Question What is your favorite GPU of all time?

[SHaines]

Greetings!

Technology is changing so quickly that it can be tough to develop a deep attachment to any one item. However, through the years we've all likely made that one really big purchase that left us feeling like we were way ahead of the curve.

When I first caught the bug to build computers from scratch, the litmus test for any GPU was how it could run Crysis. At the time, next to nothing could really do it justice.

Many years after it came out, I was still using that game to test the power of graphics hardware and the GeForce 7800 GTX was my first card to run everything on high settings. It wasn't a perfect experience, given limitations I had in other hardware, but that is the first time a graphics card really blew me away.

What graphics card/GPU do you have fond memories of using?

 

[Alone_Boy_]

ATI Radeon HD 4850. I think it was the best P/P GPU of all time. It's a shame that AMD decided to play along with Nvidia and pump up GPU prices.

 

[Vaxtez]

Gtx 1050 Ti. It got me out of tinkering with configuration files to play games. It also got me out of sub 30fps 480P and lowest and allowed me to play 1080P 60fps+ Medium-Ultra (Ultra on Doom 2016 with vulkan). Still using it today.

 

[Vlad1156]

Asus Radeon HD 4850 this gpu was lit.Had it on my first pc(2008~2009)and i had no problems.Sold it in 2017 and was still working.Played a lot on it

 

[emi2003]

Gtx 1080 ti

 

[Supermotofool]

For me it's my first gpu in the first gaming rig I built.

Saphire R9 270x super OC edition 4gb duo

 

[wcrockett]

Greetings!

Technology is changing so quickly that it can be tough to develop a deep attachment to any one item. However, through the years we've all likely made that one really big purchase that left us feeling like we were way ahead of the curve.

When I first caught the bug to build computers from scratch, the litmus test for any GPU was how it could run Crysis. At the time, next to nothing could really do it justice.

Many years after it came out, I was still using that game to test the power of graphics hardware and the GeForce 7800 GTX was my first card to run everything on high settings. It wasn't a perfect experience, given limitations I had in other hardware, but that is the first time a graphics card really blew me away.

What graphics card/GPU do you have fond memories of using?

My Asus Strix GTX 970, it was great then and has aged very well.

 

[alexcoulter111]

fi

Greetings!

Technology is changing so quickly that it can be tough to develop a deep attachment to any one item. However, through the years we've all likely made that one really big purchase that left us feeling like we were way ahead of the curve.

When I first caught the bug to build computers from scratch, the litmus test for any GPU was how it could run Crysis. At the time, next to nothing could really do it justice.

Many years after it came out, I was still using that game to test the power of graphics hardware and the GeForce 7800 GTX was my first card to run everything on high settings. It wasn't a perfect experience, given limitations I had in other hardware, but that is the first time a graphics card really blew me away.

What graphics card/GPU do you have fond memories of using?

first card. gtx 275.

 

[BARRlCADE]

GTX660. SO many good games within it's life span.

If i had to choose another it would be the VooDoo3 without a doubt.

 

[vinchurkarsanket608]

Gtx 1050ti

 

[DanTDMDaniel234]

Greetings!

Technology is changing so quickly that it can be tough to develop a deep attachment to any one item. However, through the years we've all likely made that one really big purchase that left us feeling like we were way ahead of the curve.

When I first caught the bug to build computers from scratch, the litmus test for any GPU was how it could run Crysis. At the time, next to nothing could really do it justice.

Many years after it came out, I was still using that game to test the power of graphics hardware and the GeForce 7800 GTX was my first card to run everything on high settings. It wasn't a perfect experience, given limitations I had in other hardware, but that is the first time a graphics card really blew me away.

What graphics card/GPU do you have fond memories of using?

Hey, right now my favorite GPU is the nvidia Ge Force GT 520 because it is the strongest GPU i have in house, i am planning to buy a new one but that will take another 2/3 years and this GPU is already 9 years old :O It still works amazingly well tho so yeah!

 

[siddharth.behuria]

I have to go with the OG (Original Gamer) 3dfx Voodoo. At a time when 3D 'decelerators' like the S3 Virge were the only other option, 3dfx came out with an expansion card that literally kicked the asses of every other graphics card. They were 3D-only, of course, so you still needed a Virge (or whatever) card for other work, but games like GLQuake and Whiplash kicked off the 3D revolution.

