Nvidia to Amd : Bring On Antilles

[blastingcap]

IMO while nice Eyefinity is a complete waste of money. I'm curious to see the amount of users actually go out and drop 900 dollars on a tri monitor setup.

How many good games use PhysX to any appreciable degree? Batman, Mirror's Edge, and...?

Whereas Eyefinity/Surround can not only be used in a growing list of games, but also OUTSIDE OF GAMES as well.

Yet single-GPU Eyefinity gets dissed as a worthless niche feature, and PhysX is trumpeted by certain people here. Right...

Please stop making up numbers like $900. Say the cost of a single-monitor gaming rig with a 22" monitor is $X. The marginal cost of adding a DP->VGA or single-link DVI adapter and 2 additional 22" monitors is less than $300. I know, because I paid ~$300 earlier this year for my setup--and prices have gone down since then. And yes I use single-GPU to play games. I get 70fps+ on an oc'd HD6850 at 5140x1050 (bezel-corrected) with maximum details and 4xMSAA, when playing Source games like L4D, L4D2, and TF2. Console ports fare okay as well, like Fallout 3. Judging by what I've seen in Eyefinity reviews, DIRT2 runs well, just with less-than-max AA. I could even comfortably run CODMW2 on triple monitors if I reduce AA.

Even if we're talking 23" or 24" monitors, the marginal costs could still be sub-$400 easily.

Even if you're an IPS snob, you can get three 21.5" IPS monitors with DisplayPort built in, for under $600.

And let me repeat that Eyefinity/Surround are useful OUTSIDE of games as well. I use tri-monitor for websurfing/TV watching/writing/etc. Anyone who has had a dual monitor setup knows what I mean. It's like that--but even better, because the third monitor gives you even more flexibility.

Although it's not entirely meritless to suggest that many people can't afford Eyefinity or Surround or would want more horsepower than one could get from a single HD6970 or whatever, the dissing of single-GPU Eyefinity/Surround in this thread sounds like sour grapes to me by people who don't even have such setups in the first place. It's like dissing a hot girl you're too scared to even ask out. Would you be dissing her if you actually asked her out and she agreed? I think not. There was another thread on here a week or two ago that addressed this head on. Partisans pooh-poohed Eyefinity, using the same "arguments" as above, only to have *actual* multi-monitor users say that their single-GPU HD5xxxs worked fine in triple monitors for a range of games, and that it wasn't a big deal to shrink down to one monitor for those heavyweight games that demanded it.

Single-GPU Multi-Monitor will be a moot issue at some point in the next year or two, though. Even if Kepler is too far along for NV to add hardware Surround capabilities to it, I *guarantee* you that Maxwell will support at least 3 monitors on a single GPU. NV is an innovator and doesn't take kindly to being second to AMD in *anything* related to GPUs.

 

[happy medium]

How many good games use PhysX to any appreciable degree? Batman, Mirror's Edge, and...?

Whereas Eyefinity/Surround can not only be used in a growing list of games, but also OUTSIDE OF GAMES as well.

Yet single-GPU Eyefinity gets dissed as a worthless niche feature, and PhysX is trumpeted by certain people here. Right...

Please stop making up numbers like $900. Say the cost of a single-monitor gaming rig with a 22" monitor is $X. The marginal cost of adding a DP->VGA or single-link DVI adapter and 2 additional 22" monitors is less than $300. I know, because I paid ~$300 earlier this year for my setup--and prices have gone down since then. And yes I use single-GPU to play games. I get 70fps+ on an oc'd HD6850 at 5140x1050 (bezel-corrected) with maximum details and 4xMSAA, when playing Source games like L4D, L4D2, and TF2. Console ports fare okay as well, like Fallout 3. Judging by what I've seen in Eyefinity reviews, DIRT2 runs well, just with less-than-max AA. I could even comfortably run CODMW2 on triple monitors if I reduce AA.

Even if we're talking 23" or 24" monitors, the marginal costs could still be sub-$400 easily.

Even if you're an IPS snob, you can get three 21.5" IPS monitors with DisplayPort built in, for under $600.

And let me repeat that Eyefinity/Surround are useful OUTSIDE of games as well. I use tri-monitor for websurfing/TV watching/writing/etc. Anyone who has had a dual monitor setup knows what I mean. It's like that--but even better, because the third monitor gives you even more flexibility.

