Upgrading, ATi or nVidia?

[Robor]

Originally posted by: Wreckage

Originally posted by: Extelleron
Ah, so THATS why I'm playing Oblivion maxed out w/ HDR @ 1280x1024, with tons of added grass in INI, LOD replacements for higher res textures, 2xQuality Adaptive AA.......... and having it smooth as can be.

Here's a cookie for you.

I was referring to reviews from respected websites, not from fanboys

Mr. Pot meet Mr. Kettle

 

[TheRyuu]

Originally posted by: Wreckage

Originally posted by: Extelleron
Ah, so THATS why I'm playing Oblivion maxed out w/ HDR @ 1280x1024, with tons of added grass in INI, LOD replacements for higher res textures, 2xQuality Adaptive AA.......... and having it smooth as can be.

Here's a cookie for you.

I was referring to reviews from respected websites, not from fanboys

But the thing is Extelleron is right. The framerate is playable at 1280x1024 with HDR+AA.

You do loose anywere between 4-8 fps with HDR+AA but it's still playable. To compare, the only X1900 with HDR+AA runs about as fast as my heavily OC'ed 7900Gt's in SLI.

Problem was when I bought my Video cards (7800GT's) the X1900 didn't exist. So I stepped up to 7900GT's when I could (with evga). And I don't have the money to buy a new system so thats what I did. I got screwed cause I didn't really have that much of a choice (X1800 wasn't all that great).

YOU have a choice, and I suggest you go for the X1900XT(X). Because it really is the single best performing card IMO. (and with better IQ and HDR+AA, and don't say it's not worth it cause I'm jelous I can't do it with mine)

 

[Munky]

I bet is the situation was reversed, and Nvidia had a card that was faster, with more features (however useful or useless they may be...), cheaper, and it came out 1 month ahead, this place would turn into the equivalent of nvnews, and nobody would be asking questions if Ati or Nv had a better card. When it comes to marketing, nobody beats Nvidia.

 

[akugami]

Sorry but Wreckage, a self admitted fanboy, calling someone else a fanboy?

ATI has a slight edge in image quality and they have HDR+AA (which only Oblivion has and through an unofficial patch). ATI also has better AA algorithms in that they cause less of a performance hit. ATI also runs better at DirectX games. nVidia runs faster in OpenGL games and is a fast card overall, especially with no AA but once you start cranking up the features it starts falling back in line with ATI and even behind it. In truth, when you buy a $300-500 video card, you want to crank up the features and resolutions. nVidia does have a better dual card implementation but I feel that SLI and Crossfire are not worth the money as they do not provide a 100% speed boost for 2x the cost. One thing to note is there are a lot of newer high profile games (games like FEAR and Oblivion) that seem to be shader heavy which ATI has an edge on nVidia. But in the end, it depends on what type of games you play most.

As far as noise goes, the 7900GTX is supposedly near silent. Silent enough that the noise on the X1900 series is noteworthy. I've been using a X1900 recently and running RTHDRIBL to try to stress the video card. With no other sound but the ambient noise, it was clearly audible over my case fans but it wasn't to the point where it was annoying. If it was slightly higher pitched or slightly louder then it would get into the annoying stage, like when the fan spins to 100% during computer startup. This is a YMMV issue. Though one has to factor in that when you game, you usually have a game running or headphones on. I found that during gaming you don't notice it except at very quiet moments.

 

[cwoz94]

X1900XT !!! such a sweet card

 

[The Dome]

akugami makes a very good point. Currently Ati has the lead in Oblivion performance so if this is the type of game you play (most of these MMORPG types are D3D) then Ati would be your better-suited option. If one is a big Doom/Quake 4 player then you would obviously go with a Nvidia based card since they handle them quite a bit better. I don't know if buying a card due to the fact that it has more pixel shader power is a good thing, not atleast currently where games don't need that much power for it to make any large performance difference. I personally prefer nVidia cards (not a fanboy) due to thier supperior linux driver support and the fact that the 7 series run much cooler than thier counterparts in the Ati line, and the less heat in my loop makes me a happier guy. I also choose to the 7900GT mostly because benchmarks showed it ahead of the X19/8 series in HL2 and all I play is CS:S so that was important to me.

It basically comes down to what kind of games you play and would you sacrafice 5-10Fps for a cooler and quieter card?

 

[n7]

X1900XTX