If you're interested?

[2senile]

http://www.3dvelocity.com/reviews/6800ultra/6800u.htm

The 3DVelocity (P)review of the 6800U is up.




EDIT: Just had to put in the "quote".

" Introduction:::...

I want to tell you a story about a kind and gentle giant known as NVIDIA. For years, the giant NVIDIA ruled the land and was loved by the village folk who relied on his power and his strength to work the fields and build new homes so that they could all live long and prosperous lives.

All was well until one day, there came a new giant. This new giant wasn't as strong as NVIDIA but what he couldn't do with muscle he did with intellect. He couldn't pull the plough himself so he built machinery that not only ploughed as fast, it also ploughed straighter, neater furrows. Nor could the new giant build the houses as fast because he couldn't carry the stone the way NVIDIA always had, so he developed new. lighter materials that made the houses warmer and stronger, and best of all they looked better too!

NVIDIA felt humiliated and spent the next few months explaining to the villagers how crooked furrows were actually better for them than straight ones, ....... "

 

[nelg]

I like the new Under Drive feature.

I was in need of a little lighthearted entertainment and I got it when it came to overclocking the 6800 Ultra. Having managed to lock the system solid with nothing more than a 20MHz core increase I decided to see what the automatic driver routine would report as the maximum stable setting. I couldn't help but smile to myself when it came back with a core clock of 392MHz, some 8MHz BELOW the supposed stock speed.

 

[2senile]

From reading the (P)review I got the feeling the sample had been thru many hands before it reached 3DV. It's the price they pay for not loving the nV3x I suppose.

Really need to see reviews of retail boards although it sounds like it is a great "comeback" card.

 

[LeGreg]

probably one of the worst review I read so far,
sprinkled with errors at every paragraph..

Not to mention the useless graphs..

 

[Pete]

The graphs are a bit unwieldy, to put it mildly. Nice "real-world" IQ analysis, though.

 

[Veridian3]

ooohhhh, controversial...

"Trilinear Optimisations are left at the default "ON" position unless stated otherwise. (This setting can only be changed using NV4x GPUs). In light of the recent ATi revelations this seemed fairest."

 

[Nite_Hawk]

It's kinda sad when reviewers try to do apple-to-apple comparisons, but just end up making things different rather than better. Good ideals though I suppose.

Nite_Hawk

 

[digitalwanderer]

I liked that review!

Granted it was riddled with inaccuracies and sort of inconclusive, but the author at least had some style and flair with it!

 

[2senile]

probably one of the worst review I read so far,
sprinkled with errors at every paragraph..

Not to mention the useless graphs..

I just skimmed thru it to get the reviewers impressions to be honest. I'll go back & read it properly but if you could mention specific errors it would be a great help to me as I'm just a guy with a computer who plays games, not a techie person at all.

The graphs are a bit unwieldy, to put it mildly.

You're not kidding! My eyesight is shot so I think they should have been linked to readable sized graphs.

ooohhhh, controversial...

I suspect the reviewer might have tried using settings that gave a roughly equal IQ if 3DV had an X800 to compare to. I've gained the impression, from reading various forum posts, that the optimised ATi filtering is generally as good as the previous version. Whatever settings he chose to use there would always be calls for different settings tho.

I liked that review!

Granted it was riddled with inaccuracies and sort of inconclusive, but the author at least had some style and flair with it!

Thanks.

It's my internet hangout & I trust the integrity of the reviewers even if the site isn't Beyond3D.

 

[Veridian3]

ooohhhh, controversial...

I suspect the reviewer might have tried using settings that gave a roughly equal IQ if 3DV had an X800 to compare to. I've gained the impression, from reading various forum posts, that the optimised ATi filtering is generally as good as the previous version. Whatever settings he chose to use there would always be calls for different settings tho.

Yeah, its a tough call...choose one way and 50% of people get annoyed at you...choose the other option and the oposite 50% get annoyed at you. Overall it was a good read though.

