Nvidia vs AMD Cards

[Ghost]

AMDs latest line is simply more overclock able, which is a big bonus for me.

[TechFan@ic]

AMDs latest line is simply more overclock able, which is a big bonus for me.

Nvidia is rumored to bring back the overclockability with the 700 series, I really hope it's true .

They need to bring their prices down a bit too, their GPUs are quite expensive .

[Whaler_99]

I have typically bought the "best" card in the price range I have when looking. Sometimes this is AMD and sometimes this is NVidia. I hear people going on about AMD drivers and such, but have also seen some pretty doggy NVidia ones back a few years ago. They all have their + and - .

Two things that are getting me to lean toward NVidia now are what looks to be better multi GPU support in the form of SLI versus Xfire and Folding. I have a bunch of system folding and basically AMD cards get destroyed by NVidia ones. There isn't even a close comparison when you factor in the hit on the CPU by the video card when folding...

Also, those latency spikes are supposed to fixed in the next driver release. Holding breath now. :D

Maybe they were. :) I have a bunch of them here and apparently there are issues with the newest drivers and Folding. I have no clue on Bitcoin though. A few members here, and on the web on various posts, have had quite a few issues with AMD and Folding recently...

[TechFan@ic]

I have typically bought the "best" card in the price range I have when looking. Sometimes this is AMD and sometimes this is NVidia. I hear people going on about AMD drivers and such, but have also seen some pretty doggy NVidia ones back a few years ago. They all have their + and - .

Two things that are getting me to lean toward NVidia now are what looks to be better multi GPU support in the form of SLI versus Xfire and Folding. I have a bunch of system folding and basically AMD cards get destroyed by NVidia ones. There isn't even a close comparison when you factor in the hit on the CPU by the video card when folding...

Also, those latency spikes are supposed to fixed in the next driver release. Holding breath now. :D

I think the issues are related to the folding software settings more than anything else .

Try different settings or a different program.

[Ghost]

AMDs latest line is simply more overclock able, which is a big bonus for me.

Hopefully 8xxx will bring more performance and keep the overclockability.

[c.pryor2223]

Nvidia cards because they are hackintosh compatible

so Mountain lion wont run on my 7870? oh wait it does! because thats the point of a hackintosh.....

[TechFan@ic]

AMDs latest line is simply more overclock able, which is a big bonus for me.

Yeah I really hope the 8xxx series will overclock just as well as the 7xxx series do right now .

[killerx525]

AMD because of their current performance, overclocking capabilities and price.

[Whaler_99]

AMDs latest line is simply more overclock able, which is a big bonus for me.

I believe the 8xxx series are simply OEM'ed 7xxx series cards - http://www.anandtech.com/show/6570/amds-annual-gpu-rebadge-radeon-hd-8000-series-for-oems

Not sure what this means for consumer... but probably shafted. :)

[Ghost]

AMDs latest line is simply more overclock able, which is a big bonus for me.

I very very high doubt that. The specs on the AMD site show different things to 7xxx series.

P.S.: 8xxx series specs are out on AMD site.

[samyG]

Each have their pros and cons and really just comes down to personal preference.

[Puppet]

I thought we were above all this, can we not avoid all this crap and create a decent forum! It all depends on your requirements, sometimes it will be Nvidia, sometimes it will be AMD...without any specific information neither is better. If anyone wants to argue about it, do it somewhere else, we have an opportunity to make this a decent place!

[InfinityHardware]

It seems like almost everyone says AMD is better, but then a lot of those people have Nvidia cards. Before AMD's recent driver release, it seemed to me like there was a general agreement that Nvidia cards were better. Even now, it seems like people like Linus would still prefer Nvidia.

The things I like about Nvidia are things like ease of use, driver support, PhysX, etc. Also, my 680 has a lifetime warranty. I don't know if any AMD cards have that but if they don't then that would make me want to buy an Nvidia card even more.

[Puppet]

It seems like almost everyone says AMD is better, but then a lot of those people have Nvidia cards. Before AMD's recent driver release, it seemed to me like there was a general agreement that Nvidia cards were better. Even now, it seems like people like Linus would still prefer Nvidia.

