Do you agree with AMD's new GPU naming scheme?

[yogurt_21]

in the end your typical computer buyer gets prebuilts so the only people buying these cards are oems and those who build their own rigs. in both cases I think they can figure it out lol.


while 8 has certainly been the performance/highend for more generations 9800XT,X800XT,X1800XT,3870, 4870,5870; we did have the X1900XTX and 2900XT as well. while there was no 2800 the x1800gto was still sold alongside the x1900's

being that prior to the 2900-3870 debacle the naming had been going up in number


long
starting with the R100 which orginally retailed as simply Radeon (either 32 or 64mb) then was rebaged as 7200 for the next launch a few months later and then again as 7000 respectively below the radeon 7500 (RV200) when it came out. then the R200 was the radeon 8500 , making 2 releases of X500 as the highend
we then moved to the 9700 pro release (r300) which was the only generation to have X700 as the lead card and the X500 was moved to midrange. It was revamped under the R350 and R360 X500 and X700 removed and replaced with X800 and X600 which would stay for the next few gens (though the X700 pro was a midrange inbetween the X800pro and X600XT). R420/480, R520 and then got changed up with the R520 revamp as R580 when we got the X1900series still keeping the X1600's from the R520 lineup. the X900 and X600 naming stuck through the R600 and then changed back to X800 and X600 for the RV670/R680 lineup. this of course kept through the R700/RV770 lineup, and the current Hemlock/Cypress lineup.
/long

short
R100 = X200 highend
R200 = X500 highend
R300 = X700 highend followed by X800 highend
R400 = X800 highend
R500 = X1800 highend followed by X1900 highend
R600 = X900 highend followed by X800 highend
R700 = X800 highend
R800 more commonly Hemlock/Cypress = X800 highend
R900 ? more commonly Antilles/Caymen = X900 highend
/short


the thing is going from an X800 highend to X900 highend is minor but changing gpu code names commonly used from their R numbers to their names is a bigger change and no one bitched about that. the r600 was codenamed fudo and yet we all used r600 when refering to the gpu, yet somehow no one uses rv870, they use cypress and no one uses r800, they use hemlock.

to me I'd be more curious why ati is not using the generational names for radeon as much.

[Lionheart]

I wouldn't say its confusing unless you haven't been following the HD6xxx series cards, I find it annoying but I had the same reaction with the HD5970 instead of calling it the HD5870X2, but I got over it pretty quickly which I see myself doing with the HD6xxx series as well

[gumpty]

Originally Posted by CHAOS_KILLA

I had the same reaction with the HD5970 instead of calling it the HD5870X2, but I got over it pretty quickly which I see myself doing with the HD6xxx series as well

While not being against the naming scheme in general, I am curious as to how the naming scheme for Antilles will pan out. Are they going to revert back and call it a 6970x2 or 6990? Personally I think the 'x2' is a much better naming convention for dual-GPU parts - it also leaves room in the naming scheme for extra products or refreshes, like the 4890.
But then, what if they decided to make a dual-Barts card, what would that be called? 6870x2? Even though that part would likely be about on par or better than a vanilla 6970?

[CDdude55]

I'm surprised most people picked ''It's confusing'' for this poll.

I'm not a huge fan of the sudden name change, but my god, is it really that hard for most people to comprehend?

[cadaveca]

NO, but it's the only real thing to complain about.

[Kantastic]

Originally Posted by CHAOS_KILLA

I wouldn't say its confusing unless you haven't been following the HD6xxx series cards, I find it annoying but I had the same reaction with the HD5970 instead of calling it the HD5870X2, but I got over it pretty quickly which I see myself doing with the HD6xxx series as well

People would have bitched if it was named the 5870X2 since it doesn't, at stock, run at 5870 speeds.

[Mussels]

to the people who dont get it:


in everyo generation, the updated model was an upgrade. this already confused noobs, but at least us experienced people knew how it worked.


4770 -> 5770
4870 -> 5870
4870x2 -> 5870x2 (cough, or a 5970)


what they've done now, is fecked up that forumla. you cant use experience and logic or tradition to figure it out.

5770 -> 6850 ?
5830 -> 6870 ?
5870 -> 6890?
5970 -> 6890x2?


YES we can just google it and figure out where everything fits in the ladder, but we shouldnt have to! they shoulda stuck with the existing naming system!

[gumpty]

Originally Posted by Mussels

... they shoulda stuck with the existing naming system!

Yeah, but that is the only thing that's wrong with it - that it's different from what they used in the last few generations. By the next gen, 7000 series, if they stick with this naming scheme then it'll be logical upgrades again.
In isolation this naming scheme does make sense, it's only in the light of their recent naming/upgrade schemes that confusion arises.

[Mussels]

Originally Posted by gumpty

Yeah, but that is the only thing that's wrong with it - that it's different from what they used in the last few generations. By the next gen, 7000 series, if they stick with this naming scheme then it'll be logical upgrades again.
In isolation this naming scheme does make sense, it's only in the light of their recent naming/upgrade schemes that confusion arises.

yes, very true. i have no problem with it if they stick with it from now on

the problem is that they change the convention every second bloody generation.

