AMD Releases Final R600 Specs

[flintlock]

Six weeks from now, the world will get the first retail Radeon X2900 XTX




Late yesterday DailyTech was briefed on the final details for the upcoming R600 retail specifications, just in time for everyone to go on vacation for Chinese New Year. AMD has briefed its board partners on the specifications that will appear on the marketing material for the card launches.

AMD's guidance claims R600 will feature 700 million transistors. By comparison, the Radeon X1900 series R580 GPU incorporated 384 million transistors into its design; the half-generation before that, R520, only featured 320 million.

As disclosed by DailyTech earlier this year, the GPU features a full 512-bit memory interface with support for GDDR3 and GDDR4. R580 was also similar in this regard as it supported GDDR3 and GDDR4.

On March 30, 2007, AMD will initially debut the R600 as the ATI Radeon X2900 XTX in two separate configurations: one for OEMs and another for retail. The OEM version is the full length 12" card that will appear in high-end systems.

ATI guidance claims the X2900 XTX retail card comes as a two-slot, 9.5" design with a vapor chamber cooler. Vapor chambers are already found on high-end CPU coolers, so it would be no surprise to see such cooling on a high-end GPU either. The OEM version of the card is a 12" layout and features a quiet fan cooler.

1GB of GDDR4 memory is the reference configuration for Radeon X2900 XTX. Memory on the reference X2900 XTX cards was supplied by Samsung.

Approximately one month later, the company will launch the GDDR3 version of the card. This card, dubbed the Radeon X2900 XT, features 512MB of GDDR3 and lower clock frequencies than the X2900 XTX. The X2900 XT is also one of the first Radeons to feature heatpipes on the reference design.

AMD anticipates the target driver for X2900 XT to be Catalyst 8.36. WHQL release of the X2900 XTX drive will appear around the Ides of March.

Radeon X2900 will feature native CrossFire support via an internal bridge interface -- there is no longer a need for the external cable found on the Radeon X1000 series CrossFire. There is no Master card, as was the case with other high-end CrossFire setups. Any Radeon X2900 can act as the Master card.

A much anticipated feature, native HDMI, will appear on all three versions of Radeon X2900.

One 6-pin and one 8-pin (2x4) VGA power connectors are featured on Radeon X2900, but both connectors are also backwards compatible with 6-pin power supply cables.

AMD claims the R600 target schedule will be a hard launch -- availability is expected to be immediate. Board partners will be able to demonstrate R600 at CeBIT 2007 (March 15 - 21), but the only available cards will be reference designs.

Why was there such discrepancy with the board layouts and designs up until now? An ATI insider, who wished to remain nameless, states "The original Quad-Stealth design is what we build the R600 on: GDDR4, full-length and dual-slot cooling. As the silicon further revised, [ATI] took up several alternative designs which eventually included GDDR3 and heatpipes into the specification. The release cards demonstrate the versatility of R600 in each of these unique setups."

Final clock frequencies will likely remain estimates until later this month.




http://www.dailytech.com/AMD%20Releases%20Final%20R600%20Specs/article6138.htm

[Roads88]

Huba, huba, huba...thats my speak for "seriously cool":cool:

I wonder what the power draw is? Being two slot, most likely a bunch.

[flintlock]

Good question.

Haven't been able to find any credible info on this, though it'll likely be similar to NVIDIA's 8800 GTX, and probably require a bare minimum 400W PSU (combined 12V current rating of 26A+) for a single card setup.

The video card question has had me holding off building a new gaming rig, and I hope once I see this GPU benchmarked, I can go ahead and finally get it built. I'm curious to see how it will fare against the 8800 GTX, or whatever product bump NIVIDIA will likely introduce around the same time to take some steam away from AMD's launch.

[CptSimFreak]

Sight....my poor 6800GT is nervously smoking in the corner.

[geetrue]

I'll have to wait till it's in the under $250 range ...
probably sometime in early 2009, uh?

