[Tawney Bomb]

Drivers?

This. I trust Nvidia and there driver updates far more than I do AMD in my experience and that's all it takes for me to choose a side.

[MoGamesXNA]

I've always just gone for whatever was the most powerful at the time of my upgrade. I currently have two AMD cards in my gaming rig. I've been fortunate enough to never have had an issue with any of my NVIDIA or AMD based cards.

Just go to any respected hardware site and find the best bang for buck within your price range. I'd be wary of any non-technically oriented gamer giving advice towards one brand or the other.

[Astery]

Used both, will not choose ATI again. While the card itself is pretty fine, I have to deal with damn drivers and drivers problem most of the time that's frustrating. I just want to play a game, not spending half of the game time browsing the web looking for how to solve this and that problem.

[Violater]

There was a time when you could get 5850 Extremes brand new for under $100. But not anymore, so the answer is the GTX 560. Probably better to wait and get a 660 GTX though.

I can wait till about fall before picking up a new card.
I just was not sure that I would get the most out of these newer card with my older mobo/processor combo.
I want something make TW2 look glorious as shamefully I have not played it yet.

[Einherjar]

Go with Intel/nVidia for consistent and good performance.

Go with AMD/ATI to save money.

[chaosblade]

To be fair, NVidia has had their share of crappy drivers, especially recently. And with AMD moving away from monthly driver releases they should be able to test them much more thoroughly.

But still, the general rule holds true. Most games aren't really well optimized for AMD cards so NVidia cards end up with better compatibility, especially around launch. Feature-wise, I think NVidia still wins out these days, but RadeonPro makes up a lot of ground in that regard.

I guess I'd say if you buy a lot of PC games at launch, get an NVidia card. If you don't, buy whatever.

[Gez]

I 2 PC's, one has a nvidia card and the other an AMD. The AMD card is the biggest mistake i have made. I have all sorts of technical issues on certain games on the AMD card, not to mention the shitty driver support than often breaks things with each update.

The only reason you would ever get a AMD card is if you want something that costs less for the most part.

Heres my pros on Nvidia cards

* Driver support
* Far less issues than AMD cards
* Performance
* PhysX

Just bite the bullet and spend the extra on a nvidia card, It will save you alot of hassle and heartache.

[Nyoro SF]

Been using the NV. cards for as long as I can remember, and I've never had any problems.

[BlackJace]

Don't AMD cards work better with AMD CPUs?

I have a Phenom II X6 1090T cpu and an HD6850 card.

I thought that Nvidia worked well with Intel and Radeon with AMD.
If I were to switch to a Nvidia card, I wouldn't have any issues right?

Btw, I've had absolutely no issues with my 6850.

[AwesomeSauce]

I go for whatever company has the best price to performance ratio card out.

[Shambles]

Don't AMD cards work better with AMD CPUs? I have a Phenom II X6 1090T cpu and an HD6850 card. I thought that Nvidia worked well with Intel and Radeon with AMD. If I were to switch to a Nvidia card, I wouldn't have any issues right? Btw, I've had absolutely no issues with my 6850.

This has never been the case.

[BlackJace]

This has never been the case.

Oh ok. I recently got in PC gaming so I guess that was just some stupid superstition I heard from a friend of mine.

[capitalCORN]

I go back and forth based on price/performance. I've never had any issues with ATI cards like others do, which is why all the driver talk goes over my head. There are glaring examples (see Saboteur), and devs generally err on the side of Nvidia. Usually I have enough horsepower to overcome any shortcomings.

[Dapperk]

I'd rather drop a few extra dollars for the stability and performance of Nvidia's cards.

[Pachinko]

As you can see OP, it's hard to get a clear concise answer to this question- both companies put out quality products, both companies have problems as well and every time a new round of cards comes out (it's basically a yearly thing but every couple of years they make new chipsets) the entire game can change.

After looking at who has the "best card" for any given time period it's also not a bad idea to give yourself a price ceiling. How much do you want to spend on a GPU and what are you looking to do with it, the high end gpus these days are intended for multi monitor, mega resolution or even 3d stuff. If all you wanted to do was play at 720 or 1080P a midrange card will be plenty and really, you want the best bang for the buck at any level outside of the high end and that can change on a weekly basis.

