Any tips for switching from NVidia to Radeon?

[Tripperdude]

I've been building my own PC's now for 14 years, and I've never used anything but nV and I love it. I don't upgrade very often, my budget is modest and I'm not a big gamer. But I do like having reliable graphics, the ability to display 99% of what's out there and a snappy system at my fingertips (ie: big bandwidth).

I've had my 9800GT for four years now and really wanted an upgrade this summer. After checking all the specs, reviews and prices it seems the Radeon 7850 offers the most bang for the buck (<$150 US).

So now I am learning Radeon's nuances. Coming from nVidia I feel like a fish out of water, I knew it like my own hand and what to expect. I could nitpick at the many differences between the two but I really just want to know what are the best tips or software I can use to increase graphics quality for smooth video playback and provide the best overall performance.

I find the Radeon overclocks quite easily and I suffer no artifacts at all. nV never allowed more than 10-12% on anything. Is Radeon that touchy too or should I look more to turning on/off any enhancements? I'm thinking maybe its a matter of display, my monitor caps out at 1600x1050.

Any help or advice will be appreciated, and thanks in advance for your interest...now let the flame wars begin!

Warning issued for trolling.
-- stahlhart

 

[brandonb]

I use both and both work great for me. There are quirks with both products. AMD slightly a bit more historically in the past, but they are making some progress here with Crossfire. Since you are not a serious gamer, I can't see you using Crossfire anyways.

Nvidia might have a slight lead on triple monitors as well. AMD has Eyefinity but has its issues in Windows Desktop because windows thinks it's just a super wide display (1 monitor) vs 3 monitors. Nvidia I believe works like 3 monitors in Windows, and 1 monitor in games. So that's a plus.

Nvidia also has PhysX and Cuda. Not sure what software you plan on playing.

Other than that. You can't really go wrong with either company. And if you don't care above the issues above (Crossfire, 3 monitors, PhysX/Cuda) then AMD would be a great choice for your needs.

(I don't overclock so no comments there)

 

[ICDP]

Get the following utilities

RadeonPro
SweetFX

RadeonPro allows you to create game profiles with far more options than the CCC interface will.

SweetFX gives you the ability to add FXAA, SMAA, Sharpening and many other nice features. You can also incorporate SweetFX into RadeonPro to make things easier.

I also find that it is necessary to carry out a full driver clean of all previous vendor GPU drivers.

 

[Granseth]

(...)

Nvidia might have a slight lead on triple monitors as well. AMD has Eyefinity but has its issues in Windows Desktop because windows thinks it's just a super wide display (1 monitor) vs 3 monitors. Nvidia I believe works like 3 monitors in Windows, and 1 monitor in games. So that's a plus.

(...)

I use 3 monitors next to each other in a traditional 3 monitor setup. That works great, and games just run on the main monitor while I can run other stuff on the other screens. You don't need to use eyefinity unless you want an extra wide/tall screen.

 

[KarAzrael]

I'm also ready to switch my graphic cards. I have GTX470's in SLI, these cards have done a great job for the last 4 years. I believe I got the best performance for the price. One GTX470 was $230 and the other $160(after rebate).
I've been lurking forums and doing tons of reading to determine my next purchase.
So far I'm leaning towards buying an AMD card. The consideration to change from NV to Radeon comes from mantle and the fact that Xbox one and PS4 operate on AMD hardware. I believe mantle will replace OpenGL and DirectX. This will give AMD cards a significant advantage over NV.
Although I'm leaning towards AMD cards, I'm still skeptical about mantle. I will continue to wait before I commit my $300-$400 to buy a new card until December, when mantle takes effect on BF4.
The worst thing AMD can do is let mantle fail. Mantle is their way of having a $199 R9 270X to perform as well as a GTX770 or GTX780. If mantle is incapable of such performance gains, then it is not a very effective way to take control of the market.
Nonetheless, mantle can always be improved upon to increase performance.

Let's see what happens.

 

[KingFatty]

I really like how I could set my Nvidia card to use a custom resolution to run a monitor at a resolution that was not natively supported. Specifically, my 1600x1200 monitor did not support 1600x900, but I could use the Nvidia control panel to set up a custom resolution of 1600x900, and run the monitor in a letterboxed mode.

I cannot figure out a way to do this on my AMD video cards, but I'm still playing around with the new beta drivers. So watch out, if you have a very specific usage for an Nvidia card like I did, you may lose that if you switch to AMD.

