Unimportant ? - ATI or NVidia

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pauldh

pauldh

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Jan 1, 2004
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THGC Newb here just wondering if anyone who's been here a while would take a guestimate of the ratio of NVidia Fanboys to ATI Fanboys in this forum. I myself cheer for ATI, but I have used dozens of NVidia cards in the past couple of years also.

ABIT IS7, P4 2.6C, 512MB Corsair TwinX PC3200LL, Radeon 9500 Pro, Santa Cruz, Antec 1000AMG, TruePower 430watt
 
NVidia - 49.513652%
ATI - 49.513891%
Other - 0.972457%
(give or take 10%-20%)

Some have argued that it should be 49.513890% for ATI, but that's no longer the case after the full moon went up above us.

-----
Hope for the future.
Reflect on the past.
But focus on the present you mofo.
 
Some people like both and some like different companies than just those two (at least one likes all of the above).

Maxtor disgraces the six letters that make Matrox.
 
Fanboys? There are very few fanboys.

General trend of what cards people use? More people use ATI's cards right now since the Nvidia FX cards have been controversial and not as good.

Tommorrow is a different day though.

_________________________________________
<font color=red><b>ElectroDwarf loves Americans!</b></font color=red>
 
So there are more enthusiasts than fanboys. Good to know. I guess asking "in your opinions, who currently makes the best card" may be a better question.

ABIT IS7, P4 2.6C, 512MB Corsair TwinX PC3200LL, Radeon 9500 Pro, Santa Cruz, Antec 1000AMG, TruePower 430watt
 
A guess I'd say a total Fanboy is a person who always sticks to one brand and always claims it is the best, badmouthing the competition all the way. Hense the true fanboy rarely gets the most card for his money.

I was using the term loosely here and referring to 1) the Card you own, 2) the cards you have generally bought in the past, and most important 3)who do you like to see come out on top when the newest batch of cards come out and are benchmarked. I like to see ATI come out on top, but I'll use NVidia when it represents a good value. (Ti4200 for ages now)

If you like most to see the newest Card from any company beat out the current speed champ, no matter what brand, then you are not a fanboy, just a true enthusiast.

That's my opinion anyway. Like I said unimportant question. Glad to see replys though.

ABIT IS7, P4 2.6C, 512MB Corsair TwinX PC3200LL, Radeon 9500 Pro, Santa Cruz, Antec 1000AMG, TruePower 430watt
 
Like I said unimportant question.
Click to expand...
Well if you're new it's not an unimportant question. If this place were full of fanboys (I'm admitedly a Matrox Fan) then you'd be wasting your time asking anyone a serious question because the responses would simply be PR.

Most people here are pretty objective, the few who aren't usually get a knock on the nose or called ponces and it's quick to see that those people don't garner respect. We all have our preferences, but usually that is backed up. Some of us have mild grudges because of past actions but we try to keep that out of objective recommendations, just use it as a caveat. The main thing to look out for is sarcasm and mild-bs. There's alot of that in here, and some people tend to snap when it gets boring in the graphics field.

Welcome to THGC, Keep your head up and your nose clean. 😎


- You need a licence to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp <i>(or internet account)</i> ! - <font color=green>RED </font color=green> <font color=red> GREEN</font color=red> GA to SK :evil:
 
guess asking "in your opinions, who currently makes the best card" may be a better question.
Click to expand...

In my opinion the best card depends on your price range. From lowest prices to highest the best cards are:

Geforce4 Ti4200
Radeon 9600 PRO
GeforceFX 5900 non-ultra/XT
Radeon 9800 PRO/XT

If you're really asking which card I think is the absolute best, as you can see I lean toward the 9800 series because I have great faith in it's powerful Pixel shaders and superior quality of antialiassing.

But that doesn't mean I think Nvidia sucks; It just means I think Ati is offering the best hardware for right now.

________________
<b>Radeon <font color=red>9500 PRO</b></font color=red> <i>(hardmodded 9500, o/c 322/322)</i>
<b>AthlonXP <font color=red>2600+</b></font color=red> <i>(o/c 2400+ w/143Mhz fsb)</i>
<b>3dMark03: <font color=red>4,055</b></font color=red>
 
I'm admitedly a Matrox Fan
Click to expand...
Don't be afraid to admit it!! (eventhough most of use who have been here know that already)

JW, do you know when Matrox plans to release their next big-time card? Haven't heard much noise from them (especially not about gaming) other than the P-series and the PCI Parhelia.

Maxtor disgraces the six letters that make Matrox.
 
