AMD's "Unified Gaming Strategy" Makes Ports Smoother

[iniudan]

*Looks at AMD 7870 card*


[HEADING=1]Awwwwwww yeeeeeeeah![/HEADING]

Both consoles using AMD architecture is gonna make having one of those cards in a PC a massive boon for cross platform titles.

*Looks at my nephew's 7870, which glitched out on the installation date and had to be replaced due to messed up capacitors. Looks back on her GT460s in SLI that've been chugging on for 2+ years, running everything thrown at them on max.*

My husband builds his rigs with AMD/ATI, I stick with Intel/nVIDIA. He's blowing through his CPU/GPUs twice as fast as me.

Actually in a single gpu configuration there is almost no difference between a 600$ intel CPU and a 100$ amd APU for the majority of games (has very few game are CPU intensive, but if you plan to play Supreme Commander for example, indeed Intel will be better), but for multi-gpu set up intel will have better performance, while AMD GPU have better cost efficiency then Nvidia, while Nvidia SLI has much better scaling then AMD Crossfire.

So basically, if we are speaking of a gaming dedicated PC, AMD is if you want something fonctional without overspending, intel/nvidia is if you are looking for all out performance and are willing to spend on it.

 

[Silk_Sk]

Though I never really regretted my choice to go AMD, until now I haven't been truly happy with it either. Sure, getting Farcry 3, Bioshock Infinite, and Tomb Raider for free with my purchases was quite excellent but I still want Physx dammit. Now though, I can definitely say I'm happy with my decision. With ports made easier, it'll be like having a console without all the bullshit.

 

[Xariat]

Nvidia is fucked unless they manage to get the support for some PC exclusives. But I don't see why many PC gamers will get a card from Nvidia if most games are multiplatform.

My understanding of this is that AMD is pushing consoles closer towards PCs and not the other way around. I don't see how a multiplatform push would stop people from buying Nvidia cards, they will still function just as well as always when it comes to processing.

 

[Colt47]

Don't forget both of these machines also feature AMD CPUs. That said AMD really needs to step up to the plate when it comes to desktop CPUs. Intel's newest offerings basically function as an insult to the enthusiast community. If AMD can steal a march in terms of straight line performance, overclocking and flexibility then they really would be a gaming force to be reckoned with.

Intel has kind of hit a snag on Haswell, actually. Namely, their chips are running up to 15 degrees celcius warmer than the pre-production samples, which is creating all sorts of fun problems on the computer manufacturing end of the spectrum. Honestly, they probably should have kept to a slightly larger manufacturing process and just made the chips larger. Sandy Bridge chips run insanely cool, which is a big plus given the push to micro ATX and ITX form factors.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

I've been a tried and true customer of AMD my whole PC career aside from the days they subbed out to Intel making their processors. Ever since the split, I did own a few Intel CPU's and found them to be the biggest wastes of money because I felt I was paying for their "Intel Inside" commercials. On the other hand I rarely saw AMD push a huge marketing scheme yet somehow stay in business and make quality processors that fit within my budget.
I've yet to burn out an AMD processor but I have replaced a number of faulty Intel proc's, however this may just be my own personal luck. Still I've supported them and KEEP supporting them because I feel while they have made missteps in the past, they've always come through in the end and delivered.
Plus back in the 3Dnow days my AMD chips seemed to run cooler and better than their comparable Intel chips in benchmarking tests using the same video/ram configurations.

EDIT: Note I'm not 100% educated on how CPU architecture works only cuz some of that stuff bores the shit out of me so please keep any arguments in "laymans" terms instead of trying to show off "superior" knowledge.

 

[Something Amyss]

Was a just a manner of time until AMD tries to exploit that fact for marketing. Nvidia I think reacted to it a while ago saying ?we are not worried?. Of course what else would they say about it.

"we are pissing ourselves with fear right now. Shit, is this mic on?"

 

[Griffolion]

Couldn't help but cringe a little bit at this article, it's slightly misinformed.

What this means for folks using Intel CPUs and Nvidia GPUs is yet to be seen. Will we have to suffer under clumsier ports due to our choice in PC components?

