"The stakes are high.

That's the first thing to keep in mind as you read this review and evaluate the X700 series. Ever since they launched the 9700 Pro, ATI has increasingly owned the high-end 3D market. First R300 blew the Ti 4xxx series out of the water, then NVIDIA's NV30 hit the market with all the grace of a bellyflopping whale. NV35 may have improved on NV30's performance trainwreck, but a long series of optimization controversies in multiple products damaged NVIDIA's credibility and hurt perceptions of the card. Valve's performance demonstration using a half-completed engine they billed as "ready to ship" was the final nail that left the FX series looking like an also-ran."