I DEFECTED FROM NVIDIA.....FOLLOW ME!!!!

[Guest]

Well,You don't HAVE to but I thought I would give you my experience in switching from NVIDIA to ATI. This is for those who are interested in some impressions only. Don't get all defensive...please. I was stressed over the switch for quite awhile and would have appreciated input from others, especially groups like this so I thought this might help the next guy....or girl.Anyway, this is what I went from:P3-866ABIT VH-6768Mb PC-133 ramGeforce 3Ti200Win XPAnd this is what I went to:AMD xp 2200+ ($110 with heatsink)ASUS NForce2 board ($145)512Mb DDR 2700 ($140)ATI 9700 non pro ($225)On the suggestion of others I bought hardware online for the first time from www.newegg.com and it was AWESOME. What service!!!ANYHOO,1) I was most worried about the driver horror stories and at this point all I can say is that I have a ton of games and ALMOST NO complaints so far from any of them. Almost, because the ATI 9700 doesn't seem to like to alt-tab in and out of MSFS2002 but I just window it instead and SimCity 4 had an issue that is easily fixed now. The bottom line is that I had scattered issues with my NVIDIA cards too. No card is perfect just check out the forums. I DO NOT see any significant difference in compatibility or stability between the cards now that ATI is out with the CAT 3.1 drivers.2) In terms of framerate in my games especially MSFS2002 the only thing I can say is I have stopped caring about it. When I first got the card I was all excited to see 40,50,60+ FPS but then I just locked it at 25 or 30 and haven't worried about it since. I see in forums how one person says that they are getting 46 FPS and the next guy says "well I get 48 FPS"...so there. This is the first time that I go entire flights without using "shift-z". Do you know how great that feels? I think I was getting 25 to 35 before and having to balance the % of mesh detail with AI % and autogen density. Now, I just put EVERYTHING at max except lights (I put it up to 4 or 6 from 1, but I haven't tried higher yet..I bet it works perfect). The sim works silky smooth.3) Oh and remember trying to put FSAA and AF as high as you could without slowing the sim down to much? Not any more!!! I use 6x FSAA and 16x AF with the best mipmap settings I can find with NO noticeable performance feel in the sim. It really is unbelievable. As far as picture quality, I've heard that the ATI is better but HONESTLY I can't tell very well. It is at least as good as the NVIDIA only brighter and with much higher graphics settings.4) I can now land in a big city at twilight with aftermarket mesh, 100% AI traffic and custom scenery...oh and rain and...and...and.. clouds and I don't get that choppiness creeping up on me. The worst thing for me used to be a low and slow fly over past an airport with a bunch of AI traffic moving around. Not now!! I'm all giddy about it can't you tell. If you don't want to upgrade in this way or switch from NVIDIA it's a-ok by me but if you are hesitating.......DON'T...TRUST ME5) Same type thing with other sims. Here are some gut changes I've noticed:IL-2 - Used to be smooth except when flying thru heavy action. Now absolutely perfect all the time.CFS3 - Works great now, but you can tell that the graphic engine stinks compared to MSFS2002.Morrowind - With highest settings I now get ~30FPS in towns!!!Typical shooters - I don't think about it anymore. Maybe 100 FPS, maybe 700 FPS, just high enough DARN it and always with the 6x FSAA and 16x AF. It's great.I'm sure I forgot something but I hope this helps those of you painfully deciding whether or not to switch. I've loved the NVIDIA cards that I have owned and will switch back when they can make my flying that much better but for now....It's ATI time DAWGS.Mark

[Guest flightpro08]