My, my what is the world coming to ..
700 million transistors and 1 GB of GDDR4 memory too ... :cool:

If that don't fly FSX nothing will :lol:

[flintlock]

If that don't fly FSX nothing will
FSX on a native resolution of 2560x1600 with all settings maxed plus 8xAA/16xAF would likely turn even a X2900 XTX CrossFire setup into a slideshow.

;)

[elite_hunter_sh3]

actually no it would run at a good 60-80 fps on full graphics, keep in mind FSX is still dx9 and a dx10 card will easily run the game, ive ran it on that resoulution and ive gotten around 64 fps average after paying for a few hrs

[JSLTIGER]

All I know is that it's gonna be priiiicey.

[elite_hunter_sh3]

ive already started planning for my first true Quad core AMD athlon X4 Agena quad core rig,

thermaltakearmour full tower case with 25cm side fan:rock::rock:
http://www.thermaltake.com/product/Chassis/fulltower/armor/va8003bws.asp

Enermax galaxy 1000 watt power supply (for my r600 crossfire setup)
http://www.enermax.com.tw/english/product_Display1.asp?PrID=60

corsair 2gb ddr2 800 RAM
http://www.pccanada.com/viewitem.asp?id=4851

im planning on first starting off with one ati r600 and after the rig is done ill save up more money and buy a second one and enable crossfire.:rock::rock::rock:


the amd quad core aint out yet till this summer or the motherboards for the quad core so i have to wait :cry::cry:

[flintlock]

All I know is that it's gonna be priiiicey.
I'm hoping it will be in a similar price range as the 8800 GTX. AMD has a little more leeway with respect to price than ATI did on their own, so I remain hopeful. I also imagine that the 8800 GTX will go down a little in price thanks to the new competition on the block. Always a better proposition from a consumers standpoint.

Speaking about video cards and prices, it wasn't too long ago when NVIDIA and AMD got slapped with those subpoenas on allegations on price fixing. Remember that little fiasco?

[JSLTIGER]

Indeed I do...as I recall, they're still fighting it.

P.S. @ Flintlock, check your PMs.

[geetrue]

Do I understand this correctly ... AMD now owns NVIDIA and ATI?

Isn't that a little unfair to Intell?

[elite_hunter_sh3]

no AMD owns ATI they didnt have enough pocket change to buy nvidia without downsizing their company and they didnt want that.

edit* intels graphics chipset is surprisingly doing good because of it being integrated into 90% of company computers like HP, compaq, dell etc..

edit again lol* intel sucks end of story :arrgh!::arrgh!::arrgh!::arrgh!::rotfl::rotfl::rot fl::rotfl:lol

[flintlock]

Do I understand this correctly ... AMD now owns NVIDIA and ATI? Isn't that a little unfair to Intell? Back in October last year, AMD completed the acquisition of ATI to the tune of 5.4 billion after jumping through all the necessary regulatory hoops. I don't think it's unfair to Intel, as they could've tried to aquire ATI too. It definitely will make things a little more challenging for Intel though.

AMD's official press release:
http://www.amd.com/us-en/Corporate/VirtualPressRoom/0,,51_104_543~113741,00.html (http://www.amd.com/us-en/Corporate/VirtualPressRoom/0,,51_104_543%7E113741,00.html)

[Boris]

I've always sided with AMD anyway, as I've always seen Intel as the evil empire of CPUs.
I'll definitely be looking at buying one (or maybe an 8800) depending on price. My x1950xt won't have lost too much resale value either.

[elite_hunter_sh3]

I've always sided with AMD anyway, as I've always seen Intel as the evil empire of CPUs.
I'll definitely be looking at buying one (or maybe an 8800) depending on price. My x1950xt won't have lost too much resale value either.

