Until recently I was pretty big on Nvidia. But the last few months they've had terrible drivers. I'm still using ones from September because newer ones cause me performance losses, and the most recent ones actually fried cards outright until Nvidia pulled them (the driver would shut the fans off and overheat the card).

Also, Nvidia's got nothing to match ATI performance wise right now, and their upcoming card is a disaster in the making really. It's so hot that it requires a specially certified case just to keep it cool, and performance is worse then ATI's current lineup except in highly contrived synthetic benchmarks that have no application to real world games.

My last few cards have all been Nvidia, but if I were to be buying one right now, I'd go ATI. For whatever reason, Nvidia just can't do anything right lately. Hopefully they turn it around for next year.

Why would you compare the gtx480 to the 5970?

Ummm for those that lack a keen insight for the obvious, i would say that it's because they are essentially the same price. Why would I compare a $700 nvidia card to a $400 ATI card?  Also, the 480 should damn well blow away a 5870 due to the significant price difference.

For that matter why would you quote anything from semiaccurate?

They were not kind to nvidia at all.  It was a juxtaposition argument in relation to the benchmarks that I provided prior to posting the article.  The benchmarks say one thing and appear to be far superior hence suspect while semi-accurate says another.  At this point in time I am more inclined to place my wagers on semiaccurate's article.  I sure hope I lose that bet.  Even if they are only 42.0% accurate then the performance difference isn't as great as what nvidia is touting.

I don't know if it matters but someone credible just said that the NDA gets lifted 26MAR, partners will have cards by 29MAR, retail embargo until 06APR. At least we will have real numbers before we start throwing money around.

I would expect real 3rd party numbers after the card is released.  I truly hope you are correct in regards to the NDA so that we get accurate benchmarks before it is available for retail.  I think that if the card was that superior the NDA would have been lifted already.  Numerous locations have stated that the cards will be in short supply so i'll personally want the ability to make an informed decision on release day.  I don't want to delay ordering and get on a back order list. 

I really want the nvidia card due to its expanded gpgpu (and physX) properties but since my system is gaming first, video editing 2nd, i'll go with the card that has better gaming numbers.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed, thats for sure.

I would go with nVidia. Its somewhat more expensive in many cases, however, it games perfectly AND if you ever want to be involved with Folding @ Home or you really need those CUDA cores for programs that benefit from physX (engineering programs, like AutoCad perhaps) then nVidia is definitely the way to go.

Plus DirectX11 is used on how many programs right now? I can only think of one game (and its not my type of game anyways), so FERMI will definitely be on time by any important perspective, the only reason why folks would go ATI just for DirectX11 is... well I dont know lol. Its not really rational, unless you really want to play that one little racing game with ALL of its fancy graphics turned on.

Plus, that eyefinity stuff - especially if you use the "wonderful" 6 screen setup - besides the exorbitant price of such a setup, the bezels on the edges of the screen REALLY get in the way of the game, they are a real eyesore having a thick line of black right smack in the middle of your view of the game, and the games details DO get hidden behind them.

Tridus I agree bro, folding @ home is a nice benefit.  In addition though, Fermi offers PhysX, the CUDA API as well as C++ which i think will help software development significantly. I use some video editing software though that will greatly benefit from Fermi...

Lord Vale - As of now I see no performance difference at work between the ATI and Nvidia workstation cards in relation to Autocad (Civil 3d and Architecture versions).   We even have a couple of old systems running standard gaming cards and I don't see a difference.  The gaming cards don't use the CAD signed drivers but autocad does offload some of the processing to the cards anyways.  We don't use high end workstation cards though since we don't really use 3ds Max or Revit.

Thats right but 3d isn't going to be anybetter.

Personally, I like NVIDIA. They have always seemed to be more compatible, in an all around sense.

Yet, my nephew usually has ATI cards in his computer, and he is the more serious gamer.

We both have Intel CPU's.

Guess what? He never comes to me for graphics card related problems.

I say, go with whatever is fastest at the time you are buying - if you have the budget. No matter what, it will still be respectable in a year or two.

And right now it is the ATI 5970 - if you want a single (or comparable dual) card solution for under $700.

Just be sure you have a case, CPU and PSU that can accommodate it. Nothing less than a full tower, i7, and at least 1000W.

Ah, but you see.....that's where the logic fails down.

None of us is normal....

The card itself can draw nearly 300W, and it can easily be overclocked to take nearly 400W.

Add in the rest of the system.

If you want to run your PS at near capacity much of the time, go ahead. Me? I'd rather keep it at a safer level.

What country are you in? The standard ring main here is 32 amps with a maximum of 7200W. As my cooker and shower are on seperate spurs, I can safely turn on everything else in the house (should I wish to do so...).

Just for the info the new ati 5970 has a max power consumption of 300 watts .....so if you have 2 of those suckers you'll probably need a 1000 watt psu.(600 watts for them and 400 for everything else)  but 1200 is still unwarranted

That would be the US.  Circuit breakers for household outlets are generally 15 amps (~1500W) and that's what household wiring is rated for.  A single breaker is usually shared between several outlets.  So, if your computer has a real high current draw shared with other appliances, you could overload the circuit.  Of course, I don't think I'd want to pay for the power draw of such a computer.  Realistically, computers draw less than the rating.  Engineers usually pad ratings 50% to 100% for safety reasons.  My computer isn't real high power, but it draws around 200W altogether when it's in gaming mode, at least according to the gauge on my UPS unit.  If I went by the ratings, it should be twice that.

Most EU countries run 220V which provides the ability to power a lot more stuff on the same circuit.

As far as wattages go I understand your point but you have to remember that a 1200w psu with an 87 percent efficiency is dropping almost 200 watts. Running a 5970 at 5870 speeds nets you about 390 watts of usage. My 5870s draw about 275 watts at 1k core 1250 memory. The I7 in the other room draws about 260 watts at 4.2 GHz. The Phenom965 I'm using right now draws about 225 at 4.0. An OC'd i7 wif an pair of GTX480's assuming they do runn close to 300 stock with a mild overclock my run up close to needing 1000w therefore 1200 psu may be needs. The article, by the by, had a forward dollar sign on numbers and was talking about US release but didn't say explicitly usd so i don't know.