>Almost, because the ATI 9700 doesn't seem to like to alt-tab in and >out of MSFS2002 but I just window it instead and SimCity 4 had an >issue that is easily fixed now.I've also been a long time "fan" of nVidia, but with all the good things I have ben hearing about the RADEON 9700, I'm probably going to end up converting (back) to ATI as well. Well, as soon as the price drops quite a bit more. ;-)Now, onto the quote I included. What problems are you experiencing with "alt-tab"? I use this a lot while flying, and wouldn't imagine going a flight without using it or running FS2k2 in Windowed mode. Is this a common problem?Ryan-Flightpro08 :-cool VATSIM Pilot/ControllerZLA ARTCC Senior Controller (C-3)ASRC (Advanced Simulated Radar Client) Beta Testerhttp://vatsim.pilotmedia.fi/statusindicato...tor=OD1&a=a.jpg-----------------------------My "Home Made" System Specs:Intel Pentium 4 2.2GHz ProcessorTurbo Gamer ATX Mid-Tower with 420W Power SupplyEPoX 4G4A Motherboard with Intel 845G ChipsetVisiontek XTASY GeForce4 128MB Ti4600 (Det 42.86 Drivers)512MB PC2100 DDR RAM40GB Matrox 7200RPM Hard DriveWindows XP Home Edition SP1*No CPU or GPU Overclocking*3dMark2001SE Score: 11298-----------------------------Click Here to Download my American Eagle POSKY CRJ-200!

[Bill McQueen 0]

I have defected too :-)My 9700 PRO comes on Tuesday.Bill

[John_Tavendale 453]

I defected for the third time :-lolHope they saying "Third Time Lucky" comes through this time :-hahMight as well buy now, the Radeon 9700s aren't going to come down too much soon, retailers in the US slashed prices by $100 from $399 to $299 for the Pro.

[Guest]

Flightpro1)You won't regret the switch in my humble opinion. I have a one year old laptop with an older ATI video card and boy does it suck and the drivers....Whew!!! But the 9700 is a new animal especially with the new drivers. Do you think about whether or not to use 16 bit or 32 bit color with you games? Of course not but it used to be a concern in terms of performance and that is what FSAA and AF will be like with the 9700. It will be a memory. It is really neat.2)If you go on the ATI message boards there was a weird bug reported where you would get a crash if you tried to alt-tab in and out of MSFS with a 9700. I experienced it myself. I get no other crashes and use the "windowed" function to get around it. Maybe someone has an update on this by now.Take careMark

[Guest]

>BillLet yourself be giddy!!! It's ok. :)Looking at your system the biggest difference you'll notice is smoothness and full FSAA and AF. As if that isn't enough.Have FunMark>>I have defected too :-) >>My 9700 PRO comes on Tuesday. >>Bill

[Guest]

John,That's why I am so pleased with the 9700 non-pro. Same architecture as the pro but just about 5%-10% slower and with my card as well as SOME other cards like mine you can flash the BIOS and..Wallah...you have a pro. All for ~$230.Take CareMark

[Guest]

I am an Ex Nvidia person as well. Just got a 9500 Pro and love it.I am a stockholder in Nvidia, and from what I have gathered from them, and from talking with different folks it seems that Nvidia is only Going to produce the FX chips to cover the backorders for the Chipset. After that they Probably won't release any more FX based chips. (due to it's performance barely over that of the 9700Pro)None of this is set in stone, it is just from observations, and conversations I have had with some folks who are in the know.I hated to stray from Nvidia, but it seems it may have been the smart thing to do.Al

[Guest flightpro08]