Although it's not entirely meritless to suggest that many people can't afford Eyefinity or Surround or would want more horsepower than one could get from a single HD6970 or whatever, the dissing of single-GPU Eyefinity/Surround in this thread sounds like sour grapes to me by people who don't even have such setups in the first place. It's like dissing a hot girl you're too scared to even ask out. Would you be dissing her if you actually asked her out and she agreed? I think not. There was another thread on here a week or two ago that addressed this head on. Partisans pooh-poohed Eyefinity, using the same "arguments" as above, only to have *actual* multi-monitor users say that their single-GPU HD5xxxs worked fine in triple monitors for a range of games, and that it wasn't a big deal to shrink down to one monitor for those heavyweight games that demanded it.

Single-GPU Multi-Monitor will be a moot issue at some point in the next year or two, though. Even if Kepler is too far along for NV to add hardware Surround capabilities to it, I *guarantee* you that Maxwell will support at least 3 monitors on a single GPU. NV is an innovator and doesn't take kindly to being second to AMD in *anything* related to GPUs.

2 good monitors 450$
1 good card to run this year and next years games $500+
950$

or crossfire /sli setup and 2 monitors, 400$ and 450$ = 850$
Take the last 5 AAA titles and play them. I know, I know ,then you just play on the single monitor and waste all that money.

A little out of my price range to play games.

 

[blastingcap]

2 good monitors 450$
1 good card to run this year and next years games $500+
950$

or crossfire /sli setup and 2 monitors, 400$ and 450$ = 850$
Take the last 5 AAA titles and play them. I know, I know ,then you just play on the single monitor and waste all that money.

A little out of my price range to play games.

2x 22" Acers = $260
1 DP adapter = $30
-------
$290

xfire/sli = deal with multi-GPU matters like extra power draw, heat, noise, and potential microstutter and broken drivers (NV is not immune; they had broken SLI scaling for Civ V for instance), possibly having to upgrade PSU, and possibly having to get a new mobo that can do SLI or Xfire; maybe even a new CPU too if you run an AMD CPU.

You shouldn't double-count the card's cost; you would've bought a card even for a single-monitor rig. Also, a single overclocked HD5870 will run you less than $300, anyway, not $500. Obviously a 6970 will be faster and such but you quickly lose bang-for-buck after $200, so it's not worth it imho. Just upgrade to a HD79xx or Kepler down the road and overclock in the meantime.

In any case, I'm hoping that Kepler will have single-GPU Surround and that NV will fix its drivers to allow for fast Surround switching via hotkeys. Maybe you don't care about single-GPU Surround, but I *guarantee* you that a company like NV cares.

 

[Vesku]

Or, 3 monitors plus one $200 dollar AMD card. Eyefinity for productivity and game at nice settings on central monitor. If Physx is awesome then Eyefinity is awesome^2. I'll give nVidia the nod on pouring more money and developers into making sure their cards work well with games, but I think branding is coloring some feature judgment. That or some people really, really like Batman games.

 

[thilanliyan]

I'd love to see how BC2 looks like on 3 of my 27.5" LCD's. Would be AWESOME.

Problem is cost as my monitors run over 300 dollars each.

You bought 2 GTX580s and you're worried about the cost for $300 monitors?

 

[happy medium]

2x 22" Acers = $260

= crap

I thought 24 inch was the new standard? A high end gaming system with crap monitors?

 

[Red Storm]

I'd love to see how BC2 looks like on 3 of my 27.5" LCD's. Would be AWESOME.

Problem is cost as my monitors run over 300 dollars each.

Didn't you tell me cost wasn't an issue when you went for two 580s?

Come on now, you know you need muli-display to really push those cards to their limit.

= crap

I thought 24 inch was the new standard? A high end gaming system with crap monitors?

Do you have three 22" monitors setup in eyefinity to verify that it actually is crap?

Physical size of the display isn't everything.

 

[blastingcap]

= crap

I thought 24 inch was the new standard? A high end gaming system with crap monitors?

Did you even read my post or are you being argumentative? As I stated in my post, even if you go for 24" monitors that won't cost that much more: less than $400 on sales, and there are lots of sales right now, and after the sales the prices will keep going down thanks to technological obsolescence. Also, there is a deal right now for $188 Dell Ultrasharp IPS monitors at 21.5", for IPS snobs. Which I also stated in my post. Heck, even a pair of 24" IPS panels won't be $900 as some guy suggested.

 

[Red Storm]

Edit: DP

 

[blastingcap]

Do you have three 22" monitors setup in eyefinity to verify that it actually is crap?