Sadly, 3dfx wasn't able to adjust with the changing demands of the market, and while the Voodoo 2 was good, the Voodoo 3 fell behind and we don't really need to talk about Voodoo 5 6000. Because a picture is everything you need to see:

That is not a fake rendering of a hypothetical graphics card but is a product that actually existed. Well, it existed as a prototype at least -- the Voodoo 5 6000 was never available at retail. Quad SLI years before Nvidia and AMD would attempt that feat. It was hubris.

Actually, maybe the Voodoo 5 6000 should be my pick? How can you not love that monstrosity!?

SOLID!

 

[Kim Jong Greg]

I can't see how the answer can be anything else than the GTX 1080ti. That card was technically an anomaly, an exercise in what NVIDIA is capable of when threatened by AMD (it came out around the time AMD was flexing their muscles ahead of the Radeon VII launch). With the 1080ti we got a lot more performance than we should have when compared to previous-generation cards (and looking at past and future incremental changes). The price at launch was also lowered than it otherwise would have been, had AMD not threatened NVIDIA with talk of regaining GPU supremacy. Even though nothing came out of that for AMD, we got to enjoy a monster of a GPU for relatively decent money, considering that with RTX 20 series there isn't a compelling reason to upgrade. Ray tracing is in its infancy, and 2080ti doesn't have the value proposition, so most 1080ti owners never bothered updating (most of those who don't need to have the latest top-spec GPU for $1000 just for the kicks)

So for me, it's a toss-up between the 1080TI and the previous GPU king - GeForce 8800 GTX.

 

[kubacapo]

Favourite GPU: ATI Radeon X1900XTX. It was brilliant

most hated GPU: Nvdia GeForce 4 MX 440. it wasnt equipped with pixel shaders (GF3 was). I could play new games 'cause performance was good, but there was no option without pixel shaders.... NICE

 

[pacmak]

Some model of GMA. I got lot of fun with minecraft running at 10 FPS
The worst was Gigabyte GTX 680 Superoverclock… just look at the picture and you understand...

 

[Zdos123]

Greetings!

Technology is changing so quickly that it can be tough to develop a deep attachment to any one item. However, through the years we've all likely made that one really big purchase that left us feeling like we were way ahead of the curve.

When I first caught the bug to build computers from scratch, the litmus test for any GPU was how it could run Crysis. At the time, next to nothing could really do it justice.

Many years after it came out, I was still using that game to test the power of graphics hardware and the GeForce 7800 GTX was my first card to run everything on high settings. It wasn't a perfect experience, given limitations I had in other hardware, but that is the first time a graphics card really blew me away.

What graphics card/GPU do you have fond memories of using?

GTX 580 lasts till 2018ish was in my primary gaming rig back when that was new then got moved into a PC i built my sister got gamed on pretty heavily then, Fiddled around with it in like 2016, tried liquid cooling it with tea, in short didn't go well and sprayed tea all over the GPU, continued to function. After that put it in a PC for my parents where it gave up the ghost after 8 years whilst calmy rendering word documents and browsing facebook. RIP GTX 580 2010-2018.

 

[bit_user]

the GTX 1080ti. That card was technically an anomaly, an exercise in what NVIDIA is capable of when threatened by AMD (it came out around the time AMD was flexing their muscles ahead of the Radeon VII launch).

No, that was Vega 56/64. Nvidia saw the specs on it and panicked. As usual, for GCN, Vega looked better on paper than how it actually performed.

The Radeon VII actually holds its own against the GTX 1080 Ti, but it came along 1.5 years later.

The price at launch was also lowered than it otherwise would have been,

IMO, they priced it correctly, which was in line with the launch price of the GTX 980 Ti.

Still, I was pleasantly surprised with its specs and pricing. I remember thinking they could have priced it higher, especially after what they did with the Pascal Titan X pricing.

 

[hftvhftv]

GTX 980 Ti had 6 GB of RAM.

Yes, re-read my post, the 770 had a 4GB frame buffer.

 

[Kim Jong Greg]

No, that was Vega 56/64. Nvidia saw the specs on it and panicked. As usual, for GCN, Vega looked better on paper than how it actually performed.

The Radeon VII actually holds its own against the GTX 1080 Ti, but it came along 1.5 years later.

Yeah, that one - sorry, dealing with a potentially catastrophic 1TB data loss on the side 🙈

IMO, they priced it correctly, which was in line with the launch price of the GTX 980 Ti.

Still, I was pleasantly surprised with its specs and pricing. I remember thinking they could have priced it higher, especially after what they did with the Pascal Titan X pricing.

