R600: ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT - bit-tech.net Forums

Tim S · 16th May 2007, 05:39

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/200...n_hd_2900_xt/1

please email/PM me if you spot any errors - thanks!

aggies11 · 16th May 2007, 07:03

Good read.

The alignment of the text labels on many of the graphs are slightly off though, which can make reading them a little challenging. :/

Keep the good stuff commin.

Aggies

Javerh · 16th May 2007, 07:05

Pheww! Finally the wait's over! So when was the R650 due again?

culley · 16th May 2007, 07:16

going to read this when i get back from work, cant wait!

Neogumbercules · 16th May 2007, 07:41

Interesting. I was holding off on the 8800GTS 320 until this review and I'm still not really swayed from the 320. The 2900 XT is definitely a nice unit but I don't really think the performance gains justify the extra $100 or so price tag. I'm only going to be playing at 1680x1050.

Awesome review though. Kept me busy for about an hour (I had to read that wiki article, too).

rupbert · 16th May 2007, 08:05

The best hardware review I have read for quite some time on the internet, great job Tim.

8800GTS it is then

oasked · 16th May 2007, 08:06

Wow, finally finished eh? You must be relieved to finally finish this review. Nicely done.

DougEdey · 16th May 2007, 08:07

Very very informative a quick query though (tech one)

With the Ultra Thread Despatcher, you say that it will move a process back if it waits on data. IIRC this is kind of like CPU waiting for instructions or DATA that isn't on RAM, then it has to wait for it to be fetched from swap and/or long term storage first.

In Linux it is possible to get the hit/miss ratio for these latency inducing errors, is this possible with a current (or future) R600 driver?

Also, is the 55W power difference between 975/680i the same with G80 hardware installed?

perplekks45 · 16th May 2007, 08:16

Interesting read. Performance-wise it's not what I hoped for. Not that I was planning to upgrade to R600 but I think I'll have to wait for Radeon HD 2900 XTX to finally make my decisions whether 6 months of waiting would have made sense or (fortunately) not.

Jamie · 16th May 2007, 08:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by aggies11

Good read.

The alignment of the text labels on many of the graphs are slightly off though, which can make reading them a little challenging. :/

Keep the good stuff commin.

Aggies

Are you using IE6?

Fozzy · 16th May 2007, 09:15

overclock it. Push th memory to spec and lets see what she can do. Drivers obviously need to mature and going against the 8800 GTS was a smart move. I hate the power consumption. Hmmm. I wonder how ATI will do. Seems like they've been struggling for far to long.

Tim S · 16th May 2007, 09:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by aggies11

Good read.

The alignment of the text labels on many of the graphs are slightly off though, which can make reading them a little challenging. :/

Keep the good stuff commin.

Aggies

CTRL+F5 - slight CSS change

Mother-Goose · 16th May 2007, 09:23

Nice to know my GTX is still a good buy, even though I know it is not in direct competition with it. Great review there Tim

rowin4kicks · 16th May 2007, 09:38

wow another great article,
looks like the r600 has flopped a bit compared to the specualtion, and it was late! sounds like amd is in a bit of trouble!

Mankz · 16th May 2007, 09:44

I still think its a nice card. I mean cumon! It has go-faster flames!

That does have to be one of the best reviews I've EVER read.

mucho congrats Tim and the Team.

BioSniper · 16th May 2007, 09:51

Hopefully this will drive 8800 prices down. Now I can see why you were up for days writing this Tim, that's one hell of an article though I will admit I skipped the tech bits at the beginning as I'm far too tired right now.

Mother-Goose · 16th May 2007, 09:55

I wouldn't expect it to drive the prices down, nVidia's are about the same if not a bit cheaper and they perform better than the ATi counterpart.

