DailyTech - ATI X1950 Now September 14

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Hardware ATI X1950 Now September 14
Anh Tuan Huynh (Blog) - August 14, 2006 11:16 PM

34 comment(s) - last by robber98.. on Aug 16 at 1:49 PM

Radeon X1950 arriving September 14th, RD600 a month later

DailyTech previously reported ATI would launch its GDDR4 equipped Radeon X1950XT and X1950 CrossFire graphics cards on August 23rd. According to ATI's latest launch advisory, dated August 11, the launch date has now been pushed back to September 14th, 2006.

ATI has pushed back the launch of its Radeon X1950 and Radeon X1900 CrossFire cards due to availability issues. There’s no word if ATI will be hard launching Radeon X1950 cards, though it makes perfect sense given the later launch date. Previously released vendor benchmarks showed the Radeon X1950XT and X1950 CrossFire combination beating out a similarly configured NVIDIA Quad SLI system.

ATI’s upcoming CrossFire Xpress 3200 for Intel processors is expected to arrive a month after the Radeon X1950XT and X1950 CrossFire cards too. The upcoming CrossFire Xpress 3200 is expected to have two full speed PCI Express x16 slots for CrossFire dual-graphics technology. A third PCI Express x16 slot will be available for ATI’s Triple physics GPU accelerated Physics processing architecture. There will also be official support for DDR2-1066 memory and Intel’s Core 2 Conroe processors too.

Update 08/16/2006: The date we published is just for retail availability. The embargo is scheduled for August 23, 2006.

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DX10

By ryandmiller1 on 8/15/2006 1:05:49 AM , Rating: 4

ya im not quite sure why anyone would buy a high end card right now with DX10 on the way here. Id be pretty pissed at myself for buying and 7950 or a 1950 and then find out when vista releases that i cant run the best games with my $600 card.

RE: DX10

By OvErHeAtInG on 8/15/2006 1:14:56 AM , Rating: 2

1950 XTX is retailing for $399, and I'm sure street prices will fall pretty quickly. It also comes with a more effective and quieter cooler. A pretty appealing product if you ask me, especially for those of us who are too savvy too early-adopt DX10.

It's amazing how many people keep referring to the 1950 as a $600 card... every since nv launched the 7800 GTX for $599, a lot of people expect each new card to carry the same price.

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RE: DX10

By gramboh on 8/15/2006 1:18:00 AM , Rating: 2

1950XTX for $399US? Wow that is impressive, I assumed it would be $500 at least. This will push the 1900XT and XTX down even further then? Seems strange to price it for 400 especially with DDR4.

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RE: DX10

By Soccerman06 on 8/15/2006 1:45:00 AM , Rating: 2

Oh, I dont think that the pricing is all that strange. They are using fairly recent design thats going to become outdated fairly soon and are only tryin to push all those extra cores they have out in their warehouses (with a few modifications). All these current gen cards going to probably drop $50-$100 sometime soon after the R600 arrives because the new cards will likely take the $400, $500, and $550/$600. The x1950 will most likely be the upper mid-range card while the x1900 and x1800 will become lower and mid-range cards. This will probably happen while the public slowly becomes aware of DX10, and by then ATI/Nvidia will have their *better* (mid-range) DX10 cards out, while probably not being on the same level as previous cards in DX9 apps, may hold a small advantage in DX9/10 games.

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RE: DX10

By BLOfelt22 on 8/15/2006 1:46:52 AM , Rating: 2

Personally I think that $399USD is still too steep for a single GPU/card considering that the age of single card/dual GPU solutions are upon us (Thanx nVidia). I have seen 7950s is listed at $540USD online and not too long ago you could find a X1900XTX going for as much as six hundred. I'll get excited if ATI drops it to $299...but then again I am a cheapskate ;p

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RE: DX10

By raven3x7 on 8/15/2006 6:02:37 AM , Rating: 2

well that really depends. Dual card solutions are really overkill unless you have a 20+ inch monitor and a extremly high end cpu to feed the GPUs. so its really mostly for the hardcore crowd. It does though present a decent upgrade path. You get a pc with a 7600GT and when that starts to go into the low end you get another one cheap and can squeze a few more months out of the gpus. As for the x1900xtx as a single card solution it really has no competition what so ever. Personally though im looking forward to the G80. I believe in current games its gonna have the edge over the R600, although in future games that will probably turn around.

