:
I think your summary is pretty much on. I waited for reviews of the GTX 280, even though only a massive disappointment would have deterred me from buying one. Honestly, even though the reviews didn't make the 280 as much of a slam-dunk decision as I had hoped, I considered my options, bought one anyway, and am very happy with it. I do not miss my 8800GT SLI setup at all, and have no buyer's remorse so far.

I honestly would like to have had the patience to wait for the 4870x2/4890, because I agree that it may outperform a single 280, but, at the moment, I'm still skeptical of multi-GPU setups and didn't want to wait to find out. Either way, I'm glad that AMD is being competitive.
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This is completely how I feel. While it is looking that the 4870x2 is going to trade blows at the least with the 280, one thing that is a little interesting is the power and thermal issues with the 4850. For a 55nm process you'd think that these things would run a little cooler. 4870x2 CF looks to be warm. Maybe DDR5 will help with that.
 
RikkAndrsn said:
Does anybody know when this week the original NDA lift for the HD 4850 and 4870 was planned (before AMD allowed the 4850 to be reviewed, of course)?
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I think originally it was this coming Wednesday. Little did get out about the 4870. I don't think its going to be quite as impressive as the 4850 for the simple reason that more expensive products are not all that thrilling all these days. At the $150 and below that people were getting the 4850 this weekend at Best Buy, people are going to be looking very critically at the performance vs price ratio of the 4850. If the 4870 can top it, it would be an amazing achievement by AMD.
 
heatlesssun said:
I think originally it was this coming Wednesday. Little did get out about the 4870. I don't think its going to be quite as impressive as the 4850 for the simple reason that more expensive products are not all that thrilling all these days. At the $150 and below that people were getting the 4850 this weekend at Best Buy, people are going to be looking very critically at the performance vs price ratio of the 4850. If the 4870 can top it, it would be an amazing achievement by AMD.
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I am really unsure about what ATi can do to create an even better value than the HD 4850. Then again, that's why I don't design cards. I'm hoping for a plesant suprise. So long as they keep the 4870 at a sub $400 price point, I'm ready for anything (if it's worth my money, that is).

What would really amaze me is a single GPU solution that gets 80% to 90% of the power you get for a GTX280 for only around $300 to $350. (I don't know if that math checks out, we may already have that. You guys probably get the point; most of the power for much less of a price.)

As far as pricing is concerned, I highly doubt ATi will price the HD 4870 above $400.
 
heatlesssun said:
The main reason I haven't gone to a 30" is because I really think they are too big but I'm sure I'll like it when I go that route. I've been looking to get one of these: http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=233602&prodlist=celebros

If you have any opinion about this monitor your thoughts are welcome!
Click to expand...

The Samsung 305T that you linked to is a VA monitor, and an older one at that. I went for a 24" VA monitor myself because it was cheap and (IMHO) better than a TN, but if I were going to spend that much money and get a 30", I would demand the best. The best in LCD technology now is IPS. The Dell 3007WFP(-HC) that ZerazaX mentioned is one of them, and there are a few others too; post in the Display subforum and ask which 30" IPS monitor is the best if you really want a lot of opinions on the matter.

(For those not familiar with the differences among TN, VA, and IPS monitors, TFT Central has a good page explaining.)
 
I am just disappointed in all the bias reviews

way too many inconsistencies

you would think that some of these setups being closely a like that people would start to find common results but instead you have one site sucking off ATI or another loving up Nvidia
 
Ckamc said:
I am just disappointed in all the bias reviews

way too many inconsistencies

you would think that some of these setups being closely a like that people would start to find common results but instead you have one site sucking off ATI or another loving up Nvidia
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Ditto, you have reviews with the GTX 280 blowing everything out of the water, and then other reviews showing the GX2 kicking its ass with 4850 CF trailing and even beating it in some cases. I do not recall any previous GPU release being so devisive, normally reviews will consistently say a card sucks or rocks but not this time round.

Will wait and see what the reviews have to say about the 4870, but I am not going to bother waiting for the 4870X2. I have spent the last year waiting for nvidia's refresh only to be thorougly disappointed with the 9800 series. Its time to bite the bullet, even if something better comes out in 3 months time I doubt that it will be necessary to upgrade from any current GPU unless all developers start releasing crysis like games (very unlikely given how most games these days are cross developed on consoles).
 
Pricing for the card has been said to go for $299, well below the $400 range. The most I've seen is $329. I seriously think AMD has a winner here. I'm really excited for some GPU competition! It's been boring with only Intel and nVidia around (although, those of you who invested in the 8800 GTX sure got your money's worth!!! Years of great performance that just now is starting to get beat!). At any rate, I'm excited for this launch. I'll be getting a pair of 4870's more than likely when the 1g cards are released. :) Woohoo!
 
heatlesssun said:
The main reason I haven't gone to a 30" is because I really think they are too big but I'm sure I'll like it when I go that route.
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take the plunge, you won't regret it. I had a 24'' dell for a couple of years and i loved it. at first it seemed kinda big, but once i got used to it i realized i could do with more space. i decided to go with the dell 30'' and haven't looked back. it is simply fantastic to do my work on and play games. just a few years ago gaming at 2560x1600 seemed impossible. it is a real treat to game at this res with the GTX 280. it certainly has offered some nice enhancements to gameplay over the 9800gx2. i'm very happy with the decision to get the GTX 280

it has been a great week for consumers, we're starting to see more competition which really benefits us. it is great to see ATI with great performance at affordable prices. I think the past few years we've seen a trend of super expensive GPUs, mostly because of lack of competition, maybe we're going to start swinging the other way and both nvidia and ati will drive eachother's prices down...looking forward to seeing how this all develops
 
My view, it's good that AMD are keeping up this round, I don't see anything they've released so far to be especially ground breaking, the 8800GT and the 9800GTX are both competative cards, both in the same ballpark speed and price wise, with the 9800GTX taking a 30% price cut it's remains a good alternative.

At the end of the day the consumer wins out, we've got more competition this round which means more aggressive pricing, I may wait for the 4870x2 release which ought to drive down Nvidias top end cards and then pick up an Nvidia card. Unless AMD really push the envelope this time, which I'm starting to doubt already.
 
I'm very excited about the price/performance and scalability route AMD is taking. It allows the consumer to have the most flexibility and purchasing power.

The whole concept of spending so much $$ on a single component of your setup has irked me for a while. I remember buying my first real gaming GPU, the 6800nu. It's performance was within a small percentage of the GT, especially with the unlockable pipes.

That experience really gave me perspective on PC gaming. The biggest, baddest setup can do wonders. But the next tier down can give you almost the same experience while the price/performance really skyrockets. I know that priorities differ for gamers and performance is top on a lot of lists here. But I have a lot of other things that need my financial attention. So AMD bringing the some serious muscle for less than $200 is a great thing.
 
defiant007 said:
I do not recall any previous GPU release being so devisive, normally reviews will consistently say a card sucks or rocks but not this time round.
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I agree that it's annoying that we don't have a clear picture. But that's what happens when competition is high and different products trade blows. You're going to have biased sites sure. But there's the very real possibility that the different setups perform differently in the same game in different reviews. Simple things like the map or area the testing was done in can make a huge difference. Custom timedemos or fraps runs will also show different results to the built in canned benchmarks some sites use.

Though one thing that has been consistent in all reviews is that 8xAA performance on RV770 takes a very small hit compared to 4x.
 
definitely a busy week, good for competition and the consumers. the rhetoric and inconsistent reviews were disappointing. ill be waiting a bit to see what shakes out over time.
 
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