to ATI or not to ATI

maj0r_pawnage · Post by **maj0r_pawnage** » Tue May 15, 2007 2:01 pm

im going to buy a new vid card soon, so which one offers better performance/price :D ive been getting many conflicting reviews on this so i would like some advice.

(some people have been saying that the 2900 is destroying even the 8800gtx, some say its getting owned even by the 320mb 8800gts, some say that after driver corrections ati will be on top???whats goin on :O)

Alathald · Post by **Alathald** » Tue May 15, 2007 2:13 pm

check out the benchmarks here, I know that its a gtx, but it pwned ati so badly, I'm willing to bet the gts will beat it as well...

stopthekilling77 · Post by **stopthekilling77** » Tue May 15, 2007 2:21 pm

i'm with alathad. the gts is tried and true right now. if i were you i'd get an 8800GTS 640mb card. BUT if you're not planning on high resolution gaming then i'd say a 320mb card would suffice.

do a little bit of research on performance on both cards. (i know LR has plenty of GTS reviews) but for the money i'd be willing to bet at this point in time the GTS would serve you better for your cash.

Post by **Apoptosis** » Tue May 15, 2007 2:32 pm

the GeForce 8800GTS 640MB is ~$70 less than the Radeon HD 2900 XT and that makes it the clear choice for now... no major driver issues and the price is cheaper... All the DX10 stuff so far looks better on NVIDIA right now anyway...

pcrobot · Post by **pcrobot** » Tue May 15, 2007 3:28 pm

According to one of the recent LR articles, I'd go with nVidia.

maj0r_pawnage · Post by **maj0r_pawnage** » Tue May 15, 2007 3:45 pm

i will be playing at 1440x900, will that be a problem with the 320mb version? because i plan to keep this card for a good while

BTW only place i can get them from is http://www.canadacomputers.com
the gts is for somereason 520+ and the 2900 is 480??(CAD before tax)

okay so here are my options

SAPPHIRE ATI Radeon HD2900XT 512MB for 480CAD
BFG GeForce 8800 GTS OC2 nVidia GeForce 8800GTS Chipset (580Mhz) Shader Clock (1350Mhz) 320MB (1.7GHz)=387
OR
BFG GeForce 8800 GTS OC2 nVidia GeForce 8800GTS Chipset (580Mhz) Shader Clock (1350Mhz) 640MB (1.7GHz) =515

Zertz · Post by **Zertz** » Tue May 15, 2007 4:25 pm

The 320GTS will probably be more than enough for that resolution and even if you get 50FPS in a game vs 70 with a more expansive card, your eyes can't see the difference. Anything over 30 (as long as it doesn't drop below) won't make much of a difference.

maj0r_pawnage · Post by **maj0r_pawnage** » Tue May 15, 2007 4:44 pm

im thinking in terms of dx10 games, how will the 320GTS fair @ 1440x900 say in the next year and a half vs the 2900 (i dont think i will get the 640 as it is way too overpriced at canadacomps)

(im planning to upgrade to vista right after i get my new card)

the fact that the 320gts=the 2900(in performance) doesnt matter much to me as long as the 2900 pulls ahead within a few months, i would be willing to pay the extra $100 for more security with respect to dx10 games, but if the 2900 will not overcome its horrendus benchmarks in dx10 demos i see no point in buying it though

Post by **Apoptosis** » Tue May 15, 2007 4:55 pm

the ATI drivers are still to young to call it a bust though... new drivers are coming later this month, so it will be interesting to see what all ATI fixes.

For a couple years down the road I'd vote on the 640MB version as you'd likely upgrade your monitor over the next couple years I would think...

maj0r_pawnage · Post by **maj0r_pawnage** » Tue May 15, 2007 5:07 pm

well i guess ill wait til the end of this month, then i should be able to see if the 2900 will be worth it, and hopefully there will be a price drop for either the 320GTS or the 2900

thanks for the help guys :D

werty316 · Post by **werty316** » Tue May 15, 2007 5:32 pm

High power usage along with some high temperatures will deter users from buying the HD2900XT.

Kinda makes me wonder how the HD2900XTX will be once it is out.

Post by **Apoptosis** » Tue May 15, 2007 5:36 pm

werty316 wrote:High power usage along with some high temperatures will deter users from buying the HD2900XT.