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RE: DX10

By bunnyfubbles on 8/15/2006 11:45:36 AM , Rating: 2

quote:
Personally I think that $399USD is still too steep for a single GPU/card considering that the age of single card/dual GPU solutions are upon us (Thanx nVidia).

What about the Voodoo 5 5500? What about the Voodoo 5 6000 ( four chips on one card...)

Don't "thank" nVidia, thank 3Dfx. Oh wait, 3Dfx died because they couldn't retain performance crown with a single chip...

Dual GPU cards are sloppy shortcuts to more performance unless you really need it (to drive really large resolutions)

And considering there are actually negatives to dual GPUs (whether on one card or two), it certainly isn't as hands down as you make it sound.

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RE: DX10

By arturnowp on 8/15/2006 3:47:11 AM , Rating: 2

Their not pushing old core 'cause X1950 uses R580+ made in 80nm. Their manufacturing new cores for that card. It costs $399 because it's inferior to $500 GeForce 9750GX in terms of performance.
I doubt we'll see R600 by the end of this year.

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RE: DX10

By bigshooter on 8/15/2006 5:03:56 AM , Rating: 2

R580+ - 16 Pixel Pipes - 48 Shader Pipes - X1950XTX - GDDR4 - 90nm
R580 - 16 Pixel Pipes - 48 Shader Pipes - X1900XTX - 90nm
R580 - 16 Pixel Pipes - 48 Shader Pipes - X1900XT - 90nm
R580 - 12 Pixel Pipes - 36 Shader Pipes - X1900GT - 90nm
RV570 - 12 Pixel Pipes - 36 Shader Pipes - X1950PRO - 80nm
RV560 - 8 Pixel Pipes - 24 Shader Pipes - X1650XT - 80nm

I've only seen RV570 and RV560 as 80nm parts. Everything else is still 90nm which is why core clock speeds are teh same.

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RE: DX10

By FITCamaro on 8/15/2006 8:57:00 AM , Rating: 3

So why is two X1950s in Crossfire (2 GPUs) outperforming 2 7950s in SLI (4 GPUs) in nearly every resolution. The only time the 7950s win is at resolutions only the richest people can afford to play at. Only people with 24-30" monitors benefit from 7950s in SLI.

And single X1950s are outperforming single 7950s up to 1600x1200. Also a resolution few play above.

So a single GPU outperforming a dual GPU card. And who has the inferior card? Of course then theres also the issues that plague the entire 79xx line.

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RE: DX10

By Goty on 8/15/2006 9:25:45 AM , Rating: 2

First of all, it's not built with the 80nm process, and second of all, you must have missed the vendor benchmarks just released that show the x1950 pretty much walking all over the 7950GX2 (and yes, I do realize that they must be taken with a grain of salt, so about even performance would be expected).

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RE: DX10

By robber98 on 8/16/2006 1:49:48 PM , Rating: 2

Question is, when will DX10 available and when will first PC games requires DX10 to run? By the time all PC games require DX10 to run, people may consider to get a new video card because the one they buy right now probably run too slow.

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By NerV04 on 8/15/2006 12:47:51 AM , Rating: 2

am i the only one not excited by the bleeding edge anymore? everytime ati or nvidia pops out a new card...doesnt seem like its that great anymore. The improvements dont seem to be worth the money....probably conroe is the only thing thats bleeding edge that improves with extremely significant figures....

RE: eh

By killerroach on 8/15/2006 12:52:30 AM , Rating: 2

Every major generational advancement comes with it a two to three-fold performance jump, seems like... granted, this isn't a major generational advancement, but should be good for a noticeable bump up in power, which ATI needs to make their presence felt again in the high end as nVidia seems to be drawing a lot of attention with relatively inexpensive 7900GT's and the flagship 7950GX2 performing like the beast it is...

