AMD vs Intel and ATI vs Nvidia.

Processors = Intel, but AMD's Athlon X2s are still an excellent value if you aren't overclocking / aren't aiming for a quad-core or a high-end dual-core.

Video cards = nVidia, overall. ATi's HD2900XT is an excellent card though, can compete with all 3 of nVidia's 8800 cards.

AMD is good if you're on a tight budget and/or aren't gonna OC,Intel is good if you can afford them and/or are gonna overclock.

You can't go wrong with either NVIDIA or ATI ATM,especially since a $120 7900GS and $115 X1950GT are steal's.

Processors = I am an AMD fan as I prefer their socket setup. Intels LGA 775 sounds strange without the pins on the processor. (Any comments on that?). Its not so much speed either, sure intels are faster. When it comes down to it, I'm interested in the amount of heat a processor puts out and intels are typically run hotter.

Graphics = NVidia has been a good reliable card for me, so I would tend to stick with NVidia. Although, I have been thrilled with the RS482 chipset my current motherboard uses (MSI RS482M4-ILD). Still, I am waiting to see what AMD+ATI will actually accomplish and will hold my verdict on that as I watch the #'s till Dec '08 when I get ready to build my next gaming system.

Ati + nvidia They always worked best for me.

Ati + nvidia They always worked best for me.

Sprozelth

Video card + video card, eh? That's pretty hardcore.. hell who needs a processor? :D

[QUOTE="Sprozelth"]

Ati + nvidia They always worked best for me.

Hiryuu_

Video card + video card, eh? That's pretty hardcore.. hell who needs a processor? :D

I meant Amd. LOLSprozelth

Intel + ATi for me.

You don;t know how pissed I was when AMD bought ATi, especially since ATi and Intel were getting closer to one another (e.g. CrossFire for 955X and 975X). :(

Oh well, I recommend whatever processor/GPU that fits with the person's budget. :/

Processors = I am an AMD fan as I prefer their socket setup. Intels LGA 775 sounds strange without the pins on the processor. (Any comments on that?). Its not so much speed either, sure intels are faster. When it comes down to it, I'm interested in the amount of heat a processor puts out and intels are typically run hotter.

vicsrealms

Intels c2duo line runs cooler right now then AMDs. Thats why they are prefered for overclocking... The intels use 65nm chips and AMDs 90nm(right?).

[QUOTE="vicsrealms"]

Processors = I am an AMD fan as I prefer their socket setup. Intels LGA 775 sounds strange without the pins on the processor. (Any comments on that?). Its not so much speed either, sure intels are faster. When it comes down to it, I'm interested in the amount of heat a processor puts out and intels are typically run hotter.

CassiusGaius

Intels c2duo line runs cooler right now then AMDs. Thats why they are prefered for overclocking... The intels use 65nm chips and AMDs 90nm(right?).

It depends. At idle, the Intel FSB 800MHz processors such as the E4X00 and Pentium Dual-Core line can downclock to 1.20GHz and thanks to the 65nm process, are the coolest CPUs. However, AMD CPUs can downclock to 1000MHz (IIRC) and can compete for lowest idle power consumption with the Core 2 Duo E6XX0, even though they are manafactured on a 90nm process.

But yes, for full load (or loads above 50%), the Intel CPUs run cooler.

BTW, Intel CPUs are actually considered better contructed because of the pins being on the motherboard socket not the CPU. There's less chances of snapping or bending of CPU pins on Intel processors. But it's a moot point so long as you're careful.

Hey

How would a Intel Core Duo 2 e6750 and a Nvidia 8800GTS go together? Should i bother going with a Quad Core? Also what is the best Core 2 Duo by Intel at the moment, and are they making any big releases soon?

Thanks guys!

Hey

How would a Intel Core Duo 2 e6750 and a Nvidia 8800GTS go together? Should i bother going with a Quad Core? Also what is the best Core 2 Duo by Intel at the moment, and are they making any big releases soon?

Thanks guys!

MetallicA53

Intel do have a new line of processor due for Q4 07/Q1 08 called Penryn which is basically a die shrink (45nm) of the current line with a few extra bits for good measure. Best processor to go for at the minute (IMO) would be the Quad Core Q6600 on the G0 stepping (its lower wattage at 95W) not a lot really benefits from quad core at the minute (at least not games) but if you're planning on keeping it for a few years it'll at least future proof it.

