AMD vs Nvidia comparision

This article aims to help all the gamers to decide which company is the best as per its independent use. The article will clear all your doubts starting from working on a GPU to comparing AMD and Nvidia in every possible aspect so that you gain more clarity on the subject. Before initiating the fundamental discussion, it is essential that we gain knowledge about GPU in detail.

How Does Your GPU Work?

A good point of starting this article will be to explain the working of the GPU and why are gamers so crazy about it. A GPU is responsible for the graphics of the PC. It is a specialized hardware designed to perform the designated type of math calculations. It is responsible for rendering images and videos at a faster rate. It enables the conversion of a 3D object into a 2D representation with special effects and lights.

Unlike the CPU, the GPU works on thread parallelism and can perform various functions at one go. Numerous cores present on the processor enable it to do so. GPUs are primarily used for better gaming and video experiences. 

The functioning of AMD and Nvidia differs from each other. While the primary calculation remains the same, the implementation of its functions differs at large. 

Performance and Pricing

AMD vs Nvidia: Performance

The selection of a GPU must be based on its performance. While Both, AMD and Nvidia have similar performance, the take on architectural developments is completely on different tracks.

AMD has been known for its brawn approach towards the architectural design of its GPU. The number of shaders is at a maximum at a given price and offers better processing power. With Nvidia, the chips are highly optimized. Nvidia chips are specially designed for gaming and have a rather planned and balanced structure as compared to AMD. However, the processing of Nvidia chips is more efficient. AMD chips have as much as 30-40% more processing power to match the optimization offered by Nvidia chips.

Nvidia  recently launched Titan RTX is the most preferred  GPU in the market with the best features. It has a memory of GDDR6 24 GB, and excellent RT cores with 130 Tensors TFFLOPS, that support AI super-sampling and real-time ray tracing. It can be referred as the fastest GPU till date.

AMD GPUs do not support ray tracing. The latest launch by AMD was AMD Radeon VII which gave a good competition to Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti, with its 1400/1750 MHz base and a 16 GB HBM2 memory. AMD is expected to launch its ray-tracing GPU later this year. 

As the question of better performance lies, Nvidia has an upper hand over AMD in terms of speed and features offered. Now let’s take a look at the pricing offered by both the companies.

AMD vs Nvidia: Pricing

It’s a human tendency to look for the best prices in whatever we buy. Pricing of a GPU is a major driving factor in making a choice to buy a GPU. AMD has been known for its sustainable pricing. The company has expertise in compacting the best features at the lowest prices. Nvidia on the other hand is a little expensive when compared to AMD.

Best of the Nvidia models are priced very high. The latest Nvidia Titan RTX comes at an average price of $1500 plus whereas the AMD Radeon VII comes at an average price of $500 plus .

Clearly, AMD has an upper hand over Nvidia in terms of pricing.

AMD vs Nvidia: Gaming Performance

GPUs were designed mainly to facilitate good gaming experience to the people. When it comes to a good gaming experience, Nvidia wins hands down. The top five positions of the most powerful GPU gaming experience are taken by the Nvidia Titan series. AMD designed Radeon VII shares the sixth position with RX5700 XT.

Nvidia GPUs have a better edge at performance than AMD GPUs. The best features are embedded in the Nvidia GPUs which facilitates real-time ray tracing, finer image, and video rendering. They’re also far more energy efficient.

Which Brand Should You Buy?

Selecion of the GPU should be based on your requirement. Based on the criteria of performance and pricing between the two variables, Nvidia has clear advantages. Therefore, users looking for an enhanced gaming experience should look to rely upon Nvidia.

AMD vs. Nvidia: Power Consumption and Efficiency

What is the use of a system if it cannot support gaming for a long time? Excessive power consumption can lead to additional costs to which can become a liability for a person. If you are paying thousands of rupees in buying hardware to have a good gaming experience, and then have to spend extra in paying bills, the hardware is of no use.

