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my opinion is nvidia..never NEVER had probs with Nvidia..ATI just gave me overheat and BSOD's on a high-end PC...so yeah..pay the difference for also safe
My actual card's a 460GTX 1GB GIGABYTE...just said my opinion,no trolling intentions at all ¬¬
My actual card's a 460GTX 1GB GIGABYTE...just said my opinion,no trolling intentions at all ¬¬
I'm going to be sticking with my MSI GTX560 TI for a while. It's taken everything that's been thrown at it up till.
Thank you so much for posting this. Dtoid has always needed a good writer to analyze the hardware side of personal computers.
Personally, I've been juggling between ATI and NVIDIA for the past 10 or so years and found them both to be very good at what they're supposed to do. :)
Is there any chance that we'll see any performance comparisons over a range of cards in the future?
Personally, I've been juggling between ATI and NVIDIA for the past 10 or so years and found them both to be very good at what they're supposed to do. :)
Is there any chance that we'll see any performance comparisons over a range of cards in the future?
Nvidia all the way in my opinion, ATI has the worst drivers. My EVGA GTX 480 is still rocking everything I throw at it!
Many people aren't fond of NVIDIA because it installs software on your system that you do not want, which is a valid complaint. My last two cards on this particular computer were NVIDIA Geoforce 9400 GT and current AMD Radeon HD 5670. Just in terms of starter preference, I far prefer the AMD, and of course given that I got the 9400 about three years ago the new one is obviously more powerful. I still recommend AMD's to friends because I feel it's not that far behind as to dissuade someone from a purchase. You get rid of a lot of hassle for just a little preformance.
I've had both, and both worked fine for me. ATIs tend to have a few more issues, however, namely with the drivers. My laptop has an nVidia GT 555m running in Optimus and it works so buttery smooth.
I've always bought ATI because of the bang for the buck. They haven't let me down other than the cases where devs don't optimize their games to work with them properly (yeah, fuck you, Brink).
That said, I'm getting ready to build a beefy rig that is a bit more of a financial splurge than what I've built in the past, and I was considering going with a NVIDIA. This article pretty much helped me make my mind up. So thanks for that.
That said, I'm getting ready to build a beefy rig that is a bit more of a financial splurge than what I've built in the past, and I was considering going with a NVIDIA. This article pretty much helped me make my mind up. So thanks for that.
Interesting stuff, I didn't know this much detail. I picked up a gtx 8800 years ago and it served me well. Stuck with them since.
How can you make the blanket statement that you should always buy NVIDIA with a budget of over $700, and always buy AMD/ATI otherwise? It's not as if ATI and NVIDIA each have one card that compete against each other. There are many different cards to choose from in each company's lineup, including the option to use two cards in parallel. Futhermore, new cards are released all the time, and the best performing card for the money at any given price changes constantly. Tom's Hardware routinely rounds up cards and makes suggestions for different price ranges, which is a much more useful and informative way to compare the companies' products than just saying "if you're spending more than x dollars, buy NVIDIA".
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-graphics-card,2964-4.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-graphics-card,2964-4.html
Nvidia makes those cards on the high end that can cost upwards of $2k for crazy rich gamers who don't realize that their card won't be fully utilized by games until they're obsolete.
I almost always buy nvidia and I usually get the best card available for around $200. But I've used ATI cards for friend's computers because that's what they wanted, and they work great.
I almost always buy nvidia and I usually get the best card available for around $200. But I've used ATI cards for friend's computers because that's what they wanted, and they work great.
Im sorry Alex but I think you need to post examples of performance like actual benchmarks and performance tests. Because your whole Nivdia="brawn" and AMD="brains" is not a very good in depth look at the hardware itself. If you did a more in depth analysis like Tom's hardware or other PC gaming sites that would be more helpful and insightful. Because performance varies on each card depending on how much ram you have, what processor you have what drivers. Just because you read a chart and go "herp derp this is better becasue i read a chart" doesnt mean you have the overall verdict on what card is better. AMD cards perform better on certain games while Nvidia performs better on others. You also didn't mention SLI or Crossfire, certain cards have a better card scaling and better performance boosts while working in tandem with another card. There is also the whole eyefinity for AMD vs Nvidia's 3D vision. So Before you go out and post articles like these I would suggest being more in depth than just being general about the whole thing, its not a simple topic to cover I know. Good attempt Alex but I think you can do better. More research and benches are needed to make our PC gaming articles better. Good luck on your next article I will be waiting for it.
