ATi or Nvidia - need help deciding

skunksmash · 31 Jan 2009

Ex_Brit said:

I switched from ATI some time ago because I was having endless problems with their drivers and now I'm having similar problems with nVidia. Are you saying ATI/AMD is now better?

well there's certainly a lot less horror stories, im sure their drivers have improved a great deal since the release of the 4000 series.....

the problem i always find with ATI is not the H/W itself, (they produce powerful cards) its the fact they only tweak issues with compatibility once evry few months, whereas nvidia will release a whole new driver for any little niggle they find, which is the reason there are LESS horror stories from nvidia

everyone's rig is different, & all work at different frequencies & have different components, with a lac of drivers your forced to keep backtracking till you find one that works.....& in ATI's case every time you backtrack its a couple of months each time...

don't get me wrong many ppl have 0 issue with compatibility, its just the luck of the draw im afraid...

:)SK

Ex_Brit · 31 Jan 2009

Well my rig is getting rather old in the tooth, like myself, but unlike myself, it can be replaced and I will most likely go for the rig that gives me the biggest bang for my buck - whatever combination of parts it has.

Beamish417 · 31 Jan 2009

skunksmash said:

don't get me wrong many ppl have 0 issue with compatibility, its just the luck of the draw im afraid...

I've only owned one ATi card, it was a Connect3D X800 GTO, this was some time ago, it would never post with my 6150 chipset mobtherboard, sold it to a friend with a VIA chipset and it worked fine for him. This is what led to one of my original concerns about nvidia and ati not playing well together.

skunksmash · 31 Jan 2009

Beamish417 said:

I've only owned one ATi card, it was a Connect3D X800 GTO, this was some time ago, it would never post with my 6150 chipset mobtherboard, sold it to a friend with a VIA chipset and it worked fine for him. This is what led to one of my original concerns about nvidia and ati not playing well together.

the 6150 chipset & the X800GTO are both pretty old components

, those sort of problems will have been nulled out for a long time now....

(i have a powercolor X800GTO, WHAT A GREAT CARD!!)

:)SK

Beamish417 · 31 Jan 2009

My friend seemed to like it but he had been using the onboard chrome IGP

Think I messed with it for about a week trying to get it to post before selling it to him and getting a 8600 GT. Using the 6150 during that time was...unpleasant.

The local pc shops are getting ready to open, think I'll call around and see what they have before I grab that XFX.

Can't seem to pull up any sites to check since according to google every site atm "will harm your computer".

Beamish417 · 31 Jan 2009

One last thing, almost forgot to mention my PSU.

TR2 RX 450W PSU W0146RU

What's the limit, as far as GPU's, that this power supply could handle? Contemplating just getting a couple 260 GTX's, one this week one a bit later, but would hate to find out I'd need to upgrade the PSU along with it.

Think I'd be ok with the 9800/4850 in regards to having enough power on the 12v rail, but what about a 260?

Firestrider · 31 Jan 2009

I'm currently using a HD 4850 1GB from Gigabyte: GIGABYTE - Product - Graphics Accelerator - Overview - GV-R485MC-1GH, and haven't had any problems what-so-ever. It's a great bang for buck card, and after putting a 80mm fan on it my temps haven't gone past 60*C full load. Most of the complaints I've heard are coming from crossfire configurations with more than 4 GB of RAM on Vista x64.

If you go decide to go with Nvidia I would get one with a 55 nm core such as the GTX260-216 or 9800GTX+

Also that power supply might not be able to run your configuration. I would recommend at least a 550W PSU from Corsair, FSP, PCP&C, Antec, or Silverstone.

I'm already pushing my 460W Forton Blue Storm with my setup.

Beamish417 · 31 Jan 2009

Well after fighting traffic all day Here's what I found.

One store had a Sapphire 4850 512mb for $220
another had a XFX 9800 GT 512mb and a ASUS (silent) for $200
the rest had really old cards still priced like they were still new.

Bestbuy had a worse selection than what was on their site, no ati cards what so ever. They had a 9800 GTX+ on the website for $200 but none in stock that I could see.

I ended up getting a couple PNY 9800 GT's for $200 while I was there and according to Everest it's also a 55nm G92 core.

Don't see the card on bestbuys site but heres the old newegg link..
PNY VCG981024GXEB 9800GT 1GB 256-bit GDDR3

skunksmash · 01 Feb 2009

nice cards......

i was not aware the 9800''GT'' was manufactured with a 55nm G92..??
i thought the 9800''GTX+'' was where the die shrink began....hmm learn something new every day

they should OC pretty well.....

that PSU should be fine with the 9800, that's about as much as it will take though...... it wouldn't of ran a GTX260 i don't think...

:)SK

Beamish417 · 01 Feb 2009

Well looks like the PSU isnt up to the job. Seeing the normal warning signs, lower FPS, games crashing, graphical anomilies, etc.

Here's the output table for the W0146RU:

The girlfriend is againt taking back the cards and paying the restocking fees on $430 so I'll be heading back to Bestbuy to pick up a couple new PSU's.

Was looking at the Antec EarthWatts 500 but after a little research there appears to be two versions of it, one has Dual +12v @22A the other one has Dual +12v @17A, not sure which one they have a BB betting its the 17A.

They also have this one but I can't find ANY info on it whatsoever, it's not even listed on the BFG site:
BFG - 550-Watt ATX Modular Power Supply