:rock: :rock: AMD 0wNz !NT3L lol.... amds quad cores are coming out in few months they will be 40%ish faster then intel quadcore(poop):|\\ :rotfl: , ati r600 is 12.4 inches long so get ready to buy new full server tower case for it:huh: :|\\

[SUBMAN1]

I've always sided with AMD anyway, as I've always seen Intel as the evil empire of CPUs.
I'll definitely be looking at buying one (or maybe an 8800) depending on price. My x1950xt won't have lost too much resale value either.
My x1900 XTX will have lost a lot of its value - I paid $570 for it, and that was a steal at the time.

As far as this x2900 goes - I'll pass. What is not written here is that it eats 240 Watts (ouch! Talk about a space heater sitting inside your case! I thought my x1900 XTX at 120 Watts was already outrageous!), and that it is over a foot long and probably won't fit into my Coolermaster Wavemaster case. I'll wait till the x2950 comes out with lower PSU requirements and increase performance. Over the years I've learned to not buy the first rev of a new board design since the first rev typically requires a vacuum cleaner to keep it cool. As they make the design more efficient, then it becomes more desirable.

-S

[geetrue]

I've always sided with AMD anyway, as I've always seen Intel as the evil empire of CPUs.
I'll definitely be looking at buying one (or maybe an 8800) depending on price. My x1950xt won't have lost too much resale value either.
My x1900 XTX will have lost a lot of its value - I paid $570 for it, and that was a steal at the time.

As far as this x2900 goes - I'll pass. What is not written here is that it eats 240 Watts (ouch! Talk about a space heater sitting inside your case! I thought my x1900 XTX at 120 Watts was already outrageous!), and that it is over a foot long and probably won't fit into my Coolermaster Wavemaster case. I'll wait till the x2950 comes out with lower PSU requirements and increase performance. Over the years I've learned to not buy the first rev of a new board design since the first rev typically requires a vacuum cleaner to keep it cool. As they make the design more efficient, then it becomes more desirable.

-S


Here's a present day x1950xtx:

Connect3D Radeon X1950XTX 512MB Connect3D ATI Radeon X1950XTX 512MB DDR4 Dual DVI/VIVO PCI-Express Video Card MFN 3060 RETAIL Specification 3060 Chipset: Radeon X1950 XTX Engine Clock: 650MHz Video Memory: 512MB DDR4 Memory Clock: 2GHz Memory Interface: 256 b ...
Dealer Part C3D-195XTX Manuf Part 3060 February 16,2007 14:21:00

Price $365.90 free shipping

or a regular old x1900gt for:

ATI Radeon X1900GT 256MB GDDR 3 SDRAM 575MHz Core and 594 (1 188) MHz Memory Clock Rates Up to 512-bit Internal Ring Bus for Memory Reads 384 Million Transistors on 90nm PCIE RETAIL ... Dealer Part ATI100435800 Manuf Part 100-435800
February 02,2007 20:49:00Price $272.99
Ship free ups ground order $300 $272.99

[Boris]

Well mine is a x1950xt, which is not to be confused with an xtx... couldn't affort that.

The x1950xt is only slightly better than the x1900xt. It's still retailing for the same price I bought it at in November (about €230).

My low budget means I'll probably be buying the 512mb xt model of the x2900. I'm confident I'll already be able to play SH4 ok, but I want to be able to play Crysis when it comes out, which is DX10 only.

[flintlock]

As they make the design more efficient, then it becomes more desirable.
This is true enough, though looks like this time around they're going with more sophisticated cooling right from the onset.

[Gizzmoe]

I'm confident I'll already be able to play SH4 ok
Yes, you´ll be.

but I want to be able to play Crysis when it comes out, which is DX10 only.
Crysis supports DX9 and DX10 (Pixel Shader 2.0, 3.0 and 4.0).

[Boris]

Really? I always thought they delayed the release of Crysis because they were waiting for DX10 to become the norm.
I guess I don't have to rush into things then. I'll wait and see what Crysis plays like and if it's worth the extra power. It's a while till release anyway.