For my current PC, I got the Radeon HD 6870. Although there have been a few hiccups (mostly driver related), it generally works great. I got it for the potential 3 monitor setup, but I haven't had the balls to try that yet.
ATI is no longer a name, now every card is called AMD, there are no more ATI only AMD's , please correct that
Damn, stop complaining and quit nit-picking. He's making a generalization. It's a well-known fact that NVIDIA costs a bit more and performs a bit better. Are there exceptions to this rule and every rule there is? Yes, quit bitching.
@Fangeh: You are so ready to write that you didn't ready what he wrote. He "suggested" you buy an Nvidia if you have more money to spend, he didn't say "always". Way to put words in his mouth, so to speak.
Personally, I always go NVIDIA. ever since my Geforce2. Then I had a PNY XLR8 8800GTS and now I just got a PNY XLR8 GTX550ti which is AMAZING.
@Fangeh: You are so ready to write that you didn't ready what he wrote. He "suggested" you buy an Nvidia if you have more money to spend, he didn't say "always". Way to put words in his mouth, so to speak.
Personally, I always go NVIDIA. ever since my Geforce2. Then I had a PNY XLR8 8800GTS and now I just got a PNY XLR8 GTX550ti which is AMAZING.
I swap between them from generation to generation, depending on what they're offering. This time, ATI's 5800/5900 series takes the prize. I foresee the 5870 and it's iterations being this generation's 8800.
Got 2 5870s in my desktop, hitting barely 50 degrees C on heavy load.
That said, I also have a 460M in my laptop.
Got 2 5870s in my desktop, hitting barely 50 degrees C on heavy load.
That said, I also have a 460M in my laptop.
In my case i liked better nvidia just because it was a good brand name, then I buy the Nvidia(evga) geforce 9500gt, and... well it die six monts later taking with it my processor and motherboard.
Now I use an Ati Radeon HD 4650 and it´s been almost 2 years without problems.
PD: I know they weren´t the latest cards at the time, but that was all I could aford here in my country.
Now I use an Ati Radeon HD 4650 and it´s been almost 2 years without problems.
PD: I know they weren´t the latest cards at the time, but that was all I could aford here in my country.
@ indigit41
That is not always the case the AMD 6990 is by far the fastest card on the market and is AMD not Nvidia. That is a card you buy if you have a higher budget. The performance really depends on what your CPU and MOBO and Ram setup are as well. And right now the AMD cards are a bit pricier not Nvidia, but what would you expect when Alex is using info on an OLDER SKU OF CARDS DERP DERP DERP. He has the GTX 460 up there and yet were on GTX 560 ti's and AMD 6950's and 6970's. AMD is going to release their 7000 series soon as well. So its not that people are nitpicking for no reason its to help him out so that ALEX does some research and does actual benchmarks not regurgitating chart info from another site.
That is not always the case the AMD 6990 is by far the fastest card on the market and is AMD not Nvidia. That is a card you buy if you have a higher budget. The performance really depends on what your CPU and MOBO and Ram setup are as well. And right now the AMD cards are a bit pricier not Nvidia, but what would you expect when Alex is using info on an OLDER SKU OF CARDS DERP DERP DERP. He has the GTX 460 up there and yet were on GTX 560 ti's and AMD 6950's and 6970's. AMD is going to release their 7000 series soon as well. So its not that people are nitpicking for no reason its to help him out so that ALEX does some research and does actual benchmarks not regurgitating chart info from another site.
Also too the fact that Alex has used a picture of an "Nvidia card" but its says on the sticker RADEON 695011! is a complete faill.. Alex stop getting your shit from google and do a more in depth analysis I know you can do it man.
Never had problems with my NVIDIA cards (both of them, tee hee). They be nice cards. Veeeerrry nice.
I'm more of a Nvidia person myself. I believe lizzardpt is correct. I tried to find ATI cards on Newegg a few months ago and couldn't find much of anything. There where more AMD chipset cards then ATI.
If that's the case for "right now" it's simply an exception to the rule. If you want to measure it by the last year, go ahead. But you probably just aren't aware of history. This is the way it's been. AMD has catching up to do if they want to be known as the more expensive & higher quality manufacturer. NVIDIA has that reputation, it's a fact. you can't argue it. The rest of us know that over the last decade, it's been the opposite.
