Which Graphics Card

JudgeDredd · March 06, 2013, 01:01:24 PM

With my new purchase as well as recent games showing my graphics card up as being sub par (GTX460 768MB) I was wondering what you guys thought about the ATI 7850 and GTX660

I'm not a massive fan of ATI - but that was from years ago when their drivers were a mess and I believe they have sorted their act out somewhat

But both these cards are on a par with each other but I'm pulled to the GTX because I've become very familiar with nVidia and I've had many cards over the years with no problems. I've heard the 7850 is easier/better for o'clocking but I never do anyway because a) I don't know how to a b) whenever I use software to help me do it, the system just crashes!

I have to keep it to about £150-£180

So - any thoughts?

Silent Disapproval Robot · March 06, 2013, 01:10:41 PM

I bought an ATI 7970 last year. I've used mostly ATI cards for the last decade and generally been happy with their performance. I can't say that about the newest card. I had a tonne of problems with it crashing every time I ran certain games (Shogun 2, Sniper Elite v2, Secret World) and pixellation/texture problems in others (ArmA, Iron Front, Rage, Skyrim). I definitely wasn't the only one as a lot of people with ATI HD 7000 series cards complained on the various forums. While the drivers are much more stable now, I still get the occasional weirdness.

To my knowledge, nobody's yet proven definitively that the cause is the new hardware architecture in the cards not playing well with most mobos with any socket set other than 1366, but anecdotally, that seems to be the culprit.

I don't know how stable the nVidia cards are, but if I could do it over again, I would have purchased a 680 or 690 card instead of the 7970.

Kushan · March 06, 2013, 01:16:39 PM

Go with the GTX660.

Every ATI card I have ever had has given me issues, both driver and hardware. Never had a problem with a nvidia card.

sandman2575 · March 06, 2013, 01:31:50 PM

Just take out a second mortgage and get the GTX TITAN !!!!

I definitely lean toward Nvidia. I know their cards / drivers have issues of their own, but even though ATI cleaned up their act, it still seems like there's always word of mouth about ATI not doing enough to support their drivers, incompatibilities with certain games, etc. That's my impression, anyway. I'm sure there must be some ardent ATI defenders around here.

I'm seriously contemplating a new pc in the near-ish future, and I'll probably go Nvidia all the way. I look at the GTX 680 and hear in my mind the Emperor's words to Luke -- "You want this... don't you?"

tgb · March 06, 2013, 02:17:38 PM

My computer has been in the shop since Monday with either a hard drive or video card problem (the guy who had it Monday and most of yesterday kept going back and forth and never did figure it out before I yanked it out of his shop and took it elsewhere). If I do need a new card I'm leaning towards the GT 650, having always been an Nvidia man.

If it turns out the problem is both I'm just leaning towards a new computer altogether.

MIGMaster · March 06, 2013, 02:29:42 PM

Even though my Canadian heritage says I should stick with ATI/AMD card, I never buy their products now due to the number of problems I've had in the past with hardware or drivers. I'm strictly an Nvidia guy, but I always buy AMD CPU's....

The 660 woudl be my choice.

DoctorQuest · March 06, 2013, 03:23:04 PM

I tend to agree about Nvidia. I just seem to have had less problems with them than ATI.

Nefaro · March 06, 2013, 04:23:01 PM

I'd currently get an Nvidia card, but the winds of preference change.

This last desktop I built was during a period of the AMD cards having better value and no issues. That looks to have changed with the latest series.

Also - don't buy a new series until it's been out for a few months. Then check around the net for feedback & reviews on the models in your price range. It doesn't hurt to check the Tech Support Forums for some of your most-played games to see if numerous people were having issues with specific cards, or series of cards.

JudgeDredd · March 06, 2013, 04:45:42 PM

No chance of me getting a Titan or another new model - mid range is my budget - and I was very lucky to get the green light for that!

I think nVidia is the general consensus - and with my way of thinking. I've never seen a valid reason for leaving nVidia.

So it's with them I shall stay. Thx

Grim.Reaper · March 06, 2013, 05:30:50 PM

I have only gone with ATI and never have been let down...not one single video card problem that I can remember.

JudgeDredd · March 06, 2013, 05:38:28 PM

^ lol and in comes the suckerpunch (good film by the way!)

Bison · March 07, 2013, 01:26:30 AM

Last rig I had had ATI cards. The new rig as a Nvidia. Frankly I cannot tell the difference except the occasional game which has an issue with one brand or the other.

Nefaro · March 07, 2013, 02:35:22 AM

Quote from: JudgeDredd on March 06, 2013, 04:45:42 PM
No chance of me getting a Titan or another new model - mid range is my budget - and I was very lucky to get the green light for that!

I think nVidia is the general consensus - and with my way of thinking. I've never seen a valid reason for leaving nVidia.

So it's with them I shall stay. Thx

I've actually had issues with Nvidia drivers awhile back, and switched. I've been very happy with my AMD HD5770. But, as I understand it, the latest series (HD7***?) had some problems for awhile after release, as previously mentioned here. Notably the highest-end of that series of cards. So I'm waiting to see if they hit a homer or strike out on the next series, because it could go either way.

All things being equal, I'd choose an AMD card just because I'd rather give that company my money. But the latest hasn't been "all equal". It's the same reason I've built AMD machines for years now - because Intel has gone a bit overboard in their attempts at a monopoly in recent times. Plus I despise their brand of motherboards. I won't complain about Intel as much as I do about Apple's business practices, however. It's more about sticking up for the little guy when the difference in performance isn't terribly large.

JudgeDredd · March 07, 2013, 02:50:24 AM

^I used to buy AMD processors - before they went toe to toe with nVidia - in price I mean. There's very little difference between the cost of similar cards anymore.

I think they used to be "the little guy" - but as happens with most "little guys" they grow into their big pants.

I'm actually looking at my desktop at the moment - wondering how I can justify £160...but for a few games (which I think look great anyway) - there's pretty much no reason. I'm sure those games would look magnificent with a new card - but I'm starting to talk myself out of the purchase and might even pick up Phantom Leader Deluxe (against my better judgement) instead :)

W8taminute · March 07, 2013, 10:38:15 AM

I like ATI simply because their cards run cooler and quieter. I had an Nvidia in my current rig but upgraded to an ATI 2 years ago. Performance wise I agree, a good video card is a good video card. But I immediately noticed how much quieter the ATI card was and there was less heat emanating from my rigs backside.

Another item to consider when upgrading cards is the power supply. Make sure your supply has plenty of juice to support the new card. I ended up having to buy a power supply upgrade to fuel my graphics card.