ATI's Radeon 9700 versus NVIDIA's NV30

The guys over at The Tech Report have put together an interesting article about understanding the next generation of graphics chips

"Real-time 3D graphics has come a long, long way since it first arrived on microcomputers less than 20 years ago. We've moved from simple wireframes to texture-mapped polygons with per-vertex lighting—all handled in software. Then, in 1996, custom graphics chips hit the scene in the form of Rendition's Verite and 3dfx's Voodoo Graphics. These cards, especially the Voodoo, were an instant success among gamers, who naturally appreciated the additional graphics power afforded by dedicated hardware. The Voodoo's success in the PC market caught even 3dfx off guard; the chip was originally intended for video arcade machines, not consumer PCs."

Check out the entire article here

Well I do hope the best for ati, I always love to see an underdog kick butt, and I am sure they will with there new card. One thing I think may help ATI is to actually offer a better looking package, with the new wave of show computers with clear side panels and lights inside, the average consumer wants a card that will not only perform but compliment his or her system looks wise. The old red / black style look is just boring, look at all the makers of the GF4, man you can get a card that looks anyway and about any color or style you want it in, and with slightly different configurations, I do hope they do the same for the new ATI card, even though it will probably not happen. If they can bring the card in at a retail price of $299.99 or even $50 lower than an nv30 I think it might get the die hard nvidia people to make a switch, I know it will be darn hard to get me away from the Nvidia chiped cards. But kudo's to ATI for really bringing a competitive kick ass product to the market!