ATi vs Nvidia setup?

Boy like you've never seen this topic before. Well, I'm returning to the PC gaming scene after 2 long years and an epic journey from the World of Warcraft. I'm almost done deciding on the components for my new PC build. I'm left with the motherboard and GPU, of course.

Gigabyte X48 DDR3 motherboard + HD4870

Asus X48 DDR3 motherboard + HD4870

OR

Asus Striker II Extreme Nvidia 790i + GTX 280

I will be overclocking. I will be enabling SLi up to 3-way SLi or Crossfire. So what do you guys think? What are the benefits of each their own? Which brand is more future proof? What would you recommend despite your current build, with all bias thinking aside.. Fanboy or not, it all comes down to this.

go wit the Asus X48 HD4870 or dual HD4850s in crossfire.xid32

Wow, everyone has been saying this. I guess that means there's some truth to it after all? Hmmm. More opinions, please! ;) :P

Diablo III is going to use Havok physics, which is currently only available on ATI graphics cards (and possibly Intel's upcoming Larrabee chip).

Just something to think about if you're a Blizzard fan. Rumor has it that Blizzard is basically going to partner up with ATI as well, so expect more things like this in the future.

Diablo III is going to use Havok physics, which is currently only available on ATI graphics cards (and possibly Intel's upcoming Larrabee chip).

Just something to think about if you're a Blizzard fan. Rumor has it that Blizzard is basically going to partner up with ATI as well, so expect more things like this in the future.

RayvinAzn

[QUOTE="RayvinAzn"]

Diablo III is going to use Havok physics, which is currently only available on ATI graphics cards (and possibly Intel's upcoming Larrabee chip).

Just something to think about if you're a Blizzard fan. Rumor has it that Blizzard is basically going to partner up with ATI as well, so expect more things like this in the future.

LibertySaint

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Havok_Physics

I remember when my friend jumping up and down when they released a PSP with Havok physics.

[QUOTE="LibertySaint"][QUOTE="RayvinAzn"]

Diablo III is going to use Havok physics, which is currently only available on ATI graphics cards (and possibly Intel's upcoming Larrabee chip).

Just something to think about if you're a Blizzard fan. Rumor has it that Blizzard is basically going to partner up with ATI as well, so expect more things like this in the future.

Luminouslight

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Havok_Physics

I remember when my friend jumping up and down when they released a PSP with Havok physics.

[QUOTE="LibertySaint"][QUOTE="RayvinAzn"]

Diablo III is going to use Havok physics, which is currently only available on ATI graphics cards (and possibly Intel's upcoming Larrabee chip).

Just something to think about if you're a Blizzard fan. Rumor has it that Blizzard is basically going to partner up with ATI as well, so expect more things like this in the future.

Luminouslight

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Havok_Physics

I remember when my friend jumping up and down when they released a PSP with Havok physics.

gald im getting a 4850 :P

ATI has been leading the price:performance for a while now.

3 way SLI? seems a bit of a waste, well, I'm not even a believer in 2 cards, i don't think it's gives enough gain, it's not optmimized, or justified. and it's not really necessary, but anyway.

4870. Or, when it's realesed, 4870x2

[QUOTE="Luminouslight"][QUOTE="LibertySaint"][QUOTE="RayvinAzn"]

Diablo III is going to use Havok physics, which is currently only available on ATI graphics cards (and possibly Intel's upcoming Larrabee chip).

Just something to think about if you're a Blizzard fan. Rumor has it that Blizzard is basically going to partner up with ATI as well, so expect more things like this in the future.

LibertySaint

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Havok_Physics

I remember when my friend jumping up and down when they released a PSP with Havok physics.

Games have to support it though, if Ageia physics doesn't take off, havok will and all those nvidia implementation of physics would be for naught.

cool, but nvidia has it to, so i do believe its not a deciding factor anymore and with the 8000 series and 9000 series they just added the physcis feature in a driver, i think 177.61? With the 200 series all set-up off the bat tho.LibertySaint

PhysX and Havok are two different things. They have the possibility to be used on both cards (like OpenGL and DirectX), but for right now, I don't believe they cross over. ATI can't use PhysX, and Nvidia can't use Havok. The only reason I brought it up is because the thread creator seems to be a Blizzard fan.