Hey

How would a Intel Core Duo 2 e6750 and a Nvidia 8800GTS go together? Should i bother going with a Quad Core? Also what is the best Core 2 Duo by Intel at the moment, and are they making any big releases soon?

Thanks guys!

MetallicA53

Inte are releasing Penryn around December, and NVIDIA are releasing G92 to replace the 8800 GTS (possibly a 8950 GT or something like that).

Penryn isn't too big of a deal, as CPU prices have fallen to dirt cheap prices. Heck, you wouldn't have to even buy an E6750 to get good performance, as the cheaper E6550 will give all the performance you need. Using the extra money saved by sticking with an E6550, put that saving toward a Penryn upgrade of some sort if you want.

Meanwhile, if I were you, I wouldn't bother with the 8800 GTS (the 640MB anyway). If I was in that price bracket, I would just go for the HD 2900XT. It's drivers are much better now, and tests show (in Bioshock) that it can actually outperform an 8800 GTX/ULTRA.

Thanks!

If i dont get the e6000 what duo would you reccommend?

Thanks!

If i dont get the e6000 what duo would you reccommend?

MetallicA53

E6550.

EDIT: Are you asking what CPU to get if you don't want an E6600 or just the Core 2 E6000 series as a whole?

BTW, Intel CPUs are actually considered better contructed because of the pins being on the motherboard socket not the CPU. There's less chances of snapping or bending of CPU pins on Intel processors. But it's a moot point so long as you're careful.

Wesker776

Thanks, I was wondering about that. Makes my decision on purchasing Intel chips a bit easier, as right now they have some of the best designed motherboard out there. AMD motherboards always seem to have the strangest setup, especially with the PCI-E x1 and x4 slots that really have no purpose at this time. The PCI-Ex16 slot should be on top away from the PCI slots (a motherboard should have no less than 3), unfortunately most of them are not. Whats the deal with the floppy drive slot down below the last PCI slot? So, that leaves motherboards like Gigabytes Gigabyte GA-P35C-DS3R, ABITS ABIT IP35 LGA 775, as better choices until those 2 slots have a use. At least for those of us who don't have a particular use for SLI (still trying to decide on an SLI board, hopefully one will popup later on).

Thanks Wesker!

Yeah i was talking about if i dont get the e6600 Quad. I dont know much about ATi, how does the HD 2900XT perform on all ranges of games? Do i need to buy anything else specific for it? As in if i bought that then next year bought the new Nvidia card would i need to get a motherboard or something like that specificly for it?

Is there much performance difference with e6650 to e6750 and then that to the new Penryn?

Sorry for all the questions, i just want to know that i could play all modern games such as Crysis on pretty high graphics all round.

Thanks!!!!

Thanks Wesker!

Yeah i was talking about if i dont get the e6600 Quad. I dont know much about ATi, how does the HD 2900XT perform on all ranges of games? Do i need to buy anything else specific for it? As in if i bought that then next year bought the new Nvidia card would i need to get a motherboard or something like that specificly for it?

Is there much performance difference with e6650 to e6750 and then that to the new Penryn?

Sorry for all the questions, i just want to know that i could play all modern games such as Crysis on pretty high graphics all round.

Thanks!!!!

MetallicA53

The 2900 XT will be replaced by a 55nm refresh (or 65nm) called the RV680 in Dec/January. The RV680 shouldn't be confused with its mainstream counterpart RV670 (2950 PRO or something like that).

The 2900 XT (or 8800 GTX) won't need anything special, other than a motherboard with a PCI-E x16 slot and a PSU with roughly 30A on the +12V rail (aka A PSU with two 6pin PEG connectors). :/
The card itself outperforms the 8800 GTS 640MB across all benchmarks and even comes close to the 8800GTX (in fact, in DX9 Bioshock, it's equal to the 8800 ULTRA) in some games. Also, with three free games (Half Life 2: Episode 2, Team Fortress 2 and Portal) irrespective of manafacture, it's quite a good deal.

The performance difference between the E6550 and E6750 is roughly...12.5% (if my maths is on) which is due to the extra 333MHz the E6750 has.
The difference between current Core 2s and Penryn Core 2s is roughly (on equal clocks) 10-15% in games, and probably 10-50% better in other productive applications (mainly due to SSE4 for stuff like encoding). Remember, the performance boost for Penryn doesn't count the extra clock speed boost Intel has implemented across its product portfolio.