 

[Enigmoid]

I will tell you this. For desktop AMD is quite good. For mobile stay far away. Drivers are [inferior].

Installed new drivers for my laptop (dell inspiron 15se) and cannot get the dgpu to kick in in skyrim. TR doesn't work on the dgpu (7730m) and neither does metro 2033.

Set to high performance mode but does not detect.

 

[Bateluer]

Nvidia might have a slight lead on triple monitors as well. AMD has Eyefinity but has its issues in Windows Desktop because windows thinks it's just a super wide display (1 monitor) vs 3 monitors. Nvidia I believe works like 3 monitors in Windows, and 1 monitor in games. So that's a plus.

Most tech sites seem to report the opposite, that AMD has far better multimonitor capabilities due to the flexibility of Eyefinity.

I've had Radeons consistently myself going back to the 9600 Pro to my current 7950, and only had a couple issues over the years. Some drives with the 2900 Pro I had didn't like Civilization IV, and caused frame rates to bottom out at the end of the turn, and the Catalyst 13.9 drivers caused crashes in Skyrim with my 7950. Those are about the only things I can recall. Never had a Crossfire set up though.

 

[smackababy]

Tip 1: Uninstall Nvidia software
Tip 2: Enjoy your new video card
Tip 3: Refer to tip 2 when you see fanboys

 

[24601]

If you ever used the driver options in the Nvidia drivers then you are in for a rude awakening.

You need 6+ third party utilities to duplicate most (not all) of the capabilities of the bog standard Nvidia drivers.

If you never touch your driver options, then it won't make a bit of difference for you.

 

[alkemyst]

I like both. I started with AMD went NVIDIA and now back to AMD. I never had a problem with changing cards on my own rig, but had to figure out stuff on others.

That said I still have a 4890 MSI OC version I bought pretty cutting edge (getting a free XFX 6870 DD soon). At 1920x1200, I don't have much limitations.

All in all they offer close performance.

At the end of the day you have to determine what power consumption, heat, noise, and games you play basically.

In today's market, I chose a EVGA 2776 770GTX for my dad over other choices at that price point. He games at 1920x1080.

 

[BoFox]

It's not too bad really. If you're more of a serious gamer who would play 1 or 2 PhysX games out there, then definitely stick with Nvidia (or if you're willing to hack, use your 9800GT as a dedicated Physx card for that 7850 you're thinking of getting). A Geforce card of the same power as HD 7850 would cost quite a bit more, but it makes sense for serious gamers who do not want to bother with hacking (or do not have a spare Geforce card lying around that has at least 1/3 the power of the primary card).

If not a serious gamer who would play many games, I think a Radeon card would be a better choice, as it saves money (since only a handful of games from the past several years actually use GPU-based PhysX).

I know that using a dedicated add-on Geforce card for Physx would cost some electricity, but then again it makes the 7850 shine even more in those games, even faster than an equivalent (but more expensive) Geforce card by itself.

 

[Contra9]

Nice timing Tripperdude. I'm going to be switching from a Nvidia card to an AMD one and I've been trying to find an answer to a question but since it might help you too I am going to piggyback on the post.

I was wondering if anyone had any insight into removing Nvidia drivers to clear the way for the AMD ones. I looked into Driver Sweeper and Driver Cleaner but neither seem to offer much in the way of Windows 8 support, so I am a bit hesitant to use them. I found some instructions at OCN on how to remove but those are focused on Windows 7. I figure that's my best bet, but if anyone has some experience switching it would be helpful. Maybe I don't need to bother to clean them out at all, haven't done it in a while.

OCN thread: http://www.overclock.net/t/1150443/how-to-remove-your-nvidia-gpu-drivers

 

[monstercameron]

friend, switching is painless unless you use card specific tools like cuda or opencl[opencl is a little better on AMD] or applications that use them.

My first gen xfx AMD hd6850 died and I just went and bought a cheap gtx650...uninstalled the amd drivers, installed the nv drivers and presto...now running nv gfx.

 

[powruser]

I just switched from a GTX 770 to 7970 (the 770 had incessant coil whine). All I had to do was uninstall all the Nvidia stuff from add/remove programs, shut down my PC. Swapped in AMD card, powered PC on, installed AMD driver and all good to go. Only thing is I'd recommend to set windows update to not install stuff automatically that way it doesn't install a generic amd driver before u install the newest AMD driver. Good luck!

