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Video card - Nvidia or Radeon?

ndicki

ndicki

Charter Member 2016
Still poking about trying to make my old P4 2.8c system - which can still more-or-less handle most of what I throw at it - as good as possible. That means a new AGP card, but the Nvidia 7950GT effort has got very poor reliability reports...

An alternative that appears to be more reliable is the Radeon HD 4670 IceQ - does anybody use Radeon cards for CFS2 or 3? I've heard that there is trouble with specular textures, or is that a thing of the past?

Any opinions? And please don't tell me to junk the lot, because it's still pretty well able to do everything I ask of it!
 
Myself, I prefer the Nvidia. i've always had success with it. on my current comp, which is a replacement for my older one, i have the intergrated Radeon. I hate it. but without the funds to upgrade i'm stuck with it.

I have heard that Nvidia is better for gaming where the Radeon is better at video work. not sure if that is true or not. i guess it comes down to what you like and can afford. just beware, both have realy good models and realy bad.

if money is no object then get the best that your comp can handle.

thats my thoughts.
 
I'm the opposite, I always had ATi/AMD Radeon cards. I have a PCIE ATi 4890 at the mo. TBH, as BH23 says, people will swear by each manufacturer, as they say 'yer pays your money and takes your choice'.

In the many years of flight-simming I've not had any problems with ATi/AMD cards, I run FSX, FS9, CFS3, CFS2, CFS1 all without problems. There are certainly no specular problems that I'm aware of.

Just a caveat, the AGP 4670 only has DVA outputs (x2), so if you need a VGA connection you will have to get a small and cheap VGA-DVA coverter.

Here in the UK you pick one up for £65/80 Euros, so good value.

Your a CFS3 man, so what have you been running, as it must have been quite good for that sim? I see Gecko has come up with some good find for ac specular texs in CFS3, want to take advantage of that?!

Cheers

Shessi
 
Currently I'm on a 7600GS, which gives me up to 200fps+ in CFS2, and generally about 25-35 fps in CFS3 with sliders set to 3 out of 5. Obviously, that depends on scenery, models, clouds and so on. I understand that a better AGP card will give me a bit more for CFS3 and SF2, where I actually need it...

I've already attempted to fit a 7950GT which I got over the internet from Germany, but it's a rubbish build from China, didn't work, and is going back where I got it from. I hadn't expected it to be that bad! Meanwhile, HIS do an AGP HD4670 which is apparently pretty decent. That might be an alternative.

Then there's the question of specular textures. I tried an ATI card years ago before I bought my now very old GeForce 3, and all the aircraft in CFS2 appeared almost black. It went back the next day, and I got the Geforce 3. The question is, has this been sorted out? I know in CFS3 it's not ideal but can be managed - perhaps using Daniel's fix, as you suggest.
 
I've used both and cannot complain about either.

I currently use an nVidia GeForce 9800GT, with 1GB of video RAM onboard the vid card.

And, I have used a couple of different Radeon's with 512 built in video RAM.

The key, to me, is getting the clock speed and vid RAM right on either card.
On nVidia it is the second number that makes the difference. A 6800 will perform better than a 9500.

I prefer to have dedicated video RAM on the card so as to not share system RAM for video instead of sharing the system RAM, letting it take care of the game. So, more is better. I have several different flight sims on my computer all maxed out on settings. On FSX my system sometimes stutters with FPS over mega cities with lots of high detail scenery. So, I have considered getting a newer card with 2GB of vid RAM.

Here in the CFS2 environment, I have all settings maxed out and I don't even get a hiccup. I have yet to drop under 45FPS even with lots of aircraft and scenery loading.

My system: (Not stock) Dell XPS Demension 410; Intel 2.4 GB duo core CPU; 6GB Corsair RAM; 2 separate WD 7200RPM SATA 500 GB HD; nVidia GeForce 9800GT video card with 1GB vid RAM; Diamond 7.1 Audio card.
 
I have never had any specular problems with any of my cards and CFS2. Some of these problems may have been down to driver issues. The latest drivers are not always the best, especially for older cards! Even though they say they fit all cards of a certain generation.


The 4670 is the fastest last ATi/AMD AGP card you'll find, there's not much choice for AGP now.

Shessi
 
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