Whoever said to just figure it out right before buying one is the best answer in this thread.

[G-Unit]

I CAN'T decide between a 680 GTX and a 7970

I'm pretty satisfied with my 5870, so I kinda like AMDs GPU, but dammit... I know the 680 is a powerhouse without the need of OC

help me, i have 1 hour to choose. $500 vs $460

[Ogs]

I CAN'T decide between a 680 GTX and a 7970 I'm pretty satisfied with my 5870, so I kinda like AMDs GPU, but dammit... I know the 680 is a powerhouse without the need of OC help me, i have 1 hour to choose. $500 vs $460

680 GTX, the drivers man, the drivers.

[Eideka]

I CAN'T decide between a 680 GTX and a 7970 I'm pretty satisfied with my 5870, so I kinda like AMDs GPU, but dammit... I know the 680 is a powerhouse without the need of OC help me, i have 1 hour to choose. $500 vs $460

The 680.

[G-Unit]

You know, I realized this week that the fact my mouse pointer messed up during gameplay and it does not fix itself after I stop is a driver issue. It's kinda annoying because in one driver updates it gets fixed and it other it other the bug is back.

[vocab]

You know, I realized this week that the fact my mouse pointer messed up during gameplay and it does not fix itself after I stop is a driver issue. It's kinda annoying because in one driver updates it gets fixed and it other it other the bug is back.

AMD claimed they fixed the cursor corruption that plagued RTS games, but it shows up on a very rare occasion once in a while. Sometimes you gotta wiggle the mouse around in game like a madman to fix it. The only real way to fix it is restart. So ghetto.

[Cow Mengde]

AMD wins in price and performance. They're just a better bang for a buck. Also, their power drain is much much MUCH better than Nvidia cards. No need to buy new PSUs. I'm seriously eyeing a 7770 or a 7850 as my next upgrade.

Nvidia does offer more power, but also at a higher price. They drivers a better for the most part. It's less of a pain for games.

[Horse Armour]

AMD wins in price and performance. They're just a better bang for a buck. Also, their power drain is much much MUCH better than Nvidia cards. No need to buy new PSUs. I'm seriously eyeing a 7770 or a 7850 as my next upgrade. Nvidia does offer more power, but also at a higher price. They drivers a better for the most part. It's less of a pain for games.

The GTX 670 is the best bang for buck card right now and last I checked it's an nvidia card.

[G-Unit]

and bought, gonna miss you AMD :( but it's kinda your fault

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007KC1R9E/..._ppi4E.1S7V32G

[Lothars]

Both are great choices but the biggest negative for AMD is the drivers and the biggest positive for Nvidia is the drivers.

I am not sure what my next card is but I have a 5970 and it's a fantastic card.

[kinggroin]

I CAN'T decide between a 680 GTX and a 7970 I'm pretty satisfied with my 5870, so I kinda like AMDs GPU, but dammit... I know the 680 is a powerhouse without the need of OC help me, i have 1 hour to choose. $500 vs $460

Even better, the 670

[G-Unit]

AMD claimed they fixed the cursor corruption that plagued RTS games, but it shows up on a very rare occasion once in a while. Sometimes you gotta wiggle the mouse around in game like a madman to fix it. The only real way to fix it is restart. So ghetto.

It showed up again on the lastest driver :s

[vocab]

It showed up again on the lastest driver :s

Ya. My 5850 never got away from it. I used to play a lot of Hon, so it always showed up. 670FTW is what im running now.

[DrBaalzamon]

AMD wins in price and performance. They're just a better bang for a buck. Also, their power drain is much much MUCH better than Nvidia cards. No need to buy new PSUs. I'm seriously eyeing a 7770 or a 7850 as my next upgrade. Nvidia does offer more power, but also at a higher price. They drivers a better for the most part. It's less of a pain for games.

With the most recent Kepler release, Nvidia has brought the power usage WAY down. Check the reviews for their most recent cards. Lower than even AMD's cards. So they now have Power, Performance and I also believe noise db under their wing. Kepler really is pretty great in that regard!

