Originally posted by: Qbah
Originally posted by: Wreckage
Well let's review the last 3 generations....
2xxx was out after the 8xxx and slower
3xxx was out after the 9xxx and slower
4xxx was out after the GT2xx and slower
I'm betting this trend will continue, considering there is no evidence to the contrary.
This timeline is so full of fail, it's not funny. Let me show you how it looked like:
2006.11.xx - 8800 Launch - GTX@599$, Ultra@829$, GTS320@329$, GTS640@429$ (crazy prices!)
2007.05.14 - HD2900 Launch - generally slower than nVidia (GTX and Ultra untouchable), 7 months after, XT@399$
2007.09.xx - HD3800 Launch - same speed, lower price - getting competitive for its price, HD3870@239$, HD3850@179$
2008.01.28 - HD3870x2 Launch - fastest single card - 449$
2008.02.21 - 9600GT Launch - first 9-series card ~ HD3870 - 189$
2008.03.18 - 9800GX2 - fastest single card - second 9-series card - 599$
2008.04.01 - 9800GTX Launch, 299$-349$ (you could get a GTS512 for ~200$ - same card!) - this launch was a total joke in my eyes.
2008.06.18 - GTX260 and GTX280 Launch - 399$ and 649$
2008.06.23 - HD4800 Launch, HD4870 faster than GTX260 - 299$, HD4850 faster than 9800GTX - 199$
2008.08.12 - HD4870x2 - fastest single card - 499$-549$
2009.01.08 - GTX295 - fastest single card - 499$
Hence only your first statement is correct. Your second one is totally wrong, as the HD38x0 was launched way before the 9-series - which wasn't there to fight ATi anyway... since the 8800GT was doing that already being a better product. The HD48x0 was launched a week after the GTXs and was faster at their launch price (forced a big price drop from nVidia) - meaning your last line is also incorrect - if you say a week is significant and valid here that will be laughable.
To sum up, there were times ATi had the fastest product on the market and there were times nVidia did - nVidia having those periods longer. The delay and overall suckage of the HD2900XT contributed hugely to the current state of the market.
Next time if you want to add some information to a discussion, verify it first and don't post wrong things.
When the RV870 will launch, it should be the fastest thing on the market. Once the GT300 launches, it should be the fastest thing on the market... similarly to the timeline above - everything should repeat itself - this time ATi being first thus getting a boost in their market share - same thing happened with the initial 8800 cards.