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New Video Cards From nVidia and ATI
Written on May 14, 2003 by Jon BachAlways look at the date when you read a hardware article. Some of the content in this article is most likely out of date, as it was written on May 14, 2003. For newer information, see our more recent articles.
Introduction
When you're building a custom computer system for gaming, you have to know your facts. One fact we have for certain is that the video card arena is very messy right now. With a whole new line of video cards from both nVidia and ATI, we now have to take a close look to see where their strengths and weaknesses lie. In this article, we will look at the GeForceFX 5200/5600/5800 line, and the new Radeon 9200/9600/9800 line, and will see what other new technology is next!
nVidia GeForceFX NV30
How about performance? nVidia has three models - the 5200, 5600 and 5800, built on the NV30 core. Can the 5800 beat out the ATI Radeon 9700? The Radeon 9700 has held the performance lead for a long time now, and what we see with the GeForceFX 5800 is a disappointing performance. Yes, it is able to beat out the Radeon 9700 in a majority of the benchmarks, but not by much. Not enough to justify the $150 difference in price that we see right now, that's for sure. We end our look at the GeForceFX line with disappointment. I see an expensive card, with a very loud cooling system, and marginal performance. Thankfully, the 5600 and 5200 cards are not nearly as expensive, and their reduced performance allows for a much smaller and quieter cooling system. So, if you're looking for the fastest gaming card on the market, GeForceFX built on NV30 doesn't look like the choice for you. Keep reading, though, this story isn't over. A new GeForceFX line built on NV35 has just been released, and it presents a twist to this story. If you're looking for a budget card, the DirectX9 capability in the 5600 and 5200 cards is available for quite cheap, and is a great way to go.
ATI Radeon R350
nVidia GeForceFX NV35
Conclusion
So, while nVidia can finally claim the performance lead again, it wasn't without cost. The NV30 GeForceFX line was very disappointing. ATI still has the lead on image quality, and with a new Radeon 9800 coming soon with 256mb of memory, ATI is certainly still in a strong position. This is as close to a "neck and neck" race as I have ever seen by these two graphics giants. I'm excited to see an expectation of a price reduction in the Radeon line, and am happy to finally see DirectX9 support from nVidia. In the past, one major strength that nVidia had over ATI was driver maturity - ATI has a bit of a reputation for buggy drivers. They seem to be quite effectively addressing this problem though, as it has been quite some time since I've run into a driver issue from ATI. So which line should you choose? Look at price, look at your needs. If you don't need the fastest video card, but are looking for the cheapest way to have DirectX9 capability, then the GeForceFX 5200 or 5600 are great options. If you're looking for the best gaming card, you'll get a bit better image quality and quieter operation from ATI, but nVidia holds the performance lead for now.
Wow that amazing, the use of new video cards really going to give fun and entertainment. Thanks for making us, the card is having various feature which attract everyone and one make the use of the cards.