[G-Unit]

Even better, the 670

I did not go 670 route because this country is really hot so I wouldn't get as much from OC.
Also, we don't use A/C, so it's pretty much 90 degrees on my room all year.

[LeBrick James]

I'm about 3 years into modern PC gaming, and haven't had any issues with my ATI card or its drivers. I'm under the impression that nVidia is much better supported and has Physx, but AMD is more bang for your buck.

Not sure where i'm gonna go when it's time to upgrade.

[SapientWolf]

It showed up again on the lastest driver :s

It did. First time I saw it. I had to enable mouse trails to fix it.

Only reason I haven't upgraded to Nvidia yet is because I'm really unimpressed by the price/performance of the current Keplers. I would bite on a $250 660 GTX though, if it could overclock.

[xemumanic]

Nvidia. From every possible way to look at it, they are the vendor to go with.

[Cow Mengde]

With the most recent Kepler release, Nvidia has brought the power usage WAY down. Check the reviews for their most recent cards. Lower than even AMD's cards. So they now have Power, Performance and I also believe noise db under their wing. Kepler really is pretty great in that regard!

Which ones? This I gotta see.

The GTX 470 is the best bang for buck card right now and last I checked it's an nvidia card.

Are you nuts? Have you seen the power draw and heat from that thing? I can't find the price for it either.

[krameriffic]

AMD wins in price and performance. They're just a better bang for a buck. Also, their power drain is much much MUCH better than Nvidia cards. No need to buy new PSUs. I'm seriously eyeing a 7770 or a 7850 as my next upgrade. Nvidia does offer more power, but also at a higher price. They drivers a better for the most part. It's less of a pain for games.

The thing about price is that people talk about it as if it is a fixed thing that NV cards are more expensive than AMD. It isn't always like that. I buy video cards when I find deals on them. Newegg Open Box deals are the best place to find these kinds of deals. I typically look at the upper-midrange cards (~$200 pricepoint) and try to find a really good flash deal on a good model.

I used ATI and AMD cards for years and I don't think the driver issues can be echoed enough. They always gave me driver problems and compatibility problems and just constant bullshit. Never had those problems with NV. I've also never had a reference card that was as all-around "good" as this 560Ti. The performance, stability, temperatures, power consumption, OCing potential and especially how quiet the fan is just completely sold me on it. This came from the era of unlocking 6950s into 6970s too. I had one of those 6950s and returned it because of my strict tolerance for noise levels.

Lots of factors come into this stuff, but the only real constant I can tell people is that NV has bar none better drivers than AMD.

[G-Unit]

I wanted to keep supporting amd, and i didn't have big issues with the drivers. But that issues with the pointer drove me nuts for a while. All in all I look forward to their future products and I'll evaluate them on their own merits. No hard feelings for amd

[Horse Armour]

Which ones? This I gotta see. Are you nuts? Have you seen the power draw and heat from that thing? I can't find the price for it either.

Woops, I meant the GTX 670.

[Carm]

Never, ever, ever buy ATI/AMD video cards. No matter how many of your friends try to convince you they are good products. Don't listen to them when they say "Oh but they run so much cooler and quieter than Nvidia and they are typically priced lower". These people have been brainwashed. If you're a gamer, the number one thing that matters is performance and ATI/AMD fails over and over. PC gaming for 15 years, the only time I've used an ATI gpu was when it was onboard on my HP computer back in 1998.

Every single pc gaming message board has those threads where people are having gpu related issues, nine times out of ten it's an ATI gpu. Now, the problem admittedly is sometimes caused by the developer of said game, but most of the time it's the shitty ass drivers from ATI. Nvidia I'm sure has issues too, I see far far less threads on forums regarding Nvidia compared to ATI, and even those a lot of them seem like user error issues with their setups.

I've personally only have had two major issues with Nvidia gpus, I had a 7600gt and a 8800gts die on me after a couple of years of major use(8+ hours daily gaming, MMOs heh).

Also, I don't use any Nvidia gpus except EVGA, lifetime warranty on certain models, a breeze dealing with them, when my two cards died.