IF ATi lower their prices to compete on bang for buck THEN nVidia will drop their prices, but I wouldn't expect that for at least 6 weeks (due to ATi supply issues)

teamtd11 · 16th May 2007, 10:00

Nice review, when this card drops to under £250, and the Danger Den block is out, im getting 1

Mankz · 16th May 2007, 10:21

Sorry, speaking of water-cooling, I'm guessing that a MAZE 4/5 would fit, but wouldn't work properly because of the GPU Shim..??

Paradigm Shifter · 16th May 2007, 10:22

Excellent review.

After you said that supply issues had driven prices up, I went to have a look. If I'd ordered one on Monday, I could have had it for more than £45 less than I will have to pay if I order one today! Cheeky buggers!

16th May 2007, 05:39	#1
Tim S Pewlius Caesar bit-tech Staff Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Ascot, Berks Posts: 18,021	R600: ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/200...n_hd_2900_xt/1 please email/PM me if you spot any errors - thanks! __________________ Tim on Twitter \| Tim's Blog \| Tim's Flickr The bit-tech Blog \| bit-tech on Twitter \| Join the bit-tech & Custom PC folding team (#35947)

16th May 2007, 07:05	#3
Javerh Superfreak Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Tampere, Finland Posts: 656	Pheww! Finally the wait's over! So when was the R650 due again? __________________ Project: Seawolf "Problems cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them."

16th May 2007, 07:16	#4
culley Hypermodder Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Gloucester, UK Posts: 701	going to read this when i get back from work, cant wait! __________________ [Q6600@3.08GHz, 8GB RAM, 1TB HHD,Gigabyte 512MB 8800GT,700W PSU,Win7] [Xubuntu Home File Server] [CompTIA A+ Certified][75% Through Cicso CCNA]

16th May 2007, 07:41	#5
Neogumbercules Ultramodder Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Connecticut Posts: 1,495	Interesting. I was holding off on the 8800GTS 320 until this review and I'm still not really swayed from the 320. The 2900 XT is definitely a nice unit but I don't really think the performance gains justify the extra $100 or so price tag. I'm only going to be playing at 1680x1050. Awesome review though. Kept me busy for about an hour (I had to read that wiki article, too). __________________ Abit AB9 Pro, Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 CPU, 2GB Corsair DDR2 6400, nVidia 8800GT, Seagate 160 GB HDD.

16th May 2007, 08:06	#7
oasked Stuck in the Mud Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Bromley, Kent Posts: 2,552	Wow, finally finished eh? You must be relieved to finally finish this review. Nicely done. __________________ Intel i7 920 @ Stock \| 6GB Corsair DDR3\| Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5 WD640 AALS \| POV 8800GT \| Lian-Li PC65 \| Enermax 600W SLI \| Dell 2408WFP

16th May 2007, 07:03	#2
aggies11 Multimodder Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 171	Good read. The alignment of the text labels on many of the graphs are slightly off though, which can make reading them a little challenging. :/ Keep the good stuff commin. Aggies

16th May 2007, 08:05	#6
rupbert Hypermodder Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Northern Ireland Posts: 799	The best hardware review I have read for quite some time on the internet, great job Tim. 8800GTS it is then

16th May 2007, 08:07	#8
DougEdey I pwn all your storage Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Southampton Posts: 13,933	Very very informative a quick query though (tech one) With the Ultra Thread Despatcher, you say that it will move a process back if it waits on data. IIRC this is kind of like CPU waiting for instructions or DATA that isn't on RAM, then it has to wait for it to be fetched from swap and/or long term storage first. In Linux it is possible to get the hit/miss ratio for these latency inducing errors, is this possible with a current (or future) R600 driver? Also, is the 55W power difference between 975/680i the same with G80 hardware installed? __________________ Burnout: Paradise Stats!XBL: DougEdey Bindi PSN ID: DougEdey Twitter

