ATI or nVidia

[Burwood]

Allmost decided on components for my new PC. But just want a few last opinions. Im not sure wether to go for the 1024MB GEFORCE 7950GX2 (DUAL GPU) PCI Express or the 512MB RADEON X1900XTX PCI Express. It seems a lot of people go for ATIs at the moment and the nVidia card is going to make the PC about £100 more expensive but should be a lot better??

Thanks

 

[Cyber-Mav]

go for 7950gx2, far more powerful than a x1900xtx

 

[duncan888]

yes 7950, as it is a lot more futureproof with the addition of HDCP

 

[LoadsaMoney]

Depends what resolutions you play at, if you play at uber resolutions on a 30+ incher, then get the 7950, as at uber resolutions with max quality AA/AF it can't be touched, but if not id just go for the cheaper x1900, also if you plan to get a DX10 card in Sept/Oct. when they come out, be pointless shelling out on a 7950 when the x1900 will easily tide you over till then.

If your not planning on getting a DX10 card till around January when DX10 is actually released though, then go for the 7950, as the speedbumped R600 etc... will no doubt be coming when DX10 is actually released.

Theres no such thing as future-proofing, for example the cards we have today are DX9, DX10 cards are due in about 4 months.

 

[Cyber-Mav]

or wait the the G80 arrives its specs mean its gonna be faster than quad sli on 7900gx2.

i read that g80 specs are:

64 pipelines
64 shaders
64 texture mapping units
64 gb/sec mem bandwidth
64 ROPS
64 bit optimised drivers

should be very interesting.

 

[Darkwave]

ATI or nVidia

CAN OPEN, WORMS EVERYWHERE! D:

Seriously though, either will do. The 7950GX2 performs a little better than two 7900 GTs in SLi and is £400, but for aaround that price you could get an X1900 XT Crossfire setup. Personally, I would go for a single £260 X1900 XT now and then get a DirectX 10 card in 12 months (because buying an R600 or G80 on launch would just be a mistake, because by the time any games other than Crysis were out they would be on their second or third refresh and the R600 and G80 will be obsolete old hats.)

Besides, the R600 will have unified shader architecture, as far as I know the G80 won't. First round will probably go to ATi next year, then Nvidia will go unified and take back the performance crown. Neither card will be faster than quad SLi on a 7950GX2 though, I have no idea where Cyber-Mav read that, but my guess is The Inquirer.

 

[LoadsaMoney]

DX10 and Vista's release is rumoured to have been put back to April 07 now.