Mainstream Graphics Parts Considered as High-End
 

Market shares of NVIDIA Corp. and ATI Technologies in the high-end segment of add-in graphics cards may be under question, as Mercury Research treats all graphics processors that contain more than 100 million transistors as “high-end” no matter the price and performance of those products is.

100 Million Transistors Means High-End, Says Analyst

“Mercury’s current estimates on DX9 and DX9c accelerators differentiate value and performance by transistor count, with devices at and about 100 million transistors being considered high end. This is the mythology used in the most recent data set that NVIDIA cited, and was developed for the original DX9 series of products from NVIDIA and ATI, such as the GeForce FX 5x series and the RADEON 9500/9700,” Mercury’s principal analyst told X-bit labs.

Enthusiasts and media typically considers pricing and performance as two main measurements of a products’ market positioning. Currently $399 - $499 price-range is occupied by NVIDIA’s GeForce 6800 GT/Ultra as well as ATI’s RADEON X800 PRO/XT products. Additionally, ATI and NVIDIA ship GeForce 6800, 6800 LE and RADEON X800 SE products respectively for $250 - $300. Those products offer performance similar or higher to the RADEON 9800 XT, a previous high-end offering from ATI.

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