Is NVIDIA better than ATI now?

[alcoholbob]

I've always been an ATI fan with the exception of the original Geforce, which was a messiah of a card. But besides the point, I see most of the benchmarks are done with AA or AA+AF in mind. If you look at the benchmarks without AA in question, all of a sudden, nVidia begins to win the majority of the benchmarks.

I chose nVidia (7800gt) this round primarily because with the newer games in question, I don't plan on playing games with fps spikes during battles. I'd rather play without AA +/or AF because as we all know IN-GAME, those lag spikes don't show up in benchmark scores since the player is on rails and the average framerate becomes a blanket statement for performance. A lot of times you'll need to turn 180 degrees *very fast*, and with settings that result in ~40fps average on a given benchmark score, you are gonna hit a momentary slideshow with 5-10fps rate at those important moments.

I'd rather pay the price of no AA/AF and get playable framerates during very fast/micro action scenes. However, *that's just me.*

 

[darXoul]

I'm interested in high end cards so I'll only briefly comment on them. ATi is slightly faster in some games, and offers better AF plus HDR with AA. However, nVidia runs quieter, has a bit better AA, a more mature dual card solution (SLI) and TBH, I don't give a damn about HDR. Therefore, nVidia for me. ATi's X1900 is a very strong performer though.

 

[envy me]

Quality wise Nvidia is complete garbage. I've rma'd my card 2 times and they have sent me 2 crap cards. Im on the third one and guess what... It's crap. I will never consider buying ANYTHING nvidia as long as I live. I've had an agp ATI card last me 6 years and I've went through 3 nvidia cards in the last 2 months.. SCREW NVIDIA!

 

[JBT]

Originally posted by: envy me

Quality wise Nvidia is complete garbage. I've rma'd my card 2 times and they have sent me 2 crap cards. Im on the third one and guess what... It's crap. I will never consider buying ANYTHING nvidia as long as I live. I've had an agp ATI card last me 6 years and I've went through 3 nvidia cards in the last 2 months.. SCREW NVIDIA!

uhhh who's the manufacter???? You might want to blam them rather than Nvidia....

 

[envy me]

Originally posted by: JBT

Originally posted by: envy me

Quality wise Nvidia is complete garbage. I've rma'd my card 2 times and they have sent me 2 crap cards. Im on the third one and guess what... It's crap. I will never consider buying ANYTHING nvidia as long as I live. I've had an agp ATI card last me 6 years and I've went through 3 nvidia cards in the last 2 months.. SCREW NVIDIA!

uhhh who's the manufacter???? You might want to blam them rather than Nvidia....

EVGA... I realize they have excellent RMA service, but I've already spent $60 on shipping (canada to US) and I refuse to spend any more money. Hopefully I can sell this garbage on ebay to someone and buy a decent ATI card instead.

 

[Bull Dog]

Sounds like you have other problems than a falty video card.

 

[VIAN]

Right now, I like Nvidia because with the High Quality setting, you can get less texture shimmering compared to ATI.

ATI's drivers used to be why I like them, but now they're just not interesting anymore. They haven't offered me anything tangeable with the last few Catalysts.

 

[CaiNaM]

no way. i have an XT so ATI is better!

oh wait.. i have an nv too.. so NV is better!

oh. hmm.. umm.. they are BOTH better cause i have both! muahahahahaah!

actually i'm happy with both, and most would be happy regardless of which they purchased. while there are minor differences, both offer great value. most of it comes down to personal preference, or which one you can get a better price on.

 

[Praxis1452]

Originally posted by: FalllenAngell

Originally posted by: fierydemise

Originally posted by: hans030390
Nvidia and ATI have nearly identical IQ, which are both great by the way. You are not getting any less IQ with Nvidia than you are with ATI.

ATI's angle independant AF is by all accounts superior, and ATI offers HDR+AA in Farcry and Serious Sam 2 (and others if the devs decide to offer is), ATI also takes less of a performance hit with IQ enhancements so you can turn the IQ up a little more.

I call shenanigans. By many accounts, image quality is roughly the same, with ATI angle independent AF being a little better, and nVidia's AA a little better.

As far as HDR+ AA goes, is there anyone among us still playing two year old Far Cry still?

Or listening to the elf warble "seeerrrriioouss damage!" in "his" high pitched falsetto in Serious Sam 2? Or the little blue natives chirping "Hello!" over and over? The clowns on unicycles? Green football players? It's a cool kiddie game, but hardly in need of HDR+AA.

fallen all you do is make excuses. It is an advantage just leave it at that.

