|
ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT Vista Performance
Conclusion
The conclusion drawn from our Windows XP performance article was that the HD 2900 XT generated frame rates about as well as any 8800GTS 640MB. That, of course, isn't a great thing. Given ATI's delays, and that in order to make the HD 2900 XT a better choice, it would have to stand out by its other qualities. The card is physically constructed better, but it's louder, hotter, and draws more power. On the flipside, it has a very nice bundle, HDMI support, and Avivo hardware video acceleration. From that, without a clear performance advantage, it's not reasonable to favor one card or the other. It's simply a matter of preference. But with the superior performance we're seeing with Vista, it's less arguable that the performance of both cards is equal. While it's probably the case that with time, NVIDIAs Vista drivers will improve, that's equally true for ATI, and ATI already has a leg up. There is still the complete lack of DirectX 10 games to benchmark, and any performance benefits this card has over an NVIDIA alternative is conjecture. This card deserves a recommendation. The caveat is that the recommendation is conditional: If you're building a computer with Vista right now and are willing to accept the extra noise and power requirements, you'll have a better card with a better bundle. Of course, right now the prices are a little high, and by the time they even out, things could very well change. We'll definitely hang on to our HD 2900 XTs, as it may prove to be the choice hardware for the future. In any case, it's still in pioneer's territory.
Page 1: Introduction
Page 2: About the HD 2900 XT, the Card, and the Bundle Page 3: Test Setup Page 4: Testing - HL2 Episode 1 Page 5: Testing - F.E.A.R. Page 6: Testing - Company of Heroes Page 7: Testing - Prey Page 8: Performance Summary Page 9: Conclusion 
Related Reviews Video Cards December 8, 2008
Video Cards November 18, 2008
Video Cards November 3, 2008
Video Cards October 30, 2008
Add Comment
3 User Comments 1 - Posted by
Anony
on June 2, 2007 - 10:51 pm Just a heads up that you might not know but the HD 2900XT does not actually feature any HD hardware acceleration at all. Check up on http://www.techreport.com for the verified word from ATI themselves. Apparently only the lower end versions have it, much like nVidia's situation.
2 - Posted by
Kurtis
on June 2, 2007 - 11:29 pm Yup, we posted news about that, linking to Tech Report as a matter of fact. :) http://www.thetechlounge.com/news/11599/Radeon+HD+... Thanks for the heads up, in any event. :) 3 - Posted by
Max Slowik
on June 3, 2007 - 11:25 am You're right though, I word that awkwardly, and probably shouldn't say in the conclusion that it has hardware Avivo (which what it doesn't have is HD Avivo). On the other hand, it still uses Avivo, and the video playback quality is far and away better than on the 8800GTS 640, specifically SD playback. I can't vouch for HD content because I don't have HD media yet.
Add Comment To add a comment without being a member, you may omit the password field, but you must enter your name (or nickname) along with your comment. * Denotes required fields. |
Recent Articles Guides January 6, 2009
Editorials December 22, 2008
Editorials December 16, 2008
Editorials November 4, 2008
Recent News Liliputing Jan. 7, 2009 - 11:52 pm
the Register Jan. 7, 2009 - 11:49 pm
Extreme Tech Jan. 6, 2009 - 6:01 pm
Boing Boing Jan. 6, 2009 - 5:44 pm
Netbook News Jan. 6, 2009 - 5:29 pm
the Escapist Jan. 6, 2009 - 5:14 pm
MacInTouch Jan. 5, 2009 - 9:19 pm
Engadget Jan. 5, 2009 - 8:59 pm
Engadget Jan. 5, 2009 - 8:11 pm
the Escapist Jan. 5, 2009 - 8:04 pm
Recent Affiliate News Bit-Tech Aug. 24, 2008 - 2:57 am
DriverHeaven Aug. 24, 2008 - 2:55 am
Techware Labs Aug. 24, 2008 - 2:54 am
PCStats Aug. 24, 2008 - 2:51 am
HotHardware Aug. 24, 2008 - 2:50 am
DriverHeaven Aug. 24, 2008 - 2:50 am
BurnOutPC Aug. 24, 2008 - 2:48 am
Bit-Tech Aug. 24, 2008 - 2:47 am
I4U Aug. 24, 2008 - 2:46 am
DigitalTrends Aug. 24, 2008 - 2:45 am
|
|||||||||||||||
