HYPERZ II:

HYPERZ II is an update to the HYPERZ technology found in current RADEON products, and it improves the RADEON 8500's memory bandwidth. It consists of three components:

• The Hierarchical Z-buffer addresses the problem of redrawing by operating on 4x4 blocks of pixels instead of the legacy RADEON's 8x8 blocks. Smaller blocks means less data that has be redrawn when hidden pixels are going undetected. This lets it discard 64 pixels per clock, in comparison to legacy RADEONs' ability to discard 8 pixels per clock and the GeForce 3's ability to discard 14 pixels per clock.
• Z-Buffer Decompression: This makes use of a more efficient compression algorithm and allows for lossless compression to be used on the Z-Buffer.
• Fast Z-Buffer Clears: This allows the RADEON 8500 to avoid writing zeros to the Z-Buffer to clear it after each frame, thereby improving memory efficiency.

CHARISMA II:

ATI's second-generation version CHARISMA II engine improves T&L performance, upping its processing power to 62.5 million triangles per second.

PIXEL TAPESTRY II:

Their PIXEL TAPESTRY II architecture features four programmable pixel pipelines with six textures per pipelines; but with the now-stand disclaimer that this will require DirectX 8.1.

VIDEO IMMERSION II:

VIDEO IMMERSION II is ATI's implementation of the onboard hardware MPEG-2 decoding and HDTV support. In this go-around, the technology offers Enhanced Adaptive De-interlacing and Temporal De-interlacing, improving upon the already high-level of quality we've come to expect from ATI video cards when it comes to things like DVD decoding. And if you have an HDTV-ready TV, it might be weeks before anyone sees you again, as ATI promises that you'll experience a level of gaming that will make your jaw drop.

HYDRAVISION:

HYDRAVISION allows the RADEON 8500 to support two displays at once, using two of its video output ports simultaneously and independently. So if you have both a CRT and a flat-panel, you can use both, each at its own resolution.

The RADEON 8500 is priced at $399, on part with GeForce 3 prices (some cost more, some less). And remember... to compare apples to apples, make sure you're looking at retail pricing, here, as OEM pricing is invariably lower.

Well if you've been hearing the rumors that the RADEON 7500, also known as the RV200, is based on the existing RADEON core and architecture, we can confirm that it's true. But don't think that will translate into the same performance you'd come to expect from a legacy RADEON. With its 270MHz core, 230/460MHz DDR Memory, this new standard in mid-range/mainstream graphics will offer 40 million triangles/second fill rates, 8.8GB/sec memory bandwidth, VGA-out, DVI-out, and TV-out with ATI's signature on-board DVD playback.

And best of all, this card that leaves previous-generation cards in its dust comes it at only $199, half the price of the RADEON 8500, less than the retail cost of a GeForce2 Pro, and only a bit more than Kyro 2-based cards that can't touch its performance.