[QUOTE="LibertySaint"]cool, but nvidia has it to, so i do believe its not a deciding factor anymore and with the 8000 series and 9000 series they just added the physcis feature in a driver, i think 177.61? With the 200 series all set-up off the bat tho.RayvinAzn

PhysX and Havok are two different things. They have the possibility to be used on both cards (like OpenGL and DirectX), but for right now, I don't believe they cross over. ATI can't use PhysX, and Nvidia can't use Havok. The only reason I brought it up is because the thread creator seems to be a Blizzard fan.

Not sure if this is relevant but ill post it anyways. http://www.tomshardware.com/news/nvidia-physx-ati,5764.html

[QUOTE="LibertySaint"]cool, but nvidia has it to, so i do believe its not a deciding factor anymore and with the 8000 series and 9000 series they just added the physcis feature in a driver, i think 177.61? With the 200 series all set-up off the bat tho.RayvinAzn

PhysX and Havok are two different things. They have the possibility to be used on both cards (like OpenGL and DirectX), but for right now, I don't believe they cross over. ATI can't use PhysX, and Nvidia can't use Havok. The only reason I brought it up is because the thread creator seems to be a Blizzard fan.

Yes, exactly. I was going to the OpenGL vs. DirectX API comparison as well.

[QUOTE="LibertySaint"]cool, but nvidia has it to, so i do believe its not a deciding factor anymore and with the 8000 series and 9000 series they just added the physcis feature in a driver, i think 177.61? With the 200 series all set-up off the bat tho.RayvinAzn

PhysX and Havok are two different things. They have the possibility to be used on both cards (like OpenGL and DirectX), but for right now, I don't believe they cross over. ATI can't use PhysX, and Nvidia can't use Havok. The only reason I brought it up is because the thread creator seems to be a Blizzard fan.

Yup. :D

Thank you for all the replies guys. Money isnt a factor so much as price+performance or whatever. I'm just looking for something that will enable me to play today's games like Crysis, World in Conflict, and so forth but be at the same time future proof for games yet to come. I understand that 3-way SLi hasn't really been optimized yet but I'm sure it will be in the near future. I've had a satisfying experience with ATi in the past and these new HD4870's has had rave reviews, so I might just go with 2x HD4870's with the ATi setup.

How are the overclocking features for the HD4870? Are they as overclocking friendly as Nvidia's cards?

Which fan would be great for HD4870? Zalman, Noctua? Keep in mind, money isnt a factor. I would like the best cooling possible. But nothing ridiculously priced or overrated. Thanks. :D

[QUOTE="RayvinAzn"]

[QUOTE="LibertySaint"]cool, but nvidia has it to, so i do believe its not a deciding factor anymore and with the 8000 series and 9000 series they just added the physcis feature in a driver, i think 177.61? With the 200 series all set-up off the bat tho.Killfox

PhysX and Havok are two different things. They have the possibility to be used on both cards (like OpenGL and DirectX), but for right now, I don't believe they cross over. ATI can't use PhysX, and Nvidia can't use Havok. The only reason I brought it up is because the thread creator seems to be a Blizzard fan.

Not sure if this is relevant but ill post it anyways. http://www.tomshardware.com/news/nvidia-physx-ati,5764.html

now all we got left is havok on nvidia cards :D

Save your money and get a X48 DDR2 mobo & a 4850.

That would be best performance/price.

DDR3 is expensive for a little gain over DDR2, use that saved money for games or a bigger display.

That way if you think you need more power drop another 4850 in there.

What size monitor/resolution are you going to use?

Thank you for all the replies guys. Money isnt a factor so much as price+performance or whatever. I'm just looking for something that will enable me to play today's games like Crysis, World in Conflict, and so forth but be at the same time future proof for games yet to come. I understand that 3-way SLi hasn't really been optimized yet but I'm sure it will be in the near future. I've had a satisfying experience with ATi in the past and these new HD4870's has had rave reviews, so I might just go with 2x HD4870's with the ATi setup.