So quit bitching
So quit bitching
Another good idea is to look at what kind of games you are interested in playing. AMD and nVidia are usually partnered with mostly the same game companies, but some will lean more towards one over the other. As a result, some games will slightly run better on a different brand. All in all, it's always been the Übernerd debate, very much like the console wars, but going on for some 15+ years.
@ spaz
ummmmm AMD is ATI. AMD bought ATI years ago they just put AMD where ATI used to be. sigh.... the noobiness of this thread knows no bounds.
ummmmm AMD is ATI. AMD bought ATI years ago they just put AMD where ATI used to be. sigh.... the noobiness of this thread knows no bounds.
@Butternine Hell they need a writer who knew something period about computers besides how to turn it on.
Nvidia didn't always have the edge though this article makes it seems that way. It wasn't but one cycle (gen of cards) ago that ATI had the edge with it's first come DX11 cards, which were way better than Nvidia cards during that cycle because a lot of the DX11 helped with FPS, for instance of the case of World of Warcraft. So this instantly granted 10 fps over most Nvidia cards. However the issue isn't just the brawn or brain aspect but the fact that Nvidia works with intel. AMD is not producing the major power needed to beat intel right now. Which in turn hurts ATI.
Nvidia also has a lot of partnerships due to being number one on the market with ATI having always playing catch up, (except last cycle which they utterly pummeled Nvidia). Two cycles ago though AMD was beating intel. It's just an off and on thing. The reason most people don't even notice though is they are only in the market once every 5 years or those who don't know anything every few years. The only ones who know whats going on are commercial or hardcore gamers and commercial is going to go with the default partnership which is Nvidia.
Which in turn makes Nvidia the end market holder.
Honestly the only Nvidia currently out that I would buy is a 580 or above, anything below that and your really just wasting your money. Nearly every card under the 580 has an equivalent ATI card at lower price and faster FPS or overall power.
@DV2FOX That could have been a overheating issue which means you need a better case or it could have been a PSU issue. Older cards sometimes run hotter in most cases. Besides for that Nvidia is the only company I know of who put out a driver which fried your card.
http://www.google.com/search?q=nvidia+driver+fries+cards&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a
Nvidia didn't always have the edge though this article makes it seems that way. It wasn't but one cycle (gen of cards) ago that ATI had the edge with it's first come DX11 cards, which were way better than Nvidia cards during that cycle because a lot of the DX11 helped with FPS, for instance of the case of World of Warcraft. So this instantly granted 10 fps over most Nvidia cards. However the issue isn't just the brawn or brain aspect but the fact that Nvidia works with intel. AMD is not producing the major power needed to beat intel right now. Which in turn hurts ATI.
Nvidia also has a lot of partnerships due to being number one on the market with ATI having always playing catch up, (except last cycle which they utterly pummeled Nvidia). Two cycles ago though AMD was beating intel. It's just an off and on thing. The reason most people don't even notice though is they are only in the market once every 5 years or those who don't know anything every few years. The only ones who know whats going on are commercial or hardcore gamers and commercial is going to go with the default partnership which is Nvidia.
Which in turn makes Nvidia the end market holder.
Honestly the only Nvidia currently out that I would buy is a 580 or above, anything below that and your really just wasting your money. Nearly every card under the 580 has an equivalent ATI card at lower price and faster FPS or overall power.
@DV2FOX That could have been a overheating issue which means you need a better case or it could have been a PSU issue. Older cards sometimes run hotter in most cases. Besides for that Nvidia is the only company I know of who put out a driver which fried your card.
http://www.google.com/search?q=nvidia+driver+fries+cards&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a
@AkimboBFGNinja
I fully know that it's a funny looking card. You know why? Because I made the funny photo myself. I didn't get it off google, I photoshopped it myself.
Also, I know I didn't mention crossfire or SLI. I figured I would just stick with one graphics card because if I went into everything, I would end up writing a novel (which other sites do). Nor do I base my recommendations off simply benchmarks. I own the GTX 460 myself and found the AMD/ATI equivalent online then read reviews by many PC sites on both of them.
I realize that certain cards will work better for what you intend to do with it, which is what I believe I said in the article. It has to do with a case by case basis. If you know that the applications you intend on using perform better with a certain brand, by all means do that.
This article wasn't meant to be a increasingly in depth article. For one, many people wouldn't fully read the article and would just get the same amount out of the article as they would from a short one as this. Second, because it wasn't meant to be a lengthy article, I was required to make blanket statements. I know that these things are driven on a case by case basis, and you should understand that if I were to cover every case, I would be writing forever.
