Morrowind is definitely a good example of a game that could benefit from the R9700. While Morrowind is well playable on my Ti4200 without AA or AF, once I activate either it starts getting choppy outdoors. Maybe I could turn the eyecandy down, but I don't like to do that! 
I think this "current cards are fast enough" argument is pretty poor, always was always will be, especially since the R9700 is a card that appears to give you a m a j o r boost in performance, one rarely seen before between generations, at least when AA and AF are used (and I tend to pretty much always have them on). A GF4 already has pretty playable AA+AF framerates in many games, true, but it certainly isn't at a level where a more in performance can't be seen as usefull. Maybe its not a must have upgrade for people who own current GF4Ti or R8500 boards, but for gamers with R7500/GF2 class hardware looking for "the best" I expect you can't go wrong with this card.
An argument that makes a little more sense is the lack of support for the new features as DX9 isn't even there yet (though there will be OGL support), but the speed and IQ is already there to profit from instantly, so it doesn't really matter as DX9 is only amatter of time IMO.
What I also don't understand though is the cry for respect for ATI. Christ, I think almost everybody has a great deal of respect for this new product. Read up on it in the release-thread, its full of hurrays! You just can't seriously expect people to now suddenly stop discussing what else is coming up, shiverring in eager anticipation on its shipping, continuously praising it based on an announcement/preview and have nothing else on their minds anymore. This board is about 3D discussion, and most of the mystery is gone, the announcements and previews are out, the appetite has been catered for (for now, I guess I'm not the only one awaiting REAL reviews). The upcoming NV30 now simply attracts more interest, which it completely natural and understandable IMO. Its the next exciting thing on the horizon, and most of all we already know how great its competition is, which makes it all the more exciting how the previous king of the hill will strike back. If NV30 would have been released first I'd pretty much expect a similar reaction ("can it beat this and that feature? will it have the same or even better performance? blah blah").
Of course there's always gonna be the "next best thing", even after NV30, but I think most people will be like me and like compare within one product generation! Also ATI and Nvidia are the top competitors, most other IHVs currently only seem to be aiming their more interesting parts for release sometime next year and are likely "only" value products. There's pretty much nothing to talk about from those IHVs (SIS and Trident come to mind, even though there are more mystery chips in development), almost nothing is known about their products, not even little bits of leaked info. This currently reduces this round to two players, and I can understand everyone who says he wants to see what both ATI and Nvidia have to offer before making a purchasing decision, ati has played their Ace, now everybody wants to see what Nvidia has up its sleeve...
I think this "current cards are fast enough" argument is pretty poor, always was always will be, especially since the R9700 is a card that appears to give you a m a j o r boost in performance, one rarely seen before between generations, at least when AA and AF are used (and I tend to pretty much always have them on). A GF4 already has pretty playable AA+AF framerates in many games, true, but it certainly isn't at a level where a more in performance can't be seen as usefull. Maybe its not a must have upgrade for people who own current GF4Ti or R8500 boards, but for gamers with R7500/GF2 class hardware looking for "the best" I expect you can't go wrong with this card.
An argument that makes a little more sense is the lack of support for the new features as DX9 isn't even there yet (though there will be OGL support), but the speed and IQ is already there to profit from instantly, so it doesn't really matter as DX9 is only amatter of time IMO.
What I also don't understand though is the cry for respect for ATI. Christ, I think almost everybody has a great deal of respect for this new product. Read up on it in the release-thread, its full of hurrays! You just can't seriously expect people to now suddenly stop discussing what else is coming up, shiverring in eager anticipation on its shipping, continuously praising it based on an announcement/preview and have nothing else on their minds anymore. This board is about 3D discussion, and most of the mystery is gone, the announcements and previews are out, the appetite has been catered for (for now, I guess I'm not the only one awaiting REAL reviews). The upcoming NV30 now simply attracts more interest, which it completely natural and understandable IMO. Its the next exciting thing on the horizon, and most of all we already know how great its competition is, which makes it all the more exciting how the previous king of the hill will strike back. If NV30 would have been released first I'd pretty much expect a similar reaction ("can it beat this and that feature? will it have the same or even better performance? blah blah").
Of course there's always gonna be the "next best thing", even after NV30, but I think most people will be like me and like compare within one product generation! Also ATI and Nvidia are the top competitors, most other IHVs currently only seem to be aiming their more interesting parts for release sometime next year and are likely "only" value products. There's pretty much nothing to talk about from those IHVs (SIS and Trident come to mind, even though there are more mystery chips in development), almost nothing is known about their products, not even little bits of leaked info. This currently reduces this round to two players, and I can understand everyone who says he wants to see what both ATI and Nvidia have to offer before making a purchasing decision, ati has played their Ace, now everybody wants to see what Nvidia has up its sleeve...
