Jump to content

Nvida vs ATI

thespottedelf
 Share
35 posts in this topic

Recommended Posts

Dermatea
Dermatea
Posted
Posted

In my opinion, Nvidia is better than ATI. Nvidia's high-end cards like the top-end 8800 series cards, (GT, GTX, and Ultra) are much better than their evenly priced ATI equivalents. Although ATI released their new X2 dual-GPU graphics cards, which perform better than the GTX in most benchmarks, which gives ATI a slight upper hand, the X2 cards as of now do not support Crossfire, and thus cannot compete with Nvidia in terms of scalability and performance when it comes to SLi configurations of Nvidia's high-end cards. The new X2 cards, also do NOT support PCI Express 2.0, a new architecture that allows for approximately double the bandwidth and performance of regular PCI-Express, as offered in Nvidia's more recent cards like the 8800GT. Nvidia has also developed Tri-SLi, which increases performance up to 2.8x a single card by using 3 graphics cards at once. This has further increased Nvidia's lead in terms of scalability. Nvidia is progressing quite nicely with its GeForce 8-series graphics cards, leaving behind the older GeForce 7-series line of cards and replacing them with well priced, well performing DirectX 10 compatible cards like those from the GeForce 8500 and 8600 series. Nvidia's launch of its GeForce 8800GT graphics cards, which utilizes PCI-Express 2.0, has further increased the lead over ATI in terms of affordable high-end performance. ATI has yet to offer a similar card that occupies only one slot that competes with the 8800GT in terms of price and performance.

Leaving the high-end side of life, we come to the mid-range selection of cards. Here, I think Nvidia still has the upper hand with its GeForce 8600 line of cards, which consistently perform better than evenly priced ATI equivalents. Thanks to this, users can now get good DirectX 10 performance without paying too high a price. Furthermore, Nvidia will eventually release its GeForce 9 series of cards, that much is certain. And when that happens, Nvidia will most certainly dominate the high-end side of life as it did before the release of ATI's X2 cards.

I have listed the reasons for why I think Nvidia's CARDS are better than ATI's, but if you want to know who is better in terms of an actual company, you'll have to ask someone well versed in both companies' business practices to get an appropriate opinion if that's what you mean by "Which is better, Nvidia or ATI?".

Link to comment
Share on other sites
~pcwiz
~pcwiz
Posted
Posted

By the way, speaking of the 8600 series, don't be fooled by the numbers and think that an 8600 is better than a 7900GS of 7900GT because it has a higher number. For example, my 7900GS beats a 8600GT in everything, the only advantage the 8600 has is higher clock speeds (which you can meet if you overclock a 7900) and HDCP support (Bluray and HDDVD playback support)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Purple Puppy
Purple Puppy
Posted
Posted
By the way, speaking of the 8600 series, don't be fooled by the numbers and think that an 8600 is better than a 7900GS of 7900GT because it has a higher number. For example, my 7900GS beats a 8600GT in everything, the only advantage the 8600 has is higher clock speeds (which you can meet if you overclock a 7900) and HDCP support (Bluray and HDDVD playback support)

 

In the Geforce series, the nomenclature is abc0, where a is the generation, b is the class (as in, high end or low end), and c is the sub-category. The additional suffix such as "GT" just classify the cards further.

 

The Geforce 7900, 7800, 8800, 8900, etc are high end, and generally outperform midrange card such as the 7600, 8600, and the low-end cards such as the 8500, 8400, 7300.

 

As for Nvidia versus ATI, I still prefer Nvidia. The Nvidias seem to have better drivers and run smoother.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
thespottedelf
thespottedelf
Posted
  • Author
Posted

from everything i've learned from this forum and other peoples builds i decided on http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?...N82E16814121021

is there somthing in the prize range that is better?

idk much about video cards but i've heard that a jump to a 7600 gt isn't worth the 40 bucks...

 

Edit:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814150257

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814500002

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814127297

 

would any of these be better than a 7300 gt?they arn't that much more and if they would give a significant benefit when gaming...