[SUBMAN1]

Really? I always thought they delayed the release of Crysis because they were waiting for DX10 to become the norm.
I guess I don't have to rush into things then. I'll wait and see what Crysis plays like and if it's worth the extra power. It's a while till release anyway.

Crysis will play the same on DX9 as it will on DX10. DX9.0 F is on the way to support PS 4.0 and everything else DX10 does for XP.

-S

[Gizzmoe]

DX9.0 F is on the way to support PS 4.0 and everything else DX10 does for XP.

Source?

[SUBMAN1]

DX9.0 F is on the way to support PS 4.0 and everything else DX10 does for XP.
Source?

Seems I am behind the times. They are way beyond F and going to L!!! Wow - missed that change. ANyway, more info can be found here:

http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=35110

-S

[geetrue]

Crysis will play the same on DX9 as it will on DX10. DX9.0 F is on the way to support PS 4.0 and everything else DX10 does for XP.
-S

I read somewhere that DX10 will only be for Vista and how come no one has posted about Vista after it came out, yet?

[SUBMAN1]

Crysis will play the same on DX9 as it will on DX10. DX9.0 F is on the way to support PS 4.0 and everything else DX10 does for XP.
-S
I read somewhere that DX10 will only be for Vista and how come no one has posted about Vista after it came out, yet?

DX10 is a rework of DX9 to incorporate a few additional features, but mainly it is written to support the new glass desktop natively. This desktop will not ever be on XP, but the added features in DX10 will be in the form of DX9L. From what I hear, DX9L will be a bit more efficient so your games may actually play fast on 9.0L than 10.

I am not too keen to load Vista. I have 10 copies of biz ed of Vista here, but I haven't bothered to upgrade anyone yet since it lacks support for a few of my software apps that are critical to this business. I have a friend stopping by the MS store later today, and I thought I might get him to get me a copy of Ultimate, but then again, I like the way my home system is right now, so I told him no for now. I agonized about it for a bit. I'll probably still get a copy of Ultimate, but it will be a slow transition for me since it gives me nothing over what I already have now outside of a better GUI.

Just my thoughts on the subject. Now that I am rambling, I'll just quit here.

-S

[Boris]

Well, that completely squashes my need for Vista any time in the near future.

[flintlock]

You guys have DX9.0L all backwards.

DX9.0L is for Vista only. It's there so you can play DX9.0x games on Vista (mainly there for Aero though). It's not a DX10 for WinXP.

So Boris, if you plan on playing DX10 games, you're going to need Vista. Unfortunately, WinXP will have no API to support it.

[Boris]

Well thats just awesome :shifty:

[geetrue]

I am not too keen to load Vista. I have 10 copies of biz ed of Vista here, but I haven't bothered to upgrade anyone yet since it lacks support for a few of my software apps that are critical to this business. I have a friend stopping by the MS store later today, and I thought I might get him to get me a copy of Ultimate, but then again, I like the way my home system is right now, so I told him no for now. I agonized about it for a bit. I'll probably still get a copy of Ultimate, but it will be a slow transition for me since it gives me nothing over what I already have now outside of a better GUI.

Just my thoughts on the subject. Now that I am rambling, I'll just quit here.

-S

When you say, "I'll probably still get a copy of Ultimate" Do you mean Ultimate Home? Because I have found "Ultimate Home" for only $109 including free shipping and I have an old hdd laying around I could put it on to test games like SH4 and FSX, just to see for myself till they come up with better drivers, etc.

No doubt in my mind Vista will be our main OS sooner or later ... :yep:

[elite_hunter_sh3]

good luck fitting this bastard uber card into ur cases lol 12.4 inches long.

http://img451.imageshack.us/img451/2350/r600xtxjv8.jpg

[geetrue]

good luck fitting this bastard uber card into ur cases lol 12.4 inches long.

http://img451.imageshack.us/img451/2350/r600xtxjv8.jpg

Just need an extra size case with the right female plugs ... :rotfl: :rotfl:

[flintlock]

When you say, "I'll probably still get a copy of Ultimate" Do you mean Ultimate Home? Because I have found "Ultimate Home" for only $109 Just for clarification: there is no "Ultimate Home."