>I have a one year old laptop with an older ATI video card and boy >does it suck and the drivers....Whew!!! :-lolYeah, I have an old RADEON 7200 64MB DDR VIVO card in my "old" computer (P4 1.3GHz Hewlett Packard). It was my primary computer for quite some time, and I neevr really did like the 7200 (though, it was better than the Voodoo3 which is what it replaced). ;-)From all the good things I've heard about the 9700, I'll probably grab one early in the summer (right before FS9 I hope). But, I hope alt-tab works by then. ;-)Ryan-Flightpro08 :-cool VATSIM Pilot/ControllerZLA ARTCC Senior Controller (C-3)ASRC (Advanced Simulated Radar Client) Beta Testerhttp://vatsim.pilotmedia.fi/statusindicato...tor=OD1&a=a.jpg-----------------------------My "Home Made" System Specs:Intel Pentium 4 2.2GHz ProcessorTurbo Gamer ATX Mid-Tower with 420W Power SupplyEPoX 4G4A Motherboard with Intel 845G ChipsetVisiontek XTASY GeForce4 128MB Ti4600 (Det 42.86 Drivers)512MB PC2100 DDR RAM40GB Matrox 7200RPM Hard DriveWindows XP Home Edition SP1*No CPU or GPU Overclocking*3dMark2001SE Score: 11298-----------------------------Click Here to Download my American Eagle POSKY CRJ-200!

[Guest]

>I am an Ex Nvidia person as well. Just got a 9500 Pro and >love it. >I am a stockholder in Nvidia, and from what I have gathered >from them, and from talking with different folks it seems >that Nvidia is only Going to produce the FX chips to cover >the backorders for the Chipset. After that they Probably >won't release any more FX based chips. (due to it's >performance barely over that of the 9700Pro) >>None of this is set in stone, it is just from observations, >and conversations I have had with some folks who are in the >know. >I hated to stray from Nvidia, but it seems it may have been >the smart thing to do. >>Al Al,Glad to hear you like your 9500 pro. I considered that one as well. The only one that I've heard that you should stay away from is the 9000. Just for everyone's buying info and based ONLY on a bunch of reviews I read.Regarding NVIDIA, with their cash and talent I can only assume that they will be back in the hunt soon and that's great for you and me competition wise. I only hope they don't put out half baked attempts over the next 6-9 months trying to "save face". It makes them look unprepared and DESPERATE. They should just focus on blowing past ATI for Christmas or whenever.Take careMark

[Guest]

The word 3DFX is Coming to mind......I hope Not...Al

[Guest]

>2)If you go on the ATI message boards there was a weird bug >reported where you would get a crash if you tried to alt-tab >in and out of MSFS with a 9700. I experienced it myself. I >get no other crashes and use the "windowed" function to get >around it. Maybe someone has an update on this by now. I had the alt tab crashing for awhile as well. After my last driver update (3.1 catalyst) the problem went away. I did a complete uninstall of the old drivers first. Could have been caused by some remnants of old drivers left on the HD, since the previous update was from GeForce to Radeon.As far as drivers go I have tons less problems with ATI than I did with my GeForce 4. I used to have a problem with the GF4 completely losing its drivers and needing a reinstall. A couple of times I had to reinstall windows as well. THis happened ever 2-3 weeks. The ATI has been going for 2 months with no problems now.

[Guest]

STOP IT! STOP IT! I've spent too much money already this year. ;)

[crvm 0]

I remember YEARS AGO when I got my 2 3DFX cards {12 meg wonders} running in SLI mode, it was a way to run both cards together for better preformance. Boy have times changed. It was a sad day when 3DFX went under and Nvidia bought them out. The Voodoo 5 would put a stop to this Nvidia crap {so I thought!}. Now we have ATI who are beating the crap out of Nvidia with their new 9800 Pro series and the new Nvidia FX card {GFORCEFX} does not have a chance {unless you need a leaf blower}. Hell the 9700 already beats the pants off of any GF4 4600 ti! I'm saving up for the ATI, so goodbye for now Nvidia, it's been a fun and exciting adventure.Best Wishes,Randy J. Smithcrvm@iwon.com" A little learning is a dangerous thing"AMD XP 2100 |MUNCHKIN 512 DDR RAM |ECS[/b ] K7S5A MB |[b]GF3 64 MEG |WIN XP PRO |MITSUBISHI DIAMOND PLUS 91 19"

[Guest Bigshot]

Your system isn't complete till you get one of these. I use the first one. When I walk into the room, it draws me like a magnet. http://www.rage3d.com/board/showthread.php...readid=33671159