The Proof Is In The Pudding & Benchmarks Results
Looking at the architecture and comparing it to other hardware is great, but how do these limitations on paper show up in the real world? That is what doing some simple benchmarking will show. We continue to stick to the core of game engines to see what is happening. The so called DX10 titles are FUD for the time being, as they are merely DX9 ports and even DX9 console to DX9 PC to DX10 PC ports (such as Lost Planet). You can look at them as much as you want, but until many more DX10-centric games appear, you cannot put too much stock in them. However, the value and entry level cards aren’t playing.
There is an eerie issue in the wings that I haven’t heard much talk about among gamers. Nvidia has invested time, effort and money into exclusivity, with titles coming out the rest of this year. What does that mean? Sometimes that simply means that a title will just have a logo on a box, but it could be as bad as limiting the access of ATI to coding optimizations right out of the box. Normally this depends on the developer: if a developer is looking for more support and the financial benefits of hooking up with a cash rich IHV, then a lockout can be likely. Large developers and publishers have much more power and are not swayed by IHV offers. Either way, this kind of practice is not conducive for the industry and especially for gamers. If the IHV wants to help optimize games for their hardware, great! Games should look, feel, and play well out of the box. However, if the edge is to use some form of prohibitive practice then that is not cool.
Coming back to the topic at hand, we stayed with Windows XP for this article. Most of you are using it, and frankly, performance is still better under XP. We have much more in store for this topic in subsequent articles. In fact, there are two articles in progress and a third in development.
Benchmarks Results
3DMark05
" As for those of you who are still in a holding pattern: you need to dive in soon."
Why would people want to folow this advice if this "The R700 is on its way, as well as Nvidia’s refresh of the G80." is going to happen.
If you want a low level pc for less demanding games,interestingly you class the sims as such in your article and i have upgraded gpu twice before so the wife can run it.then there is no need to rush as the cards are not going anyware.
Secondly if you are after more performance then dosent it make sunce to wait for the G80 refresh and R700 as prices should then drop on the lower cards ie 8800gts.
My take on it is that when the prices come down and the new cards come out the 8800gts will be the midrange.
but Mactronix, when r700 comes out, not long after that there will be the next load of new, better cards
Yes this is true but we are talking about the midrange here not what is the latest and greatest
and i beleive that as far as gaming goes to buy a card bellow the x1650xt/7600gt which comes out at 2600xt/8600gt/gts with the newer cards just isnt worth it.
That dosent leave many cards above that so with the new cards hopefully being better than the present offerings that makes the 8800gts320/640 the only real midrange cards in my opinion.
And as the article said you cant sit on the fence for ever but personally i like to sit long enough to tell the wheat from the chaff.
Mactronix