ATI vs nVidia

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StArGaZeR

Weaksauce
Joined
Aug 13, 2005
Messages
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Here is what I'm looking at for my new machine....

SAPPHIRE 100186L Radeon X1950XT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 VIVO HDCP
Chipset Manufacturer: ATI
Core clock: 625MHz
DirectX: DirectX 9
DVI: 2
Memory Clock: 1800MHz
Memory Interface: 256-bit
OpenGL: OpenGL 2.0
PixelPipelines: 16(48 Pixel shader processor )
TV-Out: HDTV / S-Video Out
VIVO: Yes

OR

MSI NX7900GT-VT2D256E-HD GeForce 7900GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16
Chipset Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Core clock: 500MHz
DirectX: DirectX 9
DVI: 2
Memory Clock: 1530MHz
Memory Interface: 256-bit
OpenGL: OpenGL 2.0
PixelPipelines: 24
TV-Out: HDTV / S-Video Out
VIVO: Yes

These cards are about the same price, ATI has more clock speed but nVidia has more pixel pipelines, which is more important?, and what is VIVO anyway?
 
Video in Video out.

They're close in performance but the X1950XT has better image quality.
 
Nvidia is the God of Video cards and ATI is the lacky. The 7900GT 256MB will last you longer and perform better. Mike Jones has spoken.
 
The X1950XT has better branch prediction. I think it's more future proof.
You have to overclock that 7900GT to even match the stock performance of the X1950XT.

Only thing I'd be worried about is the memory. 256mb is probably ok for a while, but I have a feeling some of the upcoming 2007 games will really like 512mb vram for high settings.
 
keldegar said:
Considering the X1900XT defeats the 7900GT handily, the X1950XT will beat it by an even larger margin.

Check out http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics.html?
Click to expand...

The X1950XT is much better than a 7900GT. If you play games above 1280X1024 you might want to go with a card with 512mb of ram instead of 256mb though. I have a X1900XT 256mb card and I'm able to run most games at 1600x1200, but some of the newer games I have to run at 1280x1024 at 2AA and 16AF, but I'm happy with that.
 
StArGaZeR said:
These cards are about the same price, ATI has more clock speed but nVidia has more pixel pipelines, which is more important?, and what is VIVO anyway?
Click to expand...

Actually they both have the same number of pixel pipelines - 16.
 
GwarGor said:
Nope that's not, true the GT has 24 pipes. What makes the X1900XT better is that it has 48 pixel shader processors, 3 per pixel pipeline.
Click to expand...

No believe me I know what I'm talking about. G71 has 16 pipelines (using the OP's definition of such) and 24 pixel shader processors.
 
*Sigh*

Fortunately for me I don't get my info from random people posting on wikipedia - http://www.beyond3d.com/misc/chipcomp/

That article you linked to equates a "pipeline" with a "shader processor" which certainly isn't the convention. If that's not enough for ya, well c'est la vie.
 
Nope not twisting terms. It is what it is. In technical reviews the term "pixel pipeline" has referred to ROPs and not shaders since Nvidia decoupled the two. There was a lot of discussion about the meaning of a "pipeline" when this happened and it escalated even more when R580 came with the 3:1 approach.

http://techreport.com/reviews/2005q2/geforce-7800gtx/index.x?pg=5

You can choose to call shaders "pixel pipelines" if you like - I'm not here to change your mind. For me a ROP is a pixel pipeline because it determines the conventional pixel fillrate and is a pretty standard component. Case in point - G80. Does it have 128 or 24 "pipelines" ?
 
Back on topic....

The X1950XT for sure. You will be sorely disappointed if you pick the other.
 
What if I decided to go with a 7950GT instead? Would the X1950XT still be better?.......here is the 7950GT I'm looking at....

Foxconn FV-N79GM2D2-HPOC GeForce 7950GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 OC
Chipset Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Core clock: 580MHz
DirectX: DirectX 9
DVI: 2
Memory Clock: 1560MHz
Memory Interface: 256-bit
OpenGL: OpenGL 2.0
PixelPipelines: 24
TV-Out: HDTV / S-Video Out
 
StArGaZeR said:
What if I decided to go with a 7950GT instead? Would the X1950XT still be better?.......here is the 7950GT I'm looking at....

Foxconn FV-N79GM2D2-HPOC GeForce 7950GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 OC
Chipset Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Core clock: 580MHz
DirectX: DirectX 9
DVI: 2
Memory Clock: 1560MHz
Memory Interface: 256-bit
OpenGL: OpenGL 2.0
PixelPipelines: 24
TV-Out: HDTV / S-Video Out
Click to expand...

You can't really compare the two because ATI has such an image quality advantage. If you want the best speed and image quality, your pick should be the X1950XT. I think it would be true also againt pretty much any 79xx card.
 
The only cards that are superior to the X1950XT IMO:

X1950XTX
7950GX2
8800GTS
8800GTX
 
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