16th May 2007, 08:16	#9
perplekks45 BSc... finally Join Date: May 2004 Location: Vienna, Austria Posts: 3,353	Interesting read. Performance-wise it's not what I hoped for. Not that I was planning to upgrade to R600 but I think I'll have to wait for Radeon HD 2900 XTX to finally make my decisions whether 6 months of waiting would have made sense or (fortunately) not. __________________ "The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far." Blame it on Cheaps! [now a social group]

16th May 2007, 09:15	#11
Fozzy Ultramodder Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Olympia, WA Posts: 1,386	overclock it. Push th memory to spec and lets see what she can do. Drivers obviously need to mature and going against the 8800 GTS was a smart move. I hate the power consumption. Hmmm. I wonder how ATI will do. Seems like they've been struggling for far to long. __________________ Sponsors: http://www.koolance.com/images/homeimage01.jpg http://www.dangerden.com/templates/r...eader-wide.jpg http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/e...age00001-2.jpg

16th May 2007, 09:23	#13
Mother-Goose Tories ftw! Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: England - Surrey Posts: 3,750	Nice to know my GTX is still a good buy, even though I know it is not in direct competition with it. Great review there Tim __________________ Goose Q6600, Striker Extreme, 4GB 6400C4 Dominator DHX, Raptor X, 2x400GB spinpoints, BFG 8800GTX OC, Stacker 830 Evo, HX620, Nova T 500, Freezer 7 Pro

16th May 2007, 09:38	#14
rowin4kicks Hypermodder Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Windsor, UK Posts: 762	wow another great article, looks like the r600 has flopped a bit compared to the specualtion, and it was late! sounds like amd is in a bit of trouble! __________________ Penguin v5.0 on it's way... AMD Phenom II X4 955 - 4Gb 1600Mhz Corsair Dominator - XFX Radeon HD 5850 - Corsair HX650W - 500Gb Samsung F2

16th May 2007, 09:51	#16
BioSniper I Mod, Therefore I Own Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Somewhere in the south Posts: 3,462	Hopefully this will drive 8800 prices down. Now I can see why you were up for days writing this Tim, that's one hell of an article though I will admit I skipped the tech bits at the beginning as I'm far too tired right now. __________________ My Flickr :: Bit-tech Flickr Wii: 1792 1527 2926 7945 :: Xbox Live: BioSnipr :: PSN: Biosnipr

16th May 2007, 09:55	#17
Mother-Goose Tories ftw! Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: England - Surrey Posts: 3,750	I wouldn't expect it to drive the prices down, nVidia's are about the same if not a bit cheaper and they perform better than the ATi counterpart. IF ATi lower their prices to compete on bang for buck THEN nVidia will drop their prices, but I wouldn't expect that for at least 6 weeks (due to ATi supply issues) __________________ Goose Q6600, Striker Extreme, 4GB 6400C4 Dominator DHX, Raptor X, 2x400GB spinpoints, BFG 8800GTX OC, Stacker 830 Evo, HX620, Nova T 500, Freezer 7 Pro

16th May 2007, 10:00	#18
teamtd11 I am a Dremel Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Saltburn-By-The-Sea Posts: 1,654	Nice review, when this card drops to under £250, and the Danger Den block is out, im getting 1 __________________ Main: AMD X2 3ghz, x1900xt, DFI NF590SLI, 4gb pc2-8500 [Watercooled] Retro: AMD Barton 2ghz, 9600xt, 512mb pc-2700 Animal Crossing: LGTTC - 2492-7863-6464 Member of CK Appreciation Society Group

16th May 2007, 10:22	#20
Paradigm Shifter Lethargic Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 1,213	Excellent review. After you said that supply issues had driven prices up, I went to have a look. If I'd ordered one on Monday, I could have had it for more than £45 less than I will have to pay if I order one today! Cheeky buggers! __________________ Core i7 920 D0 @ 3.8GHz \| 6GB Corsair 1600MHz \| Gigabyte EX58-UD5 \| XFX 4870X2 2GB \| 4TB \| WUXGA