ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT: Calling a Spade a Spade
by Derek Wilson on May 14, 2007 12:04 PM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
Sapphire's HD 2900 XT
We wanted to include some noise and overclocking performance here as well, but we don't like testing overclocking with reference or engineering samples, as they don't always reflect what we'll see on store shelves. We've got a better chance of seeing real world characteristics in boards from specific vendors.
Sapphire went to a lot of trouble to get us a board, but due to a shipping mishap we were unable to test it in time for this review. Later this week we'll take a follow-up look at R600 including overclocking and Vista performance to fill in the gaps we weren't able to cover here. We really appreciate Sapphire's efforts to help us get this coverage into our launch article, but we'll have to wait on this data.
From what we see with our engineering samples, core clock speeds of 850MHz+ are possible, but whether this will have a large impact on performance remains to be seen. We will also be working hard on getting a roundup of retail hardware out as soon as possible including overclocking, power, heat, noise, and all the other fun stuff that makes a big difference in retail hardware.
And we won't just see a bunch of cookie cutter retail designs out there either. Sapphire and others will have custom cooled and factory overclocked boards on their way as soon as possible. Even though AMD won't have the highest performing part on the market, or even a pretender to the throne, we can see a great competitor to the 8800 GTS emerge if prices and clock speeds from retail partners hit the mark.
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imaheadcase - Tuesday, May 15, 2007 - link
Says who? Most people I know don't care to turn on AA since they visually can't see a difference. Only people who are picky about everything they see do normally, the majority of people don't notice "jaggies" since the brain fixes it for you when you play.
Roy2001 - Tuesday, May 15, 2007 - link
Says who? Most people I know don't care to turn on AA since they visually can't see a difference.------------------------------------------
Wow, I never turn it of once I am used to have AA. I cannot play games anymore without AA.
Amuro - Tuesday, May 15, 2007 - link
Says who? No one spent $400 on a video card would turn off AA.
SiliconDoc - Wednesday, July 8, 2009 - link
Boy we'd sure love to hear those red fans claiming they turn off AA nowadays and it doesn't matter.LOL
It's just amazing how thick it gets.
imaheadcase - Tuesday, May 15, 2007 - link
Sure they do, because its a small "tweak" with a performance hit. I say who spends $400 on a video card to remove "jaggies" when they are not noticeable in the first place to most people. Same reason most people don't go for SLI or Crossfire, because it really in the end offers nothing substantial for most people who play games.
Some might like it, but they would not miss it if they stopped using it for some time. Its not like its make or break feature of a video card.
motiv8 - Tuesday, May 15, 2007 - link
Depends on the game or player tbh.I play within ladders without AA turned on, but for games like oblivion I would use AA. Depends on your needs at the time.