ATI HD 5850 or Nvidia GTX 460 ?

[Anthony1]

I originally was going to get a Nvidia 560 Ti, but due to budget constraints, have to dial down my video card to a $135, $145, $150 purchase. I've been looking to get a GTX 460 for about $140, but having trouble finding a good legit 1 gig version for that price. Now, I can get a Sapphire HD 5850 at Amazon for $150 shipped/no tax. I'm very tempted to go this route, because I know the 5850 is better than the GTX 460 in raw power. Although, I would like to mess around with playing some PC games in 3D, it isn't my entire focus. However, I'm still concerned about not having a Nvidia card, because I've always heard that their drivers are just better for 3D, period.

Could I get this 5850 and still make do?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004W7 ... d_i=507846" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[BlackShark]

Nvidia drivers are not better for 3D, it's just that they are the only ones that support Nvidia 3D Vision glasses and 3D Vision displays.

If you do not have an Nvidia 3D Vision display, both Nvidia and AMD will give the same results since you'll be using either iZ3D or DDD drivers.

[Anthony1]

Nvidia drivers are not better for 3D, it's just that they are the only ones that support Nvidia 3D Vision glasses and 3D Vision displays.

If you do not have an Nvidia 3D Vision display, both Nvidia and AMD will give the same results since you'll be using either iZ3D or DDD drivers.

What about 3DTV Play, or whatever it's called?

Right now, the only device that I would be using with my PC in regards to 3D would be my Samsung PN50C680 3D plasma. I know that Nvidia has the 3DTV Play thing that I could buy that makes it work with hdmi 1.4a or whatever... right? I'll be using my own Samsung 3D glasses. Also, I'm considering that cheapo Acer 720p 3D projector. Mainly just because it's so cheap at $500 shipped. Will I be able to use an AMD video card with that?

[bgnome]

I recently upgraded with a new rig and went with the 460. One thing to keep in mind is your end goal. Mine was to be able to display 3D content on a passive tv, Vizio E3D320VX. You should prioritize what you have in mind and decide based on that.

If you go with the Nvidia:

• Your display is listed as compatible with 3DTV Play, so the drivers will output framepacked 720p60Hz and 1080p24Hz, I also hear checkerboard is in the works for 1080 rez at 60Hz. Assuming you do not have a 3D Vision set yet, you will need to either purchase the 3DTV Play license ($40) or a 3D Vision set ($150), more likely if you get the projector. There are workarounds though..
• If you need more specific control over 3D output, you will need to purchase a license for DDD or IZ3D. Personally, once I got 3DTV Play working, I preferred that solution much better.
• If you would like to do 3D in surround, or just want to run more than 2 screens, you will need SLI.

If you go with ATI:

• You will need to go with DDD or IZ3D but no extra cost or hardware required. This means your performance will be limited but you will have more control.
• Native support for 3 screens for surround set ups, as well as eyefinity with crossfire. may require displayport adapters, which are not very cheap.

So just based on the card, ATI is a fairly cost-effective solution, however not quite as good as Nvidia when dealing with stereoscopic gaming. Nvidia seems to have extra costs associated with the 3D Vision solution that you might not have considered yet when making your initial purchase, especially when on a tight budget.

[Anthony1]

I recently upgraded with a new rig and went with the 460. One thing to keep in mind is your end goal. Mine was to be able to display 3D content on a passive tv, Vizio E3D320VX. You should prioritize what you have in mind and decide based on that.

If you go with the Nvidia:

• Your display is listed as compatible with 3DTV Play, so the drivers will output framepacked 720p60Hz and 1080p24Hz, I also hear checkerboard is in the works for 1080 rez at 60Hz. Assuming you do not have a 3D Vision set yet, you will need to either purchase the 3DTV Play license ($40) or a 3D Vision set ($150), more likely if you get the projector. There are workarounds though..
• If you need more specific control over 3D output, you will need to purchase a license for DDD or IZ3D. Personally, once I got 3DTV Play working, I preferred that solution much better.
• If you would like to do 3D in surround, or just want to run more than 2 screens, you will need SLI.

If you go with ATI:

• You will need to go with DDD or IZ3D but no extra cost or hardware required. This means your performance will be limited but you will have more control.
• Native support for 3 screens for surround set ups, as well as eyefinity with crossfire. may require displayport adapters, which are not very cheap.

So just based on the card, ATI is a fairly cost-effective solution, however not quite as good as Nvidia when dealing with stereoscopic gaming. Nvidia seems to have extra costs associated with the 3D Vision solution that you might not have considered yet when making your initial purchase, especially when on a tight budget.

Yeah, I hear ya. The problem is, the 5850 is a more powerful card in general. So, when not considering the 3D thing, most likely I would get superior performance from a 5850. Although, I'd like to use this PC for playing in 3D on occasion, I'm not too sure it will be my primary focus. The motherboard that I've already bought can't do SLI, but it can do Crossfire. I didn't worry about it initially, because I thought for sure that I would just be a 1 card guy, and wouldn't bother with all that. I still think I'm going in that direction, but you just never know. If I got a 5850, and made sure my PSU could handle 5850's in Crossfire, then that would be something to consider.

I'd be cool with a legit GTX 460 if I could find one for $150 shipped, like I can find this 5850. The best deal I could find on a GTX 460 is $180 shipped, with the hope of getting a $20 rebate at some point. I never try to take for granted that I'm definitely going to get the rebates.

[bgnome]

Neil benchmarked the 3 drivers back in November using a gtx 285 and an hd 6870 (DX9 only):
http://www.mtbs3d.com/index.php?option= ... &Itemid=77" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Bloody posted a quick comparison back in March:
http://3dvision-blog.com/driver-updates ... z3d-driver" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

currently Nvidia is still superior driver-wise in regards to dx10/11. otherwise, dx9 performance is pretty even, so you will be looking at the card capabilities at that point. but if you are not really concerned with stereoscopic performance, the AMD may be the better buy based on card vs card performance and function. 3D can be just a nice little perk that you have available to you.

as i mentioned, there is currently a working workaround for getting 3D Vision drivers / 3DTV Play to initialize without the need of equipment. there is also a workaround for getting SLI working on crossfire boards. however, due to these restrictions Nvidia imposes on manufacturers and consumers, it is not as straightforward as it should be. so if you are not much of a tinkerer, the AMD solution may work out better for you.