 

(the only newer game i'm worried about being able to run is cod 4, i'll mostly be playing americas army and cs:s and that would all be done in winblows)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Dermatea
Dermatea
Posted
Posted

If you're looking for a good experience with games, I'd suggest getting at least a 7600GT, but make sure you get a good one cuz' they're not all the same. I have an XFX GeForce 7600GT that's factory overclocked to 590/800 and it runs most modern games like Need for Speed Most Wanted and BioShock at Max or High settings very well. I wouldn't recommend getting the cards in the price range that you've selected if you're looking to play games like CoD4. I highly recommend getting this card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814150258

It has great features and is DirectX 10 compatible, and it's not terribly expensive if you're on a tight budget, especially after the rebate. It's probably the best card you can get in its price range so get it while you can.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
thespottedelf
thespottedelf
Posted
  • Author
Posted

wow this is getting confusing.. rofl...

 

I love how hard they have to make all of this.

 

Ok is there less support in the hackintosh community for a 8500gt than a 7300 gt? Wouldn't a 7300 gt work better because the last gen mac pros had them?

 

if not i think i'll get the 8500 gt since that will be the same price but if, god forbid, i have to buy vista (i'd rather have xp) i could run it better. Also wouldn't that be better for newer games since it is direct x10?

 

(also i have no problem running games on lowest settings... i've always had older computers)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Dermatea
Dermatea
Posted
Posted

If you really don't mind playing games on low settings, by all means, get the 7300GT. In terms of compatibility however, I believe there's a list of compatible hardware somewhere on the OSx86 Project Wiki, so search for it there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Wrenbird
Wrenbird
Posted
Posted

i checked the HCL, there isn't much on there, but it seems if you use the 8xxx installer you'll be alright. you can also try http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814127316 (8400GS) which is probably a half a step above the 7300gt performance-wise, plus DX10. This IS compatible, the 8500GT is questionable. it's up to you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
apowerr
apowerr
Posted
Posted

Hackintosh compatibility aside, I have for the longest time been a fan of Nvidia: until the HD 3000 series came out. The ATI HD 2000 and Nvidia 8 series both sucked overall for midrange (get a {censored} 8600GT, or spend $300 and get a great 8800GTS). The new HD 3k series however, is fantastic as far as price to performance goes. The 3850 out performs similarly priced 8600 GTs, and once the 36XX and 34XX are out in the mainstream, they will also be more effective (in terms of price to performance) than their Nvidia counterparts.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
aed0101
aed0101
Posted
Posted
well acording to that... i should get a 6800 ultra cause that will do better in gameing then a 7300 gt...... I think i might just get a 7600 or 7900gt.... it should be worth the extra performance.... and isn't that much more...

 

Get HD2600XT if you are not gaming (extra patching is necesary for a Pro version). HD3870 if you do games. I find ATI HD series drivers better and more stable than NVidia 8 series.

And by the way Nvidia 8 series fans, check your CPU load while playing HD content from Apple HD (1080p not 720p).

8400gs is {censored} for both Win and OS X.

Nvidia 7 series are, however, are decent cards.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Deviant0ne
Deviant0ne
Posted
Posted

When it comes down to it, I honestly think it's a matter of personal opinion... I have used ATi in other hackint0sh builds, and loved them. I was never able to get an nVidia card working, but then again I was using nVidia back in the 10.4.1 days. The fact of the matter is both vendors make excellent products.

 

The best advice I can provide to you is 1) to find a card in the WiKi that you know is supported (with or without patching) and 2) looks right for you. Good luck.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
aed0101
aed0101
Posted
Posted
ok so in a hackintosh what would be more stable a 7600 gt or the hd2600xt? cause i don't care which one i just want whatever is more stable since they both are decent cards...

 

I had an XFX 7600GT in the days when titan first appeared. Everything was working, even tv out. Great card in general.

When Netkas started work on HD2xxx series cards I've bought an HD2600xt and did not have any problems since then. No glitches, whatever. Card is reasonably fast for a price. Only problems are: No Tv out support at the moment and Netkas had to disable Powerplay in order to make it work with current kexts, so no power management, but these cards do not get really hot. The other negative point is that sleep does not work atm. Sleep was fine with 7600gt though.

When first experimental 10.5.2 nvidia kexts appeared I've bought 8400gs card. At that moment it was very unstable, buggy and slow. I bought it for my HTPC, but Purevideo seems to be not supported in os x and win xp yet. I've changed it for 8600gt silent hoping it will be better. I was wrong. So finally I got me an HD2600Pro Silent. Only difference with HD2600xt in os x is that you have to use patched kexts in order to solve blank menus problem. UVD is working fine on HD2600 series cards.

Regarding 8xxx series card, as you see, I just had experience with beta kexts and I don't know if things are different now, after 10.5.2 release.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...