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Shader model 3.0 and ATI

grifter_66

grifter_66

[H]ard|Gawd
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Jun 2, 2005
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All right I have a 6800GT in my system now but after upgrading from the 9800 PRO a year ago I have to admit I prefer ATI brand cards over NVIDIA. Don't get me wrong the 6800GT is a great card but I personally prefer ATI's support and stability unfortunately I am also a huge graphics whore so I want HDR and SM 3.0. So I was just wondering when ATI will add those options to their cards. I would like to upgrade and am excited about ATI's XFire technology but I dont really want to give up those graphic options.
 
Their upcoming release (R520) is supposed to support those features. Currently due out in late August - early September.
 
SM3.0 doesn't really offer anything over 2.0 except easier programming from the developers side.

HDR is not a function of SM3.0 and can be done on ATi cards as well.
 
The verdict is, wait till Aug/Sep, and buy an R520, even though its' SM3 support doesn't mean a whole lot.
 
SM3 provides a noticable increase in fps in games that support it, not a big increase but noticable none-the-less, remember the [H] Sm3 benchies?

~Adam
 
CleanSlate said:
SM3 provides a noticable increase in fps in games that support it, not a big increase but noticable none-the-less, remember the [H] Sm3 benchies?

~Adam
Click to expand...

Care to enlighten me?Sorry it's just I doubt there is an sm3.0 compliant game out there right now that shows 'noticable' increase in fps.
 
Looking at the link, I'm finding it hard to try and create a comparison because it's not apples to apples, however I can see that with the 6800U and X850XTPE there is a similar performance but the 6800U doing better with 2x AA (which the X850XTPE isn't using in the benchmark) but the X850XTPE is running at a higher resolution, so there is a benefit but not I can't see a large margin with todays games. Well unless you use the latest and greatest hardware but even then it isn't as impressive as I'd hoped.
 
Screenshots do not do the game justice. If you have never played SCCT with soft shadows and SM3.0 enabled, then you're really missing out, imho. You're right, it's not apples to apples because the current nVidia cards wallop ATI for image quality in this instance.
 
But I'm on about actual performance. The X850XTPE and 6800U have basically the same settings in that test (albeit with the X850XTPE without AA and the 6800U at 1280x1024) and there is a very similar performance (about 3-4fps difference), that's all I'm saying.
 
rite now we don't need card with sm 3.0, but it's very ideal to buy one. it should worth our time playin some game without upgradin within 2 or 3 yrs possible longer. when R520 release i will put my money on that. :)
 
Well I bought a X850XT (could of gone 6800U but I didn't for the reasons I'm arguing here) and I know I wont need to upgrade for 2-3 years, I'm waiting on the next next-gen cards (R600 and so on...) because like I said here there is little need for SM3.0 right now and when there is I'm sure it will have become a standard in games development. But who knows how long it will take? UT2007?
 
tornadotsunamilife said:
Well I bought a X850XT (could of gone 6800U but I didn't for the reasons I'm arguing here) and I know I wont need to upgrade for 2-3 years, I'm waiting on the next next-gen cards (R600 and so on...)
Click to expand...
that's very wise of u :)
 
Here's my gripe: SC:CT doesn't have support for SM2.0. It's been shown that, at this point, SM2 and SM3 aren't that much different (see: Far Cry), but I, as an X800XT owner, am getting strong-armed into either buying a Geforce, buying R520, or playing SC:CT with no HDR. Very very crappy, IMO. Makes me wonder about Intel-esque tactics that go into the "The Way it's Meant to be Played" campaign.
 
I have yet to see a single benchmark that shows SM3.0 provides a speed benefit. It offers some extra shadow functions not available with SM2.0, but that's about the extent of anything visual. Everything else seems to be internal, like longer shader command support. It's also much easier to program. However, Splinter Cell is a TWIMTBP game, and appears to be programmed it to give the largest benefit to NV cards. Being forced to use SM1.1 if your card doesn't support SM3.0 is either created by giving the game developer $$$ (most likely), or just very poor/lazy programming.
 
I have to say I really just dont give a shit. I have never found my self playing BF2 and stopping midway through a game and saying "Yeah, this game would look SO MUCH BETTER if I just had SM3.0!!!!" W00T!"

shader 2.0b seems to work just fine......when a game looks like ass becuase my card doesnt have a feature, then I'll care about it. And for the record, I dont give a rats ass about ATi vs. nVidia - I buy whoevers got the best bang for the buck at the time.
 
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