DirectX 10 cards...

[Adagio]

I have for some time considered buying a new computer, but I'm not sure if I should wait until Nvidia releases their first DX10 card in September (sounds like there's a high chance for a delay on a few months), or just get a new computer with the 7900 (or whatever the number of their best current card is)


Is it worth waiting for Nvidias G80? If I buy now, I wont get a DX10 card for many years




And yes I know it'll take some time before Vista is released, don't remember the exact date though)... and don't bother mentioning ati, I don't like their cards

[Asher]

You won't need a DX10 card for many years.

And we've no idea if R600 and G80 are any good. I wouldn't bother waiting...

And I think not considering ATI is pretty silly, especially when you've no idea if their cards are any good. All signs point to them kicking ass for DX10 cards.

Nvidia will still have separate vertex/pixel shaders while ATI has unified shaders. DX10 uses unified shaders, so Nvidia's driver needs to hack a way to use the dedicated pipelines on their upcoming card.

ATI seems to be a lot more experienced with these as well (having already developed Xenos with unified shaders in the Xbox 360). R600 will be a third-generation unified shader architecture (first was R500, which was not released; second is Xenos in the Xbox 360). G80 isn't even there yet.

[Adagio]

Originally posted by Asher
And I think not considering ATI is pretty silly, especially when you've no idea if their cards are any good. All signs point to them kicking ass for DX10 cards.

The last time I bought one of their cards I ended up not being able to play most of my games, and after a few months the card killed itself

[Asher]

**** happens with both brands of cards. The same people actually manufacture both of them, the design of the chips is the only thing that's different and that has nothing to do with the card killing itself.

And if you can't play most of your games, clearly the card was defective to begin with and you should've got it exchanged...

[Adagio]

Originally posted by Asher
and you should've got it exchanged...

I did, got it exchanged with a Nvidia card, which I'm happy with (except it's getting too old now)

I didn't like ATIs tv-out neither, and I guess it's still the same now as it was a few years ago

[Asher]

ATI is generally considered to have better TV-out quality...

[Q Classic]

Personally, I prefer nVidia, but that's largely on account of the drivers.

I hate the extra cruft that comes with the ATi ones, but luckily they've come a long way with their stability.

[vlad]

DX10 cards are a pipe dream for gamers. The 1st generation of them will not see any significant performance gains and by the time it becomes a standard prices will come down on them. The general population of gamers still use older AGP DX9 cards so that is what will be the mainstream. Vista will be out in Jan/Feb, but most people won't change over to it until 2008. Wait until 6 months after a top tier new card comes out before you buy it, since most games don't support its great new features anyway.
When I started working on computers in the 90's as more of a hobby than business I always used Nvidia cards, the TNT and TNT2 were killer for the price, but that was long ago. Now that I do this for a living I try to only use ATI cards. Drivers are easy and there are great driver mods available, cards are prcied right, great overclocking potential, and bad cards are few and far between. I have had to install occasional Nvidia cards in SLI boards, and found them to be overpriced for the power and very, well the best word is, "wonky" to work with. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't.
Gaming performance is so close to equal in both cards I would always just choose the best FPS for the $.
My biggest beef with both chip producers is their silly mega product offerings, which in turn extend down to the 3rd party card makers. More than 3 cards in a line is too much for standard consumers to choose from and to have 3rd party companies change the numbering systems even makes it harder.

[Adagio]

Since everybody agrees, that it would be a waste to wait for the DX10 card, I have looked a bit around for a new computer. Here's what I have in mind:

AMD Athlon 64bit X2 4400+
256MB DDR3 GEFORCE 7900GT
Gigabyte GA-K8N-SLI motherboard
2 GB Ram (not sure which brand... any recommendations?)


Is this a good setup?

[Asher]

I would consider waiting for the Core 2 Duos next month.

Two things will happen:
1) Core 2 Duos will significantly outperform Athlon X2s
2) Athlon X2 price will drop significantly

[snoopy369]

Hmm... I don't like gigabyte, i had a board from them that was okay but had some quality issues, and at the time (2001) little support [in english anyway]. Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe

The problem with ATI/NVidia with compatibility is which technology is currently the leading tech for game developers... NVidia was more compliant for the last few years with pixel/vertex shaders, thus the problems with games like Civ4 for ATI. However, a few years ago it was ATI all the way... and if Asher's right about unified shaders, that's going to go a long way towards ATI being the more compatible card.

