Beating back a challenge from Nvidia's GeForce FX 5800 Ultra, ATI's Radeon 9800 Pro shines in our Labs' tests.
Last year, Nvidia squandered its formidable lead in the 3D graphics market when manufacturing miscues delayed the company's follow-up to the popular GeForce4 series. And when the elusive GeForce FX 5800 Ultra finally debuted about a month ago, it was greeted with mixed reviews. Now arch rival ATI, seeking to capitalize on the momentum it gained with last year's Radeon 9700 Pro, has announced its eagerly anticipated successor, the Radeon 9800 series.
In a battle royale worthy of pay-per-view, the Radeon 9800 Pro and GeForce FX are set to compete head to head for the hearts and wallets of hard-core gamers at the Game Developers Conference in San Jose, California, this week. Just in time, CNET Labs has the complete scorecard on some of the first production models. The results? The early rounds were a split decision, but later in the fight, advanced effects that make games more realistic-looking really turned up the heat. In these rounds, the Radeon 9800 Pro stepped up as the unanimous winner.
Unfortunately, neither of these US$400 (AU$675), high-end graphics cards is readily available yet. The Radeon 9800 Pro won't be in stores until the end of this month, while the GeForce FX 5800 seems to have slipped from the radar altogether. Instead, Nvidia, having ceded the high ground to ATI for now, seems to be focused on bringing the FX technology down-market to reach a bigger audience; the company recently announced GeForce FX 5600 Ultra and 5200 Ultra versions, priced at US$200 (AU$337) and US$100 (AU$169), respectively. ATI has similar plans for the Radeon 9800 series, with more mainstream cards arriving in April. Such increased competition is good for the masses since consumers typically have had to wait six months or more for the latest 3D graphics technology to trickle down to these more affordable (and less profitable) products.
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1. | ATI Radeon 9800 Pro
Capitalizing on its market lead, ATI is hoping that this new, high-power card will solidify its gains over Nvidia. Prospects look good. | |||
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2. | Nvidia GeForce FX 5800 Ultra
Manufacturing problems plagued this long-awaited card. Alas, the GeForce FX 5800's performance doesn't make up for the delay. | |||
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