Nvidia Geforce FX 5950 VS ATI Radeon 9700 Pro Whats better??

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Gagabiji

Golden Member
Oct 1, 2003
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Originally posted by: BFG10K
Again I could show you 320x240 benchmarks of a R9800XT being equal to a FX5950U @ 1600x1200; does that mean the former card is as good as the latter?
That question makes no sense whatsoever.


Totaly. "Again", Did you show us before?

 

Jeff7181

Lifer
Aug 21, 2002
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I would think the increase in speed that the 5950 offers is negated by the fact that the 9700 Pro's Anti-aliasing is much higher quality.
 

Jeff7181

Lifer
Aug 21, 2002
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Originally posted by: shady06
for anyone who thinks a 9700 pro is faster, i would very happily trade my 9800 pro for a 5950. i like to try new things

How bout a FX5900 @ 490/940 for your 9800 Pro? I like to try new things too and have been looking for a good deal on an ATI card.

*EDIT* PM me if it sounds like something you're interested in.
 

CaiNaM

Diamond Member
Oct 26, 2000
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Originally posted by: Jeff7181
I would think the increase in speed that the 5950 offers is negated by the fact that the 9700 Pro's Anti-aliasing is much higher quality.

LOL.

ati has a better aa method for sure imo, but "much better"? you pretty much have to compare side by side using magnified stills to see the difference (and even then they're minimal. vertical and horizontal aa there's not much difference, if any, and you can see ati's is a little better at "off" angles, such as 45deg)... performance, however is a bit more noticeable in favor of ati.

one could argue the the texture LoD when filtering is applied is better on the nvidia, but again, i don't see there's enough "realworld" difference in arguing such a point, as the significance of the difference is minor, at best.

using my wife as an example of an "average gamer", who loves to play DAoC and UT, when i swap the 5900 and her 9700pro to run comparison's and benchies, she'll sit down and play for hours and not notice any difference, nor can tell what card her pc is running... either from performance or IQ - tho she did make a comment once to adj it to get the "color" back when i put the 9700p back in after the 5900 was in her pc for about a week.... i never did, and she never mentioned it again so it's probably just whtever you get used to.
 

nRollo

Banned
Jan 11, 2002
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Originally posted by: shady06
for anyone who thinks a 9700 pro is faster, i would very happily trade my 9800 pro for a 5950. i like to try new things
I'm with Shady. I will trade my superior 9800 Pro for either a 5800 Ultra or a 5950. I have spotless heat and Fleabay refs, and I am all about helping you live the superior ATI lifestyle!
No flashed 5900s- sorry.


when i swap the 5900 and her 9700pro to run comparison's and benchies, she'll sit down and play for hours and not notice any difference, nor can tell what card her pc is running... either from performance or IQ -
LIAR! Let me refer you to these 100X magnified stillshots that CLEARLY show.....LOL
 

futuristicmonkey

Golden Member
Feb 29, 2004
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There's one half of a big problem with this whole thread. This 1/2 problem would be do to the fact that you are comparing two different generations of video cards here. The 9700Pro came out a while ago, while the 5950 is pretty recent. Better comparison would be a 9800XT vs. 5950U.
 

BFG10K

Lifer
Aug 14, 2000
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I'm glad you and Vian are so into Toms Hardware group BFG.
What are you talking about? The only results I've been discussing in this thread are the X-Bit ones.

Of course, here at Anandtech (the board you're on, remember) the numbers tell a little different story:
Great, but then I never claimed the 9700 Pro was faster across the board than the 5950 was.

Or should we just ignore Anand and focus some on those odd Toms Hardware benches?
Illustrate to me where I ever said that in this thread.

I truly hope nVidia stomps ATI flat in the next round, just because you'll have to buy it then and start pimping them again.
If they come out on top in the next generation then of course I will.

You know me though, I'll buy whatever is best,
You mean like you accused me of doing above and then claimed it was a bad thing? Or are you the only one who is permitted to purchase the best hardware but if I do I'm a zealot?

I don't think you have any contact with reality any more BFG.
This coming from the guy that "upgraded" his 9700 Pro to a 5800 because he wasn't happy with AA and AF performance on the former card. In otherwords the "solution" to his problem was to pay extra to get something even slower.
 

Jeff7181

Lifer
Aug 21, 2002
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Originally posted by: CaiNaM
Originally posted by: Jeff7181
I would think the increase in speed that the 5950 offers is negated by the fact that the 9700 Pro's Anti-aliasing is much higher quality.

LOL.

ati has a better aa method for sure imo, but "much better"? you pretty much have to compare side by side using magnified stills to see the difference (and even then they're minimal. vertical and horizontal aa there's not much difference, if any, and you can see ati's is a little better at "off" angles, such as 45deg)... performance, however is a bit more noticeable in favor of ati.

one could argue the the texture LoD when filtering is applied is better on the nvidia, but again, i don't see there's enough "realworld" difference in arguing such a point, as the significance of the difference is minor, at best.

using my wife as an example of an "average gamer", who loves to play DAoC and UT, when i swap the 5900 and her 9700pro to run comparison's and benchies, she'll sit down and play for hours and not notice any difference, nor can tell what card her pc is running... either from performance or IQ - tho she did make a comment once to adj it to get the "color" back when i put the 9700p back in after the 5900 was in her pc for about a week.... i never did, and she never mentioned it again so it's probably just whtever you get used to.