(eg, 3870x2 -> 4870x2 -> 5890 -> 6870x2?)

[qu4k3r]

Originally Posted by wyverex

... i don't really like the change...

...as an informed geek, i don't mind the name... they could call the models xzy, xzz, xxz, etc and i still wouldn't care, as long as they perform well and don't cost a lot

+1

[gumpty]

Originally Posted by Mussels

i have no problem with it if they stick with it from now on

Yeah, somehow I can see us going over the same stuff in a couple of years.

Everyone does it though, it's frustrating. Just look at Nikon and their dSLRs over the past 5 years. D50 -> D60 -> D40 -> D3000 -> D3100 -> D5000 (?) ; D70 -> D80 -> D90 -> D7000

Makes AMD's name changes look utterly rational.

[Mussels]

Originally Posted by gumpty

Yeah, somehow I can see us going over the same stuff in a couple of years.

Everyone does it though, it's frustrating. Just look at Nikon and their dSLRs over the past 5 years. D50 -> D60 -> D40 -> D3000 -> D3100 -> D5000 (?) ; D70 -> D80 -> D90 -> D7000

Makes AMD's name changes look utterly rational.

lets not forget 8800GT -> 8800GTS -> 9800GT -> 9800GTX -> GT 240 -> GT 250 -> god knows what else ^^


whoever decides on product names in this world, must be shot. i dont care who they work for, they must be shot.

[Mr McC]

Originally Posted by Mussels

lets not forget 8800GT -> 8800GTS -> 9800GT -> 9800GTX -> GT 240 -> GT 250 -> god knows what else ^^


whoever decides on product names in this world, must be shot. i dont care who they work for, they must be shot.

Would you settle on a severe beating? Bullets are expensive and surely we could find more deserving targets?

[TIGR]

It's a bit annoying for me as a builder to have to explain to clients who think they know what they're talking about, when it comes to choosing a video card for their system.

But what's done is done.

[entropy13]

Originally Posted by Mussels

lets not forget 8800GT -> 8800GTS -> 9800GT -> 9800GTX -> GT 240 -> GT 250 -> god knows what else ^^


whoever decides on product names in this world, must be shot. i dont care who they work for, they must be shot.

You mean GTS 250. Not only were the numbers different, the letters (and where they are placed) are changing too

[assaulter_99]

Jeez, I'm astonished that debates are still on about this! It makes the cards feel bad though. Now I'm gonna buy a 6870 and people will surely say "oh damn, you thought it was high end uh?" when in fact I was targeting a medium range card. Its not like it performs like a 5770, price/perf, its a great card so lets put these name idiocies to bed.

[Bjorn_Of_Iceland]

As with most changes, reception will always be mixed just shows that were still alive and human XD

[thebluebumblebee]

I think I read most of the thread....

This popped into my head as I was talking to my son last night about different naming conventions and my confusion with Intel's plethora of CPU's. Remember that the 68xx's are the first AMD named GPU's. AMD's high end CPU's start with 9xx. I have an 805 sitting here that is one notch down and it has less L3 cache than the 9xx series. Therefore, I think AMD is changing the GPU numbers to match their CPU numbers. If you buy a 9xx CPU and a 69xx GPU, you have a high end AMD system. Pick a number, pick your performance level. Nice.

[Chevalr1c]

If you can play your games
With bills not too lame *
Then I would like to say
Just don't care about the name
Continuously complaining
is a little gay

*Of course I refer to both the bill for the card itself as the NRG bills it will make you get, with this line.

P.S.: Yeah I know I suck at poetry/rap

[Trigger911]

amd should just start at 1 in my honest opinion

[satelitko]

"It's confusing" but "Products & pricing justify it" plus "It actually makes more sense now" to me and after all - "NVIDIA does it all the time"!

[entropy13]

Originally Posted by satelitko

"It's confusing" but "Products & pricing justify it" plus "It actually makes more sense now" to me and after all - "NVIDIA does it all the time"!

Haven't reached the "What new naming?" stage yet it seems.

[lilkiduno]

Well I must say that I WAS one of the idiots that bought the 68XX series when they released because the past naming: 38xx, 48xx, and 58xx. So I must say that I think that it was a "tricky" move by AMD. But I am not mad at AMD at all, why because I Was the one that didn't do my research... But with that said, I had a 5850 also on the way that I had ordered efore the 6870's so I have something to tie me over until the 6970 or 6990 comes out and I will see what my wallet will allow me to get.

[tkpenalty]

Originally Posted by satelitko

"It's confusing" but "Products & pricing justify it" plus "It actually makes more sense now" to me and after all - "NVIDIA does it all the time"!

creative.

[tkpenalty]

Originally Posted by Mussels

lets not forget 8800GT -> 8800GTS -> 9800GT -> 9800GTX -> GT 240 -> GT 250 -> god knows what else ^^


whoever decides on product names in this world, must be shot. i dont care who they work for, they must be shot.

Well, I think nvidia have finally laid the good old G92 to rest with the GTS450 taking over its price range. Its doing a terrible job at it though...