Radeon x850 XT vs 6800 Ultra

[Apokalipse]

the X850 is not based on the R520 core, it is based the R480 core.
the R480 is almost the same as the R420 (X800) core but designed to get a higher frequency.

there are many arguments for and against the X800's beating 6800's and vice versa, but so far the only thing slightly outstanding is Nvidia's Smartshader 3.0.

and the reason the 6800's perform better in Doom 3 is not because the game was made to take advantage of them. it is written in OpenGL rather than Direct3D, HL2 being written in Direct3D
the Nvidia cards have been designed much better to work with OpenGL than ATI's cards, and they still give comparable performance against ATI's cards in Direct3D

the X850's have an edge over 6800's in Direct3D speed, but still are not so great in OpenGL.

personally I wouldn't give a stuff if any card gets 2-3fps more than another, I like Nvidia's 6800's for being a good reliable card first off, instead of rushing for better ones (with bugs along the way)
Smartshader 3.0 and better OpenGL support are why I like the 6800's

and I am not saying that I dislike ATI either, the X800's are a big improvement over the 9800's, but they could have been designed better. (that is why ATI released the X850)

*edit*
there's a 6800 Ultra for just over $800 at CPL

 

[Jeff Lawson]

For all we know Nvidia could be waiting a couple months after ATI's R520 and introducing a 48pipeline card with 1gb of Vram (thats an exaggeration I know, dont take it literally)

Nubius

There's also no press release from Nvidia indicating such a thing, and you should know that that means they have no next gen ready for the year....there may be a refresh and probably price reductions on Nvidia's part, but ATI are about to up the ante, and I predict that the X800XL will become freely available, as it's a 16 pipe chip with reduced clockspeeds, that indicates to me that they can get sizeable yields, and the X800XL has the 6800GT's measure virtually all over the place.

ATI hasn't upped the ante like you seem to think, they simply keep throwing out more cards making the one you bought a few months ago obsolete

Nahhh, a X800XT purchased in mid 04 isn't obsolete by a longshot, in fact it's still one of the hottest cards around, and freely available in Australia{$750 from Gecube}

 

[DoomUK]

There's no point in continueing as you'll simply say 'But ati this...but ati that' and I'll retort with 'Well nvidia this, and nvidia that' and it's never ending.

I dreaded opening this thread when I first saw the title muchless a poll option.

I have voted for the 6800 U.

Can admin not just put a sticky up on the ATI vs nVidia topic, (hopefully) eliminating these annoying threads?

 

[Jeff Lawson]

I have voted for the 6800 U.

Can admin not just put a sticky up on the ATI vs nVidia topic, (hopefully) eliminating these annoying threads?

Is the truth annoying you DoomUK?

 

[DoomUK]

Is the truth annoying you DoomUK?

lol no, I just don't see the need for continuous debates on ATI vs nVidia. Buy whatever's the best for what you want at the price that you can afford, simple.

 

[Jeff Lawson]

lol no, I just don't see the need for continuous debates on ATI vs nVidia. Buy whatever's the best for what you want at the price that you can afford, simple.

But these type of threads help thrash out which is best....as long as people aren't being rude to each other I don't see the problem.