Geforce 6800 ultra or ATI X800 XT PE...which one is better and why?

[Asus]

Is the HDR limited to the Sky or does a dark room actually lighten up when you enter it. I have the Farcry patch on my PC but I have yet to install FarCry again. I'd rather not go through the hassle of installing a multidisc game again just to try out version 1.3. lol

 

[blahblahblah]

Is the HDR limited to the Sky or does a dark room actually lighten up when you enter it. I have the Farcry patch on my PC but I have yet to install FarCry again. I'd rather not go through the hassle of installing a multidisc game again just to try out version 1.3. lol

From my understanding, HDR can be used to make a sky brighten up or can be applied to things to make it darker than a typical black.

For instance, you can have black but than you have "coal black" which is darker than a typical black. You would use HDR to achieve "coal black". I don't think this version of HDR bas been applied to video games.

As for light sources, just think of what happens in the real world. In the real world, only a few things like light bulbs or the sun would need to have HDR applied to it in a video game.

I don't think making a room lighten up when you enter isn't HDR. That would be some other graphical technique. HDR is just a way to make something appear brighter than what it normally can be.

 

[poseyjmac]

after seeing openexr HDR, it doesn't look that much better(as some nvidiots were hoping) than hl2 implementation which can run on both ati and nvidia cards. hl2's is just as impressive imo, strictly comparing to openexr hdr in far cry though.

 

[blackeye]

coming straight out of my XSI 4 reference manual:

"unlike normal image formats taken by the standard methods of photography , HDR, which stands for high dynamic range, is a format that has multiple expsosures compressed into one image. This gives the image a better accuracy in mimicking real world lighting"

And seeing has how XSI 4 has support for HDR in it im am going go to go on a limb here and say that a lot of games are going to support it atleast within the next 6-12 months. And because XSI is what valve is using to devlope their charachters and objects in the game im betting we will probably see HDR in the game on release or through a patch sometime in the future.

And if you dont like HDR you can always tone it down in the console. But please unless you have not seen the game in action do not comment on whether it looks good or bad because the screen shots do not do it justice. You can also choose the right mix between performance and picture quality if you want. Some of the farcry areas look a bit overdone but this is just a patch and if they had intended to put this in in the beginning im sure it would have been done twice as good. I dont think I would ever go back to the original settings now that I have seen HDR. Although the performance hit is fairly substancial. But because this is a single player game I am more concerned about image quality.

Supposably the new 70.41 drivers that where leaked a day ago give a great performance increase with HDR enabled then with the 61.77's with HDR enabled. I still havent had time to bencmark it though because I have been so busy with school and work. But hopefully I will have time tomorrow. Oh ya and supposably there is no image quality lose.

What great timing of nvidia to leak a driver right when HDR is released.

 

[Gorgon]

OK guys, what is the conclution of this thread ?

is it 6800Ultra
or
ATI X800XTPE

?

 

[Asus]

I think the conclusion is different depending on what you want from the card...

 

[P43.2/1Gig/X800P]

i would get the X800pro its findable Ohh and its going to be great for hl2.http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=67&type=expert

 

[frusion]

i would get the X800pro its findable Ohh and its going to be great for hl2.http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=67&type=expert

you brag about that stupid x800 too much


anyways i think the 6800 and the x800 are pretty much a even match but...i recommend a 6800 Ultra (GT for people who dont wana spend 500$) cause ive loved nvidias previous cards..just my opinion

 

[blahblahblah]

It really is a toss up between all of the high-end cards. The X800 Pro is a smidgen behind the 6800 GT, but nothing that a driver improvement can't fix. Likewise the 6800 Ultra is a small distance behind the X800XT, nothing that some drivers can't fix as well.

To make it more confusing is the 6800 NU now has competition from the X800SE, which hasn't been benchmarked yet. A person could go insane trying to figure out which card is best for them.

The only segment that is clear is Nvidia's 6600 series. Too bad that hasn't reached AGP yet.

 

[Gorgon]

I think the conclusion is different depending on what you want from the card...

Most games Nvidia beat ATI by 15-30 FPS, where as ATI beats Nvidia only in Source by 5-10 FPS.

Nvidia is the right chioce ? correct me if I am wrong

 

[bizzy420]

so frusion u got an ultra rite? what are your fps in CS:S? not the stress test but actual gaming in heavy action.

 

[Asus]

If you only look at FPS ahead for one game and FPS behind for another and not take into account where the gain or loss is in then you might as well add up the FPS for all the games and resolutions between the cards and figure which has more. lol

I dare you to do that. I've done it before and they were within 5FPS of eachother with ATI ahead. It's a very pointless way of comparing cards.

 

[KidRock]

I hate when people tell me.."who cares which one is bette they will both run games perfectly" well when I am spending 500+ dollars on a video card I want to have the best one.

 

[poseyjmac]

Most games Nvidia beat ATI by 15-30 FPS,

have any benchmarks to prove this statement?

 

[Malfunction]

I use 1024x768...
CSS just isn't playable with my 6800GT at higher resolutions with 4xAA/8xAF. Infact in Aztec even at 1024x768 it pushes playable with those settings. Those dips are killing me.

Wow, I thought it was just me experiencing this, but I guess not.
At 1024x768, I play with, in CS:S settings, 4x AA, 6x AF, everything on high except Reflect All, which is on Reflect World. My card settings, using 61.77 drivers, are at Quality, 8xs AA, and 4x AF. As stated in another thread, only water and physics, like, office physics, makes my game get slightly choppy for a few seconds.

 

[Asus]

6xAF? There is no 6x AF. And ATI is the only one who has 6xAA.
Did you typo and mean 8x?

 

[KidRock]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Asus
I use 1024x768...
CSS just isn't playable with my 6800GT at higher resolutions with 4xAA/8xAF. Infact in Aztec even at 1024x768 it pushes playable with those settings. Those dips are killing me.


Wow.. it is reall unplayable at those settings? damn.

 

[Asus]

I can run CSS with it at 1280X960 4xAA/16xAF and the framerate isn't bad, infact it can reach into the 100's. Now once I join a server it just gets down right choppy and down in the 40's.
So I lower the settings to 1024x768 4xAA/8xAF so it as at least playable.

 

[blahblahblah]

I can run CSS with it at 1280X960 4xAA/16xAF and the framerate isn't bad, infact it can reach into the 100's. Now once I join a server it just gets down right choppy and down in the 40's.
So I lower the settings to 1024x768 4xAA/8xAF so it as at least playable.

Lol, 40 FPS? I'm still use to 30 FPS. Fire fights in CS:S must seem real choppy for you then.

 

[blackeye]

I dont see how 40FPS can seem bad. When I used to play cs I was getting 30 FPS maximum but usually averaging around 20 and dropping down to 5 or so when a smoke went off. This was with a radeon 7000

 

[Asus]

Well going from 100+ to 40, up and down like a yo-yo is bad. The Frames itself is not bad. Being a yo-yo is what is not playable.

 

[bizzy420]

yea before when i had my gf2, 30fps was like hell yeah...but then i got a 9800pro..that card kicked major ass, and played all my games perfect and always about 60fps. so now when a game drops to 35-40fps, it looks and feels really choppy.