Advice on a new graphics card.ATI or Nvidia?

[starmanwarz]

Another question,there are so many brands on the same chipsets(msi,sapphire,asus etc.)are there any specific ones I should avoid or they are all the same?Whats with the price differences on the same chipsets but different manufactures?I mean a 8800GTS is still the same card no matter what the manufacturer and the price is,right?

 

[col-p-todd]

They are just different companies offering the same product, and peformance (for stock speeds not factory oc models). they may have a different warranty and alot of times different games included. So in all there is not much difference I just stick with the well known brands to be on the safe side. like asus, bfg, Ati but msi and sapphire are good aswell. But I would personaly stay away of brands such as powercolor, pny,jetway,his,connect3d diamond.

 

[4745454b]

I haven't seen anyone mention this yet, so I will. Generally, you don't want to buy the XTX version of ATIs cards. Unless you have the $$$ to spend (and you don't or else you'd be getting the GTS) you can safely buy the XT version. Stock, it isn't much slower then the XTX, and can be overclocked to make up even more ground. Add in the fact that the XT is cheaper then the XTX, and your best buy becomes a 512MB x1950XT. (I'd even consider getting the 256MB card.

I do agree with the other posters. Over here in the States, it doesn't make much sense to buy an x1950XTX. Its just a bit more money for the GTS. Not only is it faster stock, but has much better overclocking potential.

 

[starmanwarz]

Well prices here in Greece are way different from your prices .I forgot to mention that im not really into overclocking,so I think I would prefer a better "stock"card.

 

[4745454b]

Don't get me wrong, the x1950XTX is faster then the x1950XT. But I don't believe that it is worth any price premium over the XT. The XT can provide nearly all the same experience as the XTX, but for less $$$. (over here anyways... YMMV)

 

[miahallen]

What is this R600 everyone is talking about?Is it ati or nvidia?And that sub version of the GTS will be as good as the one that exists now?

The next big thing for computer gamers is the release of the new DirectX10 (DX10) API. When it is released (sometime this year), it will offer some truly revolutionary possiblities for game designers to use the graphics processor (GPU) in ways unimaginable in the past. So naturally, graphics chip manufactures want to create new GPUs capable of running this code.

The very first GPU to the market that fully supports the DX10 API is nVidia's G80 (the one used in all the 8800 series cards). The 8800GTX is the most powerful GPU on the market today, bar none! The 8800GTS is a derivitive, with slighty slower clocks, and part of the chip is disabled (to improve yield).

ATI has yet to release a proccessor that supports DX10, but they have one in the works, and it is currently slated for March (although it's been pushed back a couple times already). It's codename is the R600.

There is a lot of speculation on whether the R600 will be able to surpass the G80's performance, but it would be stupid for ATI to be this late, and release something inferior, so most believe that it will be more powerful. However, the G80 from nVidia has been out for a few months already, and my guess is nVidia is going to be very ready to release a newer version of the 8800GTX (8900GTX maybe?) that should be able to counter whatever ATI throws at it. Only time will tell.

As far as performance in current games, built on the DX9 API...any of these new GPUs are extremely powerful, and you can rest assured they will carry their weight for at least a little while.

 

[starmanwarz]

Thanks alot miahallen,that was very helpful.

 

[miahallen]

No problem, just sitting at work, passing the 12 hour shift as productively as possible :lol: Good Luck!

 

[starmanwarz]

One more question.I saw that the 8800 needs 2 PCI slots,the 2nd one for the cooling system.Does that mean that I have to buy a SLI mainboard?Im saying this because im not interested in SLI and I dont want to pay the extra $$ for it.

 

[cleeve]

What is this R600 everyone is talking about?Is it ati or nvidia? And that sub version of the GTS will be as good as the one that exists now?

R600 is Ati's upcoming DirectX 10 GPU. Shoud be here in a month or two. Probably going to be called the X2800 or something like that... 😛

You don't need an SLI board to use a 8800. It just uses up more space than a single-slot card.

 

[starmanwarz]

Do you think thats its not wise to get a new gfx card just before vista and DX10 are released?

 

[miahallen]

I bought the Radeon 9700pro when it was first released. At the time it blew the competition away (this was four and a half years ago). It was the first DX9 card on the market, and there was LOTS of speculation as to whether it was a necessary upgrade at the time (because DX9 had not yet been released).....NOT ONCE HAVE I REGRETTED BUYING IT. Even though DX9 had not yet been release, it was still far more powerful at running the DX8 games anyway. It has lasted me quite nicely the last four and a half years. It's about as fast as a current nVidia 7300GS. Of course now it's showing it's age.

The situation is very similar right now, and if you had asked this question six months ago concerning the X1950XTX or the 7900GTX, I would have told you to wait. But, now the new 8800 series is out, and as you can see in my sig, I bought the new flagship...the 8800 GTX. I think when a new architecture comes out IT SIGNALS THE PERFECT TIME TO UPGRADE! You can sit around an wait for the next best thing FOREVER, and never buy anything (things are constantly changing). But there isn't ANYTHING that will cause the 8800 series to become obsolete (unusable) in the foreseeable future, and I plan to keep mine until DirectX11 is released (hopefully it'll be another 5 years or so). Plus, current technology has another advantage going for it. I'm sure in two years time, my 8800GTX will not feel so "cutting-edge" anymore, so I'll visit ebay, and buy another one (buy then they'll probably be down to around $200-300) for SLI, extending the life of this upgrade even further.

Some people say DX10 isn't even out yet....but that doesn't detract the facts...the 8800GTX is also the fastest architecture for DX9! 8)