AMD or NVIDIA

Gibbo3771 · 22 Apr 2013 at 10:42

spoffle said:
It seems to me, that despite the constant mentions of how this thread is a waste of time and is going to pot, it's remained civil.

Outside of that though, the issue here is that people are using different definitions of "the best" and presenting it as fact.

Which means in equal measure that the Titan isn't the best.

Nor is the 7970, 7950, 690, 680, 670 and so on, because "the best" hasn't been properly qualified by most people who are stating what the best is.

I never stated anything about whats the best though, performance wise.

I was being somewhat truthful.

If you don't have the money for a titan, save for a 7970. This is the smart thing to do.
If you have the money for the Titan, by all means get it but it might not be the best thing to do.

In my opinion 90% of Titan owners buy a Titan because they can, not because it's good. Same applies to people that buy £250,000 cars, a polo is going to get you from A - B in the same time frame due to the speed limitations and save you money in fuel, much like how a 7970 is going to game just as good as a Titan due to limitations on drivers and the rest of your hardware.

I was however very impressed with the x3 Titans running in SLI with Crysis 3 at 4k with all settings at max, but when does the extra £2000 in cards pay off? To make the shadows that already look great to the naked eye, look even better under a telescope?

LtMatt · 22 Apr 2013 at 10:43

spoffle said:
It seems to me, that despite the constant mentions of how this thread is a waste of time and is going to pot, it's remained civil.

Outside of that though, the issue here is that people are using different definitions of "the best" and presenting it as fact.

Which means in equal measure that the Titan isn't the best.

Nor is the 7970, 7950, 690, 680, 670 and so on, because "the best" hasn't been properly qualified by most people who are stating what the best is.

'Best' will vary from person to person and rightly so. As i said earlier in the thread, titan is the best coming from a pure performance perspective as its on average about 30% faster than a 7970ghz. But for me and many others that's not the be all and end all and there are other factors to considered as well such as price vs performance.

arc@css said:
Ahh, that's better then. Something for me to bear in mind when I get my next card. Quite a lot has changed since I last used a card from the red team. Thx.

I look forward to you coming over to the darkside. Just make sure you pick a time when there is a game bundle included so i can buy them off you in the MM.

spoffle · 22 Apr 2013 at 10:45

LtMatt said:
'Best' will vary from person to person and rightly so. As i said earlier in the thread, titan is the best coming from a pure performance perspective as its on average about 30% faster than a 7970ghz. But for me and many others that's not the be all and end all and there are other factors to considered as well such as price vs performance.

I look forward to you coming over to the darkside. Just make sure you pick a time when there is a game bundle included so i can buy them off you in the MM.

Well even then, wouldn't that be the 690, and soon to be official 7990 when talking outright performance?

Interesting that you mention the Titan is about 30% faster on average than a 7970GE too, that surely means I'm getting pretty close to Titan performance with one of my 7950s at 1300Mhz, right? Or Titan SLI with both my 7950s at 1300Mhz?

LtMatt · 22 Apr 2013 at 10:50

spoffle said:
Well even then, wouldn't that be the 690, and soon to be official 7990 when talking outright performance?

Interesting that you mention the Titan is about 30% faster on average than a 7970GE too, that surely means I'm getting pretty close to Titan performance with one of my 7950s at 1300Mhz, right? Or Titan SLI with both my 7950s at 1300Mhz?

Well yes but i assumed we were talking single gpu.

Yes assuming the titan is at stock. Im able to beat a titan at stock in some games (typically gaming evolved ones) if a titan is at stock and my 7970 is clocked. I don't know if you'd beat it as you're another 5% or thereabouts behind me, maybe.

arc@css · 22 Apr 2013 at 10:56

LtMatt said:
I look forward to you coming over to the darkside. Just make sure you pick a time when there is a game bundle included so i can buy them off you in the MM.

Unfortunately, there's not much chance of me selling the games, LtMatt. I do not have the following :

Sleeping Dogs
Hitman : Absolution
Skyrim
Crysis 3
Far Cry 3

...and that's just off the top of my head!

LtMatt · 22 Apr 2013 at 11:00

arc@css said:
Unfortunately, there's not much chance of me selling the games, LtMatt. I do not have the following :

Sleeping Dogs
Hitman : Absolution
Skyrim
Crysis 3
Far Cry 3

...and that's just off the top of my head!

Some quality games there, minus Skyrim of course.

To be fair though i have all of those so nay bother.

layte · 22 Apr 2013 at 11:07

Diagro said:
If you count the titan then you have to count amds similer priced unit... the 7990 which is faster.

Amd wins

As I posted just on the last page: http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graphi...eForce-GTX-690-Radeon-HD-7990-HD-7970-CrossFi

tl;dr buy a 690

LtMatt · 22 Apr 2013 at 11:09

layte said:
As I posted just on the last page: http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graphi...eForce-GTX-690-Radeon-HD-7990-HD-7970-CrossFi

tl;dr buy a 690

I fear that after the 24th you won't be able to post that link any more.

Rusty0611 · 22 Apr 2013 at 11:15

LtMatt said:
I fear that after the 24th you won't be able to post that link any more.

It's almost as repetitive as the HardOCP article that was posted a lot round here a few months ago. The irony

.

