7970 GHz edition incoming!

[2is]

ATI Radeon X1900 was the first 512-bit.

I had one of those. It was loud and hot but I loved it.

 

[-Slacker-]

I thought the 2900 was...

(512 bit, i mean)

 

[(sic)Klown12]

ATI Radeon X1900 was the first 512-bit.

Only 512-bit internally. The external memory bus was still 256-bit. R600 was the first GPU with a full 512-bit memory bus.

 

[Magic Carpet]

I had one of those. It was loud and hot but I loved it.

In many ways, it was ahead of its time.

 

[SlowSpyder]

In many ways, it was ahead of its time.

I think those cards aged better than the GeForce 79xx cards they competed with. I mean, both are probably worthless today, but I do think the X19xx cards had a longer useful lifetime.

 

[(sic)Klown12]

I think those cards aged better than the GeForce 79xx cards they competed with. I mean, both are probably worthless today, but I do think the X19xx cards had a longer useful lifetime.

AMD saw the writing on the wall and knew that shader performance was much more important than vertex. Of course it helped that AMD was working on Xenos with Microsoft and saw how game development was moving.

 

[boxleitnerb]

How did the GTX 285 get its 512-bit bus?

Expensively at the cost of consumption and die size
The GTX280 had 512bit as well.

 

[Will Robinson]

I had an X1900XT 512MB for several years.It was a great card,and I think won that generation's battle with NVDA.
I upgraded from an X850XT PE and the improvement in game play and visuals was a real treat.Logging onto BF2 multiplayer was a pleasant surprise with much better AA/AF,way deeper draw distances and a crispness I hadn't felt before.All in all, a very nice card that is in well earned retirement.

 

[Homeles]

AMD saw the writing on the wall and knew that shader performance was much more important than vertex. Of course it helped that AMD was working on Xenos with Microsoft and saw how game development was moving.

Sorry, but you've committed one of my biggest pet peeves -- confusing AMD with ATI. AMD didn't buy ATI until 2006, which is after the initial release of R520. Also, R600 is the one that included a lot of features from the Xenos GPU, and it was a huge flop. I'm sure the Xenos development did have a hand in R520 though.

 

[ArchAngel777]

Sorry, but you've committed one of my biggest pet peeves

Uh oh! You poked the turtle!

 

[Homeles]

uh oh! You poked the turtle!

ಠ_ಠ

 

[2is]

Sorry, but you've committed one of my biggest pet peeves -- confusing AMD with ATI.

You just need to gtf over it.

 

[Homeles]

You just need to gtf over it.

Aww, aren't you cute. Maybe when you get over fan noise.

 

[2is]

Ok I'm over it. Your turn

 

[Magic Carpet]

Software optimization plays an incredible role, even... in power consumption.

7970 Ghz is going to be an interesting card, both in efficiency and overclockability. Can't wait