Are Nvidia drivers really better than Amd's?

old gamer · 21 Mar 2015 at 18:39

i would say not much difference and both have there fair share of problems

win8.1 · 21 Mar 2015 at 18:40

drunkenmaster said:
Both companies have problems, many of them, drivers aren't easy, number of combinations aren't easy. But the public perception is very different largely because Nvidia people deny any issues while AMD users don't.

I would have to say that's what I have found too and maybe it's more the hype about Nvidia drivers being better more than the substance.

~>Dg<~ · 21 Mar 2015 at 18:40

both have plus and minus points. there saved the blatant trolling before it begins

africanos23 · 21 Mar 2015 at 18:41

win8.1 said:
Thanks for your constructive answer. What games specifically did you find ran better or where less buggy with Nvidia?

This is talking in terms of both GTX970 single/sli and R9-290 single/cfx combos.

These are a few I remember...

COD:AW - (smoother on Nvidia even with my SLI GTX680s).

Dying Light - (no cfx profile) runs like turd on AMD even on a single card with graphical options very low.

FC4 - I thought my eyes were going to pop out on this one. (generally bad port though even on Nvidia)

AC Unity - better on Nvidia but it's a real poor example again due to Ubi-****

In terms of resolutions I need to hack the drivers to get 2560x1440 on my Asus PB287Q for some odd reason.

Heat is also an issue for me ... a lot of it.

I think the issues are mainly for advanced users (crossfire) and delay of optimised drivers.

win8.1 · 21 Mar 2015 at 18:46

Ayahuasca said:
For single card there's not much between them, for multi GPU setups nVidia are on the ball and rarely make their SLI users wait longer for features or profiles.

I'd suggest making a thread when a nvidia card comes out that you think offers decent price/performance though.

I know Amd lately have been bad for updates but have they really been that much different even in multi gpu setups compared to Nvidia?

It might be a while before that Nvidia card comes out for me to make a thread on it unless Amd force them to reduce prices. I kind of feel that because Amd offer me that price and performance from the start each new generation that I would rather go with them until Nvidia change. (if that will ever happen)

Ayahuasca · 21 Mar 2015 at 18:49

win8.1 said:
I know Amd lately have been bad for updates but have they really been that much different even in multi gpu setups compared to Nvidia?

Not bad enough for me to change yet but if I'm kept waiting for months to be able to play new games optimally with crossfire then I'll be going back to nVidia or buying a single 390x if it's close to 295x2 performance.

I've seen a lot of other people this week though saying they are fed up and going back to team green. Not just on this forum either.

snips86x · 21 Mar 2015 at 18:50

Gregster said:
Subscribed!

This made me lol

africanos23 · 21 Mar 2015 at 18:50

win8.1 said:
I know Amd lately have been bad for updates but have they really been that much different even in multi gpu setups compared to Nvidia?

It might be a while before that Nvidia card comes out for me to make a thread on it unless Amd force them to reduce prices. I kind of feel that because Amd offer me that price and performance from the start each new generation that I would rather go with them until Nvidia change. (if that will ever happen)

If you are running one card (especially the higher end ones) with a good aftermarket cooler AMD is a better option.

You shouldn't have any major issues with drivers on a single GPU.

Rroff · 21 Mar 2015 at 18:51

win8.1 said:
I know Amd lately have been bad for updates but have they really been that much different even in multi gpu setups compared to Nvidia?

Historically yes, there was a period 2012/13 where AMD made a big effort to bring their multi GPU support upto date and maintain it but it seems to be dropping off again lately :S

nVidia had application specific profiles, better multi GPU options in the control panel, more exposed low level options for tweaking compatibility by power users, SLI working in Windowed mode, etc. long before AMD had such features and/or still has those advantages in some cases i.e. I believe applications that don't use exclusive fullscreen mode are still somewhat of a problem with crossfire.

win8.1 · 21 Mar 2015 at 18:56

africanos23 said:
This is talking in terms of both GTX970 single/sli and R9-290 single/cfx combos.

These are a few I remember...

COD:AW - (smoother on Nvidia even with my SLI GTX680s).

Dying Light - (no cfx profile) runs like turd on AMD even on a single card with options very low.

FC4 - I thought my eyes were going to pop out on this one. (generally bad port though even on Nvidia)

AC Unity - better on Nvidia but it's a real poor example again due to Ubi-****

In terms of resolutions I need to hack the drivers to get 2560x1440 on my Asus PB287Q for some odd reason.

Heat is also an issue for me ... a lot of it.

I think the issues are mainly for advanced users (crossfire) and delay of optimised drivers.

