ATI vs Nvidia and AMD vs Intel

[Neptune24]

Hi all.
Well the title sums it up really.
But some more detail. I intend to start building a new PC soon, and it needs to be powerful as I use it for games and such like. So I was wondering: For less than £150 which would be better, ATI or Nvidia and processor wise AMD or Intel quad cores for less than £200??

Thanks for any help and advise

Neptune24

[Raraniel]

If you're on a budget, AMD/ATI is definitely the most bang for your buck. You can get a top end AMD quad core processor for under 200 USD (Or an equivalent lower end processor which can be overclocked for a much cheaper solution) which will meet all of your gaming needs. Intel is definitely faster for video encoding and other very processor intensive tasks, but AMD is more than sufficient for gaming. The AMD processor also allows you to save money on your motherboard, as Intel X58 motherboards cost an arm and a leg.

For video cards, ATI's 5850 is right around 300 USD, but if you don't mind a crossfire solution you can get two 5770 cards in crossfire (which should yield more performance on many games) for around the same price. Nvidia's only current gen sub 300 USD option is the GTX 465.

[InspectahACE]

AMD would be better for the money. A quad core chip from them can be had as low as $80(depending on the model) where as the least expensive quad from intel is like $150..intel does do better all around but if you're doing high res gaming(1920x1200 or higher), then either AMD or intel won't matter as each will perform almost the same in most games. as far as video cards, ATI has more to offer in terms of different models, so I'd go that route. Not sure what model to go for though

[Neptune24]

Well thanks for all the advise now what sort of motherboard should I go for as I can't find the model up from mine anywhere??

Neptune24

[Jodox]

Seems like your getting an AMD processor and ATI card so you can grab this one

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813131633

latest chipset and has Onboard ATI graphics so it can hybrid crossfire with whatever ATI card your getting, won't add much but might as well.

For the processor you wanted a quad core around 200. There really isn't an AMD quad that goes above 150 euros, so you can grab the best one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819103727
Comes with free HDMI cable as promotion for the month of June.

For like 10 bucks more you can make it a six core, which also comes with the HDMI cable.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819103851

graphics card for the price point you wanted this would be the best
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814102858
The 5830 which is 1 step better than that is like 100 more.

[skier]

video encoding/compression etc.: Phenom II X6 1055T
gaming & general use: Phenom II X4 965

the extra cores don't help except in certain scenarios like benchmarks video editing and video compression, for all around use the X4 is better given the 600MHz higher stock frequency

and any 5770 is the best card below $200(don't go nvidia unless you want to spend $$$$) they're all pretty much the same, the factory overclocked ones aren't much better, just make sure its a 1GB model, XFX offers ATI cards at pretty solid prices

[hnzw_rui]

video encoding/compression etc.: Phenom II X6 1055T
gaming & general use: Phenom II X4 965

the extra cores don't help except in certain scenarios like benchmarks video editing and video compression, for all around use the X4 is better given the 600MHz higher stock frequency

+1. Video encoding 1055T. If not, you'd want to stick with the 965 BE. Actually, the 1055T doesn't win all types of video encoding. DivX and Xvid, you're still better off with a higher clocked quad. Heck, even with H.264, if you're only doing casual video encoding you'll probably be better off with a 965 BE. It's not as if you'll be saving a lot of time by getting the 1055T anyway.

[NTGOG]

If you haven't already made your decision I would check the prices at Tiger Direct and New egg its not that much more for Intel. adm puts out quality hardware but as I build custom rigs I believe the quality, speed, and stability of Intel out weighs the $100 to $150 more as the long term use and need to upgrade pretty much gives you 2 to 4 years more usage of the PC.
As far as multi core processors the more cores the more processes you can do I am a avid online gamer I run the game, team speak, and admin. at times. core2duo ran all these processes fine but 3 years ago when I went to a quad core I found it runs all these processes with no sing of any more that 1 process running for instance when I built my PC I installed 3 disk base programs, 2 online programs, online updates, and surfed the web before my PC slowed down and then it was minimal just depends on how fast of a rig you want and how long you want to use with minimal upgrades

[Raraniel]

Checking gaming benchmarks between AMD and Intel show very little (If any) advantage in favor of Intel, and I haven't noticed any instabilities from an AMD PC. The $100-$150 difference is enough to be able to upgrade the CPU if at any point you feel that the performance of an outdated chip requires such a replacement.

[Neptune24]

Thanks for all of the advise guys. But from what I can tell from what everyone here has said and a lot of extencive online research, it would seem that ATI and AMD are the routes to go for my budget. But I have noticed that Nvidia seems more reliable than ATI and software is easier to get hold of. Also what sort of motherboard should I get as that isn't an area I am strong in knowledge wise.

