An age old debate...I'm almost afraid of what I might start here, so I'll say this upfront: I'm looking for constructive comments, not just strong biases.
I'm building a new computer. I've been noticing that some of the newer hardware (not just video cards) can cause issues with some older games. For example: my girlfriend's laptop has issues with the original Unreal Tournament engine. It's got a GeForce GO 6Somethinrather (can't remember the exact number). That happens to be a totally awesome game, even if it is becoming oldschool, and most of the other games I really like are from around that time. But then I'd also like to be able to play games like Battlefield 2, F.E.A.R. and Half-Life 2. So I'd like to make sure that any hardware I put into my computer is going to be as compatible as possible with not just the other hardware I put in, but also the software and games I run.
Having said that, I need to find out the pros and cons of ATI vs. NVidia, as well as any known compatibility issues with those cards. Here are the specifications for the computer thus far this in.
Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Brisbane 2.3GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 Processor
Motherboard: ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard
RAM: G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar RE WD3200YS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s
DVD-ROM: ASUS Black 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA
Power Supply: ATX 500W Daul12V (V2.03)
OS: Windows XP Pro 64-bit
The video card I'm considering:
BFG GeForce 8800 GTS OC 320MB GDDR3 PCI Express
Although I am worried about price and performance, my biggest concern, again, is compatibility. SLI is also near the bottom of my list of priorities.
I'm building a new computer. I've been noticing that some of the newer hardware (not just video cards) can cause issues with some older games. For example: my girlfriend's laptop has issues with the original Unreal Tournament engine. It's got a GeForce GO 6Somethinrather (can't remember the exact number). That happens to be a totally awesome game, even if it is becoming oldschool, and most of the other games I really like are from around that time. But then I'd also like to be able to play games like Battlefield 2, F.E.A.R. and Half-Life 2. So I'd like to make sure that any hardware I put into my computer is going to be as compatible as possible with not just the other hardware I put in, but also the software and games I run.
Having said that, I need to find out the pros and cons of ATI vs. NVidia, as well as any known compatibility issues with those cards. Here are the specifications for the computer thus far this in.
Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Brisbane 2.3GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 Processor
Motherboard: ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard
RAM: G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar RE WD3200YS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s
DVD-ROM: ASUS Black 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA
Power Supply: ATX 500W Daul12V (V2.03)
OS: Windows XP Pro 64-bit
The video card I'm considering:
BFG GeForce 8800 GTS OC 320MB GDDR3 PCI Express
Although I am worried about price and performance, my biggest concern, again, is compatibility. SLI is also near the bottom of my list of priorities.