You have: Business, Home Basic, Home Premium and Ultimate. There's also Enterprise, but that doesn't factor in here.

[geetrue]

When you say, "I'll probably still get a copy of Ultimate" Do you mean Ultimate Home? Because I have found "Ultimate Home" for only $109 Just for clarification: there is no "Ultimate Home."

You have: Business, Home Basic, Home Premium and Ultimate. There's also Enterprise, but that doesn't factor in here.

I went back and checked ... your right ... I scan too fast. So is Home Premium worth a try?

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium (1-Pack DVD), OEM (http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?src=eb&name=MS66I00715) free shipping special price $117.00

[flintlock]

So is Home Premium worth a try? The price is good for an OEM version. To be honest, unless you have a burning need to move to Vista, I'd sit tight with WinXP. Especially so if you have an NVIDIA graphics card. I'd give it time for the dust to settle and allow for some mature drivers to start circulating -- some early adopters are wishing they had.

[Gizzmoe]

Seems I am behind the times. They are way beyond F and going to L!!! Wow - missed that change. ANyway, more info can be found here:

http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=35110

-S
You posted that link already about a month ago, that information is wrong:
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showpost.php?p=399915&postcount=26

[elite_hunter_sh3]

Dx 10 For Win Xp Not Happening End Of Story!!!:|\\

vista wasnt released for nothing you know!, stupid microsoft dam their monopoly. bill gates is always finding ways to make more money,

[flintlock]

ATI R600 will NOT launch this quarter!

Excerpt:

"The reason is that their R600 Series is not where they want it to be yet, so they decided to move the launch to be able to deliver a competitive product. Also I am hearing that at the Q2 launch we will see more than just GPU related stuff, so I would guess Physics or GPGPU computing."

Source:
http://www.techpowerup.com/?25870

[geetrue]

ATI R600 will NOT launch this quarter!

Excerpt:

"The reason is that their R600 Series is not where they want it to be yet, so they decided to move the launch to be able to deliver a competitive product. Also I am hearing that at the Q2 launch we will see more than just GPU related stuff, so I would guess Physics or GPGPU computing."

Source:
http://www.techpowerup.com/?25870


probably because of Vista or GPU cooling ...

Why be first on the block for DX10 with no DX10 or why be the first to melt down your computer and turn everybody else off?

[SUBMAN1]

You guys have DX9.0L all backwards.

DX9.0L is for Vista only. It's there so you can play DX9.0x games on Vista (mainly there for Aero though). It's not a DX10 for WinXP.

So Boris, if you plan on playing DX10 games, you're going to need Vista. Unfortunately, WinXP will have no API to support it.
Are you smoking crack? DX10 is backwards compatible to DX 9, and no, it is not, nor has it ever been for Vista. Vista started at 10 and will forever be 10+.

Actually - I may be wrong and the one smoking crack. Hmm - I see the later Inquirer article.

-S

[flintlock]

Are you smoking crack? DX10 is backwards compatible to DX 9 I never said it wasn't. Did you even read my post? Please, put your pipe down, clear the smoke and read it again.

Vista started at 10 and will forever be 10+. Who said anything to the contrary? You really are confused, aren't you?

Actually - I may be wrong and the one smoking crack. Hmm - I see the later Inquirer article. I don't know what later article your referring too, but I suggest you put that pipe down and go outside and get some fresh air and sunshine. It'll do you good.

;)

[elite_hunter_sh3]

mircrosoft is greedy but smart, they released vista so people move to dx 10, they wud never rlease dx 10 for win xp, so they releases dx9 fix for vista so they can move even faster to vista. i still hate it:nope: :down:

[SUBMAN1]

Are you smoking crack? DX10 is backwards compatible to DX 9 I never said it wasn't. Did you even read my post? Put your pipe down, clear the smoke and read it again.

