Dissecting The ATI RADEON 9700 PRO @ FiringSquad

[Gollum]

What makes you assume the nv30 will be faster than the R300?

Uhm, where did he say he assumes that? It doesn't say so anywhere in his post. Not accusing anybody of anything, but some people are _way_ too touchy when it comes to this subject!

not really any more vapourware than the GFFX. I mean, we know a little about the GFFX, and we know a little about the R350.

We do? GFFX boards have been seen running actual games numerous times, the chips and boards already exist, final production silicon is said to be in production right now - what we lack are any independent reviews and benchmarks about stability/performance. As for R350, I have not yet seen anybody claiming he has seen a R350 based board running anything anywhere ever and rumors suggest it only recently taped out. Neither specs nor reliable rumors about them are known, so to me there certainly is a difference between the two.
edit:fixed quote

 

[Althornin]

What makes you assume the nv30 will be faster than the R300?

Uhm, where did he say he assumes that? It doesn't say so anywhere in his post. Not accusing anybody of anything, but some people are _way_ too touchy when it comes to this subject!

He assumes that the only competition will be the R350.
re-read his post, its implied in there.

not really any more vapourware than the GFFX. I mean, we know a little about the GFFX, and we know a little about the R350.

We do? GFFX boards have been seen running actual games numerous times, the chips and boards already exist, final production silicon is said to be in production right now - what we lack are any independent reviews and benchmarks about stability/performance. As for R350, I have not yet seen anybody claiming he has seen a R350 based board running anything anywhere ever and rumors suggest it only recently taped out. Neither specs nor reliable rumors about them are known, so to me there certainly is a difference between the two.
edit:fixed quote

Sure there is a difference. But honestly, there is no real performance info on GFFX, so its performance is mystical - vapourware.
Look, i am not trying to defend the R300 against all comers here, i really dont care. All i am saying is that relative (to R300) performance of R350 and GFFX are UNKNOWN. Making any kind of purchasing decision based on brand loyalty IS fan-ish, imo. And we all do it, to some degree.

 

[dksuiko]

He assumes that the only competition will be the R350. re-read his post, its implied in there.

Uhm, no - that hardly implies anything other than that he's been reading these boards and noticed that the speculation is saying, "R300's refresh, the R350, will likely be coming out in February" and then also hearing that GeForceFX will be coming out in February. That sounds to me like GFFX will be competing with the R350, does it not? I agree with Gollum, some people are way to too touchy when it comes to this subject. They're all so trigger-happy with their f@nboi guns that they often shoot innocent targets.

 

[Althornin]

And others of you are so afraid of hitting an innocent that you never fire.
Sorry, i re-read his post, and i still see it that way.
And i'd say you might be a bit to quick on the trigger to call people quick on the trigger.

 

[demalion]

Gah! Everyone is so either/or!

It might take a fanboi to go around proclaiming superiority about an unreleased product as a given, sight unseen, with no real substantiation.

It does not require a fanboi to form an opinion about superiority based on their own personal experience and incomplete information.

Yes, he is assuming the nv30 is going to be faster than the r300 such that the only competition will be the r350, and that is inherent in his post among other opinions, but that is not a stance that requires irrationality or zealotry. No, he is not proclaiming it as fact, but clearly stating it is his personal expectation (along with stability of initial GF FX drivers) based on his experiences.

In other words, I'd say yes, fault can be found with his expectations (that is not the same thing as saying his expectation will defintely be incorrect), but no, fault should not be found with him (in this case, the fault of being a "fanboi") for having them.

Which is just a long winded way of repeating exactly what JR said.

 

[Dave]

Smootvision nothing!

I learned that the R-300 is capable of splitting an 8x8 pixel block into two 4x4 blocks! Talk about bandwidth savings!

Heh...and we used to take pot-shots at Beyond 3D's proof-reading editors.

Ya know, I saw that back when I wrote it. Thought I fixed it, but I guess I got distracted and forgot. Stupid me.