Sure on the typical Fanboy sure, but I remain open minded. ATI has Great Hardware,and if it weren't for the crummy drivers I would probably use the ATI card, after turning it down a bit. The Drivers for ATI cards have been a long time problem, and they are just barely getting them ironed out. Lets hope that they continue to do it, adn not let the x1300 Plague them again!
Actually, over the years Catalyst has gotten significantly better. I have never had any problems at all with Catalyst and they are in no way terrible drivers like they were back in the day. I think you have to try it out to really get the feel of it. The problems you speak of from the x1300 days has been fixed for quite a long time.
Yep I am a fanboy of nVidia, but I also know what each card is good for, and why or why not to buy either of them!!
Well, what can I say here, purchasing decisions always come down to the consumer. However, being a fanboy of NVIDIA isn't being bad per-se but it does seem to cloud the objectiveness of your judgement.
The Biggest point in nVidia is that they are all tough cards, and will last you dam near forever if you use them accordingly, which is a far say for any ATI card even used in default settings. Most ATI cards don't have sufficient cooling, and they just get out right hot, But then again if you turn them around, you get ATI with the over pushed configurations, ultimately creating better performance in there native engines, for much less.
Actually, this part is beyond untrue, it doesn't take much to actually look at the cooling performance of the cards on both sides to see the true winner. The Fermi series of cards, especially their first two introductions ran way hotter and consumed a lot more power than most ATI cards.
now another point is that if you look back oh 6 years, ATI was specifically coded into most the games and software's in the generation, now look at that number now. Quite a few which use to be optimized for ATI, are now nVidia! Software developers know the better hardware, and they also know which is easier to code for to. This is probably my Biggest reason for going nVidia as I have chosen, but like I said earlier in this post, ATI Graphics Cards are the better on the hardware level, it is the Drivers that failed them the most and it is typically in the cooling/temperature sensor's. Most enthusiasts are going to buy what will last. I do give props for ATI catching up as they always do, but lets ask ourselves, is it because you can buy most the hardware for less then 200 bux, or is it because they are truely better on the big picture?
Actually this part is moot, it has almost always been about whoever pays more to get that logo on the software. Hell, some of these games are not even truly optimized for the brand it is advertising, but it does all come down to who pays more for that "optimized for" image.
I do work on many different types of systems that use both tables, ATI and nVidia, so because of this I see what crashes systems more and where a lot. I dont' get quite what you meen so much about credibility though. So what I am nVidia threw and threw, so what. Just because I prefer nVidia doesn't mean I can't make a valid point. I do shop ATI cards, but the catalyst drivers on my own ATI rig (BTW I do have both in my house by choice) Has more Driver Halts and blue screens then the other 2 nVidia Graphics cards combined, all using the same OS. For comparison purposes, I am a good example of which is more stable to the next. Whats more funny is that the ATI rig doesn't even do anything real intensive, and it still crashes out more I have ATI series 5480 I think on 1 of Systems, and nVidia 7900 on another and GTX275 nvidia Cards in my bigger gamer.
I think there are more factors to driver halts and BSODs than you think, it's hard to say exactly without all the hardware, but I doubt that ATI cards cause this more than NVIDIA cards do. I had a fair share of problems with both cards and in the end found out some of the issues were caused by bad memory that passed Memtest.
Your comment in the Benchmark reviews, well really you think that an average of 10 frames matters between one from the other, come on for real. Most the Benchmark reviews that you read are insulting tot eh ATI card for one reason, when they were reviewed ATI had WDM Drivers, and nVidia didn't, that is just out right insulting if you ask me, but i still bought an ATI card myself. I like it but they are pretty blocky and Crayola if you ask me,no real problem, thats there trade mark, what they are known for. when you take a peep at the clarity from one to the other that 10 frames is a small sacrifice to loose. And really you won't even miss those 10 frames, little lone notice the difference!! anyway those tests are also done on ATI optimized game engines too.!.
Actually those frames can go a long way, graphics quality wise, they are near the same. In terms of the blockyness you are talking about, I am quite confident that either you are using a 50 inch TV or you just need some better glasses. That or more likely you have been playing a bit too much retro games like the original 8-bit games or something. Try turning your graphics settings up when using ATI cardss, that usually helps with blockyness.
Edited by shc-boomer, 15 August 2010 - 09:08 AM.
