New AMD Graphics Chip More Powerful Than Every Console Combined

[Bodhesatva]

psrock said:
Amd products are quite cheap at the moment, since they've been losing tons of money the last few years.

That's one way to look at it. The other truth is that they've deliberately stepped down from the tech arms race with NVidia because they were being slowly beaten into the ground.

The RV770, which is in the 4870, 4870X2, and 4850, are all intended to be cheaper, smaller, and more efficient than the new NVidia line, which by all accounts they are. NVidia's new high end beats the 4870 and 4850 (not the 4870X2, but that again isn't out til this fall) in raw performance by modest amounts, but costs twice as much, runs much hotter, and has a lower process/watt ratio.

Basically, if you absolutely must have the top-of-the-line for consumer components in terms of raw performance, GTX 200 will be your best bet. If you're willing to come in second, you can buy a card from AMD that costs half as much, fits in one PCI-E slot, consumes less power, and still kicks the PS3/360's ass.