New 2900xt ATI card

Zirax · 14-05-2007, 15:55

I have been waiting for this card for some time. For me the main thing that stopped me going to Nvidia was the drivers. If you get omaga drivers for the ATI cards then they will fly in the past

However

http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/1100/15
http://vr-zone.com/?i=4946&s=1
http://www.tbreak.com/reviews/articl...1&pagenumber=1
http://www.guru3d.com/article/Videocards/431/
http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/articl...50aHVzaWFzdA==

So this card is now competing with the GTS not the GTX. The current prices are between 270->310. The cheapest GTS is £180. In a lot of reviews it is getting spanked by a 6 month old card.

In summary it runs hotter than the old x1900xtx's, draws more power and is slower than a card that Nvidia released in October. There are reports in those reviews of the card getting near 95-100c on stock timings on the stock cooler. What pushed me to get watercooling was the racket the old xtx's made when they went into a game. The GTX's start at £370 which is eyewateringly expensive.

So it looks as if for performance, even with the more lousy drivers, the Nvidia GTS's are the cards to go for bang/buck. This is annoying as I do prefer the ATI's drivers and overclocking in that it just works :/

Daz · 14-05-2007, 16:01

See with a Linux hat on I've always preferred Nvidia over ATI, as their driver support is better. Different strokes and all that!

Admiral Huddy · 14-05-2007, 16:02

I think this is going to be ATIs version of NVIDIAs 5800 series.. This card has no benefit over the 8800 range as far as I can see.. Noisy reference HSF and heat issues.. Not sure what ATI are playing at, either that or the takeover has delayed things.. I've not been keeping touch with it's development. All I do know that 6 month after NVIDIAs release, I would have expected something better.

@Zirax.. 8800 drivers have been fine. The only issue i've had is with CS

ouble agent.. but this appears to be an issue with Ubisoft .. not nvidia.

Zirax · 14-05-2007, 16:07

I've been keeping an eye on it as my 939 opteron is getting long in the tooth and needs upgrading. I was thinking of going c2d and at the same time upgrading the gfx.

I think I will hold onto my old xtx for a little while as the frame rates aren't bad at 1900*1200 in most things. Good analogy on the 5800 series Huddy, this does look like a bum card. If it was £200 I would get my soldering iron old and volt mod it and clock it to the extreme.

Daz, I agree on the linux front with nvidia's drivers. However when I install linux I never game on it so the default video drivers were good enough.

Mark · 14-05-2007, 16:12

I stepped out of the graphics card race some time ago. It's just getting silly now with ever bigger power and heat issues. At this rate we'll end up needing CPU-sized heatsinks to keep things under sensible control before long.

Daz, I got my ATI card working well on Linux, but I know what you mean - closed-source proprietary drivers and all that. It was only a cheapo MM jobbie with a dodgy fan, so it'll get replaced at some point (with an almost equally cheapo Nvidia probably).

Garp · 14-05-2007, 16:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daz

See with a Linux hat on I've always preferred Nvidia over ATI, as their driver support is better. Different strokes and all that!

Likewise.. I've had so many hassles with ATIs under *nix that I just won't touch them with a barge pole any more

Robert · 14-05-2007, 20:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zirax

I have been waiting for this card for some time. For me the main thing that stopped me going to Nvidia was the drivers. If you get omaga drivers for the ATI cards then they will fly in the past

However

http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/1100/15
http://vr-zone.com/?i=4946&s=1
http://www.tbreak.com/reviews/articl...1&pagenumber=1
http://www.guru3d.com/article/Videocards/431/
http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/articl...50aHVzaWFzdA==

So this card is now competing with the GTS not the GTX. The current prices are between 270->310. The cheapest GTS is £180. In a lot of reviews it is getting spanked by a 6 month old card.

In summary it runs hotter than the old x1900xtx's, draws more power and is slower than a card that Nvidia released in October. There are reports in those reviews of the card getting near 95-100c on stock timings on the stock cooler. What pushed me to get watercooling was the racket the old xtx's made when they went into a game. The GTX's start at £370 which is eyewateringly expensive.

So it looks as if for performance, even with the more lousy drivers, the Nvidia GTS's are the cards to go for bang/buck. This is annoying as I do prefer the ATI's drivers and overclocking in that it just works :/

You should be able to get a Palit 8800GTX for £330 now. Mine was £380 at launch...and I have seen them for £330.