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RE: eh

By Gigahertz19 on 8/15/2006 12:53:10 AM , Rating: 2

Yeah but everytime they pop out a new $500 or $600 bleeding edge video card it lowers the prices on all the previous released bleeding edge video cards making them actually affordable for mainstream people.

What I don't understand is their releasing the X1950 then a month later the R600, why drop all that money on a X1950 when you can wait a month and buy the R600? I guess only suckers would buy the X1950 then be pissed off when the R600 comes out.

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RE: eh

By bunnyfubbles on 8/15/2006 1:18:22 AM , Rating: 2

Well, it could very well explain the supposed $399 MSRP for the X1950. We've already seen fairly significant price drops on current X1900 stuff...

It would continue to make sense for next gen cards to come out a month later at $499-599+ prices.

Considering the only difference found on the X1950 is the much faster DDR4, it isn't too crazy that its being done so late in the game - the GPU itself is the same thus ATI really didn't have to do any major work to bring it out, nor any major hardware production changes. They can sell current high end stuff for $200-400 and charge double that for the real new stuff.

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RE: eh

By KristopherKubicki

(blog) on 8/15/2006 1:19:03 AM , Rating: 2

The Back-to-School buying season is really big for these guys. A lot of products are designed around the buy period.

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RE: eh

By Samus on 8/15/2006 3:40:10 AM , Rating: 3

with that in mind, ati launching the new X1950 AFTER the back to school season is absolutely retarded business proceedure.

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RE: eh

By KristopherKubicki

(blog) on 8/15/2006 3:46:42 AM , Rating: 2

Well it was originally slated for before the BTS season. Oh well.

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RE: eh

By goku on 8/15/2006 7:30:14 AM , Rating: 1

Sept 14 is still back to school whether you realize it or not, I know people who only go back to college in oct/late sept. so it seems fine to me.

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RE: eh

By Scrogneugneu on 8/15/2006 10:00:23 PM , Rating: 2

Agreed.

However, I highly doubt that during the BTS season, the ultra-high end cards are selling better. If there's a boom in sales, it's because students need new computers. Students won't get a computer with a bleeding edge video card, they're students : they got no money.

What the Back To School means is that the current leader in the lower end of the market (including integrated chips) will make a lot of money. Thus, the X1950 is not targeted.

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RE: eh

By traxcore on 8/15/2006 2:32:49 AM , Rating: 2

What you really should notice is the fact they are mentioning _RD600_ not _R600_ RD600 being their new chipset and R600 being the next generation GFX card! I dont think R600 will be on the streets for some time and 1950XTX haveing a entry level price at 400$ makes it really interesting!

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RE: eh

By Tsuwamono on 8/15/2006 9:38:12 AM , Rating: 1

or someone who doesnt want to buy a PSU to support GPUs that will draw between 130 and 300 watts of power alone...

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RE: eh

By retrospooty on 8/15/2006 10:36:57 AM , Rating: 2

Yup... Once the next gen comes out it's a good time to get the affordable 1900XT or 7900GT.

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RE: eh

By nrb on 8/15/2006 5:06:37 AM , Rating: 2

quote:
am i the only one not excited by the bleeding edge anymore?

X1950 strikes me as being a placeholder product. Without it, ATI is being seriously challenged for both single-card and crossfire/SLI high-end performance by the 7950X2. What's more, Nvidia's DirectX10 part (the G80) is likely to ship at least 2 months before the ATI equivalent (the R600) - possibly even more. In particular, if the G70 is out in the Autumn, but R600 slips to beyond Christmas, ATI desperately needs something on the market sooner rather than later.

I suspect R600 will kick some serious arse when it finally gets here, but, in the mean time, ATI is scrabbling to keep hold of at least some of the high-end market in the face of short-term Nvidia superiority.

