AMD vs NVIDIA
- Thread starter Azzthatch
- Start date
SmokeDarKnight
Author Level
Nvidia
Pros
Better driver support
Better performance with Physix
Better support Software
Nvida Enhanced Games such as Borderlands 2, Batman
Cons
Price
AMD
Pros
Better Bang for buck
TresFX (Waste of time if you ask me at the moment)
AMD enhanced games such as Battlefield 4, Saints Row
Cons
Phyix requires a powerful CPU combo
Driver support inst great
GPU software not as good.
Currently i have an AMD HD6990m and it was the top mobile AMD at the time and its been great, after 2 years it still runs games medium to max, however i feel that i would be getting a better experience with Nvida in regards to game optimization, with the Nvida Experience software. For example playing Borderlands 2 with Physics on low requires additional cooling and although it runs it feels a bit jittery at times until i uninstall the physix element.
A lot of games are taking advantage of physix and although its not something you would miss if you didn't notice it was there adds some nice touches to games.
Honsetly if i was purchasing a new machine today i would be throwing in a bit of extra cash and getting a Nvidia.
This is just my experience of course.
Hope this helps
Pros
Better driver support
Better performance with Physix
Better support Software
Nvida Enhanced Games such as Borderlands 2, Batman
Cons
Price
AMD
Pros
Better Bang for buck
TresFX (Waste of time if you ask me at the moment)
AMD enhanced games such as Battlefield 4, Saints Row
Cons
Phyix requires a powerful CPU combo
Driver support inst great
GPU software not as good.
Currently i have an AMD HD6990m and it was the top mobile AMD at the time and its been great, after 2 years it still runs games medium to max, however i feel that i would be getting a better experience with Nvida in regards to game optimization, with the Nvida Experience software. For example playing Borderlands 2 with Physics on low requires additional cooling and although it runs it feels a bit jittery at times until i uninstall the physix element.
A lot of games are taking advantage of physix and although its not something you would miss if you didn't notice it was there adds some nice touches to games.
Honsetly if i was purchasing a new machine today i would be throwing in a bit of extra cash and getting a Nvidia.
This is just my experience of course.
Hope this helps
vanthus
Member Resting in Peace
The AMD vs Nvidia debate comes up regularly,and most people will opt for Nvidia.
My last two cards have been AMD,the 5870 and now the R9 280X,all I can say is I've never had a problem with AMD drivers,
the R9 280X is an awesome card and can handle any game I throw at it,I also have an AMD processor
My last two cards have been AMD,the 5870 and now the R9 280X,all I can say is I've never had a problem with AMD drivers,
the R9 280X is an awesome card and can handle any game I throw at it,I also have an AMD processor
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keynes
Multiverse Poster
It depends on which gpu you choose. Fastest single gpu is from nvidia. The r9-290/290x run very hot and noisy when compared to the gtx 780/780ti. Driver issues for crossfire seem to be more frequent with AMD as opposed to sli with nvidia
NilSatis
Bright Spark
Havent posted in a while, but just popped on and read this...
I recently went for a new card, and got the Gigabyte Windforce R290. It is absolutely fantastic. You cannot even hear this card running over the case fans. Its slightly overclocked from the factory, and for all the concerns over heat etc. I would be careful what you read and what you believe, especially with the non reference cards. This card runs at a whopping 10 degrees lower than my last card, is virtually silent; and performs Excellently. My last card was an xfx 7970 (reference model) and got hot. I am yet to see temps over 74 degrees with this, and that is on the stock fan profile. I would highly recommend one of these. My average temperature on this card at the stock (mildly) overclocked settings is 68-70 degrees, in silence.
The thing with AMD cards, is that their stock reference cooler is absolutely rubbish. If you go for a non reference card, you will always be better off than the single fan blower type cooler. Another interesting point not really mentioned is that you have the Mantle advancements as well....but they are not quite finished on that technology yet. It works, and you get a performance increase, but the performance in other games for me at least was awful. The latest stable driver is a better bet from AMD at the moment, and this is coming from someone who has used the beta drivers consistently for the last 4 years. However, it is definitely something more exciting than Nvidia have come up with for a long time; and Physx for me is underutilised by most games; and causes performance issues for some even on Nvidia cards.
