As expected, ATI have launched 3 new cards in order to make many of the Radeon 9700 PRO features available at better value. Launched less than three months ago the 9700 PRO was claimed to be the design that would make ATI a strong contender in the graphics market and it seems to be doing just that. This new range of products aims to capture the mainstream market and to push ATI into pure nVidia market territory.
The cards concerned are the RADEON 9500 PRO, the world's first DirectX 9.0 visual processing unit (VPU) for the performance mainstream market. In addition, ATI launched the RADEON 9500 and RADEON 9700 VPUs.
We have accomplished a tremendous feat - one never seen before in the industry - by driving our high-end product features into the mainstream market while maintaining the lead in the enthusiast market, said David Orton, President and Chief Operating Officer, ATI Technologies Inc. We are strongly positioned as 'the king of graphics.' Once again, we are leading the industry by being the first to drive DirectX 9.0 support into the mainstream, and offering high-end features to that market.
Microsoft's DirectX 9.0 is the platform for which many game developers are creating their new titles, and ATI's RADEON 9500 PRO is the only product on the market that allows performance mainstream users to access high-end DirectX 9.0 features - giving them a high-end gaming experience at a more affordable price-point. Driving DirectX 9.0 support into the performance mainstream means a larger market will have the ability to enable features programmed specifically for the DirectX 9.0 platform.
We applaud ATI's continued support of Microsoft DirectX, said Dean Lester, General Manager of Graphics and Gaming Technologies, Microsoft Corporation. ATI's new RADEON 9500 PRO hardware combined with the capabilities of the latest Microsoft DirectX 9.0 will provide gamers the most robust and immersive gaming experience available to date.
ATI's RADEON 9500 PRO sets a new standard for the performance mainstream with the introduction of DirectX 9.0 support, eight rendering pipelines, 275/550 clock speed, AGP 4X/8X compatibility and 128-bit memory architecture combined with 128MB fast DDR memory. The RADEON 9500, available exclusively through add-in-board partners, offers many of the same features with four rendering pipelines and 64MB fast DDR memory.
The third new product, RADEON 9700, will also be available through add-in-board partners. It features DirectX 9.0 support, eight rendering pipelines, AGP 4X/8X compatibility, 256-bit memory architecture, 128MB fast DDR memory, and clock speeds of 275/550.
Game developers around the world are thrilled by the RADEON 9500 PRO and the incredible features it offers to the mainstream. More importantly, users with a RADEON 9500 PRO, RADEON 9500 or RADEON 9700 card will benefit from the long-term use of DirectX 9.0, as the greatly anticipated platform will remain the most advanced on the market for a minimum of two years.
This is awesome news, to see progress into the mainstream so quickly, said John Talley, Director of Technology, Ion Storm. We're really excited to see next generation DirectX 9.0 graphics hardware brought into the mainstream, because it means that more people will be able to experience the full visual impact of our games as we push the envelope of current hardware capabilities.
The RADEON 9500 series enables game developers to write advanced procedural shaders that will be commonplace in games in the future, said Ryan Prescott, Software Engineer, Core Technology, NCSoft Austin. The RADEON 9500 series are serious gaming boards that give the best bang for buck available today. A real contender!
The RADEON 9500 and RADEON 9700 are bringing ATI back into the fore of the computer graphics industry, said Duncan Hopkins, Lead PC Programmer, Core Design. Their power and features allow users to run present games to the MAX. The next generation of games, like Core Design's Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness, that use Microsoft's new DirectX 9.0 allow the RADEON 9700 to show its real abilities.
ATI is firing on all cylinders, delivering high-end features and architecture to the mainstream in record time, said Rick Bergman, Senior Vice President, Marketing and General Manager, Desktop, ATI Technologies Inc. With the RADEON 9500 PRO, we have taken the lead in the high-end mainstream market. Our continued domination with the RADEON 9700 PRO and now with these derivatives confirms that we are taking over in all markets. The industry wanted something more powerful than ever, and we delivered - the design wins we continue to accumulate are strong proof of that.
In keeping with its aggressive strategy to blanket the mainstream, high end and value markets with industry-leading product, ATI is partnering with add-in-board manufacturers on its second simultaneous worldwide launch - featuring the new RADEON 9500 and / or the RADEON 9700. Add-in-board manufacturers include:
Connect 3D
CP Technologies
FIC
Gigabyte
Hercules
Hightech
Sapphire
Wistron
Yuan
ATI's latest introductions target lower, more affordable price points, said Dean McCarron, President, Mercury Research. The RADEON 9500 PRO has made the latest in DirectX 9.0 technology accessible to the high-volume mainstream of the graphics market. ATI is now supplying products for every segment of the industry.
The RADEON 9500 PRO has a suggested retail price (SRP) of $199, after manufacturer's rebate, and will begin shipping within 30 days. RADEON 9500 has an SRP of $179 and RADEON 9700 has an SRP of $299 - both are shipping now to add-in-board partners and should be available immediately.
