Vid Card & Resolutions

I have 2 questions:

What is better/best for gaming?
Nvidia go7800GTX or ATI X1800XT?

What is the better/best resolution in a 17" laptop for gaming purposes?
WSXGA (1620x1050) or WUXGA (1900x1200)?

 

Your first question asks for a simple answer: GeForce 7800GTX (256/512) will kick the **** out of the radeon X1800XT in all games available. Most of the games are designed with the nVidia's technology in mind (look for the nVidia sign on the game's case) so they are adjusted to perform better on GeForce video cards. The 7800GTX is designed from a fresh-new technology and makes use of the latest graphics innovations, it is built for gamers to play games. The Radeon X1800 series make use of old but improved technology, which was used in the X800 cards. The Radeon is better for video formatting than gaming - it comes with the Avivo technology. Check out benchmarks for the two cards, they are often compared on the internet. The difference in scores speaks for itself.

As for the second question, i dont know

 

The 2nd question is preference. Of course...higher resolution is usually considered better for gaming...but at a performance cost. You may have to turn off a few extras to get that high of a res on some games...and future games will only be more demanding.

Of course, you can always run the game at a lower resolution than the screen's native...but the quality suffers just a bit.

No one can answer that question for you. You also have to consider your other uses for the machine. I, personally, don't notice much of an image degradation when running a game at a resolution lower than the native on my system, others would. However...I specifically chose a lower resolution because gaming is only a portion of what I do on my machine. Viewing text and such at WUXGA was a bit painful for me(Web-browsing, OO Writer, etc...), and lowering the res in windows from native did create noticeable distortion. So I made the choice to get a lower resolution. You'll need to go look at some screens and make your mind up yourself.

 

The WUXGA is a lot better, for gaming. But what tullnd is saying, is correct.

If you want, i can get you some screenshots on the 7800GTX during game play at different resesolutions (Counter Strike)

 

You're 100% wrong. The X1800XT and the 7800GTX are too close to call either a clear winner. Whatever you buy, you will be happy with. So please don't post biased statements.

So is the X1800XT.

The only game I see Nvidia winning by a signifigant margin is in Doom 3. And the X1800XT can handle that perfectly at any resolution and setting. So it really doesn't matter.

Nope, wrong. The X1x00 is a completely new technology and design. The memory controller is clear evidence of that.

Found this from a review posted on the Inquirer a while back:

 

I think he is getting the x800 and x1800 confused ^^ the feature set on the x1800 is slightly better than that of the 7800GTX and if I had two systems to choose from with either then I would go for the x1800xt.

 

Not really. I would argue that the WSXGA+ is better for gaming - even the most powerful cards out there have trouble with some games at 1920x1200, such as the X1800XT and Go7800GTX. WSXGA+ is well within reach though.

 

I wonder...is he comparing the Go 7800GTX (mobile version) to the X1800XT (desktop version)? Otherwise it should be Go 7800GTX vs Mobility X1800XT.

 

I took the desktop versions to justify what I said, they're proportional in performance enough to make it fair.

Yes, the question is MR X1800XT vs. Go7800GTX.

 

Thansk alot guys

Still debating on Nvidia go7800GTX or the ATI X1800XT on my laptop.
Guess this will be a never ending debate for this 2 companies

I think I will try to get the WSXGA if that is an option for the laptop I am planning to get.
Primary use for my laptop will be gaming so I think it should run my games best in the WSXGA resolution.

 

That in itself is definitely just opinion though. I am a sucker for high resolution, and I don't play any game that I don't run in 1920x1200 (although some games I have to tweak to force it if it isn't supported). It's truly preference

 

It's not an opinion though . . games perform better at WSXGA+, and thus is better from a performance point of view. Does games look better at higher resolutions? Definitely, but they do not play as good. I forgot to mention that I based it on performance.

 

i would prefer to get a 7800 GTX and have 1680x1050.

IMO, 1900x1200 is just too much for a game to handle..even with a 7800gtx, it will take a huge in performance if you turn on say...AA.

like chaz, i base my opinions on performance..1680x1050 > 1900x1200

as for the 7800GTX..it is my preference

pb,out.

 

You do know that AA is supposed to make up for a lower resolution, by having a higher resolution you wont need as much AA

 

Ok, so by that arguement, couldn't you just say 1280x800 is even better than 1680x1050?? In that case, why not just buy a WXGA screen?? Again, it depends on what you like your games to look like, but the 7800GTX can easily handle 1920x1200, unlike what is being stated here (most 7800GTX users I have talked to run oblivion at native resolution, including myself), and the WUXGA screen in iteself was designed pretty much for gaming, It isn't exactly for internet browsing

 

see, it depends on what you like. i personally will run a game at native resolution, and i try to tweak it to look its best.

if you want to run 1280x800 at maxed settings, fine with me...if you want to run at 1650x1050 at medium settings, fine with me...it depends on quality/performace that you look for in a game.

i like the eye candy, if i cant get any eye candy, then i do not play at xyz resolution..having said that, i find 1900x1200 too much for a single 7800gtx with eye candy..i would rather have eye candy using a lower resolution, then a higher resolution.

also, a bigger screen isnt just for gaming..it is for multitasking in general (more screen real estate). games can make use of it, and so can internet browsing, CAD, PS, excel..see my point? if i can fit 2 FF screens open at once, with winamp running..perfect for me..

pb,out.

 

Running a game at a 1920x1200 resolution will tax even the 7800GTX. There is a much greater chance of slowdowns. At that res, the framerate will fluctuate a lot more and thus the gameplay will not be as smooth and solid as it normally would be at a lower res. I would play at 1680x1050 and have a solid, minimum-fluctuating framerate than a higher res and a framerate graph that's going all over the place. It equates to better gameplay.

 

I would think the X1800 is better because of Avivo. Other than that performance is about the same. If they ever come out with the 7900GTX though for laptops get that over the X1900 cuz the 7900 is an amazing card. Runs much cooler than the 7800 and its ATI counterparts. Albeit with less features (still a good trade off though).

The main problem with ppl not buying ATI right now is that their video cards tend to be more expensive individually and even more expensive to put them into Crossfire as opposed to Nvidia's SLI. However ATI's multi gpu technology is more advanced but price does matter. On laptops if the price is similar and there isnt dual video card setup to worry about then X1800 will definitely be better than the 7800GTX.