It's just marketing IMO. ATi's going to be releasing a whole new series of cards, and traditionally that means much more power, because that's what always happens. But in this case I think it's just because they've finally worked out how to create 8-series performance that doesn't require earmuffs.

Nvidia may follow suit - after all, the new 8800 cards are based on the new G9x core rather than an improved G8x core.

Quote: Originally Posted by s1ugh34d Sounds interesting. With the latest UT3 beta demo benchmarks, I might be getting a 2600 XT card awful soon.

Please don't get a 2600XT. It can't even punch it's way out of a Shader Model 3.0 paper bag, let alone handle UT3 properly. Nvidia and ATi are launching a whole slew of new cards late this month, so wait and see what happens.