The things I like about Nvidia are things like ease of use, driver support, PhysX, etc. Also, my 680 has a lifetime warranty. I don't know if any AMD cards have that but if they don't then that would make me want to buy an Nvidia card even more.

Its just marketing, at the moment AMD offer a pretty decent price to performance ratio, it will go back and forth just like last year and the year before that. A lot of people become involved with forums after purchasing components, write a few comments about how theirs is the best and disappear never to be seen again...I've seen it far too many times

[InfinityHardware]

I thought we were above all this, can we not avoid all this crap and create a decent forum! It all depends on your requirements, sometimes it will be Nvidia, sometimes it will be AMD...without any specific information neither is better. If anyone wants to argue about it, do it somewhere else, we have an opportunity to make this a decent place!

We aren't arguing, the forum topic was created for people to tell why they like the graphics company they like. Whats so bad about that?

[Puppet]

I thought we were above all this, can we not avoid all this crap and create a decent forum! It all depends on your requirements, sometimes it will be Nvidia, sometimes it will be AMD...without any specific information neither is better. If anyone wants to argue about it, do it somewhere else, we have an opportunity to make this a decent place!

I'm not having a go, everyone is being very civil about it. Its just a question you can find on any old tech forum, all with the same responses, your not going to get any definitive answers...Its just awkward...I don't mean to offend you or anyone else, I realize its a genuine question and you are actually interested, just saying that for some people its a sensitive subject and leads into messy situations lol :)

[thegamezbeplayed]

AMD cards are actually faster. 7870 is better than 660ti. 7950 is better than 670. 7970 is about the same as 680.

thus why amd overclock better....

[Helltech]

Neither is better. Anyone who thinks one is better than the other is biased. They both have their pros and cons, and what works best for you works best for you.

Nvidia has better 3D gaming, Physx, and CUDA support. The cards are also usually more quiet than AMD. They also have HISTORICALLY better and more efficient drivers (though AMD stepped up to the game BIG time Q4 of last year).

AMD has better surround gaming, price to performance, and historically better power consumption (though this has leveled out in the last few generations).

They both have had ups and downs when it comes to overclocking, and heat.

When it comes to raw performance they are neck and neck and trade blows with each other. Obviously games that are optimized for AMD will run better with AMD and vice a versa.

So neither is better than the other, just one is more suited for certain people more than the other.

Personally I use Nvidia for 3D gaming, and Physx is a nice bonus.

[gamer tom]

Nvidia cards because they are hackintosh compatible

It won't. Mountain Lion only supports certain 5000 and 6000 series cards

[unidentical]

Honestly, support has more to do with the game developer in my experience, some games play better on ATI, some play better on nVidia.

I like Bethesda games so I buy nVidia, because typically nVidia cards get the best performance and stability in their games.

[EChondo]

Here is the way I see it.

AMD's Pro(s);

-Cheap

-Efficient

-Overclocks really well

-OpenCL

-Can deal with high resolutions(AA,AF,MSAA, etc.)

AMD's Con(s);

-Power Draw

-Not a smooth experience(which TechFan@ic already said AMD will fix this in the next driver update)

Nvidia's Pro(s);

-Smooth experience

-Power efficient

-CUDA

NVidia's Con(s);

-Expensive

Neutral;

-Nvidia has adaptive V-Sync, which isn't anything really to gloat about, it only helps on a few games where you can see a difference in performance if your FPS does fluctuate often. With AMD you can just turn V-Sync off and on in games, and if the off feature doesn't work, you can use software to force it.

-Both Nvidia and AMD suck at SLI/Crossfire GPU support, some people can work it better than others, most of the time it sucks.

-Nvidia has 3D support, I don't find this a feature and can be crossed out, especially with 3D monitors being expensive and it isn't popular.

-Nvidia has PhysX, which is just like 3D in which it's a feature that not a lot of people use as it does nothing to the overall gameplay experience.

