I suppose I'm too lazy to do in depth research, so I was just wondering how long it'll be before there's a noticeable difference between image quality of cards supporting PS 2.0 vs PS 3.0. I was wondering because I'm considering an x800xl, and while I know it'll be great for now, will it be junk in, say, a year and a half because no PS 3.0? I know it doesn't matter to those who make yearly or more often upgrades, but I plan to stick with my $300 purchase for atleast two years, but I also don't want to be in the stone age.
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Pixel Shader 2.0/3.0
- Thread starter runbird05
- Start date
tornadotsunamilife
2[H]4U
- Joined
- Jun 26, 2004
- Messages
- 2,492
It wont be junk. Even in a years time PS 3.0 wont be totally intergrated however nvidia's and ati's new chips will definitley push developers to incorporating it. I think you have 2 options, buy an X800XL and be happy for a year and a half or buy either a 6800GT or some form of the G70 chip. I think you will be happy with either but maybe get a longer lifespan out of a card with SM 3.0 support now.
If you're looking at a 2-year ownership time-frame then pick-up a 6800GT for $300, that makes most sense. I'm sure Shader 2.0 tech will be well-supported by developers throughout that period of time but so will Shader 3.0 (that's pixel *and* vertex shaders) and you'll be missing out on what that has to offer. From what I've read, the enhancements over Shader 2.0 are mainly in being able to handle longer shader lengths (for more complex shading, lighting and animation), dynamic branching (for performance improvements) and vertex texture and instancing support. Some of those things (like instancing) are quasi-supported by the ATi X8xx series anyway but not as part of the Shader 3.0 standard and therefore may not be supported by developers.
All that stuff may not be that much of a big deal right now but it may well be within 2 years and I'd much rather have it than not.
All that stuff may not be that much of a big deal right now but it may well be within 2 years and I'd much rather have it than not.