Vista started at 10 and will forever be 10+. Who said anything to the contrary? You really are confused, aren't you?

Actually - I may be wrong and the one smoking crack. Hmm - I see the later Inquirer article. I don't know what later article your referring too, but I suggest you put that pipe down and go outside and get some fresh air and sun. It'll do you good.

I was refering to the fact that I found the article saying DX 9.0L is not for XP as I was typing that note! :) So I am the one smoking something!

ANyway, my one biggest beef with DX10 is that 'all' audio is rendered via software. I mean, what is MS thinking? Where is my accelerated audio? THat is going to kill FPS in many games. Where is my EAX going to be? EAX won't work - period. Environmental sounds are about to be kicked out the door.

[Gizzmoe]

Where is my EAX going to be? EAX won't work - period. Environmental sounds are about to be kicked out the door.
OpenAL will take care of that:
http://preview.creativelabs.com/alchemy/default.aspx

"The good news is that the Creative ALchemy Project allows you to run your favorite DirectSound3D games on Windows Vista as the developers intended - with full hardware accelerated 3D Audio and EAX support! This is done by translating DirectSound calls into OpenAL. In order for this to happen, a couple of files need to be installed into each game directory. This is handled automatically by the ALchemy installer - but can also be performed manually by advanced users.

The Creative ALchemy Project is still in beta, and the ALchemy installer only supports a relatively small number of PC games at the moment. However, with your help, we would like to add more titles to the list (http://preview.creativelabs.com/alchemy/Lists/Games/AllItems.aspx) so please download the ALchemy installer, run it, enjoy 3D Audio and EAX effects in your favorite games."

[Zantham]

Quote Subman:
ANyway, my one biggest beef with DX10 is that 'all' audio is rendered via software. I mean, what is MS thinking? Where is my accelerated audio? THat is going to kill FPS in many games. Where is my EAX going to be? EAX won't work - period. Environmental sounds are about to be kicked out the door. /Endquote

This is not entirely accurate...audio rendering in Vista has nothing to do with DirectX10, unlike previous versions of DirectX/Windows. This is what has resulted in the breaking of EAX and other formats that required DirectSound3D found in earlier versions of DirectX. Creative apparently has already patched this problem in Vista using ALchemy. Creative is hoping that the OpenAL architecture will catch on again in Vista, which will provide what EAX no longer can. Incidently there are games out there that used OpenAL...and as far as I understand these games work fine in Vista, including surround sound.

Basically, Vista has reworked how sound and video operate now, and in the long run this new way is far superior. Previously when a video driver or audio driver crashed this resulted in a BSOD and forced a reboot. This is simply no longer the case in Vista. This is also why there is no DirectX 10 support for XP...it would require a service pack in itself to allow for DirectX10 compatibility, which would require a significant amount of resources to accomplish...resources that are being used in other things, like Vista...

The Vista audio renderer operates much more efficiently in Vista now, so software rendering wont impact performance near as much as it did in XP, especially on a computer that is already fast enough to handle gaming in Vista. Incidently, it has been shown that Aero Glass has no discernable impact on frames per second in gaming compared to the non-glass Aero interface.

So in the short run....a lot of current games will have a 'flat audio environment', and will require some hacking to get proper surround sound working again.
In the long run....Vista will provide a more stable platform, and once new games featuring environmental audio support under Vista start replacing the older ones on our drives, the lack of support for EAX will become a thing of the past.

[flintlock]

My poor little R600 thread has been hijacked and turned into a DX10 battleground.

