ati vs nvidia!

[Stormy]

Well the time is getting close for me to get my new PC! and im starting to look at what im going to get. I know the general bits i want but i dont really know all the indepth stuff about the hardware. Well basicly im planing on getting the best ATI x800 or nvidia geforce 6 and i was wonding which people recomend i get and reasons for the recomendation.

atm im swaying toward the x800, just because i have never had ati and i dont like the way the nvida is going to be using up so much power! but as i say i dont really know much on the subject so i though this would be a good place to come for advice.

 

[Axyon]

If you want the best of the best, then the x800 XT-PE is the card for you. If you want something slightly more affordable, with reduced performance, then the 6800 GT is supposed to be better than the x800 Pro.

 

[blahblahblah]

You need to answer a couple of questions. ATI and Nvidia cards are both good, but in different areas.

Questions:
- System Specs including power supply
- What game will you play more Doom 3 or HL2?
- Do you like to use AA and AF?
- How long will you keep this card?
- When are planning on buying this card?

 

[Stormy]

I dont really care about the price i just want the best one i have about £400 to spend on one. i was looking at the Asus ATI Radeon AX800 XT/TVD 256MB DDR3 but like i say i dont really understand what any of it means/.

-

System i have been jotting down so far is:
**Case and Coolers**

Akasa System Exhaust Blower = £5
Akasa Hard Disk Cooler - Blue x 2 = £10
CoolerMaster Centurion - Black (No PSU) (CA-044-CM) = £88


---------------------------------

**Hardware**

athlon 64 3400+ = £299.63
western digital special edition 160gig 8mb Cache = £72.85

Radion x800 > best one
SoundBlaster Live 5.1 digital + Inspire P580 = £80


17" flat screen moniter

No spesifics atm

Games: HL2, rome TW, BW2, stalker.... all the upcoming next gens (also using 3ds max)
AA and AF: have no idear what that is

Will probly keep the card for a cople of years, just untill i feel like a need a new system.

Gunna be buying it all in august!

 

[Foxtrot]

The 6800 ultra will probably be better for games that come out later, but for now ATI is the best.

 

[Asus]

The 6800 ultra will probably be better for games that come out later, but for now ATI is the best.

I'm glad you can tell us that now. How is it in the future?

The X800XT PE or the 6800U will both be great cards.
The 6800U handles multiple lights better but the X800XT PE handles a large number of detailed textures better.
X800 series love Anti-Aliasing and Aniso Filtering, so go ahead and turn it up.

The X800XT PE Is a single slot card and consumes less power.
Don't forget about Overdrive which OC's the card on the fly based on how cool the case is.

 

[lePobz]

heh, another ATi vs nVidia thread... I never get tired of these.

6800 ultra is level pegging with the X800XT in terms of performance, and in the lead in terms of on-board technology. It's more expensive though, and I'm not sure you'd notice the lack of Shader Model 3.0 until a good few years away, by which time you'd probably have upgraded.

I'd say get an X800 XT Platinum cuz its a bit cheaper, quieter, and cooler.

 

[Stormy]

Cool, so most people reckon the ATI, thats what i have been thinking off but i just wanna make sure

One other question! what brand would people recomend ? Cards i have got in the past have all be asus.

 

[Tarkus]

i think nvidia is the way to go atm.. but thats just my 2 cents

 

[crabcakes66]

i think nvidia is the way to go atm.. but thats just my 2 cents

Wow that detailed explanation that followed really opened up my eyes!

 

[lePobz]

Gainward make great cards for overclocking, but I'm not sure if they're doing ATI cards yet... Asus make great cards, build quality is excellent and they are stylish too. As far as performance go, I think they are all basically the same, so if you aren't too bothered about overclocking or looks, just go for the cheapest X800 XT Platinum you can find. (make sure you don't pick up a pci-express board by mistake)

 

[o3jox]

Theres a new article on HardOCP showing the difference between the BFG 6800 Ultra I believe. and the x800. x800 is clearly better as it can run graphics at a 1600x1800 resolution and still keep up with the 6800. BFG offers AWESOME support. and by awesome i mean amazing.


http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NjM1

 

[Stormy]

hehe i really dont care how it looks as long as it performs, im gunna be getting an aluminum case ne ways so non of the insides will be seen

 

[waedoe]

umm dont get a pc till pci express comes out

 

[o3jox]

PCI express is already out buddy look on newegg. I dont think any cpu support the mobo though except this one p4 :*