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Long wait for RD600

By AMDfreak on 8/15/2006 2:03:53 AM , Rating: 2

quote:
ATI’s upcoming CrossFire Xpress 3200 for Intel processors is expected to arrive a month after the Radeon X1950XT and X1950 CrossFire cards too.

To me, that's the big news here. If that statement is correct, that means no RD600 until October. ACK! I've been wating to buy a Conroe until RD600 is out.

RE: Long wait for RD600

By Suomynona on 8/15/2006 7:45:15 AM , Rating: 2

Yeah, that's what I care more about too. I was going to wait for RD600 too, but then I heard it would be September before it was available and that was too long; October is just ridiculous. ATI and Nvidia really missed the boat on Conroe chipsets.

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RE: Long wait for RD600

By Targon on 8/15/2006 7:46:52 AM , Rating: 2

I honestly don't care about Conroe, I'm waiting to get an ATI chipset motherboard with AM2 support with a SB600 chip since even with Conroe benchmarking higher, I'll stick with AMD since I can swap my CPU out for a K8L next year without having to replace the motherboard as well. Besides that, getting a high end Conroe is still not really possible at this point.

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RE: Long wait for RD600

By retrospooty on 8/15/2006 10:42:11 AM , Rating: 2

ME too... You see all these benchmarks at low res and Conroe IS faster... But in 99% of the real (non-3d game) apps out there both CPU's are way overkill fast. Even in games when you crank up the res to 1200x1024 or 1600x1200 and use 4xAA the difference is negated. We are all video card limited with games... unless maybe you are up in the $1000 dual card range. Even then, does it really matter if one CPU gets you 230 fps when the other gets you 210?

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Guys DX10 isn't gonna instantly rule the game market....

By rushfan2006 on 8/15/2006 9:34:28 AM , Rating: 4

It makes perfect sense for folks to get a good deal (btw I can bet you'll find this card cheaper than what the article says...in the past when I heard of release prices on this forums for cards..I almost always found the card cheaper by at least $20-$50) on one of these cards.

You people saying "its stupid to invest in a high end dx 9 card when Dx10 cards are coming out"...crack me up. How long does your history with PC gaming date back? Mine is over 20 years. I've *NEVER* in that period seen the whole industry just instantly switch full bore (meaning exclusively) to a new Direct X version. Heck look at DX 9, if you look back in history it took quite awhile (re: years) to get the whole industry writing to exploit the full feature set of DX 9.

At bare minimum you'll have a year - year and a half (maybe even two years) from the day DX 10 is announced as "released" and the first DX 10 card is out AND the market is exclusively to DX 10 games. I can almost bet my next month's salary on it.

In that 1 - 2 year period....guess what, the prices will drop like a brick.

In short I guess what I'm saying, not everyone is a bleeding edge kind of person nor does everyone have bleeding edge money to toss around....and saying things like "you are stupid to by a DX9 card now when DX10 is out in the next two months" is a bleeding edge comment.

Amazingly I see a huge difference by spending $300 over $600 (or more) for a graphics card...a card I won't truely need for at LEAST a year. ;)

RE: Guys DX10 isn't gonna instantly rule the game market....

By JWalk on 8/15/2006 9:50:27 AM , Rating: 3

Very true. And here is something else they are ignoring: Does anyone remember the first DX9 video card? I believe the first was the Radeon 9700 Pro.

Now, that was a great card when it hit the market, but by the time we saw real DX9 games, it was two generations behind. So, while a 9700 Pro could play a DX9 game like FarCry, FEAR or HL2, it wasn't exactly the preferred card for those games.

So, like you said, by the time there are games that really take advantage of DX10; we will all be reading reviews of cards based on Nvidia G90 and ATI R700. There is no such thing as future-proof. Especially when it comes to GPU's. :)

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Aug 23-Sept14

By geo1 on 8/15/2006 2:31:10 PM , Rating: 2

Personally, I'm getting a sense of some back-and-forth'ing on the release date. Nothing between Aug 23 and Sept 14 would suprise me at this point for NDA lift.