Currently using Nvidia but looking to switch to AMD

[Majcric]

I have used Nvidia for all my computer builds over the years. But lately, I've been thinking about trying an AMD card, however, I'm clueless about what to expect from them. The only thing Ive really heard point blank are that AMD drivers are not on par with Nvidia.

I'm kind of interested in replacing my current card with a 7950/7970 or if i find a deal maybe a 6970.

 

[vdgamer]

i used ati for years, until about 1yr ago, and i must admit switching from ati(now amd) to nvidia was i smart choice for me at least from gaming standpoint, 5xxx series from amd did have a lot of driver issues, i hear its better with 6xxx series, but amd still doesnt have an option for creating individual profiles for games/programs, which is very useful for games, especially using nvidia inspector, which gives you even more options than control panel does when it comes to profile customizing

 

[nitromullet]

I'm pretty impressed with the current state of AMD drivers (at least for single cards). I grabbed a 6950 recently after selling an NVIDIA card, and I'd have to say that in terms of drivers they are about equal at this point.

AMD just added profiles into their drivers also. Cat 12.1 preview. They are available for download here: http://support.amd.com/us/kbarticles/Pages/Catalyst121Previewdriver.aspx

 

[Obsoleet]

I had SLI in the past, and usually have had single Nvidia cards cuz I don't like multicard solutions.

I started finding a lot more driver problems with my 8800GTX and became more interested in trying ATI again with the 4870's release. I waited until the 5870 to try it out, and I don't regret it. I'm still using it to this day and don't plan on buying another card until I build my Haswell rig.
NV drivers got even worse with the Fermi launch, so I'll more than likely be simply buying the fastest single chip solution from AMD with the new build.

I've never ran into any real problems with my 5870 from launch day onward. While there was a Nvidia driver release in the past few years that was literally overheating and killing peoples cards. http://www.zdnet.com/blog/hardware/warning-nvidia-19675-drivers-can-kill-your-graphics-card/7551

For me that was the final straw with Nvidia drivers. They both have bugs and issues, but that's just a bit extreme compared to a stupid graphic anomaly or even a crashing game. AMD has never managed to top that grand feat. And, AMD cards are great, fast and power efficient on top of it.. I see no reason to not continue exclusively buying them.

 

[ctk1981]

I've bounced back and forth between both over the years. I dont believe either one is really better than the other in the driver dept....both release drivers that can be great or horrible. But with the proper driver, I think either products hardware can get the job done ultimately. I would base it upon price, warranty, and the companies reputation when purchasing a video card. Lately I have had great luck with eVGA so thats who I go with.

 

[BD231]

Be it ATI or nVidia you're going to run into SOME driver issues that need to be fixed, I've had both for quite some time and neither have provided a perfect experience. Both however, worked well enough to be considered a good product. I also don't think you can lump in hardware failure with drivers considering the widely known power issue's fermi went through upon release. Fermi was a failure from a hardware standpoint since its inception which was a mess all its own.

At this point the only reason I'd recomend AMD is because I'm talking to an inexpeirenced user who might not know how to fix a thermal issue inside his case should he run into one. The less calls I get the better.

 

[amenx]

Fermi was a failure from a hardware standpoint since its inception which was a mess all its own.

At this point the only reason I'd recomend AMD is because I'm talking to an inexpeirenced user who might not know how to fix a thermal issue inside his case should he run into one. The less calls I get the better.

Other than the 470/480 that had higher thermals/power envelopes than other cards, Fermi as a whole, which includes the 5xx series, is quite a success. There are no problems with 5xx series thermals, which are perhaps better than all preceding Nvidia generations. Whatever 'thermal issues' an 'inexperienced user' may encounter are no more likely to occur with current Nvidia cards than AMD ones.

 

[Mistwalker]

Honestly both are solid options these days, AMD's drivers have been solid for a long time and the one area they did really lack (multi-GPU profiles) looks to finally be in the works.

If you're a single GPU user, drivers really shouldn't be a factor IMHO.

 

[jacktesterson]

I've literally had dozens of setups before losing my office space, and I've never had any issues with AMD/ATI cards.

I've owned 5850, 5870, 6950's, 6990, 5970, 6850, 6790s, 5830s... wish I was joking. I like to buy and sell.

 

[Arkadrel]

I used to own strickly nvidia cards,... my 5870 was my first AMD one.
(well had ATI back before 3d was really a hit)

I think it was a great buy, to this day. So much so that Im sticking with AMD from now on, unless nvidia comes out with a card in my price range with better performance/$ than AMD ones in same price range.

on drivers? I think its horsec*ck that AMD drivers are bad, thats just good FUD (fear-uncertainty-doubt) spread by nvidia and people that like nvidia cards (fanboys). Driver wise, their both on the same level.

 

[BD231]

Other than the 470/480 that had higher thermals/power envelopes than other cards, Fermi as a whole, which includes the 5xx series, is quite a success. There are no problems with 5xx series thermals, which are perhaps better than all preceding Nvidia generations. Whatever 'thermal issues' an 'inexperienced user' may encounter are no more likely to occur with current Nvidia cards than AMD ones.

That's why I said upon release, did u miss that? And yeah I guess if I were you I'd never mind u need two PCI-E power connecters for a GTX 460 and only one for a 6850 which lets you get away with a cheaper PSU. Hell .... if I were u I guess I wouldn't even care that on average a 6850 pulls anywhere from 50 to 70 watts less than a GTX 460 at load. That's like what, around 100 to 140 watts less heat dissapation/power consumption in your case if you go dual gpu than the competitor for about the same or better performance right?

. 560Ti, the successor to the 460, pulls 20 watts more than a gtx 460 -____-

 

[Genx87]

I used a 4850 for about 18 months. The drivers were fine. Their CCC was a giant bug ridden pile of crap.

