Competition is a great thing. Lower prices, more innovative products, and increased quality are all things that benefit the industry, and more importantly the consumer. The two big players in the computer graphics scene, ATI and Nvidia are perfect examples were competition benefits the consumer. Both are constantly trying to one-up each other, leading to shortened product release schedules, and greatly decreased prices for all spectrums of the consumer graphics market.

ATI's newest part is a direct result of this cut-throat competition. The Radeon 9700 Pro was created to challenge Nvidia's top part (the GeForce4 Ti4600), and we were allowed to spend quite a bit of time with it putting it toe-to-toe against the GeForce4 with ATI?s latest Catalyst 3.0 drivers and Microsoft?s DirectX 9.0 final release.

Specifications

* Complete DirectX? 9.0 support for unprecedented realism and sophisticated visual effects
* SMOOTHVISION? 2.0 technology provides new levels of image quality with advanced full-scene anti-aliasing (FSAA) and anisotropic filtering
* Revolutionary new video features including VIDEOSHADER? and FULLSTREAM? technologies
* Featuring CATALYST? - ATI's industry-leading software suite with frequently scheduled free updates providing additional features and performance over the product's lifetime

features

Fastest* 3D Gaming Performance

* 128MB DDR memory accelerates the latest 3D games
* 256-bit memory interface removes hardware performance bottleneck and provides end users with faster 3D graphics
* Industry's first 8-pixel pipeline architecture, providing twice the rendering power of any currently competing product.
* Supports the new AGP 8X standard, providing a high-speed link between the graphics board and the rest of the PC (2.0 GB/sec)

Highest Level of Realism

* First to fully support DirectX? 9.0 and the latest OpenGL? functionality
* New SMARTSHADER? 2.0 technology allows users to experience complex, movie-quality effects in next-generation 3D games and applications
* SMOOTHVISION? 2.0 technology enhances image quality by removing jagged edges and bringing out fine texture detail, without compromising performance
* 128-bit floating-point color precision allows for a greater range of colors and brightness

Revolutionary New Video Features

* Unique VIDEOSHADER? engine uses programmable pixel shaders to accelerate video processing and provide better-looking visuals
* ATI's new FULLSTREAM? technology removes blocky artifacts from Streaming and Internet video and provides sharper image quality.