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Unreal Tournament 2003 Demo |
The Gloves Come
Off |
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Raw
benchmark data aside, the difference between RADEON
9100 and 865G in Unreal Tournament 2003 is playable
performance versus unacceptable frame rates.
This is a perfect example of ATI's integrated solution
pushing admirable numbers in what is generally
regarded as an intense game.
Conclusion:
ATI's
reputation as a force to be reckoned with in the
Motherboard Chipset business, has really only
materialized in the past year. Before that...
Well, that's water under the bridge, isn't it?
Not content with its performance in the graphics
market alone, ATI has revised its chipset lineup to
include the RADEON 9100 IGP, and from what we can
tell, this will be the platform to own if you're an
entry-level gamer on a budget. Now that ATI has
added official 800MHz front side bus support to its
repertoire, our only real complaint is a
somewhat-outdated IXP. Of course, ATI plans to
rectify that situation later this year.
And don't
think that ATI will stop at the Pentium 4 market.
In a recent chat with ATI representatives, it was
divulged that the Canadian firm is currently working
on an Athlon 64-compliant chipset as well. We
aren't sure if it will sport an integrated graphics
core, though.
For now,
dedicated gamers (that is, those who save their
pennies for the latest and greatest) should still look
for a discrete AGP card to power the coming generation
of games. The RADEON 9100 IGP isn't going to
serve up stunning frame rates, but it does show
promise as a high-performance platform with graphics
that should more than satiate home and business users.
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