If only those monitors had a decent refreshrate!! And didn't cost multiple thousands of dollars :frown: .

Maxtor disgraces the six letters that make Matrox.
 
I'm also a Matrox fan, but switched to ATi when the original Radeon was released. I needed something more powerful for games, and my Marvel G200TV just wasn't cutting it anymore. Should Matrox come up with a serious 3D contender, I definately would consider going back.

My upgrade path for vid cards has been G200 --> Radeon --> Radeon 8500 --> Radeon 9700Pro.

<font color=red> If you design software that is fool-proof, only a fool will want to use it. </font color=red>
 
There is to be a new card released this spring (according to the 'noise'), but no one knows what it is. A cheaper P650-class card? Another Parhellia on a PCI-EX bus (not that it needs it), a Parhellia 2 (code named Pitou, IIRC) is another posibility, there's been buzz but no more info other than the codename, could even be a better or cheaper version of the HR256 with different features.

There is less info leak from Matrox than any of the Big Boys who benifit much more from anticipation.

I'm hoping for something in the Parhelia line, but I highly doubt it will have any gaming focus considering they let go their game relations staff, and have focused away from gaming. Their only way to get back on track IMO would be to go after the high end Workstation market for 3D (going up against the FirGL, Wildcat and Quadro lines) and then take any success/R&D there with them to re-enter the gaming market. However I don't see that happening any time soon (the market is begining to get even more cutthroat with the Addition of S3, XGI, and PowerVR).

We'll have to wait it seems.



As for the monitors, the IBM is VERY sweet, I've used one at the Univ. (and requested one from T&O at work when they used to be $20,000 just for the rejection letter explaining why my ergonomics concerns didn't justify the expense), and now they're only $7,000 CDN IBM employee price, SchweEet! :wink:

Refresh is not their focus. You'd be able to get by easily on 15fps or less with those. The main thing is scaling. I'd love to have one (I run my P260 here at work at max 1920x1440x32@75fps).

EDIT: BTW, not afraid to admit it, just doing so for full disclosure. Staunch supporter! 😎

- You need a licence to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp <i>(or internet account)</i> ! - <font color=green>RED </font color=green> <font color=red> GREEN</font color=red> GA to SK :evil:
<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by TheGreatGrapeApe on 01/08/04 12:52 PM.</EM></FONT></P>
 
That's my position too. I switched a little earlier, but should there be an R9600Pro class product for a similar price, I'd go back in an instant.

The main problem with the line right now is price. The P650 though would be a good choice for my editing rig, and may some day suplant the R9000 in it right now. But really, I'm satisfied with what I have from ATI for now.

Still follow Matrox closely for anything new that would make me jump back into their camp. Talking to people on the Matrox forums is funny though, passion runs high with them. I can't say I disagree, but it is funny hearing people say they'd rather have their Parhelia over and R9800Xt or FX5950. The major selling points for some are 16X AA, which to me isn't enough to pay that premium.
Perhaps the future hold a different card for me though.

Matrox to me still means unmatched 2D performance. The 5 stage filter process (versus ATI and nV's 3 stages) makes a big difference in image quality even with slower ramdacs (which is why oftne a G450/550 looks better than an ATI or nV product with 400mhz RAMDACs IMO).


- You need a licence to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp <i>(or internet account)</i> ! - <font color=green>RED </font color=green> <font color=red> GREEN</font color=red> GA to SK :evil:
 
"Welcome to THGC, Keep your head up and your nose clean."


Thank You.

ABIT IS7, P4 2.6C, 512MB Corsair TwinX PC3200LL, Radeon 9500 Pro, Santa Cruz, Antec 1000AMG, TruePower 430watt
 
good answer. I agree with 3 of your 4. I'd stick a 9800 non-pro in for the FX5900/XT if you can still find one for the $200-$225 range. Great deal when it was $200 at circuit city months ago.

ABIT IS7, P4 2.6C, 512MB Corsair TwinX PC3200LL, Radeon 9500 Pro, Santa Cruz, Antec 1000AMG, TruePower 430watt
 
"My upgrade path for vid cards has been G200 --> Radeon --> Radeon 8500 --> Radeon 9700Pro."

Interesting to see. My personal gaming machine upgrade path is Xpert 98@play, Rage Fury Pro, Radeon 32DDR, Radeon 8500, Radeon 9500 Pro. I look strictly ATI huh. But I have a few gaming systems in my LAN for when friends come over with mostly Ti4200's in them. And no I am not at all wealthy, just a gamer/ pc build addict who can't pass up a great deal when I see it. I sell systems, and unfortunately keep some too.