Thanks. Heat has never been a problem with a good aftermarket cooler with me but I can see it becoming a problem with 2 cards but then it might be the same with Sli. The 970 due to it being a new generation and better power consumption compared to the 290 would have produced less heat but the full fat version of Maxwell like the Titan-X seems to be not much better on power consumption than the 290. It will be interesting to see what the 390X with water cooler turns out like in power consumption.

arc@css · 21 Mar 2015 at 18:56

My experience / opinion - bullet points :

* I've never had any major issues with AMD drivers. Ever. However, I have had slightly more in the way of minor niggles than compared to Nvidia, but it was only during one small period, so not a good or fair sample size.

* I used to think (some years ago now) that ATi's IQ was better, but these days the only real difference I can see is the vibrancy (changed around the AMD 6000 series in my estimation). Imo, they're both pretty much on par with each other, save the vibrancy - and even then, there's not that much difference in this regard either. I distinctly remember changing from a 4870X2 to a GTX480 and preferring the IQ of the latter in some games, so it's a bit of both.

* Since when has the best product been cheaper. . .

* Yes, unsurprisingly since nVidia have so much more cash for R&D. They are a software firm.

elmuzzy66. · 21 Mar 2015 at 18:58

win8.1 said:
Thanks. Heat has never been a problem with a good aftermarket cooler with me but I can see it becoming a problem with 2 cards but then it might be the same with Sli. The 970 due to it being a new generation and better power consumption compared to the 290 would have produced less heat but full fat version of Maxwell like the Titan-X seems to be not much better on power consumption than the 290. It will be interesting to see what the 390X with water cooler turns out like in power consumption.

Titan x is better in power consumption considering the performance it gives using similar power.

Gregster · 21 Mar 2015 at 18:58

snips86x said:
This made me lol

Light hearted and if I said what I feel, it would be world war 3 in here

arc@css · 21 Mar 2015 at 18:59

Gregster said:
Light hearted and if I said what I feel, it would be world war 3 in here

Don't hold back, man!

Ayahuasca · 21 Mar 2015 at 19:00

Gregster said:
Light hearted and if I said what I feel, it would be world war 3 in here

Personally I'd prefer to hear honest opinions, you've detailed your issues in other threads so there's no harm doing it here mate

africanos23 · 21 Mar 2015 at 19:01

win8.1 said:
Thanks. Heat has never been a problem with a good aftermarket cooler with me but I can see it becoming a problem with 2 cards but then it might be the same with Sli. The 970 due to it being a new generation and better power consumption compared to the 290 would have produced less heat but the full fat version of Maxwell like the Titan-X seems to be not much better on power consumption than the 290. It will be interesting to see what the 390X with water cooler turns out like in power consumption.

Sadly I had 4xR9-290s MSI Gaming 4G hitting crazy temps which left a bitter taste in my mouth.

I played around with a R9-290 Tri-X that could handle the heat better (57c at full load) and was a lot happier.

I prefer the plug-n-play option though with Nvidia, with little to no hassle on the software and bug side of things.

Will have to wait and get the Titan X to give a unbiased opinion. You never know if I would get ticked off

.

Rroff · 21 Mar 2015 at 19:01

arc@css said:
* I used to think (some years ago now) that ATi's IQ was better, but these days the only real difference I can see is the vibrancy (changed around the AMD 6000 series in my estimation). Imo, they're both pretty much on par with each other, save the vibrancy - and even then, there's not that much difference in this regard either. I distinctly remember changing from a 4870X2 to a GTX480 and preferring the IQ of the latter in some games, so it's a bit of both.

There are differences to the image quality (colours) - shouldn't be but there is - if you have them side by side on identical monitors its noticeable if you look for it.

win8.1 · 21 Mar 2015 at 19:03

Ayahuasca said:
I've seen a lot of other people this week though saying they are fed up and going back to team green. Not just on this forum either.

They are probably saying that thinking that Amd will shift quicker if they say it. Hopefully Amd will get back to their one month drivers and better crossfire support.

Ayahuasca · 21 Mar 2015 at 19:04

win8.1 said:
They are probably saying that thinking that Amd will shift quicker if they say it.

Some of them might just be saying it but some are also genuinely frustrated and will make the switch.

It's not good losing any customers when you've already lost over 10% discrete GPU market share in under a year.

africanos23 · 21 Mar 2015 at 19:05

Ayahuasca said:
Some of them might just be saying it but some are also genuinely frustrated and will make the switch.

Waiting and waiting is the main issue imo. The rest can be handled.

Nvidia is on schedule and quick of what I have seen in the past few years be it hardware or software.