I need your opinion on this configuration...

Chef

Yes, sorry thats the card that I was talking about, sorry typo.

Final for your config

Same motherboard
Same Processor
Same ram you mentioned
Same hard drive

BUT

A nvidia GTX295

And maybe you might need to get a 1000+ psu.

__________________

MihaiS

Thank you for helping me spend my money wise!

Best regards,
MihaiS

X-Caliber

I chose to differ from what Chef said..

If you are in dilemma between 4870X2 and GTX 280 then I rather opt for HD4870X2 and you know the reason why!

Its all simple because of DDR5.

Just try to go back years before and high light on the points why Intel Dual Core was a big flop.

Well if you do remember then you will get the answer why more bandwidth and higher memory bus is needed.

Check these stats

But if you are planning for GTX 295.. then nothing like it

As far as Motherboard is concern, Opt for WS only

Exactly...

But you know either of them has there pros and cons

For eg.

Video playback
From a video playback perspective, ATI has the edge, due to its hardware VC-1 decode, which NVIDIA does not offer.

The onboard sound codec on ATI's HD series and bundled DVI > HDMI connector (which will transfer both video and sound, unlike most DVI > HDMI solutions) also makes things a little more convenient, with 7.1 channel sound able to be pumped straight through the graphics card independent of the motherboard.

As a workstation
For 3D work and stability, NVIDIA flagship still rules. Its OpenGL support have long been industry standard, its Quadro series of cards now have an impressive dominance.

Waiting for Intel's Larabee project to compete in this segment

So depending on what you will do in your "Workstation" you can opt for Ati or Nvidia.

__________________

MihaiS

I am going to do 3D modeling and animation in Lightwave (and, maybe, in other major 3D editing softwareand) and video editing in AfterFX and Premiere PRO. I don't care too much about sound and games, although I think a video board that performs better with a game will perform better in a 3D working environment (I may be very wrong about this).

Judging by the price eVGA nVidia GeForce GTX 295, 1792MB, DDR3, 896bit, HDTV, SLI, PCI-E is 50Euro more than a Asus Ati Radeon HD 4870X2, 2GB DDR5-256bit, HDMI, PCI-E (talking about the same seller). I don't care about the extra Euros, just about performance.

X-Caliber, viewing the charts provided in the link you posted, I tend to believe Ati Radeon HD 4870X2 is better because of the better performances at high resolutions, and I do plan on using two 24" screens @ 1920x1200, 60Hertz refresh rate.

But you said that as a workstation for 3D work and stability, NVIDIA flagship still rules. So, in the end, eVGA nVidia GeForce GTX 295, 1792MB, DDR3, 896bit, HDTV, SLI, PCI-E is the best option, right?

Chef

Yes it is, even if your running at higher resolutions, its not like the GTX295 is 20% less then what the 4870x2 can give out. And also, I have done benchmarks, tested and used these kind of systems at my work, so really, looking at reviews all the time rather then testing and benching yourself is a whole different situation. Hardproof evidence it is.

If you do want to invest in some proper decent workstation cards, they will cost alot, their performance yields past of those of the cards mentioned above, so really, its up to you if you choose the professionals path or the enthusiasts paths

After all, what you buy and decision you make is up to you, we are here to give you guides and support and help to what you need and to understand.

Also, going back to your assumption.."I think a video board that performs better with a game will perform better in a 3D working environment.." Its actually other way around, a video card that performs better in a 3D graphical benchmark hence using either, 3ds Max or any other Autodesk 3D design and modeling benchmarks will perform heaps better in a game.

MihaiS

Thank you both for the support.

Obviously, asking for professional advice is good practice and everybody should do that instead of rushing into buying what they think is good.

I thank you both again for guiding me.

Chef

No problems, everybody learns things from at least "somewhere"


Well actually since the 4870x2 has GDDR5 it should even make more sense that it should completely wipe out the GTX range, but no its different, architecture, processing, cores, bus rate all take into account, even if it does have "DDR5" implemented, a standard GTX280 with "DDR3" memory bandwidth will still be able to compensate in terms of performance output, raw hardware acceleration. While the single cored GTX280 be beaten in about 10-13% overall, the DDR5 doesn't really make a huge difference if your comparing overall. Architecture and die size takes into account as much as bits and bus rates.

X-Caliber

No that's not the case...and you, yourself answered it very well .... BRAVO

And you do agree GTX 280 falls about 10 - 15 % below the level of HD4870X2

@MihaiS,

You are right, ATi does beat Nvdia on High resolutions and also on pricing

GTX 295's in built PhysX will help you in games like Far Cry2 and Crysis ONLY.... But when you increase the resolution you will see 4870X2 again beats GTX 295 but only by some extent

To make things easier, I will provide the ratings to different factors for ATi( HD4870X2) and Nvidia (GTX 295)


Gaming at low resolution - 8.5/10 - 9/10

Gaming at Moderate resolution - 9/10 - 9.5/10

Gaming at High resolution - 9.5/10 - 9.2/10

Video playback capability - 10/10 - 9.5/10

Sound playback capability - 10/10 - 9/10

Rendering - 9.5/10 - 9.2/10

Power Consumption - 8/10 - 8.5/10 ( Higher figure indicates less power consumption)

Value for Money - 8/10 - 7.5/10

Driver support and updates - 7.5/10 - 9.5/10 ( A very much plus point for Workstation using multiple operating systems specially Mac X and linux distros)

Overall - 8.8/10 - 9/10

As Money doest bother you, your best deal will be GTX 295

Chef

Actually nvidia's cuda technology actually helps in any games with physx support full stop, crysis doesn't have Ageia Physx technology its just the way the game was built has the physx feature like, any game with Physx support, which is basically 70% of the intensive games released these days take advantage of Physx from 2007 onwards.

Chef

Also those ratings is the GTX280 OC vs the 4870x2, not the GTX295. The GTX295 completely wipes out the 4870x2, which is why ATi is in need of releasing their next gen of 5000 ? series cards