-I believe both lack in the Linux support side of things, it works, but not well enough.

-Both manufacturer's create more than enough specs, for example; GTX 690/7990, 4GB/6GB VRAM, 4-way SLI/Crossfire.

-Both manufacturer's can't create the perfect drivers. I've talked to and have read from so many people that both have their bad sides, neither is perfect in this field.

To me, I buy whatever gives me the best performance per $$$. AMD wins this generation in my eyes, the only thing that worries me is the not so smooth experience(which I guess is being fixed?). You can buy Nvidia for its features or you can get AMD for the higher resolution support. Maybe Nvidia's 700 series will win against AMD's 8000 series, but we will have to wait and see.

[Opsilon]

Here is the way I see it.

AMD's Pro(s);

-Cheap

-Efficient

-Overclocks really well

-OpenCL

-Can deal with high resolutions(AA,AF,MSAA, etc.)

AMD's Con(s);

-Power Draw

-Not a smooth experience(which TechFan@ic already said AMD will fix this in the next driver update)

Nvidia's Pro(s);

-Smooth experience

-Power efficient

-CUDA

NVidia's Con(s);

-Expensive

Neutral;

-Nvidia has adaptive V-Sync, which isn't anything really to gloat about, it only helps on a few games where you can see a difference in performance if your FPS does fluctuate often. With AMD you can just turn V-Sync off and on in games, and if the off feature doesn't work, you can use software to force it.

-Both Nvidia and AMD suck at SLI/Crossfire GPU support, some people can work it better than others, most of the time it sucks.

-Nvidia has 3D support, I don't find this a feature and can be crossed out, especially with 3D monitors being expensive and it isn't popular.

-Nvidia has PhysX, which is just like 3D in which it's a feature that not a lot of people use as it does nothing to the overall gameplay experience.

-I believe both lack in the Linux support side of things, it works, but not well enough.

-Both manufacturer's create more than enough specs, for example; GTX 690/7990, 4GB/6GB VRAM, 4-way SLI/Crossfire.

-Both manufacturer's can't create the perfect drivers. I've talked to and have read from so many people that both have their bad sides, neither is perfect in this field.

To me, I buy whatever gives me the best performance per $$$. AMD wins this generation in my eyes, the only thing that worries me is the not so smooth experience(which I guess is being fixed?). You can buy Nvidia for its features or you can get AMD for the higher resolution support. Maybe Nvidia's 700 series will win against AMD's 8000 series, but we will have to wait and see.

I agree with you about 80%

adaptive v-sync helps a lot, sure you can force it on every card (amd/nv) with drivers but you always have a big drops if your FPS falls under 60, the only reason i got a 670 is because of that, 7970 stock was 20$ more expensive, and i barely got a 670, got a nice deal and i am loving it, not to mention v-sync on is good for your power consumption and heat output. GPU boost helps a lot if you have a good cooler on the card and a nice case, i have a really bad case and i get my card with (factory OC) 1006/1056 (boost) core clock to go over 1100 because temps are "low", and i am not even OC-ing the damn thing, so NV makes nice OC potential as well. Oh and price of an nvidia card is not much more than amd with reference coolers, 3rd party manufacturers put prices so high.

[TechFan@ic]

Here is the way I see it.

AMD's Pro(s);

-Cheap

-Efficient

-Overclocks really well

-OpenCL

-Can deal with high resolutions(AA,AF,MSAA, etc.)

AMD's Con(s);

-Power Draw

-Not a smooth experience(which TechFan@ic already said AMD will fix this in the next driver update)

Nvidia's Pro(s);

-Smooth experience

-Power efficient

-CUDA

NVidia's Con(s);

-Expensive

Neutral;

-Nvidia has adaptive V-Sync, which isn't anything really to gloat about, it only helps on a few games where you can see a difference in performance if your FPS does fluctuate often. With AMD you can just turn V-Sync off and on in games, and if the off feature doesn't work, you can use software to force it.

-Both Nvidia and AMD suck at SLI/Crossfire GPU support, some people can work it better than others, most of the time it sucks.