That said, for those that are affected by the issue where it becomes perceivable I imagine it would be incredibly frustrating. My games are super smooth though so I shan't moan.

LtMatt · 22 Apr 2013 at 11:16

Rusty0611 said:
It's almost as repetitive as the HardOCP article that was posted a lot round here a few months ago. The irony .

That said, for those that are affected by the issue where it becomes perceivable I will imagine it would be incredibly frustrating. My games are super smooth though so I shan't moan.

It will be fascinating Rusty to see if you notice any change as you don't have a problem now. It will be great if you do feel an improvement even though as you say there's no issue there in the first place.

Kaapstad · 22 Apr 2013 at 16:23

Gibbo3771 said:
Waste of time getting in on this.

But yeah.

Poor and/or smart - 7970
Rich and/or stupid - Titan

Well I am not rich, so that just leaves stupid.

Gibbo3771 said:
I never stated anything about whats the best though, performance wise.

I was being somewhat truthful.

If you don't have the money for a titan, save for a 7970. This is the smart thing to do.
If you have the money for the Titan, by all means get it but it might not be the best thing to do.

In my opinion 90% of Titan owners buy a Titan because they can, not because it's good. Same applies to people that buy £250,000 cars, a polo is going to get you from A - B in the same time frame due to the speed limitations and save you money in fuel, much like how a 7970 is going to game just as good as a Titan due to limitations on drivers and the rest of your hardware.

I was however very impressed with the x3 Titans running in SLI with Crysis 3 at 4k with all settings at max, but when does the extra £2000 in cards pay off? To make the shadows that already look great to the naked eye, look even better under a telescope?

For what I use the Titan for, they are excellent value for money as there is no alternative, I can put 4 in the same box and get the performance I am looking for.

And yes Crysis 3 maxed @1600 looks and runs beautifully.

NirK · 22 Apr 2013 at 22:54

spoffle said:
The issue is that you're using certified drivers as a synonym for good/stable.

That's not really what the certification process does. To be blunt about it, you'd be a fool it ignore AMD's beta drivers of late, because they are adding features and performance boosts and fixes on a regular basis.

Certification/WHQL means very little, especially when WHQL doesn't mean a driver won't have issues. Microsoft just certify that the drivers don't break anything with regards to Windows, not that they are bug free.

So Beta drivers are "official", they just haven't been certified by Windows using an irrelevant certification method.

I just meant they do not have an official driver release monthly anymore.

spoffle · 22 Apr 2013 at 23:05

NirK said:
I just meant they do not have an official driver release monthly anymore.

Well I think it's very clear that you meant more than that, as multiple times you suggested that official/WHQL means that the driver would be free from bugs.

bfar · 22 Apr 2013 at 23:18

NirK said:
Well it is just better to have completely bug free officially certified drives than betas which may have issues. I know they usually don't have issues but obviously it would be better to go back to regular official releases I think.

Nvidia aren't much more regular when it comes to certified drivers.

NirK · 22 Apr 2013 at 23:37

spoffle said:
Well I think it's very clear that you meant more than that, as multiple times you suggested that official/WHQL means that the driver would be free from bugs.

Chill out pal.... All I meant was that they do not have a monthly official release anymore. Sorry if this has offended you with semantics in some way. Maybe try going outside for a walk or something put it in perspective

James J · 22 Apr 2013 at 23:42

I agree with the guy who said if you have the money go titan, otherwise get a 7970. I pondered the same thing about 6 weeks ago now and decided on the titans as i love how quiet they are even more than the performance. My two old palit 3gb 580s where faaaaar louder even when idle than these are under load.

James J · 22 Apr 2013 at 23:44

Hell or if you have the cash for the titan but fancy the red team, get a 7990 instead from amd. bound to be very fast and without as many xfire issues as two separate cards.

spoffle · 22 Apr 2013 at 23:51

NirK said:
Chill out pal.... All I meant was that they do not have a monthly official release anymore. Sorry if this has offended you with semantics in some way. Maybe try going outside for a walk or something put it in perspective

Hahaha oh dear, you're using that? I'm just pointing out that your assumptions of what official/WHQL meant was incorrect, which means that all the beta drivers aren't a downside like you suggested.

It looks to me like you're the only getting offended.

Biffa · 23 Apr 2013 at 00:01

I wish they had Top-Trumps for graphics cards, then we wouldn't need to go there.

NirK · 23 Apr 2013 at 00:11

spoffle said:
Hahaha oh dear, you're using that? I'm just pointing out that your assumptions of what official/WHQL meant was incorrect, which means that all the beta drivers aren't a downside like you suggested.

It looks to me like you're the only getting offended.

Well I dont know I just meant that the official releases are less likely to have bugs no? I just said WHQL but I mean surely the official releases are less likely to have bugs than the betas, even ignoring the WHQL certification? It even has a disclaimer on the website saying that?

They used to have official monthly releases, and betas as well. Now it is just betas and maybe an official release (that does not say beta) once every 3 months.... I mean surely it is called "beta" for a reason or it would all just be official releases.

I would assume amd go through more thorough testing before a driver is released as an official release as opposed to a beta? Maybe I am wrong but I am not sure what the point of saying "beta" is in this case? Maybe the official drivers are just beta with a WHQL certification or maybe they are tested more, I don't know but it would be safe to assume the beta's are more likely to have issues.