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"i know you don't babel"
what i ment was that i know that nihil "had some reason" for saying what he said.
by the way...
how is video card "unstable" because of the drivers and how can you spend "10 hours" fixing drivers (software)
byt the way i still have my geforce 256 in my system (w/ blueorb & memory heat sinks) overclocked ... i love that card...
In my experience ATI cards\drivers are unstable they freeze up applications,
and\or cause bsods or hard reboots....memory conflicts...due to the fact that they do not properly release processes\memory\resources when the application is no longer in use
These things do not happen with the nvidia chipsets and drivers.....same hardware\applications...
Trouble shooting these things can take a very long time....when the easiest way is to try a new card...I have tried swappping memory, removing\re-applying os patches..driver versions...driver patches... contacting support...checking the BIOS settings..and even a full OS reinstall.........this all takes alot of time...which I think Nihil is getting at with the 10 hours
I have also seen them just out and out fry.......hardware failure....after extensive use...as in no video on boot...before the OS loads....usually just after the warranty ends..thats when I replace them with the nvidas geoforce
we use 128s and some 256 cards in the engineering machines.......no issues .....and no burn outs ...so farQuote:
byt the way i still have my geforce 256 in my system
...I happen to have a 256 one myself...for testing..of course ;)
Personally...I dont trust ATIs.....or the down time of an engineering machine
MHO...as always
MLF
Morgana~ is quite right, my complaint is about the ATI drivers and their "management" software.
My 10 hours was my first bad experience with ATI a few years ago. I built a gaming box for a kid, and he insisted on this top of the range ATI card. His machine kept producing intermittent faults such as Morgana~ described. I checked and double checked everything, and because the fault was intermittent, this took quite a time, as did testing with spare components and testing the suspect components on other boxes.
The card was the latest, and the drivers were only 4 weeks old! so I didn't think of that..........when I did, I found that there were new ones only 2 weeks old................it worked OK after that :D
This is not just my experience, friends and colleagues have reported exactly the same.
I have not noticed any significant hardware problems with ATI cards in comparison with other brands.
When you act as an OEM or a repairer you have to guarantee your work, so any additional work is at your own expense, and you have to pay for returning failed components. Also, it does not make you look good, even though it is not your fault!
I have worked in engineering CAD support environments such as Morgana~ describes. I would never install or upgrade the software onto kit that was not on the suppliers' approved list. The main reason for that is that if you call them for support the first two questions are "have you got the latest version" and "what hardware are you using"? If you are not up to date and approved, the conversation ends there.
Cheers :)
PS. This machine has a Radeon 7500 with the latest drivers. Every now and then it will change the screen size and/or distort the image. My "work around" is to change the refresh rate from 85 to 75, then change it back...............that fixes it for some reason!