[LeBrick James]

Never, ever, ever buy ATI/AMD video cards. No matter how many of your friends try to convince you they are good products. Don't listen to them when they say "Oh but they run so much cooler and quieter than Nvidia and they are typically priced lower". These people have been brainwashed. If you're a gamer, the number one thing that matters is performance and ATI/AMD fails over and over. PC gaming for 15 years, the only time I've used an ATI gpu was when it was onboard on my HP computer back in 1998. Every single pc gaming message board has those threads where people are having gpu related issues, nine times out of ten it's an ATI gpu. Now, the problem admittedly is sometimes caused by the developer of said game, but most of the time it's the shitty ass drivers from ATI. Nvidia I'm sure has issues too, I see far far less threads on forums regarding Nvidia compared to ATI, and even those a lot of them seem like user error issues with their setups. I've personally only have had two major issues with Nvidia gpus, I had a 7600gt and a 8800gts die on me after a couple of years of major use(8+ hours daily gaming, MMOs heh). Also, I don't use any Nvidia gpus except EVGA, lifetime warranty on certain models, a breeze dealing with them, when my two cards died.

Dude...

[mkenyon]

Google confirmation bias.

That pretty much explains this AMD driver phenomenon.

I love bits like this:

These people have been brainwashed.

Directly followed by:

PC gaming for 15 years, the only time I've used an ATI gpu was when it was onboard on my HP computer back in 1998.

I've had more problems with NVIDIA drivers over the past two years than AMD. AMD's management of driver testing and delivery is heads and tails above what ATi was doing.

That confirmation bias rolls over though, so when someone has a slight issue, it's to the forums to yell about AMD drivers because 50 other idiots yelled about it because they saw 50 idiots yell about it.

Some of you guys are worse than the console fanboy threads.

[Carm]

Dude...

Hrm?

Google confirmation bias. That pretty much explains this AMD driver phenomenon. I love bits like this: Directly followed by: I've had more problems with NVIDIA drivers over the past two years than AMD. AMD's management of driver testing and delivery is heads and tails above what ATi was doing. That confirmation bias rolls over though, so when someone has a slight issue, it's to the forums to yell about AMD drivers because 50 other idiots yelled about it because they saw 50 idiots yell about it. Some of you guys are worse than the console fanboy threads.

Oh I'm sure there are lots of people using Nvidia cards with issues. It's not like those people don't complain on forums about it. I was just saying typically the threads in forums complaining about issues are typically ATI cards. As for the brainwashed bit, tongue in cheek a bit there, though somewhat serious. Every time Nvidia vs. ATI comes up, ATI users always bring up price,quieter,cooler, like any of that really matters when it comes to gaming. If you're a PC gamer, you buy Nvidia, if you're a PC user that wants to play some games, buy whatever, you won't notice any difference.

[mkenyon]

Well then aren't we both glad that ATi doesn't make cards anymore? :P

Joking aside, the same threads for NVIDIA cards exist. They just don't get repeated constantly because it's outside of the accepted norm of talking points. Spurned gamers are loathe to give up their biases and emotional responses.

If I had more time, I'd love to chart every critical/serious/partially serious driver issue between the two. Over the past 2 or so years, I'd venture that it's a tossup, with the critical stuff going to NVIDIA. The 590 screw up was of epic proportions, same with Rage.

I get you though man. I've been gaming since I had a 486 DX100 (brand new at the time) in my room. I went team green for quite awhile when I didn't have a ton of money for hardware. Been with one of each since 2004ish, and outside of crossfire support (which is now better), I wouldn't be able to say which has been worse. Since it's my experience, it's totally anecdotal as well.

In the end though, I really think the "ATi drivers are crap!" is a really telling phrase. For one, ATi drivers weren't great. For two, ATi hasn't been around since 2009, which really puts forward how strongly rooted this bias is. AMD drivers are great, and they have some issues that crop up. NVIDIA drivers are great, and they have some issues that crop up.

