ATi r600 or nVidia G80?

[Partizan]

Rather didn't post into ATi or nVidia forums, so noone can say I am biased

I recently sold my All in wonder x1900 and am currently without a graphic card.

I am buying either an ATi (AMD) HD2900XT or an nVidia 8800GTS 320mb. Which one should I buy?

Thanks for all your constructive replies.

Regards, Partizan

[Nele]

Still to early to tell, wait a couple of weeks for real R600 reviews, also the GTS might also get cheaper by then. Also, I think there are going to be a lot of strange results, big differences in performance in different games...

[eugene]

the question i would ask is XT or GTX?

provided the fact that ati mentioned that their card would be faster in DX10 games.

if you want a card right now that is currently the best get a gtx/gts. but what happens this summer when first dx10 betas and ready games come out remains a mystery..

to sum up what do we know so far:

Nvidia:

PROS:
availability of the card

relatively low power consumption+temperatures

overclockable

drivers almost flawless now (have been around for half a year and all major flaws have been corrected)

nvidia - the way it's meant to be played program (evebody always has trouble with ATI cards in games like WoW - only got fixed in few latest releases of the drivers)

works great in combo with nforce chipset

CONS:
Sli isn't by far as efficient as Crossfire
High price (about 600 euro for the 630 mhz core card)

ATI

PROS:
Crossfire got improved in R600+ much more efficient than SLI

Bundles with Valve games (which you can get on the web anyhow)

Hidden DX10 potential which should blow everyone away in the new games

Affordable price

CONS:

Power consumption 750 WATT?! if you want it in crossfire you will need a portable nuclear power plant to run it. And the PSU will probably cost as much as the card itself...

Heat 100oC? You will need H₂O₃ to cool it off.. you know the kind of water used for cooling nuclear reactors...

With all things mentioned above is there a chance it to be overclockable?

ETA of the XTX version?

Drivers for ATI haven't been out that long that means that they will still be pretty much in beta phase when the card comes out and we get to be beta testers at least half a year (so long it took for nvidia to fix their drivers)


I'd say things don't look very bright for ati or DAAMIT as some like to call them, especially with the latest news about power consumption and heat... The only thing that can save ati is either the price or the unbelievable dx10 potential... Well, the cards will be cheap, but i'm not really sure about that potential..

Like the famous web campaign says: The future's bright. The future's orange green (as nvidia green)

[Partizan]

Eugene, thanks alot for such an extensive answer 

I think I am probably going to pass the r600 and go for a G80 and later get a r650 if the power consumption will be reduced.

[eugene]

Greetings, i'm a proud member of DAAMIT salesforce and i'm here to present to you the incredible RADEON 2900 XT

(here you can find a whole bunch of our brainwashing presentation slides which would simply carry you away!
http://forums.vr-zone.com/showthread.php?t=148492)

After looking through those slides i'm sure the answer is obvious. ati*>nvidia. period*.







*
um, we didn't really think that was relevant to mention and our marketing department said not to tell anyone before they actually bought the card, but some bad people already did get the card and managed to read what's inside... the min requirement of 750watt power supply. Well, let's take a look at the current power supply market:

Thermaltake Toughpower 800 Watt - 210 euro
http://www.ditech.at/view.aspx?sid=2694214P15P3784P114P43P15003P05P2007from&pid=N85TT1&kat=122&menge=1

OCZ GameXStream 850W ATX 2.2 (OCZ850GXSSLI) - 190 euro
http://geizhals.at/a234158.html

So when you are buying a card for 400 euro + a psu for 200...  600 in total

For 600 in total you get the fastest overlocked gtx atm and when r600 is out, prices will drop 15-20% (what is rumored)...

I just bought a 700 watt psu from thermaltake and i thought it to last for 3-5 years cause my previous one was 400 watt, so almost x2 upgrade... If i want to get an xtx i'll have to change the PSU and buy a new one again. It should have MASSIVE advantage in dx10 for me to do that.. honestly..

[Partizan]

Good one 

[Nele]

Nice, keep it up Eugene, we might eventually hire you  But be warned, the average Bosnian monthly salary won't buy you an R600... And Fudo is one tough boss...  Something like the drill sergeant form Full Metal Jacket... 

[Partizan]

Nele how come you're still working for him?

If he is just a bit like the drill sarge from FMJ I would surely commit suicide 

[Nele]

You remember what private Pyle does before he kills himself ?  Now that's why I still work for him...