 

[BoFox]

Nice timing Tripperdude. I'm going to be switching from a Nvidia card to an AMD one and I've been trying to find an answer to a question but since it might help you too I am going to piggyback on the post.

I was wondering if anyone had any insight into removing Nvidia drivers to clear the way for the AMD ones. I looked into Driver Sweeper and Driver Cleaner but neither seem to offer much in the way of Windows 8 support, so I am a bit hesitant to use them. I found some instructions at OCN on how to remove but those are focused on Windows 7. I figure that's my best bet, but if anyone has some experience switching it would be helpful. Maybe I don't need to bother to clean them out at all, haven't done it in a while.

OCN thread: http://www.overclock.net/t/1150443/how-to-remove-your-nvidia-gpu-drivers

Dude, I don't know about using these programs nowadays (it might mess up your system installation!) - it seems that NV's uninstall utility will remove everything for you (the program will likely ask you if you want to remove absolutely everything).

 

[akugami]

If you ever used the driver options in the Nvidia drivers then you are in for a rude awakening.

You need 6+ third party utilities to duplicate most (not all) of the capabilities of the bog standard Nvidia drivers.

If you never touch your driver options, then it won't make a bit of difference for you.

I've never heard of this before. Can you elaborate? I don't need full detail but just a generalization of what 6 utilities and what features you need from those 6 utilities to replicate the same functionality in the nVidia driver/control.

 

[DarkKnightDude]

I just switched from a GTX 770 to 7970 (the 770 had incessant coil whine). All I had to do was uninstall all the Nvidia stuff from add/remove programs, shut down my PC. Swapped in AMD card, powered PC on, installed AMD driver and all good to go. Only thing is I'd recommend to set windows update to not install stuff automatically that way it doesn't install a generic amd driver before u install the newest AMD driver. Good luck!

Best advice. Windows Update tends to install AMD drivers weirdly, but I have that disabled.

 

[tential]

Fanboyism in this thread is at 80% levels...
Approaching maximum shortly.

Warning issued for thread crapping.
-- stahlhart

 

[24601]

I've never heard of this before. Can you elaborate? I don't need full detail but just a generalization of what 6 utilities and what features you need from those 6 utilities to replicate the same functionality in the nVidia driver/control.

MSI afterburner for overclocking, the "Overdrive" functionality in AMD's drivers should never be touched, as it has horrible horrible bugs.

Radeonpro for application profiles and forcing basic settings. The AMD drivers reset their own every single goddamn driver, so is worthless.

Custom Resolution Utility (CRU) from 120hz.net for anything monitor related, as Nvidia has this built into their driver (and actually more granular settings) but AMD has literally nothing in theirs.

If overclocking, you have to force custom overclocking mode in MSI Afterburner or else you will be locked by AMD's completely arbitrary (and apparently constantly changing) overclock limits.
This is made easier in the custom version of MSI Afterburner on Guru3D's site maintained by the owner of the site.

Driver Panel Scaling selection is broken in the driver, so you must edit the entry in the Windows Registry.
Have fun doing this every single time you install a driver.

Also have fun reinitializing all the hacks you have to do to make the overclocking work properly again after every single driver.

There's more, but they are more specialized than what would be used by the average user.


Also, if you plan on keeping the card for more than 3 years as your primary driver of your computer, make sure you brace for the inevitable dropping of support of the card (both the official and unofficial). 4xxx and 5xxx owners know the pain.

If you install the current beta drivers, make sure to disable the "frame pacing" option. It is just a dynamic frame rate limiter that updates every 3 seconds. It's basically worthless.
Also be sure to turn off "Surface Format Optimization" as it just cuts off textures to 12-bit, irrespective of what they actually are.

 

[Tripperdude]

You need 6+ third party utilities to duplicate most (not all) of the capabilities of the bog standard Nvidia drivers.

As I am discovering presently, I figure there are workarounds (there are ALWAYS workarounds!) and I'll just have to hope they work. Occasionally we all want to tweak our driver settings, trying to squeeze that last bit of quality or speed out of them...it's half the fun isn't it?

I genuinely think colors in AMD are much richer and more realistic but that nVidia paints a somewhat sharper picture with a little better focus. This is what I am trying to figure out right now, how to best blend the two.