/sniff

:|\\

[geetrue]

Thanks Gizz and Zantham you give us hope for the future of Vista ...

better than waiting for the next OS from Microsoft, code named "Vienna"
due out in 2012 ...:lol: ,

[Zantham]

Thanks Gizz and Zantham you give us hope for the future of Vista ...

better than waiting for the next OS from Microsoft, code named "Vienna"
due out in 2012 ...:lol: ,
By the time 2012 comes out we will be well past Vienna...
http://www.winsupersite.com/faq/windows_7.asp


Back to Flintlock's topic:

Here's some benchmarks on the R600 vs the G80. Very interesting reading!

http://level505.com/2006/12/30/the-full-ati-r600-test/1/

Note this was done with a prelease card, on prerelease drivers :)

[geetrue]

Thanks Gizz and Zantham you give us hope for the future of Vista ...

better than waiting for the next OS from Microsoft, code named "Vienna"
due out in 2012 ...:lol: ,

By the time 2012 comes out we will be well past Vienna...
http://www.winsupersite.com/faq/windows_7.asp



I was off by three (3) years uh, but the article you pointed me too is already talking about Vista sp1 which will help Flintlock's hopes for R600 to run properly ... see how I kept it on topic flint ...

Q: Will Microsoft release any Windows updates between now and Vienna?

A: Yes. Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1, codenamed "Fiji") will ship simultaneously with Windows Server "Longhorn" and will include a new kernel version that makes that release up to date with the kernel version in Longhorn. As such, we might consider Fiji a major release for a service pack: No previous service pack has ever included a major kernel update.

[SUBMAN1]

Quote Subman:
ANyway, my one biggest beef with DX10 is that 'all' audio is rendered via software. I mean, what is MS thinking? Where is my accelerated audio? THat is going to kill FPS in many games. Where is my EAX going to be? EAX won't work - period. Environmental sounds are about to be kicked out the door. /Endquote

This is not entirely accurate...audio rendering in Vista has nothing to do with DirectX10, unlike previous versions of DirectX/Windows. This is what has resulted in the breaking of EAX and other formats that required DirectSound3D found in earlier versions of DirectX. Creative apparently has already patched this problem in Vista using ALchemy. Creative is hoping that the OpenAL architecture will catch on again in Vista, which will provide what EAX no longer can. Incidently there are games out there that used OpenAL...and as far as I understand these games work fine in Vista, including surround sound.

Basically, Vista has reworked how sound and video operate now, and in the long run this new way is far superior. Previously when a video driver or audio driver crashed this resulted in a BSOD and forced a reboot. This is simply no longer the case in Vista. This is also why there is no DirectX 10 support for XP...it would require a service pack in itself to allow for DirectX10 compatibility, which would require a significant amount of resources to accomplish...resources that are being used in other things, like Vista...

The Vista audio renderer operates much more efficiently in Vista now, so software rendering wont impact performance near as much as it did in XP, especially on a computer that is already fast enough to handle gaming in Vista. Incidently, it has been shown that Aero Glass has no discernable impact on frames per second in gaming compared to the non-glass Aero interface.

So in the short run....a lot of current games will have a 'flat audio environment', and will require some hacking to get proper surround sound working again.
In the long run....Vista will provide a more stable platform, and once new games featuring environmental audio support under Vista start replacing the older ones on our drives, the lack of support for EAX will become a thing of the past.
Maybe, but that is assuming your card supports OpenAL. I can remember playing Doom 3, etc and not having 3D audio on my NForce. I heard many other cards don't support OpenAL either. If they can fix that little problem, then I think things might be OK.

-S

PS. Same thing happened on a friends VIA based board - No 3d Audio support under Doom 3.

[nikimcbee]

Do I understand this correctly ... AMD now owns NVIDIA and ATI?

Isn't that a little unfair to Intell?

No! Those goobers are practically a monopoly. Intel is feeling the "love" from AMD's anti-trust lawsuit.

[nikimcbee]

I've always sided with AMD anyway, as I've always seen Intel as the evil empire of CPUs.


You are correct!:rock:

[flintlock]

AMD claims their ATI R600 is primed and ready to beat NVIDIA's 8800.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Berlind/images/ATIR600topBLOG.jpg

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Berlind/?p=364