Anybody going to bite the bullet?

[Typedef Enum]

Seems that newer topics have been slow to surface...

So, is anybody feeling the itch to grab a 9700? I keep telling myself...

"Self, do you really need it?"

Of course, self answers with something like, "Damn straight baby..."

Honestly, who has taken the position of playing the wait & see game...versus, getting the first thing out the door?

The only thing that has stopped me from buying one right now is the unavailability in my area...otherwise, I would already have one. But then again, I like to blow cash on new hardware. But at the same time, I also realize that there may only be one game which will really harness the power of the thing, that being UT2003.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I think that's the card that will replace my Voodoo5 5500 but I'll be waiting until the price drops a little first.

 

[nggalai]

Good morning everybody,

The only thing that has stopped me from buying one right now is the unavailability in my area...otherwise, I would already have one. But then again, I like to blow cash on new hardware.

Hehe. Much the same here. On the other hand side, a week of Oxford is coming up soon, so I might consider investing my money in Alka-Seltzer instead . . .

At any rate, for me, the Radeon9700 is pretty much a toy. I don't really "need" the thing, neither will I "need" any other future cards for some time, still. But as I like my toys--well. I'll see as soon as the boards are available, here.

ta,
-Sascha.rb

 

[maskrider]

I don't like the waiting game and I have taken the action of ordering it online (no more local distributors for ATI branded products locally and I want the ATI branded one, I am not willing to face the previous fuss about LE and non-LE again), but am still waiting for it to arrive.

The recent fuss about AiB from channel partners and ATI branded box from large stores has annoyed me as I only want the ATI branded one or else I can simply go out now and grab an AiB locally at a lower price without the need to pay shipping charge.

Although ATI made great cards, I am disappointed in her handling of the products.

 

[Randell]

Why is it a problem, it wil be exactly the same as an ATI boxed one but cheaper. I would grab the cheaper, BBATI ones now if I was in the market rather than wait for the vendors to ramp their own production but maybe at lower quality (unless its Gigabyte, Herc).

 

[Oratius]

I'm going to buy it, that's for sure, and the reason is simple: i don't delude myself, probably we won't see a game which use DX9 ( but even good DX8 game) for a long time, i want this card because it's the first card (IMHO) with which i can really play with AA e aniso activated.

The problem here in Italy, at least for me, is its cost which on the retail market seems will be around 500 euros.

 

[maskrider]

Why is it a problem, it wil be exactly the same as an ATI boxed one but cheaper. I would grab the cheaper, BBATI ones now if I was in the market rather than wait for the vendors to ramp their own production but maybe at lower quality (unless its Gigabyte, Herc).

Because I am paying more for the quality of "Built by ATI" (which is not always the case with other AiB manufacturer), if I knew that the quality is the same (if the message is clear when they announce it before the recent fuss), I will definitely not paying more for shipping and the ATI box but rather go out and get one as they are readily available in Hong Kong.

 

[Dave Baumann]

maskrider,

the term 'Built by ATI' is a little bit of a falcay these days since they are actually built by one of ATI board vendors under contract.

However, initial 3rd party board are viartually all built by the same manufacturer to the reference specification becuase ATI want to ensure fast movement into the channel. It will be a little while later before the board vendors take up their own design (if they do it at all).

Its not 100% cast iron but there is a good chance that if you by any board right now its very likely to be to the reference spec and probably going to be built by the same people ATI use for their own boards anyway.

 

[Trawler]

I'll definitely be picking one up in the next few weeks.

Ever since I had my first taste of solid AA quality with the V5, I've been hankering for a board with the speed and IQ to top it. While the GF4 series has some great AA, it isn't quite enough of a jump over my current GF3. The R9700 is.

That, and I have more money than sense.

 

[Reverend]

Hmm... wasn't there a poll (started by me) about more or less the very same subject?

 

[Humus]

The difference is that this thread lives in the presence, without speculating about future products.

Edit: Oh, forgot, yes, I'll get a Radeon 9700 when I can get one for a realistic price. They aren't available at all in Sweden yet AFAIK and the cheapest I've seen so far is $450.

