Radeon 9800 Pro 256MB or GeForce FX 5900 Ultra 256MB?

[vern]

I'm about to purchase one of these and virtually all benchmarks I've seen of these two cards leads me to prefer the 5900. I'd be keeping the card for awhile, so I might as well choose the best now, since it I'll be using it for some time to come. If you were purchasing either one of these cards ... which would you go with?

 

[Taurus]

looks like they're both about the same price. personally, i'd go for the 5900ultra, being that it's a tad faster..

 

[Sazar]

Originally posted by taurus
looks like they're both about the same price. personally, i'd go for the 5900ultra, being that it's a tad faster..

it is ?

 

[Sazar]

Originally posted by vern
I'm about to purchase one of these and virtually all benchmarks I've seen of these two cards leads me to prefer the 5900. I'd be keeping the card for awhile, so I might as well choose the best now, since it I'll be using it for some time to come. If you were purchasing either one of these cards ... which would you go with?

the 9800pro... in all benches so far testing for ps/vs speeds that follow the dx9 api... is faster...

in custom game demos... it is faster...

in real world gaming... it is faster...

when using true trilinear... it is faster...

the 5900ultra is faster when benchmarking... for obvious reasons (read... special attention from driver team)

btw... there are a coupla new carsd dropping shortly... consider holding off if you can for the next round if you can...

 

[vern]

Re: Re: Radeon 9800 Pro 256MB or GeForce FX 5900 Ultra 256MB?

Originally posted by Sazar
btw... there are a coupla new carsd dropping shortly... consider holding off if you can for the next round if you can...

Any ideas when these will come out? Any links perhaps?

 

[Taurus]

Originally posted by Sazar
the 9800pro... in all benches so far testing for ps/vs speeds that follow the dx9 api... is faster...

in custom game demos... it is faster...

in real world gaming... it is faster...

when using true trilinear... it is faster...

the 5900ultra is faster when benchmarking... for obvious reasons (read... special attention from driver team)

btw... there are a coupla new carsd dropping shortly... consider holding off if you can for the next round if you can...

seems faster in opengl game-based benchmarks, from the multiple reviews i'm looking at.

iq is another issue, though. as is direct3d performance--looks like ati barely takes the cake there.

 

[Valone]

it is faster, but the noise (yes it's still noisy, but not near as bad a s before) and the image quality? I think the radeon would be a better choice, much cleaner 2D and 3D in most cases

 

[Sazar]

Originally posted by taurus
seems faster in opengl game-based benchmarks, from the multiple reviews i'm looking at.

iq is another issue, though. as is direct3d performance--looks like ati barely takes the cake there.

really ?

that is interesting...

when the 5900ultra first came out it was crowned as the fastest gpu on the block...

once the driver irregularities were compensated for the 9700pro was beating it in most situations...

once the compensation for the compensation for the driver irregularities was found by nvidia they are once again a fair bit faster...

and then the compensation for the compensation for the compensation.... I think you get my drift...

the reviewers that frequent the tech sites I go to... generally all state the same thing... really depends how blind they are to 'optimizations' in benchmarking alone...

in game... the raddy is faster... or on par with the 5900ultra...

openGL uses more proprietary coding/paths than dx9 which is more standardised... and therefore it is likely that the nv35 may be faster or appear faster... especially in benches...

consider the 2 top benches used round the web... 3dmark03... we know what happens there...

ut2k3... we also know what happens there (bilinear v/s trilinear)

@ the end of the day.. they are both blazing fast cards... but it is really hard for me to say the 5900ultra is the top of the pack when I know the kind of stuff nvidia engages in actively to perpetuate this myth...

 

[Sazar]

Originally posted by Valone
it is faster, but the noise (yes it's still noisy, but not near as bad a s before) and the image quality? I think the radeon would be a better choice, much cleaner 2D and 3D in most cases

noise is not an issue...

the IQ is an issue in some games/situations but generally the 2d IQ and 3d IQ @ highest LOD and res is quite similar...

 

[vern]

After reading this:

http://tech-report.com/etc/2003q2/3dmurk03/index.x?pg=1

... I'm beginning to favor the 9800 Pro 256 more and more.

 

[Sazar]

Originally posted by vern
After reading this:

http://tech-report.com/etc/2003q2/3dmurk03/index.x?pg=1

... I'm beginning to favor the 9800 Pro 256 more and more.

that report isn't the half of it...

but it was the first major expose of what was being done @ santa clara...

there are a few other 'tweaks' utilised that are iffy @ best...