-Nvidia has 3D support, I don't find this a feature and can be crossed out, especially with 3D monitors being expensive and it isn't popular.

-Nvidia has PhysX, which is just like 3D in which it's a feature that not a lot of people use as it does nothing to the overall gameplay experience.

-I believe both lack in the Linux support side of things, it works, but not well enough.

-Both manufacturer's create more than enough specs, for example; GTX 690/7990, 4GB/6GB VRAM, 4-way SLI/Crossfire.

-Both manufacturer's can't create the perfect drivers. I've talked to and have read from so many people that both have their bad sides, neither is perfect in this field.

To me, I buy whatever gives me the best performance per $$$. AMD wins this generation in my eyes, the only thing that worries me is the not so smooth experience(which I guess is being fixed?). You can buy Nvidia for its features or you can get AMD for the higher resolution support. Maybe Nvidia's 700 series will win against AMD's 8000 series, but we will have to wait and see.

@EChondo I completely agree with you.

You summed it up incredibly well, that's how things stand in the market as it is right now.

[EChondo]

Here is the way I see it.

AMD's Pro(s);

-Cheap

-Efficient

-Overclocks really well

-OpenCL

-Can deal with high resolutions(AA,AF,MSAA, etc.)

AMD's Con(s);

-Power Draw

-Not a smooth experience(which TechFan@ic already said AMD will fix this in the next driver update)

Nvidia's Pro(s);

-Smooth experience

-Power efficient

-CUDA

NVidia's Con(s);

-Expensive

Neutral;

-Nvidia has adaptive V-Sync, which isn't anything really to gloat about, it only helps on a few games where you can see a difference in performance if your FPS does fluctuate often. With AMD you can just turn V-Sync off and on in games, and if the off feature doesn't work, you can use software to force it.

-Both Nvidia and AMD suck at SLI/Crossfire GPU support, some people can work it better than others, most of the time it sucks.

-Nvidia has 3D support, I don't find this a feature and can be crossed out, especially with 3D monitors being expensive and it isn't popular.

-Nvidia has PhysX, which is just like 3D in which it's a feature that not a lot of people use as it does nothing to the overall gameplay experience.

-I believe both lack in the Linux support side of things, it works, but not well enough.

-Both manufacturer's create more than enough specs, for example; GTX 690/7990, 4GB/6GB VRAM, 4-way SLI/Crossfire.

-Both manufacturer's can't create the perfect drivers. I've talked to and have read from so many people that both have their bad sides, neither is perfect in this field.

To me, I buy whatever gives me the best performance per $$$. AMD wins this generation in my eyes, the only thing that worries me is the not so smooth experience(which I guess is being fixed?). You can buy Nvidia for its features or you can get AMD for the higher resolution support. Maybe Nvidia's 700 series will win against AMD's 8000 series, but we will have to wait and see.

Thank you Fan@ic.

Opsilon(nice name), like I said, with my 7870 I can't max every game out but I never have the problem of fluctuating FPS, so adaptive v-sync to me is not needed. It IS a nice feature to have although.

Also with prices how they are currently(at least in the U.S.), each AMD card that is in the same price range of a Nvidia card performs better for less.

7970GHz is neck and neck with the 680

7970>670

7950>660ti

7870>660

7850>650ti

7770>650

7750>640

I understand that some people, like you Opsilon, will prefer Nvidia because of it's extra features that help with gaming or CAD work, but me as an enthusiast will always go with the best price to performance in the market. I love my 7870 and I have had no problems with it(except for some faulty 12.8 drivers, but 12.11 is flawless) and I can't wait for the "lag" to be fixed in the 7000 series.

In the end, buy what you prefer! If you chose Nvidia, good! If you chose AMD, good! Who really cares! As long as we can play our games it shouldn't matter. :)

[Aron_the_canadian]

if you buy a card based on nvida vs AMD then your an idiot. you should look at you need and what you want to use the card for. look at what both cards have to offer and not just at the brand name. some people say Amd overclock better some say nvida. this is untrue the OEM is a lot more important in this regard.