Nvidia cards are also horribly overpriced; AMD cards are a lot more reasonable for the performance you pay for. If it wasn't for the bit coin mining fad pushing up prices; and lack of availability at those reasonable prices due to this, they would be a sure bet if I was to recommend a card to get for anyone at the moment. Both companies reference coolers aren't great; but Nvidias is noticeably better than AMDs. This is the one thing I have noticed consistently over the last 3-4 generations of cards.
As for the drivers....I truly believe Nvidia are as bad as AMD on releasing broken drivers; AMD have caught up a lot in that regard. In general both companies produce great drivers; if you stick to the certified ones. You cant go wrong with either company now, just pick truly the best card you can afford and do not go for a reference cooler design. If you do go down the route of AMD make sure you hunt around for the best price as places are charging way too much at the moment.
I recently went for a new card, and got the Gigabyte Windforce R290. It is absolutely fantastic. You cannot even hear this card running over the case fans. Its slightly overclocked from the factory, and for all the concerns over heat etc. I would be careful what you read and what you believe, especially with the non reference cards. This card runs at a whopping 10 degrees lower than my last card, is virtually silent; and performs Excellently. My last card was an xfx 7970 (reference model) and got hot. I am yet to see temps over 74 degrees with this, and that is on the stock fan profile. I would highly recommend one of these. My average temperature on this card at the stock (mildly) overclocked settings is 68-70 degrees, in silence.
The thing with AMD cards, is that their stock reference cooler is absolutely rubbish. If you go for a non reference card, you will always be better off than the single fan blower type cooler. Another interesting point not really mentioned is that you have the Mantle advancements as well....but they are not quite finished on that technology yet. It works, and you get a performance increase, but the performance in other games for me at least was awful. The latest stable driver is a better bet from AMD at the moment, and this is coming from someone who has used the beta drivers consistently for the last 4 years. However, it is definitely something more exciting than Nvidia have come up with for a long time; and Physx for me is underutilised by most games; and causes performance issues for some even on Nvidia cards.
Nvidia cards are also horribly overpriced; AMD cards are a lot more reasonable for the performance you pay for. If it wasn't for the bit coin mining fad pushing up prices; and lack of availability at those reasonable prices due to this, they would be a sure bet if I was to recommend a card to get for anyone at the moment. Both companies reference coolers aren't great; but Nvidias is noticeably better than AMDs. This is the one thing I have noticed consistently over the last 3-4 generations of cards.
As for the drivers....I truly believe Nvidia are as bad as AMD on releasing broken drivers; AMD have caught up a lot in that regard. In general both companies produce great drivers; if you stick to the certified ones. You cant go wrong with either company now, just pick truly the best card you can afford and do not go for a reference cooler design. If you do go down the route of AMD make sure you hunt around for the best price as places are charging way too much at the moment
.
These days they're both very good, you're not going to miss out on much either way as mentioned already.
Just my two pennies worth (and this debate will always come down to personal experiences and opinions) as an owner of both Intel and AMD CPUs and GPUs in the past, I currently prefer NVIDIA cards.
The main reason for this being drivers and GeForce experience. I still find NVIDIA drivers are better preped for new releases and that they optimise them quicker. This isn't to say AMD don't and they've improved no end. Personally I don't really need the experience software but I have quite a few mates who are converting over to PC gaming and the NVIDIA software is so much easier to recommend, they don't want to have to change graphics settings, they just want it to work. I believe AMD have competing software available now (think they bought a company that provide something similar) but from what I've seen of it it's nowhere close to being as polished just yet.
To me things like Physx/TressFX have always been gimmicks, technically both cards could do the same thing but it comes down to the implementation and who owns the rights to use them, though TressFX is enabled properly on NVIDIA cards even if it isn't quite as well optimised yet. In the grand scheme of things very few games ever use these and I wouldn't make it a factor when comparing the two really.
