which to choose ati or gforce?

i am shopping around for video cards and would like some input as to which people prefer..ati or gforce. i have check out specs and seem to be 50/50 between the two and would appriciate any feedback. thanks! the system specs i currently have is celeron_d 330, sndblstr audigy 2, 1gb memory, and 180gb hdd space.
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Reply #1 Top
I prefer Gforce - Nvidia seems to have less problems with drivers than ATI.
Reply #2 Top
Have not had any issue with ATI drivers.

Both companies are at the top, so I am sure if you choose a video adapter from either one, you will be happy.

Make sure you buy one that suits the type of things you do on your computer. If you play games, then a high-end model that specializes in 3D graphics would be a practical route. On the other hand, if you do a lot of professional work with business software, or are a network administrator, you will want to research enough to find out if the model you are interested in has sacrificed 2D performance for better 3D performance.

Also verify that your system has enough power if you go with a high-end card. Some draw a lot of power and create a significant amount of additional heat in the case.

Just my 2 cents, I don't really favor one company over the other.
Reply #3 Top
I've had both, my preference is Gforce. I like it's dual monitor support better.

But something you should also check out are the sites for your favorite graphics & 3d programs. Most of them will (or should) have (somewhere on their site) a list of cards tested for compatibility.

citsym nogard
Reply #4 Top
I have one of each in my puters. Gforce is really good for games, whereas Raedeon is excellent for video editing.

I guess it depends on what you want to do.
Reply #5 Top
I prefer Nvidia over ATI.

But like thatoneguyinslc said, it depends on what you are planning on doing. I've seen alot of benchmark tests that show you what each one scored higher on. If you're into gaming, go with the GeForce.
Reply #6 Top
It all depends on if either one was produced on a wednesday or friday...or is that tuesday or thursday. Anyway...as you can see your going to get all kinds of good info that will only frustrate you more. I'd say pick one that fits your wallet.
Reply #7 Top
I would recommend Gforce, I've had both, but ATI seems to be just normal for most purposes.. while Gforce are more than satisfactory for me. A 128MB should do you good enough I suppose?
Reply #8 Top
I like nVidia GeForce the best.

You might want to go with something othere than a Celeron too....
Reply #9 Top
Bucking the trend of the others here, I prefer ATI (and I'm a gamer). ATI hasn't had major driver problems for quite awhile now and I find their graphic quality superior to NVIDIA's (though recent driver updates from NVIDIA have helped here). Plus if you use stuff like Windows FX, ATI's drivers will actually make things run properly since their 2D support is better.
Reply #10 Top
ill stick with my asus 6800 ultra gt 256mb video card so go with nvidia
Reply #11 Top
Have not had any issue with ATI drivers.


Bucking the trend of the others here, I prefer ATI (and I'm a gamer). ATI hasn't had major driver problems for quite awhile now and I find their graphic quality superior to NVIDIA's (though recent driver updates from NVIDIA have helped here). Plus if you use stuff like Windows FX, ATI's drivers will actually make things run properly since their 2D support is better


I am in total agreement with these 2 statments, I think *Corky has given the best advice in this thread, and Yarlen has only confirmed what anyone that has actually used ATI already knows..

Make sure you buy one that suits the type of things you do on your computer. If you play games, then a high-end model that specializes in 3D graphics would be a practical route. On the other hand, if you do a lot of professional work with business software, or are a network administrator, you will want to research enough to find out if the model you are interested in has sacrificed 2D performance for better 3D performance.

Also verify that your system has enough power if you go with a high-end card. Some draw a lot of power and create a significant amount of additional heat in the case.

Just my 2 cents, I don't really favor one company over the other.


LoL, Corky's 2 cents is usually worth 4 cents, where others 2 cents is worth just that...
Choose between the cards *Logically, dont pay attention to those that simply do not like a product because it happens to be the "Best Seller" Rebellious natures are abundant and usually are the foundation for preference..
A product becomes a "best seller" for a reason, and that reason is not usually because the product "sucks"
ATI is a very good Vid card, has been for a very long time..
I have used them for years without any problems with drivers, infact the support by ATI as far as drivers go is awesome, and I wont even go into detail about how I feel about "Support"..LoL

Anyway, thats my "cent and a half"..LoL
Zero.
Reply #12 Top
#1 by Skinner kona0197
Wed, April 13, 2005 8:54 PM

I prefer Gforce - Nvidia seems to have less problems with drivers than ATI.


Thats not what you said last time. It was quite the opposite infact.
Reply #14 Top
Ive got a 6800 GT... Kicks arse.

Really, ATi and nVidia are so close in quality and price that its hard to say which is 'better.'

ATi currently has the single most powerful card out, the X850 XT, but nVidia's higher-end cards (6600GT, 6800GT and 6800U) support SLI, which can push the horsepower above and beyond anything their red competitor has to offer. Of course, an SLI setup will require a mobo that supports it...and two (expensive) cards to work in tandem.

Probably the best card would be either an nVidia 6600GT or an ATi X700 Pro, both of which go for around $220 (USD). They offer the most bang-for-your-buck of all the cards out there now. You can Google '6600Gt/X700 Pro Benchmarks' to see which offers better performance, but I think they're about the same.

If I were you, Id also get a processor upgrade...That celeron will be quite a bottleneck if youre trying to run something like Far Cry or HalfLife...
Reply #15 Top
People change Voo.


You seem to do so more than others.
Reply #16 Top
One more thing, whatever card you get, make sure your Mobo will support it. If its a PCI-Express card, make sure youve got a PCI-Express slot.
Reply #17 Top
nVidia 6600GT


That's what my new rig's got.
Kicks ass.
Reply #18 Top
ive found that both brands have their ups and downs ... they run both abt equal.... its really a matter of user preferance ... i prefer Nvidia.. others prefer ATI...my sugestion is get the top line card. from either brand..
Reply #19 Top
If you can spare around $175 to $200, I'd go for the GeForce 6600GT. But if you can't and have to go into their older generation, I'd choose the ATI Radeon 9xxx over GeForce FX5xxx anyday.
Reply #20 Top
I've used both nvidia and ati, and both were about the same. Ati seemed to have better image quality overall, although since neither of my cards are one of the more recent ones, I would not know if nvidia has addressed that issue or not. One problem that I did have with the nvidia card though was that after a year and a half of usage, some of the capacitors began to leak and burn out...

It also depends on what you are going to use the card for. Games, Nvidia might be slightly ahead of Ati; its opengl is and always has been better than ati's; however, if you want to run games with Anti-Aliasing on, ati quickly pulls ahead of Nvidia. For graphics design, Ati has better 2-d support and in my experience better quality.

All of this also depends on how much you are willing to spend on the card, and what your current hardware configuration is. There's no point in getting a 500$ video card if you have a slow processor or low memory, since that will just bottleneck your system and not allow you to use the full power of the graphics card, resulting in a waste of money (I'm not sure about that celeron of your's... if I were to get a high end gfx card i'd upgrade that to a p4, or even better to a p4 with ht, or just as good, an amd 64). And as people have mentioned before, always check for compatabiliy before you buy the card.