ATI or NVidia

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Mr. Bananagrabber
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Hey Guys,
I've been out of the loop for sometime but I think it's about that time that I build me a new desktop, and coming to the graphics card I have no clue anymore. Should I get an ATI or should I get an Nvidia, i've been an nvidia user for a long time, but since I'm putting an AMD phenom processor in it, and since AMD owns ATI i was wondering if it would work better with the ATI, or if ATI simply had a better card out right now.

Any suggestions?

-Jack
 
ATI for decent drivers, nVidia for bruteforce :)

Oh and you want intel core 2 not amd phenomenal failure...
 
Well, I'm definitely gonna get an AMD phenom, because I wouldn't buy an intel if you paid me to.

Bad experiences + waste of money = intel

;P

Its just my preference.

I think I'll go with NVidia though.
 
I have always personally had a better experience with Nvidia, and have always preferred their drivers to ATIs too! Mind you I was not using Vista in the early days which seems to be where most of the anti nvidia driver comments come from.

As for processor seriously, consider Intel.
 
noo.. seriously vanq, u cant go wrong with a core 2

as for gpu.. how much are u willing to spend?

btw.. everyone likes ati drivers better... why?
useless monthly releases.. only 1 in 5 actually have decent fixes or new features
 
noo.. seriously vanq, u cant go wrong with a core 2

as for gpu.. how much are u willing to spend?

btw.. everyone likes ati drivers better... why?
useless monthly releases.. only 1 in 5 actually have decent fixes or new features
Alright, so I guess I'm sticking with Nvidia, do you think I need a gb card of can I get a 9800 gtx thats 512mb?

(If I do this I will probably be SLIing it at some later date.)

And I appreciate your suggestions on Intel, but I am not considering it.


I was looking at Cnet and they have their best 300 dollar card is the Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 X2

Intel has lost a customer for good.

Thanks for all your help.
-Jack

I've been looking around at graphics cards and I really have no idea whats going on anymore (been using a laptop a little too long)

Price no longer seems to matter because back when I bought my card it was 400 bucks and there were much more expensive cards, now it seems the good ones are 300????

I was looking at Cnet and they have their best 300 dollar card is the Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 X2, which they say is comparable to the GTX280 (which is like 600 bucks) and heftily better than the GTX 260 core 216 SE which is in the same price range as the ATI.
 
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nvidia drivers still cause that crash and reset error, though not as frequently as they used to.

ATI can crunch shaders till the cows come home but trip up on texture processing power. nVidia is the oposite.

Since games use more textures then shaders you will have a better expericance with the nvidia card if you don't mind the odd driver related crash now and then.
 
nvidia drivers still cause that crash and reset error, though not as frequently as they used to.

ATI can crunch shaders till the cows come home but trip up on texture processing power. nVidia is the oposite.

Since games use more textures then shaders you will have a better expericance with the nvidia card if you don't mind the odd driver related crash now and then.
lol, I don't mind that driver crash every now and then, considering I don't play games all that much and just want the ability to do so.

Thanks,
Jack
 
nvidia drivers still cause that crash and reset error, though not as frequently as they used to.

ATI can crunch shaders till the cows come home but trip up on texture processing power. nVidia is the oposite.

Since games use more textures then shaders you will have a better expericance with the nvidia card if you don't mind the odd driver related crash now and then.

I have never had this happen with my 8800GT.
Not even once and I play games with all the candy turned on.
 
I run 2x8800gts and have never had any troubles with it either ... NVIDIA + INTEL = FTW
 
Last I heard ATI cards still run hotter than Nvidia for the same performance. Heat=GPU death.

If you are building a multimedia system ATI is probably a better choice.

Since gaming is a secondary concern it really doesn't matter which brand you get, performacne wise they will both be fast.

Keep in mind AMD/ATI is on the brink of bankruptcy and has been for 2 years. They are selling off assets rtying to survive. So don't depend on them to be around for warantee, upgrade parts or improved drivers. I got bit by Voodoo going out of buisiness.

Check out the performance results on Tom's Hardware. They have a wide spread of charts that will show relative performance between what you have and what you are looking at. They also recommend the "best card for each price range". Read the results and make your own choice based on their info. Sometimes their recommendaitons are off the wall.

Happy upgrading.
 
if you want the best bang for your buck, i suggest either of these

ati HD4870
or
nvidia 9800 GTX+

i think 512mb should be enough.. unless u run super high resolutions with everything maxed, filters, etc (but they have to be really high)
 
Thanks, that seems to be what I am considering.

AMD ain't goin nowhere, btw.

They just finished authorizing their deal to sell 40% of the manufacturing company to some middle eastern company. This takes out much of the cost for AMD, but they still control the company, not to mention, they only sold part of the manufacturing company. Not the company as a whole.

In short, I'm not worried.

Hell, I invested in sirius at 10 cents a share when people thought that was gone, but then. Liberty Media to the rescue.

:p
 
if you want the best bang for your buck, i suggest either of these

ati HD4870
or
nvidia 9800 GTX+

i think 512mb should be enough.. unless u run super high resolutions with everything maxed, filters, etc (but they have to be really high)

Those are 2 entirely different types of cards.

The 9800 GTX is essentially an 8 series card that Nvidia rebranded.

The 260 or 280 GTX cards are the competitors for the 4870 :)

The 260 GTX 216 is pretty good value for the money.
 
true.. but the lowest u can get a 260/216 for is 214 $

while u can snag a 4870 for 164$


quite a difference to me
 
I have many OpenGL games including Doom 3 and Quake 4 but have never had any problems with the video driver.

Maybe I will try one of those games you listed and see what happens.
 

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