ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT 512MB (R600)
Conclusion ATI has probably considered its position in the market and rated its own performance against NVIDIA because the Radeo
Conclusion
The wait has been long and more than a few enthusiasts would have gone over to the other side and got one of NVIDIA's fine GeForce 8 series graphics cards by now. We were hopeful of getting more than just a single Radeon HD card to test but these were quickly dashed. But the performance of the Radeon HD 2900 XT 512MB today has more than made up for the disappointment. With scores that more than matched the GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB card and exceeded it on many occasions, this card may not retake the performance crown from NVIDIA's leader but it does level the retail situation greatly.
ATI has probably considered its position in the market and rated its own performance against NVIDIA because the Radeon HD 2900 XT is marketed directly against NVIDIA's third best card. In short, the Radeon HD 2900 XT, at US$399 goes head to head against the GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB. And as you have seen, there is little doubt that on most criteria, we would go with ATI. Supply, while limited, should be sufficient for the enthusiasts who would be looking at this card. At least for once this would be a hard launch (well, after the numerous date revisions). The only failings seem to be its high power consumption, which going by what has gone before with the Radeon X1950 PRO, is likely to be solved with a switch to 65nm process technology, and possibly, the heat produced by the card Already, the mainstream and budget members of the Radeon HD 2000 series will be 65nm based so the foundation should be there for ATI to improve this promising chipset.
Besides the raw performance numbers, there are significant architectural changes that are impressive, on paper that is. While some of these changes contribute to performance directly, others like the tessellation hardware are a gamble that developers will take up the challenge and utilize it to its potential. However, there are more than sufficient 'goodies' for end-users, from the addition of new anti-aliasing modes to the inclusion of a HD audio controller for both HDCP and HDMI 'compliance'. The new Avivo HD set of technologies are also very interesting and we can't wait to pit it against NVIDIA's PureVideo HD in the near future. And let's not forget the attractive Valve deal that ATI has struck to ensure that gamers would flock to this card. Suffice to say, there are still many facets of this card that has yet to be revealed.
Presently, the Radeon HD 2900 XT is the performance linchpin of ATI's high-end enthusiast lineup. The 'XTX' variant, which most people widely expected to be the most powerful and flagship model, with up to 1GB of DDR4 memory has not been confirmed in ATI's briefings, with rumors abounding that the company has delayed its introduction due to lackluster performance figures compared to the XT, despite having superior specifications, thus we had the Radeon HD 2900 XT instead. Whether it will eventually make its way to retail is therefore subject to speculation, though we highly doubt that we will see it available within the next few months. Most likely, it will be based on the 65nm process technology by then, with rumors of a Radeon HD 2950 XT as the expected name for such a card.
With the launch of the ATI counter attack, the next few months should be extremely interesting for the graphics scene - the rest of the Radeon HD series, the Mobility Radeon variants, not to mention the price competition brought on by the newcomer. Competition is almost always beneficial for consumers and we couldn't agree more on this. As of now, the Radeon HD 2900 XT 512MB should be on everyone's shortlist for its price-performance-feature competitiveness. Who knows what the future may hold? It's your turn, NVIDIA.
** Updated on 1st July 2007 **
Couple of months after the launch, ATI has clarified that the Radeon HD 2900 XT part doesn't have dedicate UVD and AVP hardware unlike the rest of the Radeono HD 2000 series. However, it still supports ATI's Avivo HD technology. To find out more, please refer to this page of the article where we've made an addendum at the end.