Physical size of the display isn't everything.

Speaking as someone who went from a 24" Dell Ultrasharp IPS to 3x 22" Acer TN, I have to say that I feel that I get a lot more out of the Acers. Yeah the panel quality isn't quite as good, but I'm not a professional photo editor or anything.

P.S. And for period of several months, I had the 24" IPS and 3x22" TN setups right next to each other, so it wasn't exactly hard to compare them in my daily usage.

 

[happy medium]

Heck, even a pair of 24" IPS panels won't be $900 as some guy suggested.

900$?
I said 450$. I think that resonable.

 

[blastingcap]

900$?
I said 450$. I think that resonable.

You can easily get a pair of 24" TNs from a reputable manufacturer for less than $400. Easily. Without ANY effort. Look at newegg or amazon right now, for instance.

With some effort you can get it down to ~$350.

$900 was towards the other guy.

 

[happy medium]

You can easily get a pair of 24" TNs from a reputable manufacturer for less than $400. Easily. Without ANY effort. Look at newegg or amazon right now, for instance.

With some effort you can get it down to ~$350.

$900 was towards the other guy.

Searched newegg for 24 inch monitors under 200$
got this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...d=1&name=24%22

Searched 24 inch monitors 200 to 300$ got this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...d=1&name=24%22

I like this one for 230$ shipped,good average monitor.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824236049

So 2 monitors for $460 is good.

 

[blastingcap]

Searched newegg for 24 inch monitors under 200$
got this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...d=1&name=24%22

Searched 24 inch monitors 200 to 300$ got this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...d=1&name=24%22

I like this one for 230$ shipped,good average monitor.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824236049

So 2 monitors for $460 is good.

There are 7 monitors at 23" and 2 at 23.6" on Newegg. These prices are without sales codes but rest assured we'll get codes next Friday.

Amazon has a bunch of monitors at 23-25" inch range as well, many of them are ~$200 or less.

Tiger has a 24" going for $160 + shipping, and two more at $170, another two at $180, one at $190, and two at $200. That's not including the 23" and 23.6" screens. www.tigerdirect.com/applications/cat...:4420|&Recs=30

And it's not even next Friday yet.

 

[happy medium]

There are 7 monitors at 23" and 2 at 23.6" on Newegg. These prices are without sales codes but rest assured we'll get codes next Friday.

Amazon has a bunch of monitors at 23-25" inch range as well, many of them are ~$200 or less.

Tiger has a 24" going for $160 + shipping, and two more at $170, another two at $180, one at $190, and two at $200. That's not including the 23" and 23.6" screens. www.tigerdirect.com/applications/cat...:4420|&Recs=30

And it's not even next Friday yet.

you win

But you have to buy the same size as your current monitor correct?
So those choices get limited, unless your buying 3 monitors, then we are over 500$ again.

 

[blastingcap]

you win

I was about to say that we should probably stop this thread derailment...

 

[happy medium]

I was about to say that we should probably stop this thread derailment...

See edit?

j/k lets stop u r right.

 

[blastingcap]

See edit?

I already addressed this. You can't double count video card cost or monitor cost because you would have bought them anyway. While it's true that you might have bought some weird size for your single-monitor, making it harder to get 2 more monitors of exactly the same size, that's less of an issue for those of us with standard sizes. In any case, you could sell the original monitor and then get 3 matching ones or learn to live with slightly-differently-sized monitors on the sides.

If you want to talk about this further, PM me. I don't want to thread-derail any more than we already have. ()

 

[extra]

http://www.fudzilla.com/graphics/item/20924-nvidias-dual-chip-card-waits-for-antilles


God i can't wait. :twisted::twisted::twisted:

Hmmm, small problem with this article:

If the cards are ready and their partners are just sitting and waiting...how will they be able to change the chips to compete with antilles??? lol.

Unless they mean pricing. Nvidia has been kicking serious ass in the pricing front with the 460 and 470, hopefully we can see that continue.

 

[Lonbjerg]

How many good games use PhysX to any appreciable degree?

Could you define your question more vauge and irrelevant?

 

[blastingcap]

Could you define your question more vauge and irrelevant?

We've discussed this topic before. You tried to list games other than Batman and Mirror, and you couldn't. I think most people would agree with me that there are very few good games (metacritic rating of at least 80) that use PhysX for much. GRAW 2 was about the closest you got to adding a third game to the list, but that arguably didn't have much PhysX. It's old, anyway.