I mean you could apply the same argument to many things. I bet many people do still play far cry and Serious Sam 2 as well.

ATI runs hot but if your spending $500 on a card you can afford to get aftermarket cooling. ATI's CCC is bloated but just use ATT.

Most people already know the advantages and disadvantages of both cards. You could keep your bigotry in check you know.

 

[nib95]

Although ATI cards are better performing and have better image quality, I actually still prefer Nvidia.
The drivers, the actual cards, the coolers, the noise, heat, ease of use, etc
I just feel safer with the latest Nvidia cards in my system then I did with my XTX, which used to below out un-godly amounts of heat.

Even with two 7900 GT's, my room still stays ALOT cooler then it used to be with a single XTX.

EDIT: Also one issue I used to notice alot with my XTX, it was superb performance while it stayed cool, but once it started hitting those high 70's and even in to the 80's I saw massive fps drops even without the card being OC'd! Anyone else have this?

 

[Azndude2190]

Two 7900GT's in SLI own ATI

 

[Praxis1452]

fanboyism ftl azn

 

[Azndude2190]

^ftw

 

[Praxis1452]

But they cost more azn...

 

[Acanthus]

Ive been leaning to Nv lately with my customers.

The 7900GT is popular with gamers.

 

[RussianSensation]

Performance wise, ATI seems to have the edge over several generations now.

9800XT > 5950 ultra, X850XT PE > 6800U, X1900XTX > 7900GTX

but when it comes to price/performance ratio:

5900xt > 9800Pro at the time, 6800GT > X800Pro/X800XL, 7900GT oced > X1800XT.

Since 9700Pro/5800Ultra days though, you really couldn't go wrong with either company since at similar price levels, for the most part, they delivered equal playability factor.

 

[Canterwood]

I used to be Nvidia, then the FX range forced me to ATI.

I've been ATI for the past couple of generations, 9800Pro an X800XT, but have gone back to Nvidia with the 7900GT.

Mainly went Nvidia this time because of the lower power consumption and less heat.

But both manufacturers are producing quality stuff atm, and anyone who stays loyal to one brand is just a fool.

 

[josh6079]

I've been thinking for awhile into getting a x1900xt(x) just to actually see the supposed better image quality but then I begin to think--noisy, really hot, more money out of my pocket, less mature dual GPU system, drivers...I guess I've just gotten every tweak fiqured out on my Nvidia setup, I'm not in a big rush to go through the experience again with a different card. And besides, my SLI 7800 GT's will do better than the single ATI setup I would have in just about every game I play. So I guess I largely depends on what most people have in their rigs right now (ex. can thier motherboard even do Xfire or is it an NF4 chipset w/ATI graphics?) Plus, I just don't feel like dishing out anymore cash on DX9. Gotta save money for round 10. I'll love to see what both sides bring out for the fight though.

 

[FalllenAngell]

Originally posted by: Praxis1452
fallen all you do is make excuses. It is an advantage just leave it at that.

I mean you could apply the same argument to many things. I bet many people do still play far cry and Serious Sam 2 as well.

The point is Serious Sam 2 looks so seriously cartoonish, you don't really need HDR+AA on it. For what? So light relcts differently on the Leggo TRex's cigar? The whole game is like a colorful cartoon, there's nothing vaguely "realistic" looking in it. Putting HDR+AA on that one is like putting it on a an old Scoobie Doo cartoon- it might look different, but it's not going to look any closer to real. And isn't that the point of HDR+AA?

ATI runs hot but if your spending $500 on a card you can afford to get aftermarket cooling.

Sure, and void your warranty.

Most people already know the advantages and disadvantages of both cards. You could keep your bigotry in check you know.

You need to look up "bigotry". AFAIK, being a "bigot" about an inanimate object like a video card has about as much meaning as bigotry about one brand of toaster waffles vs another.

If I posted "Eggos own Krusteaz! Their fake blueberry chips contain 10% more artificial blueberry flavoring!" would you get all bent out of shape? This is no different, unless you designed the R580 personally and have some reason for emotional attachment to it.

 

[Praxis1452]

So because Serious Sam II is cartoonish as you say HDR+AA may mean the same thing to you as voiding my warranty is to me.

