ZenfoldorVGI said:
dahuman said:
ZenfoldorVGI said:
dahuman said:
ZenfoldorVGI said:
dahuman said:
ZenfoldorVGI said:
Also, on the NVidia vs ATI, I actually suggest you pick the COMPANY that makes the card, and then the card. For instance, I love EVGA, and they use Nvidia. So, even though an ATI card might be a 'better deal' EVGA doesn't sell it.
Nvidia and ATI both have fine cards, so it's apples and oranges. Go with the brand you trust.
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Nvidia cards are not as worth it these days for high performance though, since it draws more power, when you run SLI setups, you'd need a bigger PSU which would cost even more money on top of higher electricity bills, not to mention the heat on current high end Nvidia cards. ATI has the better cards currently, and they now have OpenCL with a more matured ATI Stream package, I can only see good things happening with ATI from now on, or, now AMD.... since they dropped the ATI brand...
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A few things. I would have agreed with you a few days ago. I had just bought my brand new 6870 and was happy as a lark. It was a Sapphire card, by far the most popular AMD brand of graphics card.
Then I started playing on the card. I noticed that CCC sucks, but that's not a big deal. I then noticed that my card only had a 2 year warranty. Not a big deal. I then noticed that my card manufacturer is notorious for not living up to their warranty. Not a big deal, maybe I would get lucky. Then my card lost all sembelance of stability.
So, I sent it back. I ordered an EVGA GTX 470. EVGA cards come with a lifetime warranty. They also come with the "step up" program. That way you can trade in your card for an upgrade whenever you feel like it. They will also help you mod your card and if you ask the community will GIVE you some IC Diamond to cool down your card. You can also buy aftermarket parts for it, and attain support throughout the cards life. EVGA is a company that stands behind their cards.
New cards are coming out for both companies, and performance is debatable between the current top of the line cards. Yes, the Nvidia cards are currently hotter and more power hungry. However, they are designed to stand the heat better. Yes, heat and power usage are a negative. Some who only consider performance believe those negatives are irrelivant. Another negative is the fact that your company isn't EVGA, lol.
So, I'm not sure I agree with you on your assertion that ATI is defaultly superior. Both companies make fine cards.
It's a similar debate to the Intel vs AMD. If you're min/maxing you might be able to make a case for one chip over the other, but the fact is that these technologies change so fast, you have to take the comparisons on a chip by chip and not a company by company basis, because you are painting things with too broad of a brush.
I voted for Intel in this poll, but I just built my latest rig with a 965 BE, which I think is the chip most builders should buy. I would never recommend Intel, but I voted for them. You can't really generalize these things, it's complicated.
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yeah you should have went with something like the 5870 or the 5970 instead, driver stability blows on new ATI cards until a few catalysts later, I'm crossfiring 2 5870 Eye6 and they work great and more powerful than a 6870 even as a single card setup. All those new features will eventually come to the 5XXX series anyways since they are pretty much the same. ATI is only superior this gen though, they were tied last gen and Nvidia rocked ATI's ass before that, I just like when looking at the tides changing, just like how AMD is going to rock Intel's stuff with the new APUs that look so so so so hot, makes me regret getting a pinerail earlier this year. The only part that I like Nvidia's control panel better is that I can customize the screen size better, other than that, they are about the same really. Just need to go for the advanced settings and do all settings to see all the options you have, they don't shouw you all of them anymore for whatever reason.
and EVGA is a card maker =P so is Sapphire, we are talking about the core of the cards I thought ^^;;;. Should have gone with a 5870 man.
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The 5870 was 150 dollars more than the 470 or the 6870. Problem is it isn't 150 dollar more card. Not even close. :P I'm not paying 150 dollars for a card because the drivers are better. I went with the EVGA 470 and plan to step up to the 500 series within 90 days as per our arrangement. The card maker is significant in this case because there is a vast gulf between support post purchase of EVGA and most other card manufactrers. EVGA does not make ATI cards I don't believe. Hence my reluctance. Go google sapphire customer support, or sapphire warranty policy. Then go google EVGA warranty policy, EVGA step up, or EVGA RMA.
I'm just saying, that for my money, EVGA is the only company who has yet to earn my business. Sapphire hasn't wronged me in any way, but EVGA has righted me so many times that I have trouble trusting another, lol. The difference between performance of the 5870 and the 470 is insignificant, and my case is supercooled, so I have no issue there. I'm running OCCT right now, on the PSU torture test and my GPU isn't getting about 67 degrees with EVGA precision, since I customized my fan curve.
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oh yes, I forgot that 6870 and 470 are mid range cards lol mah bad =). In that case 5850 would have been the better choice then ^^b, but if your maker of choice is EVGA then yeah it's a shame that they don't make AMD cards.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102884 $219 with rebate free shipping and just a tad faster than a 470 while being easily OC'able lol =P.
Oh and I haven't had issues with Sapphire's reliablility on cards, My old ass HD3850 AGP is still alive and kicking in my MPC decoding 1080p H.264 videos on the fly on a x2 4400 lol.
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A few things.
A, the superclocked version of the 470 was only 20 dollars more than that card you linked.
B. It's made by EVGA and thus has a lifetime warranty, and is eligable for the step up program, which means when the 500 series comes out(monday) I can trade this card into EVGA pay the price difference and have them ship me a new card.
C. According to most benchmarks, the difference between the 5850 and the 470 is highly dependant on the game and the resolution. Calling 1 card "a tad faster" isn't accurate. In terms of overall performance, imo, the 470 is the higher performing card. It also has better reviews.
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