Best Graphic Card

Hey all,

Im thinking of upgrading my computer somehow, i added another 512 Ram
to my computer so now i have 1GB ram, but now for the graphic card, i
really heard the G-Force is better than ATI-Radeon, but i really want
to know,

Which is the best graphic card ( For gaming mostly) out yet ??

-[Please forgive me if a similar thread was posted before...]-

-Thank you

-Dark|Masta

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.::Dark|Masta::. - One name. One legend.

It all depends on the money you want to spend.

Neither is better because they're both supported equally.

As Bister said, it depends on the amount of money you want to spend. ATI usually cost more for lower chipsets (compared to GeForce), because they have a tendancy to put on more ram. (It's more common to find not-new radeons with 512MB ram than it is to find even a 7800 with anything over 256MB)

I'd say GeForce, but, that's just what I would choose. It's up to you. Look at prices and decide from that.

I believe the only REAL difference between the companies is that ATi uses floating point values instead of integers. Which, means you can actually get stuff more accurate, but no one uses it, since it alienates half the market. They all use integers instead (and floating point values are VERY 'expensive')

Or was it nVidia that used floats? Dammit, I don't remember.

I think, though, that "more bang for your buck" right now, is nVidia. Also, if someone, anyone, utilizes SLi, they'd definitaly be the brand to go for.

Also, if you know what video card you want, you better make sure you have a chipset on the motherboard that will agree with it. I've heard of a lot of troubles with people using nforce chipsets and ati cards. I don't know if anyone is having issues with nVidia cards and ATi chipsets though.

Look around.

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Blame it on Microsoft, God does.

You shouldve just look through one of my recent threads on my computer building.

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http://img362.imageshack.us/img362/8521/windows981dk.jpg

Nickelplate is my dad

GEFORCE! GO! AND I'LL FORM THE HEAD..

I always thought the Geforce name sounded like a Anime cartoon about a
bunch of kids that dress up like Birds and form a giant robot or
something.

Are you looking for AGP or PCI-Express?

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[img]http://card.mygamercard.net/sig/Default/reno84.png[/img]
Designer @ Haiku Interactive | ReNo-vation.net

"Best" is an ambiguous term when used in conjunction with video cards. I personally prefer ATI, but have owned just about every name brand sold at one time or another.

I'd go with a new PCI-E X800 if I had the mainboard to support it, but have no qualms about buying anything comparable in a GeForce flavor.

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There is no history until something happens, then there is.

What is it about Underpants.. err Dog, that makes me wanna slap the
ever liven crap outta him? I need to goto counciling or
something..

HUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM FIND YOUR CENTER.. HUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

The market is always changing, just now ATI is hyping up their next
generation video cards, the XI000 (or something like that). I've gone
through several ATI cards over the past few years (upgrading every 3
generations or so), and they all have performed exrtemely well (for me
at least). Currently I have an ATI X800 XT, Ive had it since last yeah
(a full year since last month infact!), and it can still run Half Life
2 at full screen settings no problem (AMD 3400+ 64 bit OC's 2.5 GHZ 1
Gig ram). You can probably find a good used/new X800 XT out on the
internet for a decent price or so.

But if your a anal number crunsher who wants to squeze out every last
frame you can, you want to go with nvidia, their cards arent
dramatically better than ATI's, but they vary only slightly in
performance.

IF you really want whats best out ther then you would get TWO nVidia
7800 GT's PCI-E, a new mother board that allows for SLI, and run the
two in SLI. This would last you a LONG time (not to mention insane
performance in Half LIfe 2), and you can run TWO things at once (you
can map in one screen and play the map in a separate monitor for
instance). The only draw back to this is you have to know what your
doing to get it set up right, AND a set up like this will run ya for
about 1500 dollars (American).

PS: No ATI cant run in SLI (yet)

/my wiew on the video card economy

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Posting And You

Or ever. SLi is an nVidia creation. That's why ATi is working on their own slot type for duel cards.

SLi is really pointless right now though. It wont give you anything extra and will only cost you more. It's a cool idea, but it would work much better if the cards themselves didn't cost so much OR if they were guaranteed to be offered.

I know we covered this in a thread.

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Blame it on Microsoft, God does.