But don't go all crazy for Penryn's extra performance boost. The new chip is basically targetted at workstations and professionals who need SSE4 or the lower power consumption of the chip. If you already have a Core 2 equal to or better than the E6600, it isn't worth upgrading to Penryn, IMO.

No one knows the real performance of Crysis on any of the cards. You'll just have to wait and see like the rest of us.

Thanks for spending your time to help dude! Appreciate it.

In this Gamespot feature of cards the performance of the HD 2900XT is lower than the 640mb. Or am i just looking at it wrongly? :P

http://au.gamespot.com/features/6173135/index.html

Right now i have a AMD Athalon 3200+, so should i upgrade to the e6750?

Thanks again!

Wesker, i just read another comparison review for the 2900XT against the GTS and GTX and it outperformed the GTS almost on all games and the GTX even on some and it was done when the 2900XT was firstly released. Does that mean with updated drivers the 2900XT is now even better?

Thanks!!

Thanks for spending your time to help dude! Appreciate it.

In this Gamespot feature of cards the performance of the HD 2900XT is lower than the 640mb. Or am i just looking at it wrongly? :P

http://au.gamespot.com/features/6173135/index.html

Right now i have a AMD Athalon 3200+, so should i upgrade to the e6750?

Thanks again!

MetallicA53

Wesker, i just read another comparison review for the 2900XT against the GTS and GTX and it outperformed the GTS almost on all games and the GTX even on some and it was done when the 2900XT was firstly released. Does that mean with updated drivers the 2900XT is now even better?

Thanks!!

MetallicA53

The performance of the 2900 XT depends on the games it runs. Heck, all cards perform differently at different games.

The trick is to get a video card that performs well in the games you play a lot. For example, if you're fan of Bioshock and are running Windows XP, you should go for the 2900 XT without question.

I can tell you now, that there are some games that the 2900 XT trips up on. An example is Capcom's 'Lost Planet', especially when you increase the AA in the game. In fact, the 2900 XT in general has a problem in DX9 games with AA (where by performance takes a heavy hit with heavy AA).

As for where the 2900 XT stands with current drivers: Off the top of my head, the 2900 XT is still positioned in between the 8800 GTS and 8800 GTX (including when AA is implemented).

Before I fully recommend something, I forgot to ask you what video card and socket motherboard you currently have (as well as your budget).

[QUOTE="MetallicA53"]

Thanks Wesker!

Yeah i was talking about if i dont get the e6600 Quad. I dont know much about ATi, how does the HD 2900XT perform on all ranges of games? Do i need to buy anything else specific for it? As in if i bought that then next year bought the new Nvidia card would i need to get a motherboard or something like that specificly for it?

Is there much performance difference with e6650 to e6750 and then that to the new Penryn?

Sorry for all the questions, i just want to know that i could play all modern games such as Crysis on pretty high graphics all round.

Thanks!!!!

Wesker776

The 2900 XT will be replaced by a 55nm refresh (or 65nm) called the RV680 in Dec/January. The RV680 shouldn't be confused with its mainstream counterpart RV670 (2950 PRO or something like that).

The 2900 XT (or 8800 GTX) won't need anything special, other than a motherboard with a PCI-E x16 slot and a PSU with roughly 30A on the +12V rail (aka A PSU with two 6pin PEG connectors). :/
The card itself outperforms the 8800 GTS 640MB across all benchmarks and even comes close to the 8800GTX (in fact, in DX9 Bioshock, it's equal to the 8800 ULTRA) in some games. Also, with three free games (Half Life 2: Episode 2, Team Fortress 2 and Portal) irrespective of manafacture, it's quite a good deal.

The performance difference between the E6550 and E6750 is roughly...12.5% (if my maths is on) which is due to the extra 333MHz the E6750 has.
The difference between current Core 2s and Penryn Core 2s is roughly (on equal clocks) 10-15% in games, and probably 10-50% better in other productive applications (mainly due to SSE4 for stuff like encoding). Remember, the performance boost for Penryn doesn't count the extra clock speed boost Intel has implemented across its product portfolio.

