Are the Video Graphic Wars Overs?
And the winner is?? Cant really say that, as nVidia will be releasing thier NV30 series in time for Christmas. However thier sales will most likely suffer since ATI was able to get thiers out first. Here is some good information on the ATI Radeon 9700.
August 30, 2002 - DOOM III is about as good as free marketing gets. The game regulated the party at this year’s E3 and left a good question on everyone’s mind: What card was pushing it? By now it’s old news that the rig responsible was a 2.53 Intel P4 with 1GB of RDRAM. The rest of the machine was cutting edge business, but nothing you can’t find yourself at your local shop. What I’m getting at is that DOOM III looked as sweet as it did because of the video card. And after spending the week toying around with a 9700 of my own it’s no wonder that Carmack gave ATi his blessing and let them run his new baby.
Before I get to the specifics, the reactions of jaded IGN editor’s is a decent indicator of how impressive something is. I might get in a new jukebox and get my panties in a knot, but then Craig comes by and does the zombie. Similarly, Fran’s likely to get all hot and bothered over some nonsense that would throw a right thinking person into a super coma. However, when we installed the 9700 into Ivan’s system on Monday all the troops gathered. It’s hard to ignore NOLF 2 running smooth as silk at 1600 with everything cranked.
A whole host of features enable the kind of performance the 9700 dishes out. However, this is a review, and most of the specific innovations were handled in the preview. And hell, you don’t know what a lot of the next shtit means.
You’re probably used to seeing reviews by the inimitable Matt Hanyok. It’s not that you won’t see Matt’s good work gracing our pages in the future, but I had to keep the 9700 for myself. It was also important to run the card in a suitable system. My home PC definitely qualifies as “suitable.” And keep your eyes open for an updated Big Rig story.
For more specifics and comparison details click on this link.