Could SLi be setup for multiple monitors, so you could run a newer game on multiple monitors without frame loss?

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"If you talk at all during this lesson, you have detention. Do you understand?"

• My yr11 Economics teacher

As far as I know a geforce is better for gaming as they are somewhat faster than other videocards with the same specs. I think.

Could SLi be setup for multiple monitors, so you could run a newer game on multiple monitors without frame loss?

I don't have an SLi system. However, I do have duel monitors. I notice no frame loss (looking at the numbers) when cloning the game to both screens. This is using one card. Since, it's just a connection that splits the output pins. No frame-loss period.

SLi really is just to have each card render completely different stuff or work on one render. You could, I'm sure, hook it up the way you're talking about ... but ... I don't know if it'd work or not. The second screen could just be blank .. or the desktop ... or something. Again, I don't know: I don't have SLi.

However, I do think it's a good idea to have separate things running on two separate desktops ... a little easier with some versions of Linux, since it implements multiple desktops.

Not sure though. Take a look around online?

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Blame it on Microsoft, God does.

Are you looking for AGP or PCI-Express?

I heard AGP is better than PCI-E right ??

If what i head was false, please correct me..

I was browsing through the net, and i found that ATi has some more properties that are kind of better than nVidia...

And about the money, im willing to spend about 1500DHS, thats Dubai's
currency, in USA currency its about $430 or so, well lets just say im
willing to spend $500, what could i mostly get that is better,and has a
sweet,soft,smooth performance, and may allow me to play HL2 with ultra
high (full) options??

Thank you all for your help and replies :smile:

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.::Dark|Masta::. - One name. One legend.

PCI-E is faster than AGP, but you need a motherboard with PCI-E slots. At the moment, as far as I know (I dont really keep up with these things) the cards dont really take full advantage of the extra speed, so youd probably be better off with an AGP card (they're cheaper anyway).

Crono, I was thinking of a flight simulator-type setup, where you have the 2 screens rendering different view angles. I'm just wondering if SLi would improve performance in that situation over a single card, or 2 cards working separately.

By the way, SLi is only available on PCI-E cards as far as I know. Unless you can find a motherboard with 2 AGP slots...

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"If you talk at all during this lesson, you have detention. Do you understand?"

• My yr11 Economics teacher

LOL.. ignored.. I love you guys..

Sadly, in the UK at least, AGP cards are no longer cheaper,
particularly at the top end. AGP based 6800GT's are still selling for
?270+, whereas you can pick up a 7800GT in PCI-E for ?220 or so :sad: My
6800GT just broke recently, and upon sending it back I could only get a
refund, which was s**t given that I bought the card in an amazing
special offer (?165). Now the best I can afford with that money is a
6800 standard.

By my research, nVidia have kinda won out in this round (while ATi
definately won the last round), at least in AGP. Only the nVidia cards
of the current gen have SM3.0 support, which is hardly an issue in
today's games, but I've heard Stalker is going to use it intensively
and I wouldn't be surprised if Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion and plenty
other upcoming titles start using it for prettier effects. In the mid
range cards, the 6600GT and 6800 standard both beat out the x700 series
in almost all benchmarks, though the ATi card seems a little better in
HL2 at high res with AA/AF on. In the upper range, the 6800GT seems to
beat out the x800 is most games, though obviously the x800 proves
itself in others.

If you DO have PCI-E though, and are looking for a good mid-range card,
there is a new ATi one out - the x800 GTO² - that is meant to be great
for the money. It has 12 pixel pipelines but the other 4 can be
unlocked to bring it to 16 (the same as the top x800 series cards), and
it can apparently be overclocked quite easily to x850pe speeds, making
it as good as a top of the line card for, in the UK, only ?150 odd. If
you want top of the line and money is not an issue, then I guess your
choices are either the 7800 series, or the upcoming ATi x1800 series.

Of course, I'm not expert on any of this, I'm just regurgetating what
I've found on hardware sites while deciding on what card I should buy.

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[img]http://card.mygamercard.net/sig/Default/reno84.png[/img]
Designer @ Haiku Interactive | ReNo-vation.net

MoneyShot said:
ignored..

