Ive been a loyal ATI user for the last 6 graphics cards ive owned now. But im currently in the market of upgrading to a DX10 card and ATI is just taking way to long to get their stuff on the market. Im on a tight budget so im looking at a 400$ max limit. The 8800 GTS seems like a kickass card and im really having hard time justifying not to buy one. Except for the fact I really like ATI and especially their frequent driver updates and the fact ive never had any serious issues with their cards. Should I just wait for the ATI dx10 cards to popup on the market, hoping they will have budget cards out before summer? Or can I be happy jumping about the Nvidia boat with a 8800GTS? How stable are the Nvidia drivers nowdays? Id like a card that would last me at least a year, possibly two. I dont wanna sit here next summer not being able to play the next gen dx10 games without turning all the whistles down.
Wait, see how ATI goes, since not much games are running the dx10 power available, no point upgrading. like you said, next summer, rumors have it that the R600 series would make their debut at end of march/start april, so a few weeks of wait wouldnt make much of a diff...
I would seriously advise waiting until purchasing a DX10 card. The drivers for both nVidia and ATI for Vista are horrendous right now. Soo... just wait it out for the R600 and see which one has more power and better driver support by then.
As an 8800gtx and 680i owner I'd personally wait for ATI. IMHO Nvidia has no clue how to write software or drivers. I really, really, miss the release schedule and overall quality of the Catalyst program. Since ATI's release should be very soon I'd wait and see what happens. Then you can evaluate ATI's hardware and nVidia's drivers should be improved so you can form a better opinion.
Wait. Vista Drivers on the Nidia side are still not up to par. The Catalyst driver series is not perfect, and I hate the CCC (so use the CP version from NGO) but they update it frequently and have been doing that for years, and they do have the feedback option on their site and they actually LISTEN to you when you ask for features or report bugs. Besides, if you buy a GENUINE ATI brand card, their integrated support is very good. They RMA the hardware no sweat, and seem more willing to help with the drivers if you own their brand. I personally got a DX9 card and don't plan on touching Vista for quite some time. This whole DX10 thing and the crappy way Vista handled OpenGL support may take a year or more to get sorted out properly.
Even on the XP 32bit front, last WHQL drivers for the 8800's were January 10th, 07. (97.92) And for the 7XXX cards we are talking July 5th, 2006. (84.63) That's craptastic imo.
I knw what you mean about waiting, I have used ATI cards including the 9500NP/9700/9800/X800/X1800/X1900/X1950 but recently grabbed a 640MB 8800GTS. I also really miss the driver quality of the Catalyst drivers and the monthly update. I hope either t he R600 is so good it forces me back to ATI or Nvidia gets their shit together with the driver scene.
Yeah I agree we want a cat 6.3 equivalent:duh:. Just goes to show doesnt it, all those people that whined and moaned about Nvidia not having that magical WHQL stamp are scratching there heads now. As I said at the time WHQL doesnt mean a thing. It's amazing how no-one trusts microsoft until it comes to signing drivers off. I'm more than happy with my 8800GTS (soon to be a pair). I still have an X800XT too but my faith in ATI is all but destroyed, it's a shame as I've been an ati user for years.
