Hi, I'm going to get the 2950XT when it comes out, and I'd like to ask a few general ATI questions since I've been out of the ATI loop for a while...

1) What are the popular ATI brands? I know I'm definitely not getting one from ATI (bad experience). It seems like HIS is the popular brand. Anyone else? I'm not looking for any super-overclocking (I like to do that myself), just someone reliable with a good name.

2) Any ATI companies that have the EVGA-like step up program? I know a new highend is right around the corner in Q1 2008 and it'd be nice to have that option at least. I hate having to ebay stuff.

Yeah a new SKU 8800GTS certainly fixes things.

http://www.vr-zone.com/articles/Nvidia_Plans_New_GeForce_8800_GTS_SKU/5311.html

Sounds kinda lame though, as it doesn't sound like it offers any significant improvemnet, only enough space to properly place the 8800GT in their lineup. Considering the 2950 card will run cooler and more efficient, I'd still take the 2950 over it. See, power consumption DOES matter to the consumer; well, at least it does for me. :)

not that crazy of a score in 3DMark06...i beat it with 10904 3Dmarks
and i run 8800gts 320mb with e6600

http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm06=2985163

Darkfire6247

Really? Than I guess these scores aren't very standardized. I've been browsing through GTX reviews and they range from 8000 to 11000. Guess a lot of it is dependent on your cpu? For example on the GTX, Legitreviews.com only get 8721 and VRzone was able to get it up to 10790. Most of these scores are around 10800. I only get 9000 on my stock GTS 320mb. It sounds like these scores are really relative...

http://www.vr-zone.com/articles/GeForce_8800GT_%28G92%29_Scored_10769_in_3DMark06/5309.html

Pretty cool huh? I think the 2950XT is going to spank it though. I think that card will be the card to owne this holiday season. But man, 10796 in 3Dmark06?!? I'm not sure what that means for real games, but I know I only get about 9000 on my GTS 320mb. I've seen GTX cards not get that high of a score. I'm assuming that either this score is useless in real games or is fake. I don't know much about 3Dmark06 other than that everyone uses it. Not sure how practical it really is...

If this is Nvidia's offering for the holiday season, than I think ATI is back in the saddle.

Ehhh nevermind on the 2900PRO. I'm just gonna get the X1900GT for only 100 bucks :DIchalabon

I agree with that move. 2900PRO is only slightly better than the 8800GTS 320mb, but it doesn't change the fact that I think both of them are underpowered for the upcoming DX10 games if you play at anything more than 1280x1040. Neither is worth getting right now, especially with cards coming in November.

Can someone say if these dual cards have ever lived up to expectations of literally being twice as powerful as a single core? Or is it as reliable as SLI (ie not very reliable).

On a side note, I hear that the R670's new 55nm chip is especially suited for dual GPU cards, and it sounds like Nvidia wants to go the same route with a dual 65nm GTX solution. Granted, my sources are just internet buzz, but they've been buzzing about it for a long time.