Yes you can void your warranty. But that depends on the manufacturer. Not the card or companies themselves. eVGA is the only one I think that allows you to use aftermarket cooling but that doesn't have to do with either company directly. The nVidia cooler for the 7900gt is just about as loud as the X1900XT and doesn't cover the ram. So in my opinion it's just about equal to the X1900XT's cooler. Both have their ups and downs.

Bigotry is... bigot



A person who is religiously attached to a particular computer,
language, operating system, editor, or other tool (see
religious issues). Usually found with a specifier; thus,
"Cray bigot", "ITS bigot", "APL bigot", "VMS bigot", "Berkeley
bigot". Real bigots can be distinguished from mere partisans
or zealots by the fact that they refuse to learn alternatives
even when the march of time and/or technology is threatening
to obsolete the favoured tool. It is truly said "You can tell
a bigot, but you can't tell him much." Compare weenie.

[Jargon File]

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=bigot

You keep making excuses for nvidia. I like ATI because I don't like nVidia's policy or attitude toward their customers in general. But I don't go into threads making excuses for them. I might suggest something because it's better though.

 

[Gamingphreek]

This thread need not have gone on this long:

I think that on these forums, the current consensus is that if you want pure performance without considering power requirements etc, then ATI is the way to go on the mid-high end. Otherwise, you go with nVidia. Why you see more posts about nVidia, and not ATI is a different story.

A lot of us are going through the eVGA step-ups, and a lot of us are going through the problems that the 7900 GT cards are having. Moreover the 7900 series has launched recently. So you'd expect more talk about them.

This hits most all of the topics the OP asked about. To simply broaden, ATI also has better IQ in some respects (AF for example).

-Kevin

 

[Elfear]

After 6 Nvidia cards and 3 ATI cards in the past 2 years I'd say they both make quality products. For single cards I'd say ATI has the faster solutions. My X850XT PE was faster than my 6800GT@Ultra speeds and my X1900XT is as fast as my 7800GTs were and makes my 7800GTX look like a 10-year old kid fighting with Mike Tyson.

From what I've heard SLI is better right now than Crossfire but I don't have any first-hand knowledge.

Originally posted by: josh6079
And besides, my SLI 7800 GT's will do better than the single ATI setup I would have in just about every game I play.

Funny, I switched from 7800GTs@550/1300 to my current card and I didn't notice any drop in performance. I even noticed an increase for COD2.

Originally posted by: FalllenAngell

As far as HDR+ AA goes, is there anyone among us still playing two year old Far Cry still?

**Raises his hand***

I must say it looks incredible too at 1920x1200 6AA/8AF HDR +7.

 

[Conky]

When I upgrade I get whatever is the best card for my money at the time. I have owned videocards from both companies.

My attitude is the same on CPU's and other components of my system. When upgrading I get WHATEVER brand works best in my price range. My next CPU upgrade might be an FX-60 or it might be a Conroe... the prices will determine this for me as I want the best bang for my buck.

I used to get the whole fanboy thing but now I think it's retarded. Why be loyal to any one hardware brand? It's not like those big corporations care about anything more than making money off of us.

 

[Zebo]

Originally posted by: RussianSensation
Performance wise, ATI seems to have the edge over several generations now.

9800XT > 5950 ultra, X850XT PE > 6800U, X1900XTX > 7900GTX

but when it comes to price/performance ratio:

5900xt > 9800Pro at the time, 6800GT > X800Pro/X800XL, 7900GT oced > X1800XT.

Since 9700Pro/5800Ultra days though, you really couldn't go wrong with either company since at similar price levels, for the most part, they delivered equal playability factor.

You're forgetting ~7 months ATI had no answer to 7800 series and it was top dog.. and you're also forgetting nV's superior OGL performance that whole time. But I guess some people only see what they want to see.

 

[Cookie Monster]

Originally posted by: Zebo

Originally posted by: RussianSensation
Performance wise, ATI seems to have the edge over several generations now.

9800XT > 5950 ultra, X850XT PE > 6800U, X1900XTX > 7900GTX

but when it comes to price/performance ratio:

5900xt > 9800Pro at the time, 6800GT > X800Pro/X800XL, 7900GT oced > X1800XT.

Since 9700Pro/5800Ultra days though, you really couldn't go wrong with either company since at similar price levels, for the most part, they delivered equal playability factor.

You're forgetting ~7 months ATI had no answer to 7800 series and it was top dog.. and you're also forgetting nV's superior OGL performance that whole time. But I guess some people only see what they want to see.

You could also add in Dual GPU domination (SLi) in the extreme high end. (6800GT/U SLi)