ATI and Nvidia next generation video cards

OK so if you been following the news on graphics cards then you probably heard of the Geforce 7800 series and the ATI's code named R520. I just made this post to ask you guys what you think about the performance of these cards. The last generation of cards delivered a little more then twice the performance increase. The all new and improved Geforece 7800GTX is a disappointment performance wise, only about 30-40% faster (at best) then the 6800 ultra. Maybe ATI's r520 will deliver more of a boost then the Geforce 7800GTX, as its rumored specs put its performance about 2.5x faster then the Radeon X800XT. Im not a fan of either companies, im just saying I think Nvidia didn't impress me much this time around. But we will just have to wait for the release of the R520 to make a better comparison.

This is just my opinion but i think this is how it will turn out this time around for the graphics card wars: Nvidia --->

Nvidia 5950 Ultra:

Core: 475Mhz 4x2 Pipelines w/ Fillrate = 1,900 megapixels & 3,800 megatexels
4x1 vertex pipelines
Memory: 256bit @ 950Mhz w/ Bandwidth = 30,400 Megabytes/sec

Nvidia 6800 Ultra:

Core: 425Mhz 16x1 Pipelines w/ Fillrate = 6,800 megapixels & 6,800 megatexels
6x1 vertex pipelines
Memory: 256bit @ 1100Mhz w/ Bandwidth = 35,200 Megabytes/sec

Nvidia 7800 GTX:

Core: 430Mhz 24x1 Pipelines w/ Fillrate = 10,320 megapixels & 6,880 megatexels
8x1 vertex pipelines
Memory: 256bit @ 1200Mhz w/ Bandwidth = 38,400 Megabytes/sec

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ATI 9800 XT:

Core: 412Mhz 8x1 Pipelines w/ Fillrate = 3,296 megapixels & 3,296 megatexels
4x1 vertex pipelines
Memory: 256bit @ 730Mhz w/ Bandwidth = 23,360 Megabytes/sec

ATI X800 XT:

Core: 500Mhz 16x1 Pipelines w/ Fillrate = 8,000 megapixels & 8,000 megatexels
6x1 vertex pipelines
Memory: 256bit @ 1000Mhz w/ Bandwidth = 32,000 Megabytes/sec

ATI R520 (XI800 XT ?):

Core: 450Mhz - 750Mhz 24x1 - 32x1 Pipelines w/ Fillrate = 10,800-24,000 megapixels & 10,800-24,000 megatexels
8x1 vertex pipelines
Memory: 256bit @ 1400Mhz - 1800Mhz w/ Bandwidth = 44,800 - 57,600 Megabytes/sec

^^^^^ Rumored Specs
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As you can see, each new Nvidia generation is less of an performance inprovement over the last, while ATI is exactly the opposite. Unless Nvidia pulls out all the stops with its ultra, ill be disappointed as to ATI's R520 will destroy its GTX... Which kind of sucks, after all competitsion is great for consumers, I would rather not have a single company dominate the graphics cards market. What do you guys think?

P.S. Im not 100% sure that the above specs are exactly accurate but think they are pretty close. Feel free to correct me.

[edit on 21-7-2005 by beyondSciFi]

I suppose it depends on when the cards were released and who they are aimed at. I don't know if its supposed to be this way but I get the impression that nVidia are aiming at your average joe, who doesnt want to pay a lot of money but wants to be able to play the latest games with good performance while Ati aim at highend users who need/badly want the best possible performance.

of course it could be that Ati are just a far superior company and are burning nVidia badly

Well, the Nvidia 5950 Ultra and ATI 9800 XT were release in 2003. The Nvidia 6800 Ultra and ATI X800 XT we released in 2004. Also the Nvidia 7800GTX was release on June 2005 and the ATI's r520 (xt version) should be out by August or September. So we can compare the each generation by the year release. ATI usually delivers best performance and Nvidia does give you the best bang for your buck as you said. But this generation Nvidias graphics cards are not really impressive, I mean 600 bucks for something that only offers about 40% improvement over the last generation is not a good deal. Im think that maybe this year ATI will offers the best performance and best prices, but well have wait a while to see.

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