Stan_Lite · 15-05-2007, 01:23

Read a review about this card on CustomPC (my new Folding team). The reviewer had spoken to someone from AMD who said that the 2900XT was comparable to the 640Mb 8800GTS, when asked about comparison to the 8800GTX, the spokesman said "Crossfire". When asked about an ATI solution to compete with SLi - they didn't have one

A bit poor considering they've had > 6 months to come up with something.

Stan

Admiral Huddy · 15-05-2007, 11:15

I was going to ask who you have joinned.. I was thinking of joining them myself

14-05-2007, 15:55	#1
Zirax Goes up to 11! Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 4,577	New 2900xt ATI card I have been waiting for this card for some time. For me the main thing that stopped me going to Nvidia was the drivers. If you get omaga drivers for the ATI cards then they will fly in the past However http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/1100/15 http://vr-zone.com/?i=4946&s=1 http://www.tbreak.com/reviews/articl...1&pagenumber=1 http://www.guru3d.com/article/Videocards/431/ http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/articl...50aHVzaWFzdA== So this card is now competing with the GTS not the GTX. The current prices are between 270->310. The cheapest GTS is £180. In a lot of reviews it is getting spanked by a 6 month old card. In summary it runs hotter than the old x1900xtx's, draws more power and is slower than a card that Nvidia released in October. There are reports in those reviews of the card getting near 95-100c on stock timings on the stock cooler. What pushed me to get watercooling was the racket the old xtx's made when they went into a game. The GTX's start at £370 which is eyewateringly expensive. So it looks as if for performance, even with the more lousy drivers, the Nvidia GTS's are the cards to go for bang/buck. This is annoying as I do prefer the ATI's drivers and overclocking in that it just works :/

14-05-2007, 16:01	#2
Daz The Stig Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Swad! Posts: 10,713	See with a Linux hat on I've always preferred Nvidia over ATI, as their driver support is better. Different strokes and all that! __________________ apt-get moo

14-05-2007, 16:02	#3
Admiral Huddy HOMO-Sapien Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Chelmsford Posts: 6,692	I think this is going to be ATIs version of NVIDIAs 5800 series.. This card has no benefit over the 8800 range as far as I can see.. Noisy reference HSF and heat issues.. Not sure what ATI are playing at, either that or the takeover has delayed things.. I've not been keeping touch with it's development. All I do know that 6 month after NVIDIAs release, I would have expected something better. @Zirax.. 8800 drivers have been fine. The only issue i've had is with CSouble agent.. but this appears to be an issue with Ubisoft .. not nvidia. __________________ I just got lost in thought.. It was very unfamiliar territory. Techie Talk \| My gaming Blog \| PC spec \| The Admirals log Last edited by Admiral Huddy; 14-05-2007 at 16:05.

15-05-2007, 01:23	#8
Stan_Lite Stan, Stan the FLASHER MAN! Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: In bed with your sister Posts: 5,483	Read a review about this card on CustomPC (my new Folding team). The reviewer had spoken to someone from AMD who said that the 2900XT was comparable to the 640Mb 8800GTS, when asked about comparison to the 8800GTX, the spokesman said "Crossfire". When asked about an ATI solution to compete with SLi - they didn't have one A bit poor considering they've had > 6 months to come up with something. Stan __________________ Just because I have a short attention span doesn't mean I...

15-05-2007, 11:15	#9
Admiral Huddy HOMO-Sapien Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Chelmsford Posts: 6,692	I was going to ask who you have joinned.. I was thinking of joining them myself __________________ I just got lost in thought.. It was very unfamiliar territory. Techie Talk \| My gaming Blog \| PC spec \| The Admirals log

14-05-2007, 16:07	#4
Zirax Goes up to 11! Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 4,577	I've been keeping an eye on it as my 939 opteron is getting long in the tooth and needs upgrading. I was thinking of going c2d and at the same time upgrading the gfx. I think I will hold onto my old xtx for a little while as the frame rates aren't bad at 1900*1200 in most things. Good analogy on the 5800 series Huddy, this does look like a bum card. If it was £200 I would get my soldering iron old and volt mod it and clock it to the extreme. Daz, I agree on the linux front with nvidia's drivers. However when I install linux I never game on it so the default video drivers were good enough.

14-05-2007, 16:12	#5
Mark Screaming Orgasm Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Newbury Posts: 15,194	I stepped out of the graphics card race some time ago. It's just getting silly now with ever bigger power and heat issues. At this rate we'll end up needing CPU-sized heatsinks to keep things under sensible control before long. Daz, I got my ATI card working well on Linux, but I know what you mean - closed-source proprietary drivers and all that. It was only a cheapo MM jobbie with a dodgy fan, so it'll get replaced at some point (with an almost equally cheapo Nvidia probably).