 

[digitalwanderer]

Yeah, its a tough call...choose one way and 50% of people get annoyed at you...choose the other option and the oposite 50% get annoyed at you. Overall it was a good read though.

I know. I'm still trying to find a third option that will get 100% of the people annoyed at me. (What, was there ever a doubt? :| )

 

[jb]

I know. I'm still trying to find a third option that will get 100% of the people annoyed at me. (What, was there ever a doubt? :| )

No need to look to hard for that as you about 95% there already

 

[digitalwanderer]

Ah, but in me stock and trade I am indeed a perfectionist so I must seek 100%. 8)

 

[BRiT]

Ah, but in me stock and trade I am indeed a perfectionist so I must seek 100%. 8)

Write it using glowing yellow and green blinking text...

 

[digitalwanderer]

Too obvious, I prefer a bit more of a subtle "get under their skin and drive 'em crazy!" approach....it's kind of a trademark of mine.

 

[Blacklash]

It wants to be 'clever' and fails miserably.

It does serve to further increase my appreciation/respect for Beyond3D reviews though.

 

[2senile]

Well, i read through it again & I couldn't see anything that was in contention with the Beyond3d (P)review. If somebody could fill in my lack of understanding it would really be appreciated.

It seems to me that people are being unduely harsh; while the layout etc is not up to the usual standard I'm willing to excuse it as, looking at the date of the (P)review, it may be that the revelations about the ATi adaptive filtering & the nVidia "highest" quality setting forced the reviewer to spend some time looking into the issues.

Not every site can or should be the same as Beyond3D. For the "average" Computer user (if there is such a creature) I feel the (P)review was good. It was an amusing read & gave an indication of how good the card could be.

Anybody who intends to purchase one of these expensive cards should read reviews of available/shipping cards/drivers & Beyond3D should be the first port of call, as the scope of the reviews is as full as possible, followed by one of Brent's reviews which will give an impression of current gameplay. There is still room for an independent site, such as 3DVelocity, for those people who are not inclined to delve into the depths of GPUs tho & want an insight into these new cards. I will definately be reading their X800 review.

 

[Sabastian]

Well, I thought that at least there was a good effort. I've certainly seem much much worse jobs. Some matters though like using benchmark graphs excessively get on enthusiasts nerves. Prolly because they see so god dammed many of them. Things are getting more and more difficult in terms of reviews these days.

It used to be that if you had a copy of 3D Mark and a web page you could pass off some half-assed job on a video card review and it would be just as good as any. At any rate by far the best review I've seen in recent memory looked considerably different.

I never was a big fan of [H] ever but after I saw this review it changed my preception of the site. I think this is the format reviews ought to be taking on in the future... notice the use of histograms and the performance comparisons on different resolutions. If you are looking to understand what the dissatisfaction is all about go looking where a great deal were satisfied and see what disparities you can pick out.

http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NjExLDE=

PS- Your dealing with very a technical bunch of enthusiast here. A very hard lot to please.

 

[2senile]

PS- Your dealing with very a technical bunch of enthusiast here. A very hard lot to please

So true.

All I'm trying to say is that for the in-depth look at things I read Beyond3D.
There are times when I want a different perspective tho & 3DV supplies that.

Talking about (H): I read some of the Vid card reviews but I'm not keen on the layout. Nothing wrong with it, just personal preference.

The Graphs were definately not great at 3DV this time but I'd guess the number used might have something to do with the target audience. People new to computing appreciate them as (if the scale is correct ) graphs are a quick & easy way to get an idea of comparative performance.

Thanks for your reply, Sebastian. Your thoughts are better than a simple "Its the worst review I've ever read" .

 

[Cazie]

I can't believe the negative posts!

I've been reading that site since 2000 & I accept the shortcomings as there is never any suggestion that the reviews are influenced by the companies that provide samples.

If people would get off their elitist Beyond3D high horse & provide constructive criticism It would be easier for me to accept.

I have to admit that the review in question is not the best they have published.