Author Topic: ATI compared to nVidia? (Read 528 times)

Krusty · « **on:** February 03, 2005, 02:09:26 PM »

I'm not totally up on the differences. I know that ATI is supposed to work in a higher bit depht or bit rate (32 bit color and I think 32/64bit textures or some such -- hell if I know). But from what I've experienced personally the nVidia drivers allow so much more performance over time than you ever paid for in the first place. Hell I was running AH2 on a 32MB Ge256 DDR before I upgraded. Only reason I COULD run it, and other games, was because the nVidia drivers quintuppled the default capabilities of the card. HELL I had FSAA on that puppy!!!!! (I'd not use it, but it did it!).

So basically I've heard good things from both followings. Some say ATI is the shiznit, that it's more powerful than the most recent nVidia cards. Some say that nVidia may be a bit slower to put cards out, but they generally provide better quality in the long run.

Two questions:

What is the latest ATI card? nVidia?

What differences would there be in choosing one over the other, if I were thinking/planning about setting up a new system. How would top of the line games like Half-Life2 or AH2 compare/differ if I chose one over the other?

indy007 · « **Reply #1 on:** February 03, 2005, 02:16:59 PM »

Start here

Depends on the game you're playing for the most part. Some take better advantage of nVidia hardware (Doom 3), and some are faster with ATI cards (FarCry).

The fastest nVidia out right now: 6800 Ultra
The fastest ATI out right now: X800 XT PE

humble · « **Reply #2 on:** February 03, 2005, 04:43:31 PM »

Personally I've always always been a Nvidia guy...this (X800 pro) is 1st ATI card I've bought for me (sons box has an all in wonder card). From what I could gather at the moment it was the best bang for the buck....

StarOfAfrica2 · « **Reply #3 on:** February 03, 2005, 05:11:52 PM »

"Fastest" also depends on whether you are talking PCI express, SLI or AGP. In the high end cards like the Nvidia 6800's, or the ATI x800 cards, PCI express is faster than the comparable AGP version of the same card, and SLI is even faster yet. Talking a game like Doom3, Nvidia pretty much takes it. But the you go to one like Unreal Tournament and at the highest resolutions and "eye candy" settings, the x800 just edges out the 6800 (in AGP anyway, in PCI express/SLI its just the opposite).

Its mostly a matter of personal preference. I prefer Nvidia. There are lots of guys who are pro-ATI. I hear people all the time say stuff like "oh, I may have to switch, so and so holds the edge right now". They've been see-sawing back and forth for a few years now. Bottom line is, research your buy and go for what you like. If you buy an Nvidia card, and its the hottest now, in 6 months ATI will have one thats faster than the best Nvidia card. Or they will put out a better driver. Whatever. 6 Months after THAT, the other one will be on top again.

Skuzzy · « **Reply #4 on:** February 03, 2005, 05:13:24 PM »

Everyone has an opinion about what card is best and what company makes the best.

Generally speaking, OpenGL based applications/games will run better on NVidia cards, while DirectX9 applications/games will run better on ATI cards. That is a general rule, not a hard, fast law.

Also, ATI tends to run better in Intel systems than in AMD systems, while NVidia tends to run better in AMD systems versus Intel.

Now, both companies have there share of oops! products. NVidia's FX5xxx line was/is the worst product they put on the market. Many things wrong in that family will never be corrected due to bad design choices. However, they recovered with the FX6xxx family nicely.

ATI's low-mid range line right now is pretty bad. ATI also decided PCI-E is the way to go and quit making AGP cards in the next generation high end product. Bad call on thier part, but OEM's will eat them up, leaving the after-market AGP to NVidia.

In drivers, NVidia has been making some errors with the latest releases. Not sure why that is happening, and ATI is still pretty solid, as long as you avoid thier Catalyst (should be Cataclysmic) Control Center.

Who is best? It really depends on your application. You can find a good product from both companies depending on what your goal is.

buzkill · « **Reply #5 on:** February 03, 2005, 05:36:35 PM »

i agree with the opinion on control center..tried it twice and it corrupted my system....even had to reformat to get rid of it once. my first ati card was a 9200se....my 5 year old gf4mx 440 actually out performed that ****. now i'm using a sapphire 9600xt and it does just fine with every game i try....painkiller, doom 3, it loves call of duty uo, and cost $130. and it can be flashed to open the other 4 pipelines (at the cost of lifespan) and turn into basically a 9800 pro. i'll stick with ati

Curval · « **Reply #6 on:** February 03, 2005, 06:35:42 PM »

Got me one of them there XT800 ATI cards.

It freaking ROCKS.

38ruk · « **Reply #7 on:** February 03, 2005, 07:33:22 PM »

i just upgraded a 9800pro to a evga 6800, and i am very pleased. The 6800 is the best bang for the buck right now in my opinion . i paid 250 after 50 rebate . in 3dmark 03 it scores 10900, while my 9800 was at 5800 . Ati just doesnt have a card in the mid range that can compete with the plain 6800's
38

Grits · « **Reply #8 on:** February 03, 2005, 09:41:42 PM »

I dont have a favorite between ATI or nVidia, but right now I agree with 38ruk, I have a plain 6800 and it can not be touched right now in performance for the dollar IMO.

Soda · « **Reply #9 on:** February 03, 2005, 10:48:13 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Curval
Got me one of them there XT800 ATI cards.

It freaking ROCKS.

I managed to lay my hands on an X850XT last weekend... has been awesome so far.

Honestly, the 6800 line and X800 line are both very good cards... I don't know that there is a huge difference (some games work better in one, some in the other...)

-Soda

Callisto · « **Reply #10 on:** February 04, 2005, 10:24:51 AM »

Nvidia is apparently better for multi monitor gaming.
While all games with multi monitor support work fine on Nvidia, some dont work at all on ATI cards.(something to do with the way ATI does multimonitor support)

I got ATI 9700pro now,but i think my next card will be Nvidia.

715 · « **Reply #11 on:** February 04, 2005, 11:29:28 PM »

Is it still true that AHII does better on NVidea than ATI? I know my 9600XT does not do at all well in AHII despite my 2.8GHz CPU.

StarOfAfrica2 · « **Reply #12 on:** February 05, 2005, 12:56:44 AM »

You have to realize just because you have a 9600 doesnt mean your performance is the same as anyone else with a 9600. The different versions of the same family card use different processors. Also, some manufacturers can use only a 64-bit interface for the VPU to memory on the card, causing it to run really slow (saves them money though so they make a bigger profit off you). IIRC, the 9600 Pro blows the 9600XT out of the water, almost like they were different cards. Really, they are. Thats not unusual for most card series, on both sides of the fence. Its value vs performance. And alot of times, you get what you pay for.

Siaf__csf · « **Reply #13 on:** February 05, 2005, 05:55:10 AM »

All the nvidia cards that I ever owned had _HORRIBLE_ 2D image quality.

I refuse to watch the blurry letters and images on my screen again. Nvidia cards make you think you need glasses when you see the image of your brand new crt screen. Pop in an Ati - and you have sharp and crisp images on the same screen.

Nvidia has to be half price, double speed and sugarcoated before I'll buy one - and even then I'll have to check the IQ before even considering one.