Correctly from the consumer standpoint, as opposed to what they had done with the 2080ti. But if you go back in time and look at historical GPU pricing, even accounting for inflation, a $500 GPU was always an outlier option. Something that was not really recommended unless you literally had no other possible use for the money difference between that and a $350GPU. 1080ti really made sense from the price to performance standpoint, despite what it cost at the time. That said, 2080ti serves as an illustration of why a monopoly is not great for consumers. They try to charge ppl a grand for a GPU because they CAN.

And that's why I'm excited for the 30 series RTX GPUs, because once again AMD is flexing its muscles with big Navi this time around. It's going to be interesting not only because of its supposed raw power, but also future ubiquity (all consoles will be based on AMD architecture) promising potentially better optimisation. The fear there is that even despite potentially not having the numbers, the net result will be that games will be better optimised and run better on AMD cards, even if technically NVIDIA retains spec sheet supremacy.

With those considerations, I'm really looking forward to what NVIDIA delivers with 3080ti and at what price point. I'm going to try getting 6 years of life out of my 1080ti and hopefully, the next top tier card will be able to match that.

 

[theonerm2]

My RTX 2080 ti is pretty sweet.

 

[bit_user]

Yeah, that one - sorry, dealing with a potentially catastrophic 1TB data loss on the side 🙈

Oof. Good luck with that.

It's going to be interesting not only because of its supposed raw power, but also future ubiquity (all consoles will be based on AMD architecture) promising potentially better optimisation. The fear there is that even despite potentially not having the numbers, the net result will be that games will be better optimised and run better on AMD cards

Uh, the big consoles have had GCN GPUs for like the past 7 years.

And, from what I understand, the ports are usually done by a different company than the original developers. So, it's not really the case that having the same GPU in consoles and a PC naturally lead to better-optimized games for PCs. I'm sure there's some benefit to those games using a cross-platform engine, but it might not be as much or as wide-spread as you'd expect.

Oh, and RDNA will soon grace Samsung phones & tablets, FWIW.

With those considerations, I'm really looking forward to what NVIDIA delivers with 3080ti

The only considerations I'm taking into it are 7nm and 2nd-gen RTX.

at what price point.

They'll probably start out high and drop only as needed to stay competitive.

I'm going to try getting 6 years of life out of my 1080ti and hopefully, the next top tier card will be able to match that.

I got a 980 Ti when Pascal launched, for about $450. My expectation was I'd skip a generation and do the same thing (i.e. with what turned out to be the RTX 2080 Ti), but there's basically no way it'll ever sell for that little. Until I bought by Radeon VII, I told myself there's no way I'd ever spend > $500 on a GPU. But, the only reason I broke that rule and got the VII was for GPU compute.

 

[Kim Jong Greg]

Oof. Good luck with that.

It's on my wife's iMac so you know, no pressure. Part of her Time Machine backup got corrupted, never paid much attention to it but TM sucks as a backup solution. We're moving soon, so needs to survive a month or so and then on to the home NAS. Anyhow, I think I can restore her apps and systems to save time on software installations and then copy her work files manually. Thanks anyway;-)

Uh, the big consoles have had GCN GPUs for like the past 7 years.
(...)
Oh, and RDNA will soon grace Samsung phones & tablets, FWIW.

I could've worded it better. The emphasis was on the ubiquity. If it's RDNA across the board then porting (both ways) will be easier.

They'll probably start out high and drop only as needed to stay competitive.

Oh, I am under no illusion of NVIDIA's benevolence, but that might be enough.

I got a 980 Ti when Pascal launched, for about $450. My expectation was I'd skip a generation and do the same thing (i.e. with what turned out to be the RTX 2080 Ti), but there's basically no way it'll ever sell for that little. Until I bought by Radeon VII, I told myself there's no way I'd ever spend > $500 on a GPU. But, the only reason I broke that rule and got the VII was for GPU compute.

Sucks man, it was luck of the draw with the 1080ti for me in a way.

 

[RememberThe5th]

R9 280

 

[1988cnl]

TNT2 which was my first ever card when I was getting interested in these things, or later the 9800 Pro, the 3d Prophet from Hercules. Cost me big, big money as a 15 year old but I think it was worth it.

 

[SwartzcopK]

I'ma Ryzen diehard.....I am looking forward to Ryzen 9 4900HS which AMD says is 30% faster than the predecessor Ryzen 7 4800U

 

[mdd1963]

The Geforce 2 MX was a very good amount of performance for the money 'back in the day'!

But, the Voodoo1 and Voodoo2 were kings in 1997/1998! (Going from 12-15 fps in software rendered Quake II to 67 fps in 3dfx OpenGL /AMD3dNow was a thing to behold!)