"kony" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 30 Jan 2006 10:05:11 -0500, "Tony DiMarzio"
wrote:


I'm afraid you've been misinformed. Nvidia is not necessarily more stable
or
compatible than the equivalent ATI component in terms of chipsets or GPUs
or
drivers. Some have propagated the notion that ATI products are instable;
this is just not the case. I've owned NVidia and ATI (and many other
pre-NVidia brands) and can testify to the quality of ATI parts. I
currently
own an X1900XTX and the card is stable as a rock. Previous to that card I
had an X1800XT which also worked perfectly fine but which I sold on ebay
to
pay for the X1900XTX. Previous to both I used a 9800 Pro which was nothing
but a joy for about 3 years. Now it's in my closet and collecting dust but
still in the same working condition as when I bought it.

3 or 4 samples does not a conclusion make.
Of course there are a lot that work fine, ATI would've been
out of business long ago if much if it didn't work. Problem
is rate of issues, chances there may be a problem.


Of course a "3 or 4 unit sample" is not sufficient to draw a conclusion on
ATI parts in general. However, the only thing that I *can* testify to is my
own experiences, and that is what I've done.



There was a time when ATI drivers were not up to par, but that time is
long
gone. ATI's catalyst driver team has delivered on there promises.

Nonsense and you sound like a shill.
ATIs drivers have indeed improved a lot but that's only seen
in context of going from really poor to worse than those
from a certain n company.


Shill? Look I know it's much more "cool" to criticize than to compliment,
but, credit where credit's due, sport. There is absolutely no empirical data
to show that your "certain n company"'s drivers are in any way "better" than
ATI's. Any claims to the contrary are at best anecdotal and incidental and
at worse flat out lies.


The crossfire chipsets have also come a long way. Check out the review of
the Asus A8R-MVP "http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2617" . Half
the price of it's NForce equivalent, just as stable, and a much better
overclocker. For all intents and purposes, an X1900XTX coupled with an
A8R-MVP is the fastest consumer based 3D solution available. ATI are "are
not great for gamers, either, in terms of speed, etc." ??


X1900XT has decent, even very good performnace. It has to
use ATI drivers though, and in a few months it won't be
fastest anymore. Coupling it with a particluar motherboard
is just silly.

Yes, normally ATI cards DO use ATI drivers. Your point? Or was that another
implied "ATI drivers are the debil!" comment? In a few months nothing will
be "fastest" any more. That's the name of the game. So if you're referring
to G71, then _assuming_ it does surpass X1900XTX, then expect a crown time
of no more than 6 months. "Coupling it with a particular motherboard is just
silly" ? Uh, silly to use an NForce mobo with high end NVidia cards or vice
versa?


If you're gonna be brand loyal then be brand loyal. Nothing wrong with
that.

Actually yes there is something wrong with that when your
loyality causes you to see the world through colored
glasses. Products should be chosen in their merits, not
their brand, and also recognized to have faults. That you
don't care about a fault or don't see it in a particular
application is no consolation to another user who has
different hardware or application needs.

Brand loyalty is a necessary component of the capitalistic model. It's the
natural result of positive experiences by the buyer and is the reward to the
seller for offering good products/services. Basically, there's nothing
inherently wrong with it. However, and like you said, "when it causes you to
see the world through colored glasses" then there is something wrong with
it. Now, please explain to me how I'm looking at the world through colored
glasses. We're not talking about standing behind a inferior product. We're
talking a company that currently has the fastest and most complex consumer
3D acceleration hardware in the world and that has consistently been toe to
toe with it's largest competitor. This is Honda vs Toyota, not Pontiac vs
BMW.


But please don't post inaccurate information to a person trying to make
their own decision. Let them make there decision based on accurate
information.

Same to you.

I believe that's what I did.