But don't go all crazy for Penryn's extra performance boost. The new chip is basically targetted at workstations and professionals who need SSE4 or the lower power consumption of the chip. If you already have a Core 2 equal to or better than the E6600, it isn't worth upgrading to Penryn, IMO.

No one knows the real performance of Crysis on any of the cards. You'll just have to wait and see like the rest of us.

Does that include or exclude E6600????

Currently i have a Nvidia 6600GT and my motherboard socket is 939 but if i get this Intel it will be a 775 Gigabyte one. I need to find some info on good motherboards.

How does the 2900XT run Far Cry, because seeing as that is CryEngine 1 that is probably best proof maybe for Crysis? :P

Thanks

Currently i have a Nvidia 6600GT and my motherboard socket is 939 but if i get this Intel it will be a 775 Gigabyte one. I need to find some info on good motherboards.

How does the 2900XT run Far Cry, because seeing as that is CryEngine 1 that is probably best proof maybe for Crysis? :P

Thanks

MetallicA53

Like I said before, none of us know how well the 2900 or 8800 will run Crysis.

Anyway, here's Far Cry:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/radeon-hd-2900-games_4.html

[QUOTE="Hiryuu_"][QUOTE="Sprozelth"]

Ati + nvidia They always worked best for me.

firefly026

Video card + video card, eh? That's pretty hardcore.. hell who needs a processor? :D

:lol: thats good

I meant Amd. LOLSprozelth

dont worry, all of us make mistakes

Like I said before, none of us know how well the 2900 or 8800 will run Crysis.

Anyway, here's Far Cry:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/radeon-hd-2900-games_4.html

Wesker776

Nice, those card run better than good Farcry

Regarding what, domke (no quote lol, post is too long)?Wesker776

Sorry. I understand now. Just had to read twice.

Intel+Nvidia=Ultimate Performance if you dont have any budjet problem

AMD+Nvidia=Avarage Performance if you have budjet problem.

I myself generally prefer AMD and nVidia, because most of the time they had been trouble free and performed admirably well in terms of staying power and not needing to upgrade as often.

Arguably though, right now the best performing processor is from intel. However, it remains to be seen if AMD's upcoming CPU architecture (the "Phenom") will have the ability to come back and remain performance-competitive.

At the moment, AMD doesn't really have much that can be performance-competitive with intel's latest Core 2-based products, and thus have had to resort to competing in terms of price... which with their latest high-end chips retailing for as cheap as they are (I think I remember seing an X2 5600+ at like $110 or something?), still can provide a lot of value for your dollar. But if you are upgrading for the bleeding-edge performance, the Core 2 Duo is still the current cham.

For video cards, ATi's HD 2*** may have been the first with a stable Windows Vista driver, but the performance numbers (and the maximum playable settings comparisons in DirectX 9 and current DirectX 10 titles) favors nVidia's 8**0 products. There's also the issue in that it's incredibly hard to find an ATi Radeon card manufacturer that will offer a lifetime warranty, while you have at least three companies doing so for nVidia geForce products.

And between SLi and CrossFire, SLi has had more time to mature, more rrefined drivers, and much more compatible/configurable software for multi-GPU support. With each generation of nVidia geForce product, it seems that nV is able to inch closer to the theoretical peaks of performance of what their cards in SLi would be able to do. On the CrossFire end, their recent implementation has improved, and the various "chipset plans" from recent trade shows (showing potential tri-CF and quad-CF support) is certainly very intriguing, and could tip things in their favor.

Per my experience, AMD has been fantastic throughout the years. But this Core 2 Duo is the first time that I've had a pleasant experience with an intel CPU. So it seems they finally got something done right. :P

When it comes to graphics cards, I've rarely ever had a problem with an nvidia card... I've never even had to once call in for phone support because usually if there was a problem, it was usually resolved with a new release or beta driver available. With ATi's 9**0 products in particular, it seemed I was having nothing but problems. But recently I was able to get an X1600 Pro in my oldie, which for once is trouble-free and plays the games at the resolution/settings that my 9800's never would. If anything, I'm just mad it took ATi this long to give me a trouble-free experience.

i would say Intel and Ati - my 2900xt is fantastic! :DSamulies

Both ATI and Nvidia are great, however from now on i always go for Nvidia after too many ATI cards have died on me xD
Maybe its just my luck with ATI cards :(

I dont know much about AMD processors so i cant compare them, never had a AMD processor