whats the hold back

tkddan · Jul 29, 2009, 08:13 AM

so ive been looking around for a video card upgrade. check the system specs for what im currently running...kinda dismal..but NEways! im comparing ATI vs Nvidia, im not going to lie im a diehard nvidia fan but im curious. what is it that "holds back" ati. currently the top of the line cards from both makers are basicaly in the same relm. how can this be when nvidia has a top end card that has 240 streaming proc. and ati has 800 streaming proc. and the memory/core freqs. are also symilar?

SeraphicSorcerer · Jul 29, 2009, 08:48 AM

Nothing is currently "holding back" ATI The performance is pretty comparable either way, but if you look closely at the actual products the top flagships, the GTX 295 and the ATI 4870X2, You'll notice that the 295 has about double the amount of transistors, or rather about half more
look here:

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/...2338693,00.asp

We may also have a review here (Didn't come up in google)

ATI went for a slighlty "simpler" (That is not to say underperforming) Basically. ATI's Solution was built to be cheap enough to crossfire (and be competitive) While Nvidia's Solution was to Go for single card performance only (Most Power supplies could not handle Multiple GTX 280s/295).

Performance wise, You won't notice a high amount of difference, though if you can wait, Both are launching DX11 Cards for Windows 7, Which will cause their current line to drop in price. I believe ATI's will be first.

AerieC · Aug 19, 2009, 03:06 PM

Basically it's the same deal as comparing a Core i7 to one of the Phenom II X4 models. They both have 4 cores, but the Phenom II X4 models have higher clock rates for less performance. For example, the Phenom II X4 955 has a clock speed of 3.2GHz, and yet is consistently outperformed by the Core i7 920 with a clock speed of 2.66GHz. Things like cache and number of transistors matter too, but the most important factors in performance aren't going to be shown on a list of tech specs.

Your best bet is to ignore the list of tech specs (they can be misleading as hell) and go by the real world benchmarks. They'll tell you more about how either company's hardware is going to perform in a specific game or application than the specs ever will.

OldBuzzard · Aug 19, 2009, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AerieC

... For example, the Phenom II X4 955 has a clock speed of 3.2GHz, and yet is consistently outperformed by the Core i7 920 with a clock speed of 2.66GHz. ...

Only in certain applications. If you are looking at high resolution/quality gaming, the Phenom IIs perform just as well as the i7s. In this test of high resolution gaming, all systems using the GTX 280, my $200.00 Phenom II 940 performed as well as the $1,000.00 i7 975 EE

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition review - TechSpot

If you are looking at applications like Video Encoding, then the i7s beat the Phenom IIs with ease.

It's a matter of using the best tool for the job.

Altermatik83 · Aug 19, 2009, 04:52 PM

I'm going i7 950 + GTX 295!!!!

AerieC · Aug 19, 2009, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldBuzzard

Only in certain applications. If you are looking at high resolution gaming, the Phenom IIs perform just as well as the i7s.

If you are looking at applications like Video Encoding, then the i7s beat the Phenom IIs with ease.

This is true, but only because when doing high resolution gaming you'll generally be bottlenecked at the GPU rather than the CPU.

DJ BIG T · Aug 19, 2009, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tkddan

so ive been looking around for a video card upgrade. check the system specs for what im currently running...kinda dismal..but NEways! im comparing ATI vs Nvidia, im not going to lie im a diehard nvidia fan but im curious. what is it that "holds back" ati. currently the top of the line cards from both makers are basicaly in the same relm. how can this be when nvidia has a top end card that has 240 streaming proc. and ati has 800 streaming proc. and the memory/core freqs. are also symilar?

im like you im a nvidia fan but i do like ati i had 3 of them...the only thing i dont like about ati is there drivers..everytime had to go back drivers to play some of my games then install newer drivers for others...btw welcome to DH!!!!

Cow_160483 · Aug 20, 2009, 03:54 AM

Its good to know some of these things thanks guys for sharing your knowledge

Jul 29, 2009, 08:13 AM	#1
tkddan DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: CT Posts: 6 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	whats the hold back so ive been looking around for a video card upgrade. check the system specs for what im currently running...kinda dismal..but NEways! im comparing ATI vs Nvidia, im not going to lie im a diehard nvidia fan but im curious. what is it that "holds back" ati. currently the top of the line cards from both makers are basicaly in the same relm. how can this be when nvidia has a top end card that has 240 streaming proc. and ati has 800 streaming proc. and the memory/core freqs. are also symilar?

Jul 29, 2009, 08:48 AM	#2
SeraphicSorcerer Driverheaven's Sorcerer Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Ocala, FL Posts: 1,135 Rep Power: 73 System Specs	Re: whats the hold back Nothing is currently "holding back" ATI The performance is pretty comparable either way, but if you look closely at the actual products the top flagships, the GTX 295 and the ATI 4870X2, You'll notice that the 295 has about double the amount of transistors, or rather about half more look here: http://www.extremetech.com/article2/...2338693,00.asp We may also have a review here (Didn't come up in google) ATI went for a slighlty "simpler" (That is not to say underperforming) Basically. ATI's Solution was built to be cheap enough to crossfire (and be competitive) While Nvidia's Solution was to Go for single card performance only (Most Power supplies could not handle Multiple GTX 280s/295). Performance wise, You won't notice a high amount of difference, though if you can wait, Both are launching DX11 Cards for Windows 7, Which will cause their current line to drop in price. I believe ATI's will be first. __________________ Last edited by SeraphicSorcerer; Jul 29, 2009 at 08:53 AM. Reason: Transistor Count

Aug 19, 2009, 03:06 PM	#3
AerieC DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 6 Rep Power: 0	Re: whats the hold back Basically it's the same deal as comparing a Core i7 to one of the Phenom II X4 models. They both have 4 cores, but the Phenom II X4 models have higher clock rates for less performance. For example, the Phenom II X4 955 has a clock speed of 3.2GHz, and yet is consistently outperformed by the Core i7 920 with a clock speed of 2.66GHz. Things like cache and number of transistors matter too, but the most important factors in performance aren't going to be shown on a list of tech specs. Your best bet is to ignore the list of tech specs (they can be misleading as hell) and go by the real world benchmarks. They'll tell you more about how either company's hardware is going to perform in a specific game or application than the specs ever will.

Aug 19, 2009, 04:52 PM	#5
Altermatik83 DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Milton Keynes, UK Posts: 16 Rep Power: 0	Re: whats the hold back I'm going i7 950 + GTX 295!!!!

Aug 20, 2009, 03:54 AM	#8
Cow_160483 DH's only cow moooooo... Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: BOTSWANA Posts: 3,819 Rep Power: 96 System Specs	Re: whats the hold back Its good to know some of these things thanks guys for sharing your knowledge __________________ Decode! Muhahahahah!