Kinda makes me wonder how the HD2900XTX will be once it is out.

Think they will release the XTX or call it quits with the XT for this generation?

werty316 · Post by **werty316** » Tue May 15, 2007 5:44 pm

Well nVidia bounced back quite nicely after the 5800Ultra/"blowdryer" fiasco so lets hope ATi can follow suit.

However if the HD2900XTX bombs, even with its 65nm process, I would start to loose faith in ATi for having two high end cards that ain't all that great when compared to what nVidia has in their arsenal.

nVidia is sitting back since they have their flagship 8800Ultra to battle the HD2900XTX and based on how the HD2900XT is so far, nVidia could be laughing.

Its bad enough that AMD is in the hole and since both companies are holding eachothers hand, it would not be good if AMD started a domino effect and took ATi down with them.

The current votes say it all.

maj0r_pawnage wrote:i will be playing at 1440x900, will that be a problem with the 320mb version? because i plan to keep this card for a good while

BTW only place i can get them from is http://www.canadacomputers.com
the gts is for somereason 520+ and the 2900 is 480??(CAD before tax)

okay so here are my options

SAPPHIRE ATI Radeon HD2900XT 512MB for 480CAD
BFG GeForce 8800 GTS OC2 nVidia GeForce 8800GTS Chipset (580Mhz) Shader Clock (1350Mhz) 320MB (1.7GHz)=387
OR
BFG GeForce 8800 GTS OC2 nVidia GeForce 8800GTS Chipset (580Mhz) Shader Clock (1350Mhz) 640MB (1.7GHz) =515

If CanadaComputers doesn't do a price cut you should consider NCIX as their prices are cheaper with the current sale but unfortunately the sale ends on the 15th.

EVGA E-GEFORCE 8800GTS 500MHZ 640MB 1.6GHZ - $365.00CAD total after savings and mail in rebate

EVGA E-GEFORCE 8800GTS 500MHZ 320MB 1.6GHZ - $299.99CAD total after savings and mail in rebate

Even though the clocks speeds are a bit lower, that is where overclock takes over.

maj0r_pawnage · Post by **maj0r_pawnage** » Tue May 15, 2007 6:05 pm

so i should just go with the nvidia? i guess i will, but one thing, what is the difference between the OC version of cards? couldnt i simply do the same exact OC and save a few bucks? in other words, are they the exact same cards, oh wow, i wish i had a credit card lol...

werty316 · Post by **werty316** » Tue May 15, 2007 6:09 pm

I would since you probably would have to buy a new power supply with the HD2900XT if you bought one as I don't think that Antec 550W can handle it along with the rest of your hardware.

Go with the 8800GTS 640MB if you can find a good price on it. The 8800GTS 640MB is more future proof than the 320MB version since larger monitors can take advantage of the extra video memory the 8800GTS 640MB has when compared to the 8800GTS 320MB; especially with AA and AF turned on.

maj0r_pawnage · Post by **maj0r_pawnage** » Tue May 15, 2007 6:12 pm

oh cool, i can send a money order to ncix, thanks alot m8 you just saved me a bundle!!oooo yeah im getting that 640mb evga 8800gts this weekend : D!!!!!!! i cant wait to actually be able to play my games rofl stupid x1600pros

werty316 · Post by **werty316** » Tue May 15, 2007 7:48 pm

Its always good to save money.

Bio-Hazard · Post by **Bio-Hazard** » Tue May 15, 2007 9:48 pm

I'm waiting to see what the prices and drivers do before I jump on any bandwagon ............

Heat really isn't a issue for me right now, I'm running adual loop water cooling, so I should be able to handle just about anything ATi can throw out..........

If the price comes down to a affordable level I might just have to get one............

skier · Post by **skier** » Thu May 17, 2007 6:18 am

Nvidia is better in the Lost Planet tests, but ATI was a little better in Call of Juarez, Nividia had over 70 FPS in each, with ATI only having in the 20s, ATI still has some work to do on thier 2000 series, at this time, Nvidia is a lot better

Maxtron · Post by **Maxtron** » Fri May 18, 2007 3:39 pm

one of my friends has the 8800gts and i've heard only good things about it... he constantly rubs it in my face that he'll be able to run crysis

Legit Reviews

to ATI or not to ATI

BFG8800GTSOC2 or HD 2900XT????

to ATI or not to ATI