Testing for a better GPU is also done by seeing the amount of power it consumes. Nvidia for nearly the past six years has been manufacturing the most efficient GPUs. But with the introduction of Navi by AMD, things took a steep turn. Navi is known for providing one of the most economic power consumption among the GPUs. Having chips constructed in TSMC’s 7nm FinFET process, Navi offered 50% less consumption and better performance per watt.

But, did you miss something? Go back read through the lines again. Yeah, we said, “one of the best” and not the best.

AMD designed Navi surely has a very good record at less power consumption but has it managed to cross the benchmark set by Nvidia? Sadly, the answer is No. Nvidia wins this race too. The overall performance in power consumption and efficiency of Nvidia stays better than AMD.

Looking at the other products from the companies, the higher version GPUs of Nvidia like RTX 2080 super though consume a lot of power but are not to be compared with the GPUs of AMD. AMD GPUs consume almost the same power but offer less efficiency than the Nvidia’s GPUs.

AMD’s designed models like RX 5600 beat RTX 2060 in terms of performance and ranked just below 2060 Super in terms of power consumption. This however is not a win to boast about. The Radeon RX 5500 XT consumes as much as 125 watts during gaming. In comparison, Nvidia’s GTX 1660 Ti and GTX 1660 Super provide 20 % faster performance consuming as little as 10W power than the AMD model. GTX 1160 consumes 25W less power than RX 5500 XT 4 GB.

Thus, Nvidia wins over AMD GPUs in terms of power and efficiency. But AMD takes over the mainstream sector. The only concern for AMD can be that Nvidia is still leading the race in terms of performance even after using previous generation lithography. AMD even after using the latest technology is lagging in the race.

AMD vs Nvidia: Featured Technology

The specialty of any brand is its features. Features are what you first notice while buying any gadget. In the case of AMD and Nvidia, the features slightly differ in the case of both the companies. There are a few features that Nvidia offers but are not supported by AMD.

The first feature is related to Ray Tracing. Ray tracing isn’t a compulsory feature. It is not a necessity either. The ray-tracing features enable some great special effects with video and image rendering. This feature is not offered by any of the AMD GPUs as of now.

The next difference in both the companies is the use of Variable Rate Shading (VRS) by Nvidia and DLSS(Deep Learning Super Sampling). Since the launch of Turing GPUs, these technologies have been utilized by Nvidia. Talking in terms of new features and graphics development, Nvidia surely wins the race.

But AMD too has given some counter-responses to the inventions of these features. AMD to its benefit has compatibility with Mac, which is not offered by Nvidia’s GPUs. AMD also introduced news features using open source rather than proprietary closed sources. Pure Hair, Contrast Aware Sharpening (CAS) are a few examples of open-source features compatible with all GPUs. On the other hand, Nvidia features with Ansel and various others require an Nvidia GPU.

Another unique feature of AMD is its manufacturing process where the company took a chance on TSMC’s 7nm FinFET node last year. The USP of AMD has always been its strong stance on adopting news manufacturing nodes. This calls for some appreciation and applause.

Overall speaking, with regard to adopting and inculcating new features into the hardware, Nvidia has an upper hand over AMD. But AMD has to be appreciated for its efforts towards adopting new manufacturing nodes to level up their game.

AMD vs. Nvidia: Drivers and Software

Drivers and software are an integral part of GPUs. But they are equally difficult to compare. Every company has its own set of problems. While some AMD Navi users have complained about witnessing black screens, some users of Nvidia  complain of facing other problems in the hardware. No company gives a full proof device to its users.

But the companies have made efforts at resolving these problems. AMD gave out seven software updates till now this year. Two of these updates are Windows Hardware Quality Labs Certified (WHQL Certified). This ensures the lowest level of functionality. 

Nvidia on the other has launched six major driver releases and four hotfix driver updates so far, all WHQL Certified. Nvidia has two separate interfaces, one for handling resolution and graphics settings, and the other for game optimization driver updates and other extra features. The two are Nvidia Control Panel and GeForce respectively.

