What is this AMD "driver issue"?

[beany_bot]

Hi guys. Look I am really sorry if I am opening a can of worms here but I am about to pull the trigger on a purchase of a 390x and I want to be as well informed as possible.

I have always had Nvidea cards but this time, while doing heaps of research on different cards. For me (the ~£300 mark) the choice has to be the 390x. On paper everything says this is the correct choice to make (for me) but occasionally in the tubes of the internet I see people (when comparing Nvidea and AMD) say "better driver support" as a +ve for Nvidea. or "bad drivers" as a -ve for AMD. I know what drivers are and do but what exactly does this mean? Have some games in the past been unplayable on AMD? I just want to make the most informed decision I can. Thanks.

 

[beany_bot]

OK thank you all for the sensible and unbiased answers!
One more thing..

I still play FSX (yeah I know...) but FSX almost entirely relies on the CPU to do everything. To combat this and make it faster/better, I use Nvidea Inspector to force the GPU to handle the AA and Vsync in FSX. It works really really well. Wondering if there is something similar from AMD that I can use.

 

[beany_bot]

Driver support from AMD has been pretty bad since they took over from ATI. You will be lucky to get half a dozen drivers a year

To be honest that's maybe not such a bad thing...
I'm quite frankly sick to the back teeth with Nvidea sending me a new driver every 4 days. And every time I install the new driver I have to reconfigure Nvidea Inspector for FSX.

 

[beany_bot]

If I am being perfectly honest...
If it wasn't for the DX12 results from Ashes then I would "probably" be sticking with Nvidea. Just because it is what I am used to, suits FSX better and the much lower power draw. However having said that, I realise that basing my decision on that result is a big gamble. because the next DX12 offering might well not be the same result. Nvidea could pull level. But I'm willing to gamble on that. Plus the 8GB ram is peace of mind. But not trying to start a flame war. My query about drivers was well answered by the good folk on here. So thank you.

 

[beany_bot]

Just to clarify, Ashes runs better/faster on Nvidia.

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18690671

Go with what suits you best and no need to justify it

I didn't see the 390x on that list. I'm sure a titan X will beat the 390x but I was thinking more "pricepoint to pricepoint". Everything I have seen, on DX12 AMD is leaps ahead it's "equivalent" Nvidea card.

I might be wrong but everything I have read points to AMD being in favour for DX12 as it so closely matches their mantle API that they have been working towards for so long.

 

[beany_bot]

Like I said, buy what suits you best and no need to justify it to anyone. I have run a 290X, a 970, a Fury X and a Titan X and they all do a good job in games

Indeed. The problem as ever is having to justify it to myself

 

[beany_bot]

In your situation I would go for a 390, save the extra cash and in 12 months time get a new 14/16nm card. That way if you did not like AMDs "drivers" you can just as easily go for a pascal. Win win situation. Also you would have got two new toys to play with in a 12 month period

I considered that. But I really want to be able to A: run the Oculus rift flawlessly and B: Game at 1440p flawlessly.

I'm not so sure the 390 would be able to manage this. Certainly not as well as the 390x.