Ati Hd2900 (r600)

CDsDontBurn

*cough*8800ultra*cough*

who said anything about "next new generation"?

H3X4D3C1M4L

All these damn cards are so expensive. Were I to plunk down the ducats for a new card these days, assuming I would actually buy one of the high end cards, the only serious choice would be an 8800.

Too bad that ATI/AMD should blunder so. I liked ATI, Canadian company (woot) and damn good cards... AMD too, I always knew the underdog would take charge. It just seems that ATI/AMD has yet to pull another K7 or K8 out of its hat (or for that matter another 9700 Pro)

Warpy

ATI's problem was starting with 8000 in the same generation that nVidia used 4000. After the 9000 series they went with X000 instead of 10000, and that leads to todays strange latin/arabic hybrid numbering scheme. ATI has also put misleading prefixes on some of their lowend cards making them seem to be from a newer generation than they actually are.

I would have to say nVidia's naming scheme is a lot more consistent and to some extent easier to understand than ATI's

Negatives:

Power consumption - 215 Watts (might need a PSU Upgrade too!)
Fan Noise - Nobody wants to hear a jet taking off when playing games.
Driver Support - Releasing a card that lacks punch in terms of driver performance is like selling a Ferrari without the engine. - Kinda pointless.

I'm sticking with my ATI x1950 Pro 512MB and waiting to see what else hits the market, I'm not impressed with this card at all - The ridiculous waiting time for a card that doesn't in my eyes deliver the numbers when compared to nVidia.

>GSXR<mrbusa

I wouldn't be surprised if M$ buys this company soon. Ati sold out and Amd bit off more than they can chew. Now the company is in financial trouble and may never get back in the black on there own. Up until the end of last year I would have technically been considered and Ati fanboy. The company was different and cared about there customers. Now they are like all the rest and are just another name in a never ending list. Keep things simple and make the best product possible and people will buy it.

Warpy

Not the first time I've heard that! I've been reading that all over the internet of late. I tend to agree with you too, it does seem that ATI have gone down hill, perhaps it's time for another competitor to step in. It would be a refreshing change I think - a breath of fresh air for many.

CDsDontBurn

how do you think the naming schematics for NVIDIA will change after the 9xxx series from NVIDIA arrive?

do you think it will go to 10xxx, or do something along the lines of what ATI did, or change the schematics entirely?

The next generation of cards (g92 based) will be the last ones to fit this profile.

ET3D

I'm not all that impressed, but I still won't mind winning one on Driver Heaven.