NV40... looks like ATi are in trouble

[x84D80Yx]

<--r420
vs.

<--nv40

so far the nv40 still seems stronger, even with r420's (x800) 16 pipelines.

nv40 (6800 + 6800 ultra) has:
ps/vs3.0 (while the r420 is still on 2.0)
fp24 (while the r420 is fp32)
222 million transistors (while the r420 is rumored to have only 170 million transistors)
16×1 and 32×0 pipelines (the r420SE will have 8 pipes, r420Pro with 12, and the r420XT with 16)
dual molex power connectors (same for r420)
GDDR3 memory (same for r420)
it just seems the nv40 is still the card to get, no one knows till they are both announced and benchmarked. god i love speculation + technology

they are both similar cards, but because the nv40 has ps+vs3.0 and more transistors with better drivers, i think that will do it for them.

according to dx9 and microsoft, PS + VS3.0 is going to be awesome for next gen games. (far cry currently supports ps/vs3.0, im pretty sure hl2, doom3 and stalker will follow)
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/winhec/partners/shadermodel30_NVIDIA.mspx

but once again, anything can happen, so i could be COMPLETELY wrong. this is just my theory.

 

[crabcakes66]

so this means absolutly nothing......theoreticly judging by features, the 5x FX series should smoke there counterparts.

My money is on ATI.

 

[Arno]

NVidia anounces its new graphics chip on April 13th. So I guess we'll see a lot of benchmarks pop-up in two days.
Of course, after that we'll still need to wait for the launch of the R420, before any real comparisons can be made.

 

[Mr-Fusion]

Excellent. Any estimates as to when the NV40s will be available for consumer purchase?

 

[Razorscott2YK]

Yeah but think about it, who's to say what else ATI has up their sleeve? Somehow i dont see ATI giving up their now bigger share of the graphics market so easily... and crabcakes raises a good point, technically Nvdia cards should absolutely crap all over ATI cards but that didnt happen now did it?

What my question will be is: How will this affect optimisation for Nvidia cards in Halflife 2? Will the 6800 be desined similarly to the FX line with it's own shader path or will it finally comply to standard Direct X 16/24 not 16/32??? If it does comply, then maybe ATI has something to worry about...

Just my two cents.

-Razorscott2yk

 

[clarky003]

my money is on no one, as I really dont care , its just gonna be stiff competition with very little difference , if any atall. these threads just tend to wobble off into fanboy banter, lol. although so far people seem to be stayin sorta cool over these new BEASTLY cards on offer.

 

[Razorscott2YK]

Also im pretty sure the Nvidia NV40 actually has a 16x1 arcitecture and emulates a 30x0 environment under certain "Conditions" such as when your running 3dMark applications and OpenGL engines expressly tweaked for the NV40. The bit about emulating a different card in 3DMark actually worries me a bit as this sort of seems like cheating by hardware and not software this time, giving gamers the impression that the card will run like a dream in a real gaming environment based on it's emulated 3dMark scores when in fact it might be totally different.

Also if the NV40 is running something like 230 million transistors then i shudder at the thought of how much heat that will produce. (Better start saving for that liquid nitrogen...).

-Razor2yk...

 

[Arno]

technically Nvdia cards should absolutely crap all over ATI cards but that didnt happen now did it?

I think the main reason for that is because the FX cards have less shader pipelines then the Radeon cards.

Will the 6800 be desined similarly to the FX line with it's own shader path or will it finally comply to standard Direct X 16/24 not 16/32??? If it does comply, then maybe ATI has something to worry about...

PixelShader3.0 requires 32bit, so NVidia won't throw 32bit out of the window. ATI will stick with 24bit, which is potentially faster. The disadvantage is that 24bit is not enough for PS3.0.

 

[[Matt]]

Anyone see the news that the 6800 Ultra will require a 480W PSU as a minimum???

 

[[Matt]]

Just found these magazine scans...

http://www.3dchipset.com/temp/6800.zip

 

[x84D80Yx]

Anyone see the news that the 6800 Ultra will require a 480W PSU as a minimum???

yeah but its all speculation right now, so dont beleive it.

 

[Asus]

Last year, FX had lot of features but the ATI card had the 1 or 2 features where it counts (Shaders).
I'd have to have a lot more info before I bet at all. hehe
The inquirer speculates that the N40 will have 6 vertex shaders...
I forget how many the 9800 had and if we knew how many the R420 will have. That would help with predictions.

But predictions are all just fun anyway.

If ATI was stuck at 12 pipelines then they COULD have been caught off guard. Pipelines only allow for more performance. They don't give it.

The fact that Nvidia fixed their shaders and precision gives them a lot of hope since that is what pulled the 5900 down.
I would bet it will not be as one-sided as to which card to buy this year as last.

UPDATE:
9800pro = 4 vertex shaders
R420 = 6 vertex shaders
Everything considering R420 and N40's specs should be suspect to change until we get some actual reviews.

 

[x84D80Yx]

yeah asus, i kinda agree.
both cards are looking damn good so far. but its still too soon to judge. anything can happen.