Nvidia and Intel vs ATI and AMD

[eskamobob1]

i currently have a ASUS P5N-T mobo and 8GBs of 1066Mz DDR2 memory with a 3.20Gz Pentium D and am looking for a high quality GPU. i am upgrading my entire comp in parts. first is the graphics (my old Zotac 210 just died), but i will upgrade the mobo, RAM, and CPU in the near future. i have never worked with ATI or AMD products before but have heard that they are great for OCing because of the low heat produced (i have full water cooling and a Coolmaster 942 HAF X case (so prity decent cooling)). basically i am looking for a good gaming/OCing comp for a decent price. and i would like input about the pros and cons of Nvidia and Intel vs AMD and ATI (with price taken into account) from people that have used both before investing.

 

[rickoles]

i currently have a ASUS P5N-T mobo and 8GBs of 1066Mz DDR2 memory with a 3.20Gz Pentium D and am looking for a high quality GPU. i am upgrading my entire comp in parts. first is the graphics (my old Zotac 210 just died), but i will upgrade the mobo, RAM, and CPU in the near future. i have never worked with ATI or AMD products before but have heard that they are great for OCing because of the low heat produced (i have full water cooling and a Coolmaster 942 HAF X case (so prity decent cooling)). basically i am looking for a good gaming/OCing comp for a decent price. and i would like input about the pros and cons of Nvidia and Intel vs AMD and ATI (with price taken into account) from people that have used both before investing.

Thats a very broad question, especially considering that none of those companies must be used together in order to function which is what seems like your understanding. AMD + nvidia and intel + ATI will also work. Why did you decide on those combos? What do you realy want to know? Which processor you should buy?

 

[eskamobob1]

since i have never use anything but Intel and Nvidia i do not quite understand how to combine/mix in the other companies. i would like to know what is best for basic OCing (its not like im trying to set records) with good graphics for a decent gaming comp also.


I like ur pic btw

 

[MattNo5ss]

Companies don't matter whatsoever, no brands were meant to go with each other. You just need a CPU, motherboard, GPU, RAM, HDD/SSD, PSU, etc. the brands don't matter. As long as you have the basic components you're good to go.

What's your budget? What games will you be playing? What resolution will you be gaming? What settings do you want in your games, maximum?

 

[eskamobob1]

I know that brads don't matter, but I also know that it can get compacted when you start using both nvidia and radeon gpus in the same system. I already have an ultra x4 750w psu, I have about 1k to spend on upgrading everything, mobo, CPU, graphics (so the new gulftown is out of the picture) I would prefer to run multiple cards in sli/cross fire. I have noticed that the radeon gpus running ddr5 typically run their memory at 4000mhz, where as few not in the gt 400 series do for nvidia and started wondering if there is a distinct speed difference between nvidia and their radeon eqivilents. As I mentioned before, I would like to get a stable OC around 4ghz on my CPU without investing in a really expensive water cooling system... I already have a basic one...

Thank you for your help/ input

 

[EarthDog]

You wouldnt want to use AMD and Nvidia GPU's at the same time unless you would like to use PhysX with the AMD card being the primary. Which just plain old isnt worth it.

Why do you prefer to run multiple cards in SLI/Crossfire over single? Do you have a 30" 2560x1600 monitor or something? A single card can accomplish that goal pretty good (GTX480 or 5870/5970).

What current water cooler do you have? Will it work with your new socket?

 

[eskamobob1]

I have 3... And with nvidia the easiest way 2 do this is with sli... I would assume the same for radeon but I don't honestly know

 

[EarthDog]

You have 3.........................what? 30" monitors? if so, then you should go 5970 or two GTX 480's.

 

[eskamobob1]

Yah... I work for Visio... Would those really be the best option? Not really any cheaper solution? And my I have water blocks that will fit 775, 1156, 1366, am2, and am3

 

[EarthDog]

Can you confirm that resolution? Do you have 30" monitors (2560x1600) or 30" TV's (1920x1080 or less).

You can get away with 2 470's, or even one 480... Just check out some reviews and see how they perform at your resolution...

 

[eskamobob1]

Monitors... 2560x1600... I can only use 1 at a time now but would like 2 use all 3... Also, is there any real difference between sli and cross fire? I will read up on the high end cards

 

[Bobnova]

Nvidia calls multi-card configurations SLI, ATI calls them crossfire.
That's the only difference.

ATI allows crossfire everywhere.
Nvidia limits SLI to specific motherboards (who's manufacturers and chipset makers have paid for the right).

 

[eskamobob1]

Kk... Thanks... I have noticed that not all mobos come with more than a 2 way crossfire bridge... How do ik if it will support more than 2 way cross fire? Because ik that there is now 4 way sli and was wondering where I would even get a 3 way cross fire bridge

 

[Evilsizer]

the question is even with 3 monitors are you trying to game on all three at the same time? what purpose will the monitors be used for is the main thing... cause you dont need CF or SLI just to use three monitors...

 

[eskamobob1]

I know that... This question just arises out of curiosity... And I would like to game on all of them

 

[Evilsizer]

at that res IMO you going to want to get two AMD/ATI (since amd now owns ATI) 5970's for CF setup.

 

[EarthDog]

Or just one?

 

[repilce]

that's a lot of gaming realestate

Personally i would vote for i7 + 5970 single solution, with the right mobo you could always add a second down the road if you REALLY wanted.

 

[Mr.Guvernment]

you CAN use ATI and NVIDIa cards fine together and have been able to since Vista came out, unlike XP which often threw a hissy fit because of drivers, now a days it works fine.

 

[Bobnova]

Well, sort of.
You can make them both render 3d at the same time.
You can't make the nvidia card run physx unless you use cracked drivers.