It means nothing. The move to x86 is as beneficial to Intel as it is to AMD, as they are working off the same assembly language. What made ports so clumsy was the final hurdle. The code, in whatever language, the assets, etc, were all good to go; it's just a case of the compiler and assembler, that's the main thing to change. The fact is, an Intel chip may run a port better than an AMD chip in a PC, because Intel are just so much better than AMD at this point.

As soon as you get everything working on Windows from a console game that has x86 architecture in it, Windows will do the rest with the graphics drivers, and subsequently the hardware, whatever that may be. Sure, AMD cards may get an advantage since the render code will have been optimised for their architecture, but it's not too much work to add Nvidia optimisations in, too.

The overall outlook for ports is very good, far far better than any prospects than the last generation ever had.

 

[Zombie_Moogle]

*Looks at AMD 7870 card*


[HEADING=1]Awwwwwww yeeeeeeeah![/HEADING]

Both consoles using AMD architecture is gonna make having one of those cards in a PC a massive boon for cross platform titles.

*Looks at my nephew's 7870, which glitched out on the installation date and had to be replaced due to messed up capacitors. Looks back on her GT460s in SLI that've been chugging on for 2+ years, running everything thrown at them on max.*

My husband builds his rigs with AMD/ATI, I stick with Intel/nVIDIA. He's blowing through his CPU/GPUs twice as fast as me.

Dat anecdotal evidence.

It's the best kind of evidence

Seeing as English is not even my second language, you'll have to explain what anecdotal means, since I was giving 3 examples from personal experience on why I prefer Intel/Nvidia setup. And that thing with capacitors? If you care, google "Radeon 7870 black screen". That issue was spread over several manufacturers.

Anecdotal evidence IS personal experience. What he's saying is we have no way of knowing that your examples reflect on the reliability of AMDs as a whole. For all we know these could be problems unique to your family.

Particularly when I bring up that I've been running a 7870 Myst edition with no problems at all (granted, it is a pretty highly acclaimed version of the 7870); runs new games at full spec without tripping, overclocks nicely, mines bitcoins at a stellar rate, does pretty much everything I want it to exactly how I want it to do it.

Intel is very nice, no question, but can't keep pace with AMD when it comes to more specialized needs (as well as cost, but that's a different conversation), which sounds to me like they're perfect for dedicated game consoles

 

[William Dickbringer]

*Looks at AMD 7870 card*


[HEADING=1]Awwwwwww yeeeeeeeah![/HEADING]

Both consoles using AMD architecture is gonna make having one of those cards in a PC a massive boon for cross platform titles.

*Looks at my nephew's 7870, which glitched out on the installation date and had to be replaced due to messed up capacitors. Looks back on her GT460s in SLI that've been chugging on for 2+ years, running everything thrown at them on max.*

My husband builds his rigs with AMD/ATI, I stick with Intel/nVIDIA. He's blowing through his CPU/GPUs twice as fast as me.

Dat anecdotal evidence.

It's the best kind of evidence

Seeing as English is not even my second language, you'll have to explain what anecdotal means, since I was giving 3 examples from personal experience on why I prefer Intel/Nvidia setup. And that thing with capacitors? If you care, google "Radeon 7870 black screen". That issue was spread over several manufacturers.

anecdotal means personal story down to the basics but I really don't know I hear all sorts of problems about then but then I remember my friend has a crossfire so he must have gotten real lucky I dunno I run a AMD/Nvidia build personally
O.T. so FOV sliders and rebindable keys in all pc games now?

 

[Stavros Dimou]

Though I never really regretted my choice to go AMD, until now I haven't been truly happy with it either. Sure, getting Farcry 3, Bioshock Infinite, and Tomb Raider for free with my purchases was quite excellent but I still want Physx dammit. Now though, I can definitely say I'm happy with my decision. With ports made easier, it'll be like having a console without all the bullshit.

I still don't get what's the deal with PhysX. :/
I have AMD graphics card,and when I install games with PhysX,PhysX installs too,and the games play smoothly at best settings. E.G. Mass Effect 2,3, at 50 to 60 fps at 1080p.

 

[mechalynx]

*Looks at AMD 7870 card*


[HEADING=1]Awwwwwww yeeeeeeeah![/HEADING]

Both consoles using AMD architecture is gonna make having one of those cards in a PC a massive boon for cross platform titles.