[skier]

Thanks for all of the advise guys. But from what I can tell from what everyone here has said and a lot of extencive online research, it would seem that ATI and AMD are the routes to go for my budget. But I have noticed that Nvidia seems more reliable than ATI and software is easier to get hold of. Also what sort of motherboard should I get as that isn't an area I am strong in knowledge wise.

how is nvidia easier to get software? just type ati.com, it'll redirect for you, then you choose your card on the first site that pops up and bam download link, nvidia you have go to nvidia.com click driver downloads THEN select card and then you have the link. right now there is not a single reason to go nvidia unless you want to spend $280(on a 465), as the 200 series cards are worthless compared to ati 5xxx counterparts

as for a board, Gigabyte all the way, asus is good as well

[Jodox]

Also the new Nvidia cards (4xx series) have higher power draw and higher temps than their ATI equivalents. Also I'd say ATI is a bit ahead in the price to performance ratio. 5770 is an amazing card for being below 200 bucks.

[Neptune24]

Well Nvidia software is on other sites too, but considering that Nvidia gets hotter and the expense of a decent one I'll go ATI. It will be a new experience for me too as I have always had Nvidia ( though only ever bought one, the rest were passed down to me) Thanks again guys.

Neptune24

[confused1337]

Sorry for the bumb, but I feel this is noteworthy enough for anyone looking to choose between AMD and Nvidia.

Nvidia offically lost their market share of the discreete graphics card Industry. If you look at the numbers ATI only recently was bought up by AMD, and already you can see where they are taking the company and graphics card potential (search the 5970 for refrence). You know you have a superior product when your main competition can't best a product you release almost a year ago, can't get close to you on price value, can't get close to you on thermal specs, really overall just can't get close to you.

Now I am sure that this sounds like your average fan-boy post, but this is what I wanted to get accross: For the longest time on all these threads the main arguement I have heard for sticking with Nvidia is because they have "always" been good, have a good reputation and out-sell ATI. And in the past this has been true, but I believe that a quick google search on amd market share will show you why this is not the case anymore. AMD 51% Nvidia 49%, AMD has rose over 10% over last year, and looking at how far out their planning and how far behind nvidia is, one might want consider AMD as the more stable and reliable of the two companys.

I will back up my suggestion with this: Apple has dropped Nvidia as their main supplier for their iMac and Mac Pro Lines, and picked up AMD. Though this alone should show you how far the mighty have fallen, XFX, disputably one of the most respected and gamer friendly manufators of enthusiast to entry level computer hard ware, decided last month that they would not be comming out with more from the FEMI lin, and would be focusing their fabs on the 5000 seris.... No I am no apple fan, but I will admit that Apple has a tendency to be qaulity freaks , and XFX falls in that same category (double life-time warranty, still covering OC'd computer parts, Sexy designs?)....

This all being said I just wanted to clear up the whole misunderstanding that Nvidia is better quality, just because they use to have good quality, and use to be the creme of the crop. Nvidia may be at a higher price point... but by NO MEANS are they higher quality. And to top it all off, AMD's APU chips have a high chance of changing the entire computer market.... Parrell proccessing on the same die as Serial proccessing..... if you dont know why that is important, just look it up.

Fan boy disclaimer: Yes I love AMD, though up untill recently they have been slacking, they have finally got on the right track, and are moving forward to accomplish get things. Though even as AMD fanboy, I want to say, that just because Nvidia has fallen of as of late, and dont look to be fairing too good with their share holders, it is possible for them to get back in the race, though short of merging with Intel, or dropping their PC line of graphics cards all together I dont see how.

[Sttm]

I dont understand why people feel the need to push people to buy some companys products using arguments like, Z uses X, or T doesnt make Y anymore so dont buy Y.

The only thing that should really matter is the performance, price, and compatibility of the hardware.

Now if I got my exchange rates right, the pound is at about 1.5x the dollar. So that is about $300 he was looking to spend on a CPU, and at that price it really doesnt matter if you go Intel or AMD, because both the Core i7 930 and Phenom II 1090T are great chips. The difference in most tasks wont even be that noticeable.

So converting again, thats $225 for the video card. I think it has been shown on pretty much every site that reviews cards that the new GTX460 based on its GF104 chip is faster then the competition at that price, while also being smaller, cooler, and uses less power. So a 1gb Nvidia's GTX460 is the best option for $225. When this thread was created way back, that was not the case; and because of the failure of the GF100 chip Nvidia lost marketshare. Now they should gain a bit back with the new GF104 chips, then Ati might gain some back with Southern Islands. It goes back and forth, and getting tied to 1 company is only going to get you buying an inferior product to support that company.

and if I remember correctly AMD announced it was buying Ati way back in 06, it went through in 07. So that is hardly recently.