How are the overclocking features for the HD4870? Are they as overclocking friendly as Nvidia's cards?

Which fan would be great for HD4870? Zalman, Noctua? Keep in mind, money isnt a factor. I would like the best cooling possible. But nothing ridiculously priced or overrated. Thanks. :D

Elann2008

get an arctic cooling accelero S1 rv 2.0 vga passive cooler, and attach a 92 mm scythe sflex fan on it

[QUOTE="Elann2008"]

Thank you for all the replies guys. Money isnt a factor so much as price+performance or whatever. I'm just looking for something that will enable me to play today's games like Crysis, World in Conflict, and so forth but be at the same time future proof for games yet to come. I understand that 3-way SLi hasn't really been optimized yet but I'm sure it will be in the near future. I've had a satisfying experience with ATi in the past and these new HD4870's has had rave reviews, so I might just go with 2x HD4870's with the ATi setup.

How are the overclocking features for the HD4870? Are they as overclocking friendly as Nvidia's cards?

Which fan would be great for HD4870? Zalman, Noctua? Keep in mind, money isnt a factor. I would like the best cooling possible. But nothing ridiculously priced or overrated. Thanks. :D

GTR2addict

get an arctic cooling accelero S1 rv 2.0 vga passive cooler, and attach a 92 mm scythe sflex fan on it

Hmmm Okay, I'll look into those. Thanks!

Save your money and get a X48 DDR2 mobo & a 4850.

That would be best performance/price.

DDR3 is expensive for a little gain over DDR2, use that saved money for games or a bigger display.

That way if you think you need more power drop another 4850 in there.

What size monitor/resolution are you going to use?

dayday6

Well, I have two choices. Samsung Series 7 LCD HDTV 46" 1080p or BenQ V2400WD 24" LCD Monitor that is sitting here in my room in the box.

I think I'll stay with the DDR3 and HD4870 though. The price isnt a factor with me. I'll just end up having to upgrade again if I went with the DDR2 HD4850. So yeah.

ATI all the way as of right now. 4850/70 (x2? :D) tear everything to shreds. Now that fan control is possible temperatures are ice cold. If I were you I'd go for a 4870 now and one later or crossfire right off the bat. The 4870x2 is looming overhead as well... I can't wait to see that baby :)Staryoshi87

Hi, thank you for your advice. I'm planning to go crossfire off the bat with the HD4870s. What's a good fan for my system? Zalman, Noctua, Scythe? I cant decide. I'll most likely be overclocking so I'll need some good fans(s). How many fans do I need and for which component besides the CPU? Can you recommend me some good CPU fans and other fans needed for my rig?

I looked in Accelero and I cant seem to find one that's compatible with HD 4000 series. Maybe I'm not looking hard enough but I dont see any so far. I would be more comfortable with Zalman or Noctua though. How about Thermalrights? I heard they're great.

Hi, thank you for your advice. I'm planning to go crossfire off the bat with the HD4870s. What's a good fan for my system? Zalman, Noctua, Scythe? I cant decide. I'll most likely be overclocking so I'll need some good fans(s). How many fans do I need and for which component besides the CPU? Can you recommend me some good CPU fans and other fans needed for my rig?

I looked in Accelero and I cant seem to find one that's compatible with HD 4000 series. Maybe I'm not looking hard enough but I dont see any so far. I would be more comfortable with Zalman or Noctua though. How about Thermalrights? I heard they're great.

Elann2008

[QUOTE="Staryoshi87"]ATI all the way as of right now. 4850/70 (x2? :D) tear everything to shreds. Now that fan control is possible temperatures are ice cold. If I were you I'd go for a 4870 now and one later or crossfire right off the bat. The 4870x2 is looming overhead as well... I can't wait to see that baby :)Elann2008

Hi, thank you for your advice. I'm planning to go crossfire off the bat with the HD4870s. What's a good fan for my system? Zalman, Noctua, Scythe? I cant decide. I'll most likely be overclocking so I'll need some good fans(s). How many fans do I need and for which component besides the CPU? Can you recommend me some good CPU fans and other fans needed for my rig?