ABIT IS7, P4 2.6C, 512MB Corsair TwinX PC3200LL, Radeon 9500 Pro, Santa Cruz, Antec 1000AMG, TruePower 430watt
 
"The Radeon 8500 was a weird card indeed, or you could say the turning point of ATi's fortune."

Yeah, Of all my ATI's the BBA 8500 64MB was the only one to give me trouble. Fast speed for it's day, great visial quality, but occastional lockups while gaming or 3D benchmarks. Acted the same no matter what drivers and on 2 different systems. I RMA'd it after about 1 year and the replacement was better, but still less stable than I wanted. Maybe not the way you intended it, but it was "weird" to me too. The 8500le's never gave me problems though.

ABIT IS7, P4 2.6C, 512MB Corsair TwinX PC3200LL, Radeon 9500 Pro, Santa Cruz, Antec 1000AMG, TruePower 430watt
 
I wouldn't mind getting a cheaper P-650, but I'd much rather have a newer Parhelia series card (if better than the -512 and not on PCI-EX). I'd rather see a Parhelia 2 and pickup a reduced-price Parhelia (hopefully Parhelia 2 will allow 10-bit color with multiple displays). I'd imagine Pitou would have beefed up 3D with Longhorn being released in it's lifetime...and supposedly Longhorn will kick a graphics card's ass.

I knew Matrox's leaks are pretty much non-existent (which is why I asked you)...but I've still heard surprisingly little.

I really wouldn't care for a gaming Matrox...I wouldn't use it for gaming anyway (MAYBE HL2 and Halo [if it could run them]--nothing more). Maybe an all-in-one video editting solution (Triplehead and TV output) instead of a dual card config, but that would probably cost an arm and 2 legs (and then I couldn't walk...).

I got the privilege of using the IBM T221 on two occasions (amazing monitor). First was briefly with my dad (who works for IBM) at the office when they first came out...I did have one complaint: whenever I would drag a window, I would get horrible drag ghosting (kind of like mouse trails--maybe it was just really bad ghosting, but it was not as bad as Mac's 23-inch prettybox), I wasn't sure what the graphics card was. I tried it for about 45-minutes (all together too brief) again about a month later on an HR256 and there was still ghosting on scrolling on a text page and window dragging, but it was only ghosting, and not TOO bad (especially considering size and resolution). I would easily live with whatever ghosting exists because I don't really move any windows around once I get them in place.

I'd love to have one...too bad IBM US doesn't have it on their employee purchase program site, especially since it's $8400USD at the regular site (not that I could get one at even 7000CDN [which is a relative steal])!!

I've definitely been thinking about ditching my 4400 and getting a P-650 or Parhelia (most likely a Parhelia) and getting two nice 21/22" Mitsubishi or Viewsonic CRTs. There's something to be said about having 2 2.75MP monitors over one (albeit AMAZING) 9.2MP monitor--feels more organized, IMO. I like CRTs more too. I'd rather work on the rest of my system for now, though.

Anyway, I'm really starting to think about building a second system for productive stuff and leaving this one for gaming (with a better graphics card and only one monitor).

My 4400 really can't run the best refresh rates in daily usage with a 1600x1200x32 and a 1280x1024x32 (really annoying having one be 4:3 and the other 5:4...but when I drop my second down to 1280x960x32 I get distortion (W I D E text on the sides and nrrw text in the middle) like it wasn't mean to run that resolution--and I'm not dropping my main one to 1280x1024x32) running at the same time. Weird thing is that the flicker is only noticable from a distance and REALLY close...but not from my seat.

Only a few months ago I loved gaming...now I really could do without the more I think about it. Only Halo, HL2, and Hitman 2 (kinda old, I know--but I love it) interest me at all (too bad I can only run 1 with good detail), maybe more games that start with H should come out and I'd get back into gaming.

I'll probably contact Matrox and sound like a really interested customer to see if they will leak anything to me about Pitou (doubtful). Do you think I'll get more out of them if I act really dumb, normal, or TRY to sound really knowlegable (I'd guess normal--too dumb and they baby-you and too smart and they're afraid you're on the staff of a competing company or part of a review site)?

Anyway...I'm getting a little sick of my 4400's performance in WindowsFX (skinning tool that M$ has taken A LOT of features from and plans to incorporate them into Longhorn), and it (as well as the other stuff I run--though not NEARLY as intensive) highly recommends Matrox for optimal performance. nVidia is at the bottom of the list with S3 and somebody else :frown: . Alright, I need to stop convincing myself to get a Parhelia.

Maxtor disgraces the six letters that make Matrox.
 
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