[Carm]

Well then aren't we both glad that ATi doesn't make cards anymore? :P Joking aside, the same threads for NVIDIA cards exist. They just don't get repeated constantly because it's outside of the accepted norm of talking points. Spurned gamers are loathe to give up their biases and emotional responses. If I had more time, I'd love to chart every critical/serious/partially serious driver issue between the two. Over the past 2 or so years, I'd venture that it's a tossup, with the critical stuff going to NVIDIA. The 590 screw up was of epic proportions, same with Rage. I get you though man. I've been gaming since I had a 486 DX100 (brand new at the time) in my room. I went team green for quite awhile when I didn't have a ton of money for hardware. Been with one of each since 2004ish, and outside of crossfire support (which is now better), I wouldn't be able to say which has been worse. Since it's my experience, it's totally anecdotal as well. In the end though, I really think the "ATi drivers are crap!" is a really telling phrase. For one, ATi drivers weren't great. For two, ATi hasn't been around since 2009, which really puts forward how strongly rooted this bias is. AMD drivers are great, and they have some issues that crop up. NVIDIA drivers are great, and they have some issues that crop up.

Well, I'm not against using another gpu, that isn't Nvidia, I just wouldn't touch AMD. I did have a Hercules Kyro 2 card for a short while, before moving to a 6600gt heh.

[INDIGO_CYCLOPS]

Never, ever, ever buy ATI/AMD video cards. No matter how many of your friends try to convince you they are good products. Don't listen to them when they say "Oh but they run so much cooler and quieter than Nvidia and they are typically priced lower". These people have been brainwashed. If you're a gamer, the number one thing that matters is performance and ATI/AMD fails over and over. PC gaming for 15 years, the only time I've used an ATI gpu was when it was onboard on my HP computer back in 1998. Every single pc gaming message board has those threads where people are having gpu related issues, nine times out of ten it's an ATI gpu. Now, the problem admittedly is sometimes caused by the developer of said game, but most of the time it's the shitty ass drivers from ATI. Nvidia I'm sure has issues too, I see far far less threads on forums regarding Nvidia compared to ATI, and even those a lot of them seem like user error issues with their setups. I've personally only have had two major issues with Nvidia gpus, I had a 7600gt and a 8800gts die on me after a couple of years of major use(8+ hours daily gaming, MMOs heh). Also, I don't use any Nvidia gpus except EVGA, lifetime warranty on certain models, a breeze dealing with them, when my two cards died.

I've never had an issue with my AMD card,but ultimately would like to try nVidia next just to see how they are. Last one I owned was of the GeForce series. Making broad generalizations like this is just silly and destructive. As mentioned both companies have pros and cons.

[mkenyon]

See, that's why I thought your 'brainwashed' comment was funny. Thank you for demonstrating why microeconomic theories are all fundamentally flawed.

[Sir Fragula]

The last AMD card I purchase was back in 2005(When they were ATI). It was a X700(I was in college and didn't have a lot spend). I remember having difficult time with the CCC software and drivers, and the card broke after a few months. I then switch over to Geforce 7600GT and I have stuck with Nvidia ever since.

Opposite for me. I had nothing but grief with nVidia cards and didn't really consider AMD until my brother donated his 4850. Never going back to nVidia now.

[LeBrick James]

Hrm?

Not using an ATI gpu since 98 kinda ruins your rant about telling people to never ever buy ATI gpu's.

[SapientWolf]

Opposite for me. I had nothing but grief with nVidia cards and didn't really consider AMD until my brother donated his 4850. Never going back to nVidia now.

Worth mentioning that the last Nvidia GPU I had was the Geforce 6800. It had a documented compatibility issue with one of the nForce chipsets that Nvidia made, so its previous owner had to sell it to me. You can't make stuff like that up.

There is another documented issue where an Nvidia driver actually damaged hardware. So the grass is not always greener.

[DTKT]

Jesus, why the 680?

The 670 is performing almost as well and is way cheaper. :|

[GoofsterStud]

Jesus, why the 680? The 670 is performing almost as well and is way cheaper. :|

If you have the money why not? I don't see the problem... Sure it might not be the best bang for the buck regarding price/performance ratio, but it's still more performance when the buck isn't really a concern.

[mkenyon]

Jesus, why the 680? The 670 is performing almost as well and is way cheaper. :|

I'd hate to hear your disdain for my 690 :P