I figure its the 105+ temps you endured all summer. I was in El Paso, this summer sometime and it was quite warm.

If it will make you feel that much better, go ahead and slap away. At least you took the time.

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There is no history until something happens, then there is.

Well, here is my Hardware, check it out...





I have 5 PCI slots, and 3 are occupied, and 1 AGP and is occupied with the Radeon ATi 9700 Pro...

So i might get a PCI GFX Card and put it in a PCI slot ??

[EDIT]

The picture shows 4 slots, i found that i had 5, 5 PCI slots...

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.::Dark|Masta::. - One name. One legend.

Dark|Killer said:
http://img385.imageshack.us/my.php?image=hardware8bt.jpg

So i might get a PCI GFX Card and put it in a PCI slot ??

No, you won't

A PCI-E slot is not a PCI slot. Your current AGP slot is faster than a normal PCI slot and if you get a normal PCI video card you will only be hurting yourself.

A PCI-E card requires a PCI-E slot.

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There is no history until something happens, then there is.

Oh, didnt know that there is a difference, so if i want to get the
PCI-Express, i got have to buy another motherboard right ?? which im
sure i wont get :biggrin:

Then its settled, until now, for the AGP-PCI thing, ill buy an AGP GFX Card...

But im so damn confused in which to buy, i mean i cant make up a good
decision in whether ill buy nVidia or ATi, man i hate when that
happens...

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.::Dark|Masta::. - One name. One legend.

yeah it is Hot down here Dog.. lol..

yeah Dark you would need a new MoBo.. I would get a nVidia card.. but
ATi are not bad either.. holy cow did I just say that.. someone get me
some medicen.. and a cola for that rotten taste in my mouth.. lol

lol..thanks for the MoBo info dude :smile:

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.::Dark|Masta::. - One name. One legend.

Wil5on, Ah. Yes, SLi would be good for that. I doubt anything will utilize it like that though.

Obviously, it will never get to the point to where SLi is required. However, if ATi made a similar option, then it'd be much easier to customize games for multiple monitors (which would be really awesome if it all got much cheaper).

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Blame it on Microsoft, God does.

Well ATi have their "crossfire" cards, either out now or coming out
soon. Don't know much about it, but I heard it is better at working in
any game (ie. those without explicit support for SLi configs) than
nVidia's SLi offerings.

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[img]http://card.mygamercard.net/sig/Default/reno84.png[/img]
Designer @ Haiku Interactive | ReNo-vation.net

Dual SLi, with 4 Monitor ports.. Ahh yes.. I need a towl.

Oh, didnt know that there is a difference, so if i want to get the
PCI-Express, i got have to buy another motherboard right ?? which im
sure i wont get :biggrin:

Then its settled, until now, for the AGP-PCI thing, ill buy an AGP GFX Card...

But im so damn confused in which to buy, i mean i cant make up a good
decision in whether ill buy nVidia or ATi, man i hate when that
happens...

Read my post on the first page, I gave a run down on the current
market. But basically if you want soething thats solid, go with ATI, if
you a number cruncher and want to squeze more frames out of a game,
then nVidia cards are slightly better (only on a very small scale).

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Posting And You

I see, thanks for the info, oh btw, i thought that Radeon X850 was the
latest, turned out that there is Radeon X1800, is that the newest ??

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.::Dark|Masta::. - One name. One legend.

Go with what's cheaper.

They're equally supported neither is "more solid" than the other. That's purely an opinionated statement, omega.

That statement is implying you have a vast knowledge of the architectures, on your own accord, not just opinions you've read. AND you're disregarding manufacturer's goof ups.

And, we all know that isn't true, so, please re-frame from saying things that aren't necessarily true just to "win".

Killer, anything you buy out of either "camp" will do what you want. Like I said, both is supported equally by software developers. I'd suggest going with the most performance for your money. (Meaning, the specific card ... including manufacture ... that suits your budget and has the hardware you want)

As for suggestions: do some searching on your own. Just look at some numbers, compare price range to performance. It should be pretty easy to figure out what you want from that.

Also, please don't use FPS benchmarks as your guide, they can be misleading. (besides the fact that most benchmarks don't give you an average)

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Blame it on Microsoft, God does.