Re: So surprised by the solid facts, I neglected the conclus
Unwinder said:
Second, the article is really rather emotional. I do feel a lot of frustration after seeng such shame in both drivers. I was not surprised to see a lot of bad things in NV drivers, but it's really sad that ATI benchmark results are also distorted by the driver.
Your findings imply a
single benchmark in ATI's case.
I _respected_ their reaction on 3DMark2003 and I really trusted them.
And did we not do as we said we would? The optimizations for 3D Mark 2003 are gone.
My ATI related comment which you've quoted is based upon public CATALYST Maker's statement in this thread:
http://www.rage3d.com/board/showthread.php?s=&threadid=33689928&perpage=20&pagenumber=11
Quoting:
Third I guarantee you that I will ask for an investigation for optimized drivers tomorrow such that has never happened in ATI's history. I am prepared to put a hold on all new features I have in the pipeline so our top engineers can see how much we can optmize by not rendering the whole scene. I am guessing we can gain 25% at this point.
I would _really_ like to make different conclusions from such statement and investigation results, but I see nothing but lying in this statement. Nothing more, nothing less.
Where is the lie? In fact, there is not
one lie in the whole statement. If you don't like Catalyst Maker's comment, that's fine, you're entitled to your opinion, but it's a gross misstatement to call anything he said a lie.
Are you still trying to assure me that the conclusion is wrong? My position is plain and simple: if you're trying to play good guys, do it completely or don't do it at all.
Finally, it looks like you missed the main idea of this investigation. It's clearly stated in the last paragraph.
It looks to me like you missed the main idea of Catalyst Maker's comments as well, so we're all entitled to make mistakes.
Look at it from ATI's point of view: A couple companies put in optimizations for 3D Mark 2003, some valid, some not. These optimizations are revealed to the public. ATI agrees to remove said optimizations. Other company says nothing but "They're trying to make our products look bad." Weeks later, ATI has lived up to it's promise, other company still says nothing, but instead releases a
new driver will all the "optimizations" reenabled.
What the general public thinks matters to me personally as I visit several forums and want people to take me seriously. But OEMs have much bigger influence with IHVs because they mean big $$, and $$ is what makes a business successful. If OEMs don't see what that other company is doing as wrong, then ATI
must follow suit.
That was Catalyst Maker's point. Either the playing field is level, or it's not, and it's
my job to level that playing field as needed. We don't like taking shortcuts, as it goes against the very principle of high-end graphics, but if that's what it takes to keep OEMs happy, then so be it. So far, OEMs
have been responsive to recent developments and haven't pushed us down a path I don't want to take. As long as things stay that way, then I am happy and you folks should be as well.
Now, on a happier note, I, and my coworkers, are pushing for some more AF options so the end-user has more control over quality and performance (no pun intended
).
I'll get off my soap box now...