*Looks at my nephew's 7870, which glitched out on the installation date and had to be replaced due to messed up capacitors. Looks back on her GT460s in SLI that've been chugging on for 2+ years, running everything thrown at them on max.*

My husband builds his rigs with AMD/ATI, I stick with Intel/nVIDIA. He's blowing through his CPU/GPUs twice as fast as me.

Dat anecdotal evidence.

It's the best kind of evidence

Seeing as English is not even my second language, you'll have to explain what anecdotal means, since I was giving 3 examples from personal experience on why I prefer Intel/Nvidia setup. And that thing with capacitors? If you care, google "Radeon 7870 black screen". That issue was spread over several manufacturers.

anecdotal means personal story down to the basics but I really don't know I hear all sorts of problems about then but then I remember my friend has a crossfire so he must have gotten real lucky I dunno I run a AMD/Nvidia build personally
O.T. so FOV sliders and rebindable keys in all pc games now?

Aahh, thanks. Thought anecdotal basically meant a tale of what happened to your brother's best friend's uncle's party guest.

Aaanyway. Yeah, I'm sure that my nephew was simply unlucky since that particular error only affected around 6% of the cards. I do question the bang for the buck for AMD, since I only have my personal experience to go by. My own rigs simply outlasted the AMD/ATI rigs I have/had in my life and I never had a GPU/CPU crap out on me the way husband's had. His were replaced when broken, mine when they no longer kept up with the current games.

Still, best of luck to AMD in the console market, even though it doesn't look like I'll be doing any shopping there.

 

[Insideout Ink Demon]

Sure, AMD cards may get an advantage since the render code will have been optimised for their architecture, but it's not too much work to add Nvidia optimisations in, too.

but who is going to put that work in for Nvidia optimisation?
the reason we have bad ports is because devs/publishers couldnt be botherwed putting in too much extra work to the PC market

 

[Griffolion]

Sure, AMD cards may get an advantage since the render code will have been optimised for their architecture, but it's not too much work to add Nvidia optimisations in, too.

but who is going to put that work in for Nvidia optimisation?
the reason we have bad ports is because devs/publishers couldnt be botherwed putting in too much extra work to the PC market

Work required to optimise for a graphics architecture that will already work at a standard level with Windows < Porting to an entirely different assembly language and processor architecture.

It's the difference between an entire team over a period of months, to a few people who know Nvidia for a month at max.

The optimisations, even then, will mostly include tapping into Nvidia-only features, like CSAA and PhysX. As I said, Windows handles the game's interaction with the hardware; so long as the drivers are there, Nvidia cards will work fine anyway.

 

[Insideout Ink Demon]

Sure, AMD cards may get an advantage since the render code will have been optimised for their architecture, but it's not too much work to add Nvidia optimisations in, too.

but who is going to put that work in for Nvidia optimisation?
the reason we have bad ports is because devs/publishers couldnt be botherwed putting in too much extra work to the PC market

Work required to optimise for a graphics architecture that will already work at a standard level with Windows < Porting to an entirely different assembly language and processor architecture.

It's the difference between an entire team over a period of months, to a few people who know Nvidia for a month at max.

The optimisations, even then, will mostly include tapping into Nvidia-only features, like CSAA and PhysX. As I said, Windows handles the game's interaction with the hardware; so long as the drivers are there, Nvidia cards will work fine anyway.

happy days. Glad no one will be left behind just because of their preferred brand

 

[zumbledum]

of course the main problem is exclusives arent exclusive because of any difficulty porting they are exclusives because of the sacks of cash sony and MS throw at devs to gain a monopoly on a title. but i guess if we are lucky they wont consider the PC market a threat esp if they release a couple of months later on PC.

 

[Griffolion]

-snip-

Indeed. Everyone being on x86 is going to be a huge boon for developers and gamers alike. At least, I hope, publishers etc can still mess this up for everyone.

 

[antipunt]

" while joyus to PC gamers who can only grumble at the near-perfect scores exclusives like The Last of Us are getting,"

Pfft! Not grumbling at all, no idea what you're talking about!!

>_>

<_<

*grumblegrumble...