ATI vs. nVidia

**hacker_cracker** · December 21st, 2005, 10:27 PM

Hi all! I was wondering why so many people use ATI graphics cards when most of the games I see are optomised for nVidia? I've never used an ATI card myself (except for an ancient 2mb 3d Rage II +DVD pci card), so I am just curious. I am also going to use some of the money I'm getting for Christmas to get a new graphics card, so I want to know some facts before I choose what brand to buy.

**Train** · December 21st, 2005, 10:43 PM

Why not start here http://www.tomshardware.com/site/vgacharts/index.html and go through the "VGA Charts VII: AGP Update Summer 2005 " link and see what they have to say.

**hacker_cracker** · December 21st, 2005, 11:12 PM

Seems like it all depends on what games you're trying to play...

**Train** · December 22nd, 2005, 08:15 AM

Sure looks that way. But now is the time to read the reviews and the like on the cards before you spend your money.

**hacker_cracker** · December 22nd, 2005, 04:49 PM

I will do that. Thanks Train!

**rbc1100** · December 24th, 2005, 08:46 AM

For the past few years ATI has been able to out perform Nvidia in bench marking scores. That will always attract buyers. Just like motor sports, "win on Sunday sell on Monday". Both chipset manufacters make exellent products. In the real world, most folks could not tell the difference between ATI and Nvidia looking at their montors and not knowing whats inside. We can thank the hard core gaming community for the most exellent choices we now have. Nvidia in the past year or so has caught up with ATI with the 7800 GTX and other less costly cards, but still ATI has the reputation for performance and that will live on for a period.

**liam858** · December 24th, 2005, 12:45 PM

Nvidia in the past year or so has caught up with ATI with the 7800 GTX and other less costly cards, but still ATI has the reputation for performance and that will live on for a period.

I'm hoping the X1300/1600/1800 series will blow the 7800GTX out of the water in January.

Liam

**rbc1100** · December 24th, 2005, 06:27 PM

I am with you! Then in about June or July Nvidia will come out with a card to blow the new ATI series out of the water. I love it, it just keeps getting better and better. My next build will be in the makes soon, dual core AMD, SLI nForce 4, dual 7800GTX's. I can just feel the power. Oh yes, the force will be with me

**BernardP** · December 24th, 2005, 08:02 PM

Originally Posted by liam858

I'm hoping the X1300/1600/1800 series will blow the 7800GTX out of the water in January.

Liam

The ATI 1300 and 1800 series have been out for a while and the verdict on many hardware websites generally indicate that the 1800 XL is more-or-less on par with the 7800 GT and the 1800 XT is more-or-less on par with the 7800 GTX.

As an entry-level (100$) card, the X1300 Pro fits the bill, but is pricey in relation to its gaming performance.

As for the 1600 XT and X1600 Pro, they are just becoming available now. The 1600 XT has already been rated as a performance failure in the midrange segment, prompting ATI to drop the price of the XT from 249$ at launch to 179$ now. It should sell at that lower price, but the life of the X1600 could be short.

In a few months,ATI will launch a reworked version of the X1600 XT with a more powerful core. It should be called the X1700. More about this here:

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=28460

**hacker_cracker** · December 26th, 2005, 11:47 AM

I am thinking of buying the BFG GeForce FX5500. It's not badly priced, and I know it's not the best, but I mostly play games that are a few years old anyway. The most demanding game that I own is GTA: San Andreas. My 128MB MX4000 actually does a good job with my games, but I just need something a LITTLE better. Does anyone know where I can find some reviews on this card before I buy it?

**BernardP** · December 26th, 2005, 02:03 PM

Just search for FX5500 on Newegg.com and you will get to the main FX5500 page. All brands will perform about the same. Just click in Users' Reviews links and read on.

I would have pasted a link, but it comes up shortened and useless.

**lgbpop** · December 26th, 2005, 02:29 PM

I do moderate gaming (low-tech stuff) and music DVDs, and recently bought the Rosewill branded FX5500 256MB from Newegg. I had bought a Radeon 7000 but it couldn't even keep up watching a concert (Concert for George) without skipping to match the audio. For all-around use I've found the Rosewill quite good for a relatively new brand, and you can't beat the price for a new (not refurb) card.

**hacker_cracker** · December 26th, 2005, 04:09 PM

I'm probably going to stick with BFG, because I've had good experiences with their product. I'm probably just going to pick one up in a store. I know it's cheaper online, but I like knowing that if I get a defective card, I can just exchange it the same day. I know, I'm impatient

**hacker_cracker** · December 27th, 2005, 03:37 PM

I went ahead and bought the BFG GeForce FX5500 256mb card last night. The install went smoothly, and I can already tell a big differance. I can now play GTA: San Andreas at 800x600 32bit, with the visual FX set at "high". That was not possible with my old MX4000 card. Thanks for all of the input, everyone!

**liam858** · December 28th, 2005, 02:24 PM

No probs, glad you found a decent card, i recently got a 5500 when my old card died, they are pretty decent for the price....i was given COD2 from the company i bought it from because of some mishaps, and it doesn't struggle.

......i've completed it now though

Liam

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