I apologize I couldn't cover every case and every detail as you would like. I will work on getting more performance based reviews out to you all, as I know you all want them. However, as all of you, I have a very limited budget (being a poor student and all) and do not have all the money I would like to buy the hardware to review. I will do what I can to provide quality reviews for you all, but until then please bear with what I can offer you. Thank you for the constructive criticism, I definitely appreciate it.
I fully know that it's a funny looking card. You know why? Because I made the funny photo myself. I didn't get it off google, I photoshopped it myself.
Also, I know I didn't mention crossfire or SLI. I figured I would just stick with one graphics card because if I went into everything, I would end up writing a novel (which other sites do). Nor do I base my recommendations off simply benchmarks. I own the GTX 460 myself and found the AMD/ATI equivalent online then read reviews by many PC sites on both of them.
I realize that certain cards will work better for what you intend to do with it, which is what I believe I said in the article. It has to do with a case by case basis. If you know that the applications you intend on using perform better with a certain brand, by all means do that.
This article wasn't meant to be a increasingly in depth article. For one, many people wouldn't fully read the article and would just get the same amount out of the article as they would from a short one as this. Second, because it wasn't meant to be a lengthy article, I was required to make blanket statements. I know that these things are driven on a case by case basis, and you should understand that if I were to cover every case, I would be writing forever.
I apologize I couldn't cover every case and every detail as you would like. I will work on getting more performance based reviews out to you all, as I know you all want them. However, as all of you, I have a very limited budget (being a poor student and all) and do not have all the money I would like to buy the hardware to review. I will do what I can to provide quality reviews for you all, but until then please bear with what I can offer you. Thank you for the constructive criticism, I definitely appreciate it.
nvidia was better, but atm they use more power + make more heat - less fps - cost more
don't be loyal to either they just want your money get wat is better at the time.
don't be loyal to either they just want your money get wat is better at the time.
@DV2FOX
I'm with you bro! Had some bad times with an ATI Radeon 5770. It was ridiculous when they released a driver that "improved" performance on Borderlands, and the thing caused a major memory leak! The game simply hanged for 5 minutes while the music kept playing.
Also, my machine used to crash with some damn vertical stripes while watching youtube videos. Other times it bsod on my face while playing/browsing the web or working.
Now I'm pretty happy with my GTX 560 ti OC 1GB PNY. I'm not a fanboy, but from now on I'm more inclined towards nvidia cards.
I'm with you bro! Had some bad times with an ATI Radeon 5770. It was ridiculous when they released a driver that "improved" performance on Borderlands, and the thing caused a major memory leak! The game simply hanged for 5 minutes while the music kept playing.
Also, my machine used to crash with some damn vertical stripes while watching youtube videos. Other times it bsod on my face while playing/browsing the web or working.
Now I'm pretty happy with my GTX 560 ti OC 1GB PNY. I'm not a fanboy, but from now on I'm more inclined towards nvidia cards.
I think you really need to consider more than just the stream processors as your argument. AMD haven't really innovated in a while with their processing setup whereas nVidia have started pushing to a more GPU processing pipeline.
AMD/ATI actually have a lot of SKUs that outperform nVidia and vice verse, but nVidia has more going for it in the driver department and frankly, CUDA blows ATI Firestream out of the water. nVidias may cost more in certain segments but they're consitantly more reliable.
AMD/ATI actually have a lot of SKUs that outperform nVidia and vice verse, but nVidia has more going for it in the driver department and frankly, CUDA blows ATI Firestream out of the water. nVidias may cost more in certain segments but they're consitantly more reliable.
What about the alternate and non compatible 3d solutions? How about physX? What about SLI vs CrossfireX? Hows about comparing temps and wattage? I could go on and on...
I bought an AMD Radeon HD6870 for my PC that I built this summer. I've been extremely satisfied with it, especially for the price I got it at. I've been able to run everything I've thrown at it with max settings (except New Vegas, but come on, it's New Vegas). Just Cause 2 runs at an amazing rate and looks absolutely stunning.
Ever since I built a $2000 AMD/ATI system in mid-2006 that couldn't run Oblivion (or anything else that was recent) above 15fps, I've been Intel/Nvidia for every build and been better for it.
@AkimboBFGNinja
If you look closely, you'll see that it's a photoshopped (badly) picture, which I think is appropriate and slightly amusing for the topic of this article
It's always been back and forth between the red and green. ATI had the upper hand in some generations while Nvidia in others. That being said, I go for the best bang for the buck mid-range card regardless of brand. Power consumption is also an important factor to consider. Those high end cards can run you $100+ in annual electricity bills if you game 4+ hours per day.
