http://apps.ati.com/ir/PressReleaseText.asp?compid=105421&releaseID=764451 Interesting launch, from what I could gather. I haven't had the chance to check out all the benchmarks and reviews, but it looks like these cards did so-so compared to the Nvidia cards they're going against. The X1800 XT does a little better than the 7800 GTX at some games, while the GTX does a little better than the X1800 at some games. The only real standout appears to be a benchmark of the FEAR demo, IIRC, which the X1800 XT whips the 7800 GTX in (avg difference of 30FPS in a couple of settings); Nvidia has said that the results will be much different with some new drivers. It should also be noted that the 7800 GTX is easy to overclock, so higher clocked versions of the card should do better (of course, the same may also be the case with the X1800). Also, there is still a considerable price difference between not only the X1800 XT and the 7800GTX ($500-$550 to ~$400 if you look hard enough), but some of the other ATI/Nvidia cards as well (EX:X1800 XL is priced like the 7800 GTX, but performs like a 7800 GT). Here's a summary from Anandtech about the cards: http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2552&p=11 So basically, the cards are very good, but given their prices and the delay between ATI's launch and Nvidia's previous launch around June, things could have been better, at least that's the impressions I'm getting. Of course, I won't be able to get close to any of these babies at those price tags for a while. I believe ATI is scheduled to debut an even more powerful card around January, and of course, there's been plenty of rumors of a 7800 Ultra lurking in the shadows. I'm just hoping both of these companies fight it out some more in the next 6-12 months so that some of these cards start dropping in price. I badly want to play Oblivion on the PC, but I don't think I'll be able to find a reasonably-priced card powerful enough to play the game at a reasonable performance for a while.
Ehhh. I'll stick with my 6800GT ULTRA (overclocked) for a few years. I don't think I'll need to upgrade anytime soon, video card wise. My pc though, is running on 2.5 years of age. My ram is brand new, and accessories but the MB and Chip are running like senior citizens.
Why is it that when you think you are caught up with PC upgrades, and can pool money for something like food, more crap has to come out and make me cry. It's a neverending cycle, and it's cruel. Such is life. Oh well!
