I think krarg is right in assuming that Valve no longer cares about showing us how well our computers will run Half-Life 2 by means of a free benchmark. They thought about it and came to the conclusion they'd rather charge us $50 to find out. :)
Everybody's so quick to flame each other, when it's really that person who just doesn't get it. A minute later everybody flames the guy who was making the incorrect assumptions.
Here's a thought: The next time you think everyone else got it wrong and you're the only one who understands it...
I believe the first game that took advantage of 256 MB of RAM on your video card was Asheron's Call 2 that came out almost a year ago (11/20/2002).
Screenshots of 128 vs. 256 MB of RAM: http://www.hothardware.com/hh_files/S&V/radeon_9800_256mb.shtml (And yes, the graphics suck in that game...
Great job, Spitcodfry. I think you DID get new info, as we now know they're still trying to release on September 30. Gabe isn't stupid, he knows how long things take. When you're working on a game it might be hard to tell if it's a year or two from release, but when we're talking about going...
I've never been this excited about a game before, either, but in the past, I'd say:
Command and Conquer: Tiberian Sun
I waited and waited for months and read previews and read more previews and then I waited some more months and then I rushed out and bought it on the day it came out. Why...
You pretty much said it, Cheater. I think the 9800 Pro will be fast enough to run all games decently for some time, but if you don't wanna invest all your savings in a Radeon 9800 Pro, get a 9600 Pro. Yes, you'll have to update sooner than those of us with a 9800 Pro, but nobody knows how much...