NVidia vs AMD

NicolSD wrote on 11/19/2011, 2:46 PM
I have to upgrade my mobo, cpu and video card. I'll do the video card first and the mobo/cpu next summer. However, I was wondering about which model to go for: the GTX 570 or the Radeon HD 6970. They cost around the same price. I have seen the gaming comparisons but since I do not play any games, it's a matter of getting the best GPU performance out of Vegas Pro 11 running on my Windows 7 (64 bit) system.

I was thinking that having more RAM would be a huge advantage for the 6970 if I want to use the GPU for rendering. Also, the 570 and 6970 seem to be running a neck and neck race when it comes to games. Which is why I thought the extra RAM (which is supposed to run at a faster speed) would be tilt the scale for the 6970 when it comes to running Vegas Pro 11.

What do you guys think? Am I imagining things?

Comments

ushere wrote on 11/19/2011, 4:39 PM
just bear in mind there's no cuda with ati - not important UNLESS you need neat nr, and some third party plug ins....
JohnnyRoy wrote on 11/20/2011, 8:05 AM
I agree with Leslie. While it doesn't matter to Vegas, CUDA is what every other editing program supports so I would go with a CUDA card for maximum compatibility with other applications. If you don't use other applications and never plan to, then it doesn't matter which one you buy although, ATI has some of the worst drivers I've even had to use and the hardware is useless without good drivers which is why I only buy NVIDIA. (your mileage may vary)

~jr
Frederic Baumann wrote on 11/20/2011, 4:10 PM
Hi,

I also agree with you, nVidia is generally more in advance as far as GPU processing is concerned.

About Cuda, you have to take care that not all nVidia cards support this technology: in addition to check this point on the nVidia web site, you also should pay attention to have the CUDA logo on your graphics card box, which is the only 100% reliable criteria! In some (very unfrequent) cases, you might find some vendors selling for instance a GTX460 card, but with no CUDA support - even though GTX460 is supposed to be CUDA according to nVidia.

You won't have the problem with most famous vendors, though. Sorry if I look paranoïd, but I have been faced to this problem when testing my GPU plug-ins.

By the way, as ushere and JohnnyRoy say, some plug-ins only support CUDA acceleration... Just like FBmn Software plug-ins ;-)

Hope this helps,
Frederic
FBmn Software celebrates its first birthday and offers discounts up to 30 Euros
NicolSD wrote on 11/20/2011, 7:59 PM
I may have received only three answers but you guys were convincing enough. Unless enough AMD fans show up before I make my purchase, I will go for Gigabyte GV-N570SO-13I . They seem pretty good.
monoparadox wrote on 11/20/2011, 8:42 PM
I'd just echo on the drivers. I've had both cards over many years and nVidia drivers have always been more solid.