Well I'm not an average gamer... and I'm not happy with 4XAA on my FX5900... 4XAA looks much better on my friend's 9800 Pro.
 

CaiNaM

Diamond Member
Oct 26, 2000
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not really.. the thing is, there not that much difference in any of these cards (other than the 256mb memory on the xt and ultra). imo the 9800p/xt is not much more than a refresh of the 9700p anyway (other than a few "tweaks" the r3xx architecture is the same). their relative performance to each other is what's relevant, not necessarily the date they were released.
 

SickBeast

Lifer
Jul 21, 2000
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Originally posted by: videoclone
I Already have both these cards so Cost is not an issue. What card do you think i should keep ...the 1 i get rid of is going into a comp at work, That will never be used for playing games but will use some AutoDesk Viz ( 3Dmax ) and CAD programs.

But i don?t care about work and what card goes into that system is irrelevant just want to make sure I?m left with the best choice for gaming and yes i plan to play games now and in the future. so your advice is ???

You're crazy if you're planning to run a R9700 or the GFFX card in a CAD workstation. I do CAD professionally and unless I'm doing a stadium or something in 3D Max I would never need a card that powerful. I would sell the card that you don't want (I would keep the 9700 pro, personally) then buy a Matrox G450 or something for the CAD stuff (you can get them here in Toronto for $28CDN and they kick ASS in 2D CAD work).
 

CaiNaM

Diamond Member
Oct 26, 2000
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Well I'm not an average gamer... and I'm not happy with 4XAA on my FX5900... 4XAA looks much better on my friend's 9800 Pro.

i don't think i fit into the "average gamer" category either, but, having both cards directly in front of me, there's little distinguishable difference. most of the time, there is no difference (other than performance, and i think ati's method is more efficient, resulting in less performance degradation).

the point is that 99% (figuratively) can't tell the difference in the first place. "hardcore" gamers who spend their time pointing out negligible difference in these things make up for a very small % of all gamers.... besides, the truly "hardcore" turn down all the gfx anyways, as they are more of a distraction than anything else.... so i'm somewhere in between cause while performance is an important issue, i also like the eye candy.. but when competing online or at local lan events, i still turn the quality down.. even on my 9800p. it's much easier to focus on the enemies w/o out all the eye candy getting in the way.
 

CaiNaM

Diamond Member
Oct 26, 2000
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Originally posted by: SickBeast
Originally posted by: videoclone
I Already have both these cards so Cost is not an issue. What card do you think i should keep ...the 1 i get rid of is going into a comp at work, That will never be used for playing games but will use some AutoDesk Viz ( 3Dmax ) and CAD programs.

But i don?t care about work and what card goes into that system is irrelevant just want to make sure I?m left with the best choice for gaming and yes i plan to play games now and in the future. so your advice is ???

You're crazy if you're planning to run a R9700 or the GFFX card in a CAD workstation. I do CAD professionally and unless I'm doing a stadium or something in 3D Max I would never need a card that powerful. I would sell the card that you don't want (I would keep the 9700 pro, personally) then buy a Matrox G450 or something for the CAD stuff (you can get them here in Toronto for $28CDN and they kick ASS in 2D CAD work).


i still go back to the same thing.. if you have both, pick the one you like best. do you really need others to form your opinions for you? i don't understand that (unless you're just trolling for another nv vs ati discussion).... who the hell cares what other people think.. much of it is subjective anyways. pick the one you like best and live with it, knowing the decision best suits you, not what fits the opinions of others.
 

SickBeast

Lifer
Jul 21, 2000
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Originally posted by: Rollo

Geez dude. Give it a rest. If you honestly think a 9700 Pro is better than a 5950, that's fine, but I truly doubt most people would notice the difference. If you're not an ATI sales rep, you should be.

Dude you should talk...you're the Nvidia pimp-daddy of the century. :p
 

nRollo

Banned
Jan 11, 2002
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Quote
I don't think you have any contact with reality any more BFG.


This coming from the guy that "upgraded" his 9700 Pro to a 5800 because he wasn't happy with AA and AF performance on the former card. In otherwords the "solution" to his problem was to pay extra to get something even slower.
See? This is why I said you've lost touch with reality. I told you then that I wanted the 5800 because I was using the 9700Pro for 9 months and I was bored with it, wanted a change. I did say, at the time, that I didn't run as much AA/AF as you because I thought the mip band transitions were too fuzzy in Performance and too slow to run high settings in quality for online play.
Similarly, I bought this 5800 because I had been using the 9800Pro for 9 months and am bored again, but you can't seem to comprehend this. :confused:

Videoclone, end your dilemma! Trade me your 5950 for my 9800Pro, and you will be livin' large. Just ask BFG the ATI PR man.

