nvidia vs ati

[nick25]

I know there was another thread just down a bit but I'm having a hard time deciding which card to get. Firstly it the following true:

6800 vs x800se

6800gt vs x800pro

6800u vs x800xt

6800ue vs x800xtpe

The gt seems to outperform the x800pro so that would be the one to go for on that level however I want one of the high end cards. I was all set on the X800XTPE but now I'm not so sure.

I heard that nvidia were finding it hard to mass produce the ue cards - not many seemed to be stable at those speeds however in reviews the 6800u seems to be performing against xt and in some cases the XTPE. Nvidia are way ahead (as usual) in opengl - doom3? ati seem to be ahead in direct3d (but not my a huge shot).

I also see that even the 6800u is coming out in single slot design (ASUS) however still has the two power connections (which im not a fan of)

Then theres PS3.0 which I didn't really care about but now I hear they are trying to implement it into cames with various patches - whether this will work out well I don't really know - If i bought an ati I might only have it a few months anyway before I next upgrade and so PS3.0 wouldn't really be a factor, but then on the other hand im a student next year so that could prove problems.....

I'm also going for a benchmarking rig and nvidia seems to scaling better? well close in 3dmarks but in aquamark it seems to be way ahead.

Then theres this nvidia drivers which supposedly are getting better and better and improving performance - bit like in the latter days of the fx series. However I was under the impression ati was still ahead at high resolution when aa/af is on - which is how I would play my games. Then again this doesn't help the benchmark situation.

And lastly theres the cost - isn't nvidia ultra a bit more expensive than ati xtreme platinum edition?

What card are you guys going for?

Sorry for the long post

Cheers, Nick.

 

[Platty]

For AGP there is only the XTPE rather than the XT and XTPE it seems. All places advertising the X800XT show it running the PE core speeds. Company websites also just show the pro and XTPE. PCI-E maybe different however coz I'm sure I've seen a XT versions running slightly slower than the XTPE.

I'm going for the X800XT(PE). Both driver sets are maturing, ATi are completely re doign their Open GL stuff. ATi seems to pull away a bit when AA and AF is used. It only needs 1 molex to be overclocked and is a nice slim card. Plus its £50 cheaper than the 6800U.

 

[standin wave]

I think Plattys reply was way too short (on its own) ! I guess it depends what you are wanting to do with your computer for a start. If it is gonna be there for benchmarking, then I suppose the numbers will give you your answer - if for gaming then personal perference will be a more important factor. You don't seem to have a budget (which is good!) so that makes a decision easier. As time goes by, the once expensive 6800gt and x800pro will become 'affordable', the outrageously expensive 6800ue and x800xtpe just expensive and there'll be a new king of the hill. I'm going for ATI x800XEPE when Phil gets them. So far had three ATI and two nvidia cards - but wouldnt say either manuf. is way better than the other - is Intel better than AMD? It just makes it way more interesting!

sw

 

[nick25]

is Intel better than AMD? It just makes it way more interesting!

sw

thats easy though - amd obviously

think i'll go for the ati - loved my 9800pro. last nvidia was the ti4600 (which was good) anyway I've ordered a tec that will only fit the ati cards so thats that done!