Yup, it's definitely getting closer to launch. I can tell when so many pages go by between the times I get to check the forums.
Why do people assume frame buffer is only for high resolution, Eyefinity, SSA and newer games?
I just need to have a handful images open in Photoshop before maxing out a 1GB frame buffer and things crawl to a halt. Of course, I could work on less images at the time.
Same goes for using the new DX accelerated IE9 in conjunction with games. I usually play in Windowed mode so I can browse at the same time as I play certain types of games. With Civ 5, I've had to lower some graphical settings (8x -> 4x AA) while doing this otherwise Civ 5 will eventually go into chunky mode. Going forward I'm going to start looking at 2 GB cards I think.
Don't see how it could go any other way. It would be more misleading than any nVidia rebranding and that caused a shitstorm. That's why I'm pretty confident 6870 > 5870 regardless of what chip is underneath the hood.
And I'll be all over AMD just like I was all over Nvidia if this happens.
Remember 3870? It was twice cheaper than 2900 and still was considered a hugely successful chip, which prompted Nvidia to launch 8800GTS 512.
I dont expect more features in 6xxx generation (only UVD3), so the major factor will be price/performance, everything else is secondary.
3870 also marked AMD redoing their naming scheme. 6xxx is continuing with the same naming scheme established and promoted by AMD since 3xxx. To arbitrarily shuffle performance would represent AMD deliberately trying to mislead and take advantage of their customers who have come to trust the new naming scheme since AMD up til now have been very consistent with it. And there is no indication that AMD is instituting a new naming scheme. At most it appears they may be adding a possible 6Xxx to the very top. The problem comes in if they are reshuffling performance expectations for each level without changing the naming scheme such that a general consumer will know something is different, even if they may not know at first what is different.
Not at launch
Please don't forget, that at until the launch of R9000 higher number always meant higher performance. Also family number was related to DX-support:
Radeon 7000 / 7200 / 7500 ~ DirectX 7
Radeon 8500 ~ DirectX 8
Radeon 9500/9700 ~ DirectX 9
Radeon 9000 was the first part, which broke both of these relations. It was slower than a lower-numbered model and also didn't support same DX level as the rest of the family.
The 9xxx series marks when ATI finally settled on using a generational category 9xxx in addition to relative performance within a generation xYxx. The 7xxx series they experiemented with it, then dropped it with the 8xxx series.
That said they didn't do a good job with it until the 3xxx series as each generation prior would sometimes contain rebranded chips from previous generations.
Hence why some of us have been particularly impressed with AMD's naming scheme ever since the 3xxx series. It makes sense. It does NOT try to mislead its customers. And its been consistent for 3 generations now.
If rumors are true, AMD may be throwing that all out the window. And consumers that don't spend time going to tech sites and forums (most of my gaming LAN buddies don't, they don't even know there's a 6xxx series coming up. They don't know until they buy a replacement card, or a new OEM machine.) will no longer be able to rely on consistent and well established naming and performance categories.
That would be a shame. But again, if 68xx is a significant performance improvement over 58xx then that's fine. I just have a hard time believing that's the case if the rumors of Barts specs are true and Barts is 68xx.
What is nonsense? HD6800 name or sub-$300 price? :smile:
A sub 300 USD price doesn't suddenly make a slower or same speed 68xx card, OK. That's what the x7xx cards are for. AMD have established performance expectations with and have remained remarkably consistent with it since they first established the current naming scheme.
If (bolded for emphasis) 68xx cards are in general slower or the same speed as the cards they replace in the 58xx line, then AMD is deliberately misleading their customers who are almost universally expecting 68xx to be a fair bit of a performance improvement over 58xx. Pricing it lower just makes those customers think they are getting an incredible deal. Wooo, faster card for lower money.
Either way your general computer gamer who doesn't frequent tech sites is going to end up losing. And if people that think everyone with a high end/enthusiast class graphics card read graphics card reviews, then they are horribly mistaken.
Yes, I realize this is a tech forum. And that tech is the main focus. But you can't ignore the impact naming schemes can have on the general public.
Regards,
SB