RAM - lots of choice there ... just get a good brand, don't skimp on that. The standards, corsair probably being the lead choice ... The brand I have is actually a new one, A-Data Vitesta, has been pretty good and nice and fast, no problems with heat. OCZ gets a lot of fans also.

[Adagio]

Originally posted by snoopy369
Hmm... I don't like gigabyte, i had a board from them that was okay but had some quality issues, and at the time (2001) little support [in english anyway]. Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe

In that case I guess I'd better find another brand like Asus

Originally posted by Asher
I would consider waiting for the Core 2 Duos next month.

Two things will happen:
1) Core 2 Duos will significantly outperform Athlon X2s
2) Athlon X2 price will drop significantly

Haven't heard anything about them, though I haven't searched for news about HW either. I'll go read about it. If it's going to get released next month it might be worth waiting for

/me goes to do some more research

[Asher]

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,1976430,00.asp

[Adagio]

Thanks, this sounds impressive

[korn469]

Adagio,

I recommend checking out www.cyberpowerpc.com I bought a computer from back in the middle of May, and I'm quite satisfied with my computer. Maybe they aren't the absolute cheapest, or fastest place, but I'm a satisfied customer! Though I'd take Asher's advice and wait till the Core Duo 2 chips come out. Anyways's here's the order sheet for my computer.

*BASE_PRICE: [+655]
CAS: X-BLADE Mid-Tower 450W W/ WINDOW & LCD Temperature Display + FAN CONTROL [+5] (YELLOW COLOR)
CASUPGRADE: NONE
CPU: (939-pin) AMD Athlon(TM)64 X2 4200+ Dual-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology [+70]
CD: NEC 3550A 16X DVD+-RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER [+4] (BLACK COLOR)
CD2: NONE
CABLE: None
FLOPPY: NONE
FLASHMEDIA: INTERNAL 12in1 Flash Media Reader/Writer (BLACK COLOR)
FAN: AMD ATHLON64 CERTIFIED CPU FAN & HEATSINK + 3 EXTRA CASE FANS [+9]
HDD: SPECIAL!!! 160GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 8M Cache 7200RPM Hard Drive
HDD2: NONE
IEEE_CARD: NONE
KEYBOARD: Logitech Deluxe 104 PS/2 Keyboard [-2] (Black Office Pro Keyboard)
MOUSE: Logitech Optical Wheel Mouse [+2] (BLACK COLOR)
MODEM: NONE
MONITOR: NONE
MONITOR2: NONE
MOTHERBOARD: (Sckt939)EVGA nForce4 SLI Chipset SATA RAID Dual PCI-E Mainboard w/GbLAN,USB2.0,&7.1Audio
MEMORY: 1024 MB (512MBx2) PC3200 400MHz Dual Channel DDR MEMORY [+60] (Corsair Value Select)
MSGAME: FREE! AGE OF EMPIRE III
NETWORK: ONBOARD 10/100 NETWORK CARD
OS: Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Home Edition w/ Service Pack 2 [+89]
PRO_WIRING: FREE! Professional Wiring for All WIRINGs Inside The System Chasis with High Performance Thermal Compound on CPU for Limited Time Only!
PRINTER: None
PRINTER_CABLE: None
POWERSUPPLY: STANDARD CASE POWER SUPPLY
RAID: NONE
RUSH: NO; READY TO SHIP IN 5~10 BUSINESS DAYS
SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS 24/7 LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
SPEAKERS: Logitech X-230 2.1 Configuration Speakers System [+19]
TEMP: NONE (AS SHOWN)
TVRC: None
UPS: None
USB: Build-in USB 2.0 Ports
USBHD: NONE
VIDEOCAMERA: NONE
VIDEO: SPECIAL!!! NVIDIA Geforce 7900 GT 256MB 16X PCI Express Video Card [+244]
VIDEO2: NONE
WNC: NONE
WAP: NONE
ZIP: NONE
_PRICE: (+1155)
_view_: detail
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Coupon: INSTANT (5% Discount) -$57.75
SUBTOTAL $1,097.25
Sales Tax (N/A) $0.00
Shipping: Fedex Ground $65.00
----------------------------------------------------------------------
GRAND TOTAL $1,162.25