Radeon 9900 & Half-Life 2 Bundle...

[chris_3]

Originally posted by FictiousWill
My Geforce 4 (got it last year) didn't come with any game demos!

my Geforce Fx5600 came with Morrowind,GhostRecon,DukeNukem, some more games and 5 more other software shit that i dont use.

 

[kelisis]

Originally posted by chris_3
my Geforce Fx5600 came with Morrowind,GhostRecon,DukeNukem, some more games and 5 more other software shit that i dont use.

What brand is it? Asus? Gainward? Anyways, I think I am sticking with Ati right now.

 

[Strk]

If it his 5600 came with those games, it sounds like a MSI card.

ATI is lengthening their product cycle (the time they keep upgrading the current cards until they release the next wave of cards) from 18 months to 24 months (nVidia is staying at 18 months from what I have read)... so the next card they release will probably be another Radeon 9000 series card.

Will ATI be able to keep up with (or stay ahead of) nVidia if they start taking an extra 6 months? Hopefully, they will spend the extra time to see what nVidia does with their next cards and "kick it up a notch."

Neither company is on an 18 month product cycle. Nvidia is usually on a 6 month product cyle, but since they started with the nv3x series, they have pretty much hit a bump in the road with their cyle with their entire line of cards.

ATI was usually on an annual cycle, although they made multiple updates since they released r3xx series. Most of the updates have just been tweaking the r300 core. We will soon see on if ATI still plans to keep it annually for updating their line with all new tech though.(the 9700 Pro was announced at about this time last year)

 

[azzkiker]

I'm getting that bundle! I need an upgrade anyways!

 

[Flynn]

if i cant match the quality of the movie on my comp, im upgrading

 

[Inflatable]

I'm getting a Asus V9950 FX5900 in 2 weeks time.. Now that the AA-bug is also fixed for Nvidia cards there is no reason not to get it.. I really love the Asus drivers with the built-in OSD etc, they're perfect for gamers imho..

I doubt Valve will bundle HL2 with any hardware right away after it's release..

 

[OCybrManO]

Originally posted by Strk
Neither company is on an 18 month product cycle. Nvidia is usually on a 6 month product cyle, but since they started with the nv3x series, they have pretty much hit a bump in the road with their cyle with their entire line of cards.

ATI was usually on an annual cycle, although they made multiple updates since they released r3xx series. Most of the updates have just been tweaking the r300 core. We will soon see on if ATI still plans to keep it annually for updating their line with all new tech though.(the 9700 Pro was announced at about this time last year)

The shift from 18 months to 24 months was the increase in the maximum length of the production cycle. Both of their production cycles for entirely new cards (not upgrades of recent cards) used to be 12-18 months... now ATI has gone to a 18-24 month cycle.

Originally posted on HardwareAccelerated.com
Business Week has an interesting article about Tech companies extending product cycles to focus more on margins and profit. The article also contains a bit of information about ATI's plans, which are to move from an 18 month product cycle to a 24 month cycle. There is some confusion about whether this means that a new architecture will take 2 years to come out now (as I don't remember it taking 18 months for each new architecture), or if it means that each design team will have 24 months to complete new architectures. I'm thinking it means the latter. Either way, this is a good choice for ATI, as the graphic industry has been moving at a rapid pace during the last few years. With the economy and sales down, it would make sense to scale back and focus on profitability a bit more. If NVIDIA sticks to their schedule (which has been more like 24 month as well lately), than they might gain some market share over ATI. However, margins won't be as high most likely. Video cards should be aligned more with each generation of games released (about two years).

For companies like ATI, such a move can make the difference between profit and loss. Lengthening its product cycle means it'll be able to hold R&D spending flat in 2003 at $165 million, vs. the $180 million or so it would otherwise have had to lay out. At the least, that will narrow ATI's net loss, which amounted to $8.3 million in the quarter ended Feb. 28, despite a 20% increase in sales, to $318.5 million.

 

[Strk]

The shift from 18 months to 24 months was the increase in the maximum length of the production cycle. Both of their production cycles for entirely new cards (not upgrades of recent cards) used to be 12-18 months... now ATI has gone to a 18-24 month cycle.

Ok, that makes more sense. Since you're talking about their real new cards(ie: the legit new tech ones like the 8500 to 9700 and not just a refresh like the 9700 to 9800)

 

[ferd]

is the 9900 gonna bes the newest card then? i mean better then the 9800 pro radeon now?

 

[EnochLight]

Here's a fact:

According to Gabe himself (in an interview in the August 2003 edition of Maximum PC), next generation video cards that run DirectX 10 will not make Half-Life 2 look any better - they will just allow you to play with a higher frame rate.

One could only logically assume that ATI and nVIDIA's next generation cards (9900 and the 6000), being based still on DirectX 9 will only offer slightly better frames per second. Whether they are marginally faster or by a huge margin it is unknown, but the game will look no different.

Frankly, judging by how past games improved in FPS from next gen cards, you wont see that much of an improvement from ATI and nVIDIA's next in regards to Half-Life 2. I mean, I guess every frame counts - but will the cost of an upgrade really be worth it for those of us who already own 9800 Pros and FX5900 Ultra's?

Cheers,

EnochLight

 

[Dr. Freeman]

Originally posted by EnochLight
Frankly, judging by how past games improved in FPS from next gen cards, you wont see that much of an improvement from ATI and nVIDIA's next in regards to Half-Life 2. I mean, I guess every frame counts - but will the cost of an upgrade really be worth it for those of us who already own 9800 Pros and FX5900 Ultra's?

EnochLight, u have really gotten into the habit of making sensible posts, haven't ya?


ur last sentence is something for pple to keep in mind...unless of course they don't have a 9800 Pro or an FX5900 Ultra and have the moolah to spend for a 9900 Pro or 6000 Ultra


i will be purchasing a new video card (current one, voodoo3.. don't laugh. ) and if the 9900 Pro is available.. maybe i'll get that.. depending on the cost of both 9900 and 9800.. im not gonna spend more cash if i really don't need to

 

[reever2]

Originally posted by EnochLight
Here's a fact:

According to Gabe himself (in an interview in the August 2003 edition of Maximum PC), next generation video cards that run DirectX 10 will not make Half-Life 2 look any better - they will just allow you to play with a higher frame rate.

Even though that statement is the opposite of what he has said in emails about taking advantage of new graphic technology through patches.. :dozey:

 

[EnochLight]

Originally posted by reever2
Even though that statement is the opposite of what he has said in emails about taking advantage of new graphic technology through patches.. :dozey:

I'm just reciting his official statement in a public interview via a well known magazine. Can't comment on emails sent to people.

Cheers,

EnochLight