 

[dust]

^ Can you elaborate? I've been using CCC for almost three years now, and I have yet to discover something terrible about it.

 

[Arkadrel]

The worst thing about CCC is that it takes up like 80mb... so its kinda a memory hog.
But today most people have like 8gigs of ram, so... meh.

 

[brandonb]

I have used AMD and Nvidia (have both now in separate computers). Both have their annoyances and small issues but for the most part both work just fine.

I actually prefer the AMD hardware. I recently bought a 6850 for a new computer (in sig) as "best bang for the buck" until 28nm tech is out. I'm actually very impressed by the performance for the $120 card. It's just as good as the 5850 I bought 3 years ago for $300. My Laptop has Nvidia 460m, while its a bit slower, has been decent as well for a laptop card.

AMD did have some driver hiccups early this year, but have been cleaned up during the last 6 months or so, and are getting stronger the last few releases, but compare AMD to NVIDIA a few years ago, and NVIDIA drivers were horsecrap (50% of Windows Vista crashes were due to NVIDIA drivers crashing according to Microsoft).

So things fluxuate from time to time with both companies. But right now, AMD is getting their act together after having some issues earlier this year. I don't see any major driver issues from either company at this point.

 

[Genx87]

^ Can you elaborate? I've been using CCC for almost three years now, and I have yet to discover something terrible about it.

I had issues with it causing driver failures, generating unbelieable amount of errors in the log when watching movies, and general unstableness. After uninstalling CCC the card performed 100% fine.

 

[Mem]

I had issues with it causing driver failures, generating unbelieable amount of errors in the log when watching movies, and general unstableness. After uninstalling CCC the card performed 100% fine.

I never had any issues with CCC over the years infact only time I ever had major issues was with Nvidia 7800GT card that kept having random freezes,it was not the drivers however that was the issue but the factory overclock which I had to reduce by 10mhz to fix the issue,so anybody with factory overclocked cards do some testing to make sure your cards are stable..


As to AMD or Nvidia well I do own both and I'm always going back and forth between the two(when I upgrade my video cards),personally both have been solid I won't say they are perfect because we all know they both release newer drivers with bug fixes/performance improvements etc....I do like AMD's monthly release of newer drivers.


Nowadays drivers from both Nvidia and AMD are about the same IMHO ie both generally solid so most complaints are probably hardware or game related rather then the actual driver in question.

 

[Genx87]

I never had any issues with CCC over the years infact only time I ever had major issues was with Nvidia 7800GT card that kept having random freezes,it was not the drivers however that was the issue but the factory overclock which I had to reduce by 10mhz to fix the issue,so anybody with factory overclocked cards do some testing to make sure your cards are stable...

Good for you, I didnt have your experience.

 

[Smartazz]

I've never had driver problems with my 7800GT, 7900GT, 8800GTS or GTX 260. With my 6870, the only driver problem I had was very minor and it was fixed. If an internet browser window was open with flash running, the card would downclock. The only time this was a problem was when I left Chrome open while playing a game. So yeah, not a big issue but it was dealt with by AMD.

 

[Obsoleet]

I used to own strickly nvidia cards,... my 5870 was my first AMD one.
(well had ATI back before 3d was really a hit)

I think it was a great buy, to this day. So much so that Im sticking with AMD from now on, unless nvidia comes out with a card in my price range with better performance/$ than AMD ones in same price range.

on drivers? I think its horsec*ck that AMD drivers are bad, thats just good FUD (fear-uncertainty-doubt) spread by nvidia and people that like nvidia cards (fanboys). Driver wise, their both on the same level.

There's no question at this point AMD drivers are superior. They've never killed their own cards through a driver release. Each have their own bugs.
Killing cards with a WHQL driver release is a level of incompetence that AMD nor ATI ever achieved.

Good for you, I didnt have your experience.

Shocking. Without question, this is a PEBKAC error.

^ Can you elaborate? I've been using CCC for almost three years now, and I have yet to discover something terrible about it.

QFT

 

[Genx87]

Shocking. Without question, this is a PEBKAC error.

kk

 

[dust]

I had issues with it causing driver failures, generating unbelieable amount of errors in the log when watching movies, and general unstableness. After uninstalling CCC the card performed 100% fine.

One thing that I did notice was that CCC and Afterburner don't always play nice together. If you overclocked the card and used Afterburner for it, that might explain it.

 

[Genx87]

One thing that I did notice was that CCC and Afterburner don't always play nice together. If you overclocked the card and used Afterburner for it, that might explain it.

The card was at stock. Maybe the card was bad, maybe CCC at the time sucked. Either way after I uninstalled it, the card and drivers worked flawlessly for 18 months. I dont really care about why, only know it happened. And the OP was asking about driver issues with ATI cards. Drivers were fine in my experience. CCC was not.

 

[GaiaHunter]

The worst thing about CCC is that it takes up like 80mb... so its kinda a memory hog.
But today most people have like 8gigs of ram, so... meh.

80-100mb when it is open.

Running on the background it varies between 3-30mb.

 

[JimmiG]

I've been switching between AMD/ATI and Nvidia quite frequently. Personally I find the drivers quite similar. Maybe AMD is a bit slower to optimize for newer titles. Every time a new game is released, AMD cards don't perform quite as well as they should for 4-6 weeks. It seems AMD's philosophy is to wait until the game is released before they put out drivers for it, where as Nvidia makes sure it works great in advance.

One advantage of AMD is the monthly driver update schedule. With Nvidia you never know, there could be a new driver in 4 weeks, or 4 months...

My last card was a 4850, my current one is a GTX460. Whoever delivers the best price/performance in the $200-250 segment gets my money the next round.