I looked in Accelero and I cant seem to find one that's compatible with HD 4000 series. Maybe I'm not looking hard enough but I dont see any so far. I would be more comfortable with Zalman or Noctua though. How about Thermalrights? I heard they're great.

dont wory, over at anandtech they attached both an hr-03 GT and a accelero on a 4850/70, and it worked fine (and dropped the tepms by at least 22C)

an AWESOME cpu cooler: Noctua NH-U12P, with 2x Noctua NF-P12-1300 fans on it

(with 2 fans, it evens out with the thermalright ultra 120 extreme, wich is the king of air cooling)

VGA cooler: both the thermalright HR-03 GT and the arctic cooling accelero S1 rev 2.0 , both with scythe / noctua fans on them are wesomeoptions to consider, and id also consider putting some Noctua NF-P12-1300 120mm fans on your case, to replace the stock ones, since theyre extremely silent (under 22 db)

id also advise splitting up the hard drive cages, sparating them enough to put in one of the P12 fans in between them, it dropped my temps on the HDD's ( dropped from 41C on load to under 35 so, i think its worth a couple exra bucks, btw, i have 2 HDD's, 1 IDE 80 gig for OS's (vista premium 64 and 32 bit xp pro), and a 500 gig for data, each alone on each cage, nearest to the fan, it helps a lot)

of course u dont need all those fans, but if ure a perfectionist that likes to keep his temps and noise low, then u should get all those fans

[QUOTE="Elann2008"]

Hi, thank you for your advice. I'm planning to go crossfire off the bat with the HD4870s. What's a good fan for my system? Zalman, Noctua, Scythe? I cant decide. I'll most likely be overclocking so I'll need some good fans(s). How many fans do I need and for which component besides the CPU? Can you recommend me some good CPU fans and other fans needed for my rig?

I looked in Accelero and I cant seem to find one that's compatible with HD 4000 series. Maybe I'm not looking hard enough but I dont see any so far. I would be more comfortable with Zalman or Noctua though. How about Thermalrights? I heard they're great.

RayvinAzn

look, the C12P SUCKS compared to the NH-U12P ok?

look, the C12P SUCKS compared to the NH-U12P ok?

GTR2addict

The CPU isn't the only thing your CPU cooler cools.

[QUOTE="GTR2addict"]

look, the C12P SUCKS compared to the NH-U12P ok?

RayvinAzn

The CPU isn't the only thing your CPU cooler cools.

i kno, but an nh u12p is like 0.5 cm smaller than the C12P, and i dont kno if the C12P can get 3 fans on it

the nh u 12p can have fans on each side, but a 92mm fan can be fitted to one of the sides (hell, 2 if ure skillful nough)

i kno, but an nh u12p is like 0.5 cm smaller than the C12P, and i dont kno if the C12P can get 3 fans on it

the nh u 12p can have fans on each side, but a 92mm fan can be fitted to one of the sides (hell, 2 if ure skillful nough)

GTR2addict

A 92mm fan on the side of the cooler will just screw up the airflow, not help it out. And all those fans still won't help cool your northbridge or MOSFETs.

*Confused* Lol. Break it down for me please.

CPU Fan: ?

VGA Fan: ?

Heatsink (necessary?) : ?

Thanks. :)

*Confused* Lol. Break it down for me please.

CPU Fan: ?

VGA Fan: ?

Heatsink (necessary?) : ?

Thanks. :)

Elann2008

By CPU and GPU fan I'm going to assume you mean a heatsink as well. Or a heatsink alone, with a fan you provide yourself.

For the CPU, I'd get the Noctua NH-C12P, but I prefer coolers that blow air directly onto your motherboard helping cool not only the CPU but the components around the CPU as well. The NH-U12P does perform a little better in terms of sheer CPU temperatures, but your northbridge will run hotter because of it.

For the GPU, I'd personally wait on the Thermalright T-Rad, but if you want something now, the Accelero S1 rev 2.0 should fit and is pretty damn good. Make sure you get the Arctic Cooling Turbo module fans to cool it though.