Sound and Video - Tuesday, June 17, 2008 19:44 - 0 Comments

Comparing ATI vs GeForce video cards

Comparing ATI video And GEForce Video Card Technology

As the major players in the video card field, ATI and GEForce compare well.  Each brand has strengths and weaknesses which seem to balance them out.  Gamers are more likely to need the strengths of one, while those who work with video would be drawn to the other. 

ATI is the graphics card subsidiary of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).  They incorporate a multiple chip design which allows smaller, less power hungry chips to work in unism to provide smooth, crisp graphic displays.  For video presentation, this method is touted as operating at lower temperatures, which equates to higher efficiency and performance.  To balance out the debate, though, using multiple chips means that the data must be bridged, or assimilated, before being passed on to the display unit, which cancels out much of the gain.

GEForce, produced by NVidia Corp., uses a single chip technology.  While it does emit a bit more heat, which has the potential to slow down its operation, the use of heat sinks to remoce heat build-up from the chips has a negating effect.  This integrated technology is excellent for gaming displays, particularly those requiring OpenGL and 3D graphics support.

Price is also a factor.  A single chip design is less expensive to produce, and requires less supportive circuitry.  Multiple chips, while each is cheaper to produce, must look at a combined cost factor resulting in an overall higher price for the product.  RAM usage figures into the cost comparison as well.  A single chip is able to access memory more efficiently than dual chips, which must allocate RAM to both chips in a coordinated fashion.

In all, if gaming is your primary usage for the graphics capabilities of your machine, the GEForce is a good choice.  It is designed with gamers in mind, and offers perks directed at that market.  On the other hand, if you will be working with video, especially full-motion, high resolution video, it may be a wise decision to go with the ATI equivalent.  Both companies offer excellent products, but are aimed at slightly different target markets.

Article written by MyComputerAid.com