Poll: AMD/ATI vs nVidia (2009)

[Black Viper]

Which graphics card platform will you choose in your next system in 2009?
Take things into consideration, such as
1) Performance
2) Heat
3) Power use
4) Price

No flaming others for their opinion, but constructive complements and criticism is welcome.

The 2008 results and discussions:
http://bbs.blackviper.com/index.php/topic,136.0.html

[Black Viper]

nVidia Single card for me.

[Spawn]

Me too.  I don't game much at all on my PC (Xbox and Wii fill this void), and the single nVidia card suites my needs perfectly.

Spawn

[Josh780]

I'm undecided. I have an ATI 9250 in one computer and an Nvidia Geforce 7600GS in this one, and I really like both of them

For a regular PCI card that cost about 100 bucks two years ago, the ATI card has been great. It has an RCA video output, so we have that system connected to the TV and it does surprising well on many games that are somewhat graphics intensive. The computer itself is an 8 year old Dell and has a Celeron 1.1Ghz, 384MB PC 133, and running XP Home SP3....It has served us well. Have never had any issues with the card or drivers at all, my only complaint is that the Catalyst software, which I have to have to get picture to the TV, is very bloated....However, the ability to create desktop shortcuts to change settings with just a double click is very nice....I used them to enable/disable video to the TV.

I have just the one Nvidia Geforce 7600GS card in my system, the one I use for everything. I got the card a year and a half ago for about 90 bucks. It's my first experience with a PCI-e card, and am not sure what to think yet about the PCI-e hype. I run my games at 1024x768 res and high to ultra high detail. Anti-aliasing on top of that will make some games run a little choppy, so I usually leave it off as I don't see much of a visual improvement with it on. Games like Crysis, Spore, and Fallout 3 run great. The only issue that I've had is that Nvidia seems to have issues with their drivers...Some games will occasionally get a strange tie-dye mesh looking distortion over certain objects or terrain. Nvidia claims that this is an issue with the game, but it doesn't happen to me with older driver versions (about 93.71 or so).

So, if I get another card, it could be either one. My decision will be made by a price versus performance comparison.

[twoturnin]

am running updated gaming rig--- dual  GT 9800 cards SLI and AMD Athlon 6000+ dual core----kept old MOB----ASUS M2N deluxe----and will update that this summer for faster  2.0 PCI EXPRESS  MOB---runs like a champ .

[shadowfire90]

have 2 EVGA 9800 GT's here as well and very happy with them in SLI mode

[FXEF]

Kinda like the nVidia chipset.

[laserscottman]

My first new equipment build some years ago was around Christmas, when ATI and NVidia were about to release new faster AGP cards, top of the line at the time.  Specs told me (along with the radical packaging graphics) that I wanted a Radeon card (i think it was a 9700?). I mmediately had driver issues. Talking to the tech dept. head where I bought it, the man told me that he also had the issues, and found that the NVidia GeForce Ti4600 went right in, used less power, and had no issues with drivers.  Since then, I have always used NVidia, and have had no problems with their drivers.   I was using AMD because friends told me they were faster than advertised, and cost less than Intel.  Later I found that the AMD K2-450 proc. and the next card (GeForce 6800GT) together pulled enough current to warrant a new PSU, and later burned the mobo power connector pin/socket on the board.  Other Techs suggested improvements like using Intel procs; they use less current.  Later builds using near or at top-of-the-line components taught me to save for higher quality parts that had either a lifetime warranty, or a reputation for stability with performance.  I have learned which brands offer the quality and integrity we all want, and some of the Mfgrs that have good warranty/customer relations. 
  I have always tried to visualize the end results from the beginning, and understood the implications of compromise during the build process.  But the unknown issues along the way can be frustrating, and cause errors in component choices during the build, revealed only in hindsight. And then there's the 'oops' factor in manufacturing defects, along with mistakes we make that ruin a product.  We may blame one brand for being weak or problematic in our experience.  So, it's really great to have a resident expert like Black Viper to make life smoother for us all!  Insights gained here are shared with my Clan's builders and members, with credit given to the source.  Thanks for listening    Laser


 

[ricster]

I build my own and have AMD in my boxes for years. I have both ATI and Nvidia GPU's. I have used the All In Wonder Card's for video capture for years as well.

Rick Martin

[WildcatDan]

In all honesty, I just try to make sure whatever I build is either ATI or NVidia.  I like both of them.  It's the oddballs I have trouble with because they're not supported as well.  ATI and NVidia both do an excellent job of making driver updates and searches easy as pie.