 

[bystander36]

MSI afterburner for overclocking, the "Overdrive" functionality in AMD's drivers should never be touched, as it has horrible horrible bugs.

Radeonpro for application profiles and forcing basic settings. The AMD drivers reset their own every single goddamn driver, so is worthless.

Custom Resolution Utility (CRU) from 120hz.net for anything monitor related, as Nvidia has this built into their driver (and actually more granular settings) but AMD has literally nothing in theirs.

If overclocking, you have to force custom overclocking mode in MSI Afterburner or else you will be locked by AMD's completely arbitrary (and apparently constantly changing) overclock limits.
This is made easier in the custom version of MSI Afterburner on Guru3D's site maintained by the owner of the site.

Driver Panel Scaling selection is broken in the driver, so you must edit the entry in the Windows Registry.
Have fun doing this every single time you install a driver.

Also have fun reinitializing all the hacks you have to do to make the overclocking work properly again after every single driver.

There's more, but they are more specialized than what would be used by the average user.


Also, if you plan on keeping the card for more than 3 years as your primary driver of your computer, make sure you brace for the inevitable dropping of support of the card (both the official and unofficial). 4xxx and 5xxx owners know the pain.

If you install the current beta drivers, make sure to disable the "frame pacing" option. It is just a dynamic frame rate limiter that updates every 3 seconds. It's basically worthless.
Also be sure to turn off "Surface Format Optimization" as it just cuts off textures to 12-bit, irrespective of what they actually are.

This feels a bit like a flashback for me. Not that I did all these different things, but the general feeling I've always had with AMD just before switching back to Nvidia. Of course I always go back to AMD with a reinvigorated outlook eventually until I eventually spiral into annoyance.

 

[24601]

This feels a bit like a flashback for me. Not that I did all these different things, but the general feeling I've always had with AMD just before switching back to Nvidia. Of course I always go back to AMD with a reinvigorated outlook eventually until I eventually spiral into annoyance.

Yes AMD/ATi's complete lack of care in the driver department is just too obvious over the years, including now.

 

[beginner99]

my budget is modest and I'm not a big gamer. But I do like having reliable graphics, the ability to display 99% of what's out there and a snappy system at my fingertips (ie: big bandwidth).

Can you elaborate your exact needs more clearly?

Most of what you write sounds like manager BS speak...see highlighted example. That means absolutely nothing. if you want a snappy system, buy an SSD, but graphics are irrelevant for that.

What do you game? What do you actually use the computer for? I'm wondering because if you do not play games or only like old titles, you might not even need a discrete GPU. integrated GPUs are pretty good nowadays.

But yeah else AMD offers way better price /performance. The 7950 offers terrific value now (if you live in US) but could be overkill for you.

 

[3DVagabond]

MSI afterburner for overclocking, the "Overdrive" functionality in AMD's drivers should never be touched, as it has horrible horrible bugs.

Radeonpro for application profiles and forcing basic settings. The AMD drivers reset their own every single goddamn driver, so is worthless.

Custom Resolution Utility (CRU) from 120hz.net for anything monitor related, as Nvidia has this built into their driver (and actually more granular settings) but AMD has literally nothing in theirs.

If overclocking, you have to force custom overclocking mode in MSI Afterburner or else you will be locked by AMD's completely arbitrary (and apparently constantly changing) overclock limits.
This is made easier in the custom version of MSI Afterburner on Guru3D's site maintained by the owner of the site.

Driver Panel Scaling selection is broken in the driver, so you must edit the entry in the Windows Registry.
Have fun doing this every single time you install a driver.

Also have fun reinitializing all the hacks you have to do to make the overclocking work properly again after every single driver.

There's more, but they are more specialized than what would be used by the average user.


Also, if you plan on keeping the card for more than 3 years as your primary driver of your computer, make sure you brace for the inevitable dropping of support of the card (both the official and unofficial). 4xxx and 5xxx owners know the pain.

If you install the current beta drivers, make sure to disable the "frame pacing" option. It is just a dynamic frame rate limiter that updates every 3 seconds. It's basically worthless.
Also be sure to turn off "Surface Format Optimization" as it just cuts off textures to 12-bit, irrespective of what they actually are.

Yes OP, when you get your card install a half dozen aftermarket utilities, make all kinds of independent adjustments with these apps, because I'm sure the developers of these applications have fully tested all of these combinations for stability with their software, and when you have stability issues blame the card's drivers.