Not sure why I bother responding to you, since you have a very, VERY special affection for NV.

 

[Jdawg84]

Did you even read my post or are you being argumentative? As I stated in my post, even if you go for 24" monitors that won't cost that much more: less than $400 on sales, and there are lots of sales right now, and after the sales the prices will keep going down thanks to technological obsolescence. Also, there is a deal right now for $188 Dell Ultrasharp IPS monitors at 21.5", for IPS snobs. Which I also stated in my post. Heck, even a pair of 24" IPS panels won't be $900 as some guy suggested.

I threw 900 out there because that's how much total investment it would be for me to hve a 3 monitor setup. You can keep your cheap 22" acres. Some of us like having the best

 

[blastingcap]

Edited to remove inaccuracies...

I threw 900 out there because that's how much total investment it would be for me to hve a 3 monitor setup. You can keep your cheap 22" acres. Some of us like having the best

Sorry that I misunderstood the origins of your $900 comment; I thought you were implying $450 per monitor for two additional monitors.

Imho, you need to buy a monitor and a video card even without Eyefinity; so it's improper to double-count the cost of the first monitor.

I specifically addressed the size and IPS vs. TN issue in my post as well. I could currently get three (not even two, but THREE since you insist on that number) Dell 21.5" IPS panels for ~$570 on sale. That's a far cry from $900. You would only reach that point with three 24" IPS panels or somelike that, and I still reject your double-counting the price of the third monitor.

Also, you may want to read what other people wrote. I had a single Dell Ultrasharp IPS 24" and had it right next to my computer with the triple Acers for several months. I literally got to compare them side-by-side for a long time, so I know how much I gave up. I prefer the triple Acers, obviously. TNs are fine for landscape-orientation gaming, and I'm not a professional photo-editor or anything. That said, the Acers were a stopgap. I wanted LED screens but couldn't find any well-priced IPS LED screens so I gave up and decided to go with three cheapies for a while and then upgrade to IPS LED screens later when they were more available and better priced.

P.S. You apparently blew $1k on dual GTX580s or something and don't have money for two more monitors? Especially considering monitors hold their value better than your GTX580s ever could? Whatever floats your boat, I guess.

Also, I find your statement about "best" to be factually inaccurate. In addition to not having 120Hz capability, your monitor isn't up to pro-grade standards like http://www.adorama.com/EICG303WBK.ht...utm_term=Other

 

[Lonbjerg]

We've discussed this topic before. You tried to list games other than Batman and Mirror, and you couldn't.

That is a lie, you link me to your asking me that question.
I have zero tolerance for liars...ball in your court.

I can off name games from 2006, since I have owned a PPU since then...if you need to lie, don't be so obvious.

*tired of lying fanboys*

 

[blastingcap]

That is a lie, you link me to your asking me that question.
I have zero tolerance for liars...ball in your court.

I can off name games from 2006, since I have owned a PPU since then...if you need to lie, don't be so obvious.

*tired of lying fanboys*

There is a search function in this forum that lets you easily see every reference to "GRAW 2" on the entire board. If you had spend even a minute doing it yourself, you'd come up with this little exchange we had a month ago:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=30626160&postcount=657
http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=30626175&postcount=661

This is what I said earlier in this thread, in its entirety:

We've discussed this topic before. You tried to list games other than Batman and Mirror, and you couldn't. I think most people would agree with me that there are very few good games (metacritic rating of at least 80) that use PhysX for much. GRAW 2 was about the closest you got to adding a third game to the list, but that arguably didn't have much PhysX. It's old, anyway.

Not sure why I bother responding to you, since you have a very, VERY special affection for NV.

I mixed up GRAW with GRAW 2 apparently, so that was an error on my part. So technically we might add GRAW (not GRAW 2) to the list as a third, behind Batman and Mirror, but only if we accept that GRAW actually used PhysX in an appreciable way. I did say "arguably," after all. (See above.)

In our previous exchange I reluctantly added Mafia II, but as time has gone on it's obvious that Mafia II will never hit 80 in Metacritic, especially among users: http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/mafia-ii (Rating: 78/70 critic/users), so I find it dubious to add to the Batman+Mirror list.

I don't expect someone like you to apologize for calling me a liar and fanboy, but don't waste my time further with your wild accusations. You only make yourself look bad. If anything it makes YOU look like a liar, or is your memory really so bad that you can't remember something that took place a mere month ago? Even after I jogged your memory by mentioning GRAW 2 several posts ago in this thread? Sheesh.