Nvidia pissed me off with their renaming bullshit a few years ago. I'm not saying ATI/AMD doesn't do it too, but Nvidia's case was pretty bad.
8800GTS (320/640) > 8800GTS (512MB) > 9800GTX > 9800GTX+ > GTS 250
Minor differences with clock speeds and a die shrink in there, but confusing and misleading as hell for consumers.
If you look closely, you'll see that it's a photoshopped (badly) picture, which I think is appropriate and slightly amusing for the topic of this article
It's always been back and forth between the red and green. ATI had the upper hand in some generations while Nvidia in others. That being said, I go for the best bang for the buck mid-range card regardless of brand. Power consumption is also an important factor to consider. Those high end cards can run you $100+ in annual electricity bills if you game 4+ hours per day.
Nvidia pissed me off with their renaming bullshit a few years ago. I'm not saying ATI/AMD doesn't do it too, but Nvidia's case was pretty bad.
8800GTS (320/640) > 8800GTS (512MB) > 9800GTX > 9800GTX+ > GTS 250
Minor differences with clock speeds and a die shrink in there, but confusing and misleading as hell for consumers.
I've been an NVIDIA user ever since the RIVA TNT2 cards and I will stick with them. Their cards have never given my problems, apart from one annoying "feature" on one of them BUT that was MSI's feature, not NVIDIA's, so they are not to blame.
For me their cards have always been stable and performed well, with temperatures always staying in the same safe range, being able to cool faster after I finish gaming, and the flexibility of the control panel. Plus, some games actually seem to run logically better on my NVIDIA cards. I used one laptop with ATI graphics and even Portal 2 slowed down illogically in some moments (and the card is a strong one that has the same power as my desktop NVIDIA). And this is effing Source we're talking about. Simply put, I much prefer NVIDIA's approach to ATI's -- one that always works at a great speed, as compared to one that potentially can run at a greater speed and does at some points but also runs slower at many points as well, because it operates differently.
For me their cards have always been stable and performed well, with temperatures always staying in the same safe range, being able to cool faster after I finish gaming, and the flexibility of the control panel. Plus, some games actually seem to run logically better on my NVIDIA cards. I used one laptop with ATI graphics and even Portal 2 slowed down illogically in some moments (and the card is a strong one that has the same power as my desktop NVIDIA). And this is effing Source we're talking about. Simply put, I much prefer NVIDIA's approach to ATI's -- one that always works at a great speed, as compared to one that potentially can run at a greater speed and does at some points but also runs slower at many points as well, because it operates differently.
@ Alex
I understand where you are coming from I am a poor animation/Illustration student, but if you don't want to be "writing forever" then pick a different topic on PC gaming that you can realistically cover with proper research and or hands on stuff man. Hell you should talk to Jim or whoever does the Managing at Destructoid and push for Hardware reviews. It would be a great addition, and then you could play with all the pretty toys that come in, benchmark them, and then write about it. then profit. DO IT DO IT NOOOW!!!!
I understand where you are coming from I am a poor animation/Illustration student, but if you don't want to be "writing forever" then pick a different topic on PC gaming that you can realistically cover with proper research and or hands on stuff man. Hell you should talk to Jim or whoever does the Managing at Destructoid and push for Hardware reviews. It would be a great addition, and then you could play with all the pretty toys that come in, benchmark them, and then write about it. then profit. DO IT DO IT NOOOW!!!!
Got an AMD 6870 for my latest build, much to my displeasure the 560ti came out weeks later.
I was pretty mad :/
But that said, I do tend to show people in the direction of AMD more since I think as of late they've been on the ball. I have build computers for 3 of my friends and only one of them was NVidia.
I was pretty mad :/
But that said, I do tend to show people in the direction of AMD more since I think as of late they've been on the ball. I have build computers for 3 of my friends and only one of them was NVidia.
I always tell friends to go on a card by card basis based on their budget. It's not an even progression. Sometimes you'll find that the next nVidia card up is barely better than its predecessor, or vice versa, while the competition kills at that level.
Heck, progression game by game isn't even level. It's funny to read comparisons where the AMD card is clearly superior on one game, but clearly inferior on something that has been optimized for nVidia.
Heck, progression game by game isn't even level. It's funny to read comparisons where the AMD card is clearly superior on one game, but clearly inferior on something that has been optimized for nVidia.
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