DaPunisher, end your suffering with that "horrible" 5800 Ultra and it's slower AA/AF! Trade it to me for my 9800 Pro. Da Little Punisher has more sensitive ears than you, and no Sennheisers! Have mercy on his soul, and your eyes! Just ask BFG10K what the better card is, he'll say you're bending me over the coffee table!

;)
 

BFG10K

Lifer
Aug 14, 2000
22,709
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I can comprehend boredom and the desire to try different hardware. However that isn't the only story(ies) you originally gave me.

I did say, at the time, that I didn't run as much AA/AF as you because I thought the mip band transitions were too fuzzy in Performance and too slow to run high settings in quality for online play.
Actually at the time you said you didn't use any AF or AA and you said 1024 x 768 was a valid resolution to test the cards (and those were the benchmarks you were feeding me as "evidence" that the 5800 was "better" than the 9700 Pro).

Then after you got the 5800 you started using 4xAA and 4xAF; if that isn't bizarre behaviour I don't know what is.
 

nRollo

Banned
Jan 11, 2002
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Originally posted by: SickBeast
Originally posted by: Rollo

Geez dude. Give it a rest. If you honestly think a 9700 Pro is better than a 5950, that's fine, but I truly doubt most people would notice the difference. If you're not an ATI sales rep, you should be.

Dude you should talk...you're the Nvidia pimp-daddy of the century. :p

This surprises me Sickbeast. I go way out of my way to be impartial to all companies. I buy all the ATI cards, I buy all the nVidia cards. I used to buy all the 3dfx cards.

I try to make my advice as unbiased as I can. Just this afternoon I told a guy his only real option was a 9600 Pro, I card I don't really like but recognize as the best at that price point.
Impartial Rollo

In this very thread (and many others) I say I'm going to buy whatever is best of the R420 and nV40 generation. I've often stated that I wish Matrox would make something usable so I could buy it.

So where do you get I'm an nVidia fan boy? I've had ATI in my main rig since Sept 2002, except for a one month stint with nVidia. :confused:

 

Jeff7181

Lifer
Aug 21, 2002
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My offer to trade my FX5900 @ 490/940 for a 9800 Pro or 9800 non-pro (not SE) is open to anyone :D In fact, I MAY even consider trading it for a 9700 Pro.

Oh... BTW CaiNaM... my "much better" statement was referring to the quality of the image as well as the performance hit taken. So I stand by my use of the phrase "much better."
 

nRollo

Banned
Jan 11, 2002
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Sorry Jeff, no OCd parts, BUT I did make my offer more interesting in the other thread:
I'll make my offer from the other thread better yet!
I will trade, even up, my pristine, never OCd Sapphire retail 9800 Pro, and retail UT2003, for a "inferior" Leadtek or Gainward 5900 Ultra (stock 850/850 clock only) or a 5800 Ultra! (prefer non OCd as well) I'll throw in a US Cellular compatible Tri mode Ericsson A1228d cell phone with a car charger, home charger, and manuals, so you can call your friends and say "Woot! Rollo has gone ape!"

You can't beat that BFG- A video card that will beat either of those video cards in almost every benchmark, a really cool video game, and a perfectly usable cell phone, all for one inferior nVidia card. Let's see if anyone else shares your opinions yet again, shall we? I'd say the better end of this deal goes to whoever trades me, wouldn't you?

Superior up for grabs for those of you cursed by nVidia!;) nVidia is the disease, Honest Rollo is the cure! ;) ;)

 

SickBeast

Lifer
Jul 21, 2000
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I dunno rollo...I remember back when the NV30 was just released and you had a 9700 pro that you swapped for it despite all the bad press reviews and such. From that point onward I realized that there had to be some kind of bias going on.
 

lordtyranus2

Banned
Oct 3, 2003
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Well rollo always used a really stupid "Both cards will be useless next generation" argument when asked why he reccomended an nvidia card over the 9800 Pro. I don't know whether he still does that though.
 

Jeff7181

Lifer
Aug 21, 2002
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Originally posted by: Rollo
Sorry Jeff, no OCd parts, BUT I did make my offer more interesting in the other thread:
I'll make my offer from the other thread better yet!
I will trade, even up, my pristine, never OCd Sapphire retail 9800 Pro, and retail UT2003, for a "inferior" Leadtek or Gainward 5900 Ultra (stock 850/850 clock only) or a 5800 Ultra! (prefer non OCd as well) I'll throw in a US Cellular compatible Tri mode Ericsson A1228d cell phone with a car charger, home charger, and manuals, so you can call your friends and say "Woot! Rollo has gone ape!"

You can't beat that BFG- A video card that will beat either of those video cards in almost every benchmark, a really cool video game, and a perfectly usable cell phone, all for one inferior nVidia card. Let's see if anyone else shares your opinions yet again, shall we? I'd say the better end of this deal goes to whoever trades me, wouldn't you?

Superior up for grabs for those of you cursed by nVidia!;) nVidia is the disease, Honest Rollo is the cure! ;) ;)

Saw it, and replied with my own offer :D