 

[Andergum]

I had the itch to get it but IMO it is still too soon.

I'm not going to spend $400 so I can so I can help beta test their drivers in all the games other than those used in benchmarks and reviews. (heh, If I want to beta test drivers I can just load up the Det 40.41's ) I've been seeing quite a few minor bugs popping up and a few too many hardware incompatibilities for my liking (and DX9 isn't even out yet).

When the price is around $250-$300 and there have been a few driver updates, then maybe.

 

[Galilee]

I'm going to wait.
I just bought a Ti4200 and some more stuff to my computer (a 19" monitor, more ram, new mb and new cpu) so my student loan is gone soon But I wish I had some money for that kind of stuff right now

 

[BoardBonobo]

I think I'll be waiting for the NV30 (which may be a long, long time ) and see what nVidia are actually to produce as competition before I splash out on the home machine, besides I've just got engaged and bought a house in Stony Stratford so things are a bit tight now

But I have already put the money aside @ work so that I can upgrade the four dev machines I use, all for serious research purposes you understand...

 

[Nagorak]

I'd love to get an R9700, but the bottomline is the card is just too damn expensive! It's the same reason I didn't buy a GF4 Ti4600, GF3 (upon release or Ti500), they were all horribly overpriced (and just because some people pay those outrageous prices doesn't change the fact that they're over priced either ). It's not a situation where I can't "afford" it either (although if I bought a $400 graphics card every 6 months it would be a major hit on the wallet to say the least), but just that I can't justify coughing up more than $250 for a graphics card that won't last more than a year.

R9500 or bust.

 

[pascal]

I will have to pay something like US$800 here in Brasil

I will download the UT2k3 demo first and test it with my GF3Ti200. I hope the GF3 will survive and maybe upgrade only next year for me with more options (R350, NV34, etc..) and after the Doom3 test.

 

[jb]

Just found an on-line store that says they have them in stock, OEM for $338 US free ground shipping. So took the plunge. Currently I have a GF4 TI4200 and a 8500 in my gaming rigs. I have to make trade offs when I game on both (GF4 faster AA but larger hit on AF vrs 8500 fast AF but too slow to use AA past x2). The R97000 should allow for both with no more trade offs. I will upgrade again in about 8/9 months to what ever is out then and sell what I have now. I also am fully aware that for me DX9 is usless as games that will use DX9 are 2 years out (I mean really require and use them). So for now its all about "playable" frame rates with Max AF/AA. I had thought about waiting for the nV30 but too many unknowns. Its probably gonna be a bit faster. But not worth waiting 2/3 extra months for it. Also like the R9700 any other features it has besided AA/AF will, for me, most likely not be used. So might as well go with the best solution thats out now.......

 

[Fuz]

I will definitely buy one. Then again, I will also buy a NV30 when released. Atleast one of them will filter down to my secondary machine.

 

[pascal]

I also am fully aware that for me DX9 is usless as games that will use DX9 are 2 years out (I mean really require and use them).

My guesstimate is +3 years or more to have a game using pervasive DX9 tech It will require good programing, tons of design/art and some large installed base of DX9 cards.
I base that on what is happening with Doom3 and U2 and that only now we may have some sub $100 DX8 cards available.

 

[BoardBonobo]

I missed out another factor in the decision process for myself and that is the availability of DX9. By the time NV30 starts to get a sun tan it should be released and then we'll see some tech demos and have a chance to play around with the SDK.

At the moment the current dets support the NV3x OGL extensions through emulation (BoomBoom\BoomBoom2\Buzz) so it's feasible to start playing with them.

I just get the feeling that the 9700 is pretty unsupported at this moment in time and though it can offer higher frame rates and better FSAA\Aniso in current games it just doesn't seem worth it. I get all the fps I need now to enjoy any games I play, but there is quite a list of problems building up at Rage3D; power supply, motherboard, and software issues that need to be ironed out first. And the price, which is a bit too high to justify for a faster game of QuakeIII.