Other things like heat/power draw are often made irrelevant by after market cards as NilSatis said, though note if you buy from PCS you'll get a reference card. NVIDIA probably offer a slightly better reference product in regards to noise output and cooling. Depending on the card power draw varies between the two.
Really my only reason for sticking with NVIDIA at the moment is because when I had my laptop with a 7970M it took AMD almost 9 months to properly resolve driver issues with it. And that's the last AMD product I've owned. I dare say I'll use their stuff again at some point in future if the price is right, and they're usually good value if nothing else. As I said earlier though personal experience is what will matter to most people and that was mine. Though people, myself included, should just buy whatever's best at the time I think it's just human nature to stick to what we know sometimes.
AMD are doing some really nice stuff at the moment with dual graphics working alongside onboard while Intel are attacking the entry level market, and I hope they continue to push NVIDIA. It makes both companies better - very necessary when there's only two major players on the graphics side of things.
Just my two pennies worth (and this debate will always come down to personal experiences and opinions) as an owner of both Intel and AMD CPUs and GPUs in the past, I currently prefer NVIDIA cards.
The main reason for this being drivers and GeForce experience. I still find NVIDIA drivers are better preped for new releases and that they optimise them quicker. This isn't to say AMD don't and they've improved no end. Personally I don't really need the experience software but I have quite a few mates who are converting over to PC gaming and the NVIDIA software is so much easier to recommend, they don't want to have to change graphics settings, they just want it to work. I believe AMD have competing software available now (think they bought a company that provide something similar) but from what I've seen of it it's nowhere close to being as polished just yet.
To me things like Physx/TressFX have always been gimmicks, technically both cards could do the same thing but it comes down to the implementation and who owns the rights to use them, though TressFX is enabled properly on NVIDIA cards even if it isn't quite as well optimised yet. In the grand scheme of things very few games ever use these and I wouldn't make it a factor when comparing the two really.
Other things like heat/power draw are often made irrelevant by after market cards as NilSatis said, though note if you buy from PCS you'll get a reference card. NVIDIA probably offer a slightly better reference product in regards to noise output and cooling. Depending on the card power draw varies between the two.
Really my only reason for sticking with NVIDIA at the moment is because when I had my laptop with a 7970M it took AMD almost 9 months to properly resolve driver issues with it. And that's the last AMD product I've owned. I dare say I'll use their stuff again at some point in future if the price is right, and they're usually good value if nothing else. As I said earlier though personal experience is what will matter to most people and that was mine. Though people, myself included, should just buy whatever's best at the time I think it's just human nature to stick to what we know sometimes.
AMD are doing some really nice stuff at the moment with dual graphics working alongside onboard while Intel are attacking the entry level market, and I hope they continue to push NVIDIA. It makes both companies better - very necessary when there's only two major players on the graphics side of things.
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mishra
Rising Star
They both are fine manufacturers, just get as best hardware you can afford and is considered a "good buy". You will replace it anyway, so don't worry too much about the brand.
My recent cards were: Nvidia GT 8800 -> AMD HD 5770 -> Nvidia GTX 560ti -> AMD HD 7950 ... yup you can see pattern there
My recent cards were: Nvidia GT 8800 -> AMD HD 5770 -> Nvidia GTX 560ti -> AMD HD 7950 ... yup you can see pattern there
Grimezy
Prolific Poster
Honestly I used to think they were identical and only fanboys argued over which was better until I bought my girlfriend a rig. I got her a MSI R9 270x and have had nothing but trouble really. Had to send the first one back and then was getting weird graphical glitches on the games she plays which turns out to be a problem with all AMD cards apparently.
Much happier with my GTX670 and if I'd have waited a bit longer I would have rather bought her a 750ti over the R9 270x even if the performance is worse.
Much happier with my GTX670 and if I'd have waited a bit longer I would have rather bought her a 750ti over the R9 270x even if the performance is worse.