A clear winner in the context of drivers and software cannot be announced. The approach of AMD towards a unified development and single and simpler user interface is worth appreciation. At the same time, Nvidia’s Q&A handling is undoubtedly better. Problems still arise with both the hardware. It would be a wise decision to call it a draw between both the companies in terms of drivers and software.

AMD vs Nvidia: Value Proposition

One of the last topics that we will be discussing in this article is the value proposition. Though listed towards the end, it has a lot of importance. Would you ever like to buy something you do not even consider worthy? Any product needs to be priced marginally according to the features it offers.

Plenty of times before in the article AMD has been referred to be an economical choice. While Nvidia is known for its smart features, AMD is known for its smart pricing. We would compare a few products of both the companies to find out if truly AMD has the highest value proposition when compared to Nvidia.

For the comparison, we chose to divide the price range into three different segments:- Extremely Expensive, Expensive, and Mid-ranged.

In the Extremely Expensive section, Nvidia does not face any competition from AMD. The highest-priced GPU of Nvidia is the GTX Titan Z which is very expensive. Nvidia is known for delivering the best performances with its GPU, but sadly the prices remain very high for the company. The Nvidia Titan RTX is priced at around $2500 -$3000. Old models like RTX 2080 Super and RTX 2070  costs are also way higher than they should do. 

There is no two-way that Nvidia provides its customers with the best performing GPUs, but is it affordable for all? The answer is shaky. These GPUs do cost a bomb and it will surely leave a big hole in your pocket. 

Now we look at the second category which is related to the Expensive Division. In this section the game between the two companies gets more interesting. While the best of Nvidia are heavily priced, the most expensive AMD GPU worth buying now would be the RX 5700 XT which is priced at…. Any guesses? It is priced below $500. Are you shocked? For sure, you will be seeing the huge price difference.

MSI 5700 XT and ASRock 5700 XT are both priced around an affordable range. It is indeed a fact that none of the AMD GPUs offer tracing, which the Nvidia GPUs do. But 5700 XT is 13% faster in performance than the 2060 super. Well, now that too is a fact. There are other GPUs offered by Nvidia which exceed 5700 XT in performance. For instance, the 2070 Super is 5% faster than 5700 XT, but here is a catch. The price is really on the higher side. AMD is a much older company and having expertise in fitting the maximum in the minimum of prices surely gives it an upper hand over Nvidia in terms of pricing.

Now we will analyze the last division of Mid-ranged. The mid-range GPUs are what a layman or a common man can buy. It ranges from somewhat ₹15000-₹ 25000. 

Well most of the AMD GPUs range somewhere between these amounts. Sadly Nvidia does not have many variants in this segment. The best part of AMD GPUs is that the performance increases with the price significantly as compared to Nvidia. To compare the RX 5700 model is 22% faster than the RX 5600 XT model. The same leads to Nvidia’s RTX 2060 by 5%. In the case of Nvidia GPUs RTX 2060 is around 17% faster than RTX 1660 Ti. But on comparing RTX 1660 Ti with its counterpart AMD GTX 1660 Super, RTX 1660 Ti is just 1-2% faster than GTX 1660 Super. The best deal offered by AMD within ₹15,000 to ₹20,000 is the RX 5700. In a price range lower to it, AMD’s RX 2600 offers a great deal.

There are GPUs priced even below ₹18000. But these usually belong to the previous generation and not a much-recommended pick. 

So in the competition for the best value proposition, AMD stays the undisputed winner. It has always been maintaining its reputation for being economical while offering the best features. We appreciate AMD for having such an unconventional approach.

VRR – AMD FreeSync vs Nvidia G-Sync

FreeSync and G-Sync are one of the iconic releases done by both companies in the past few years. Nvidia launched its VRR based G-sync in the year 2013 which posed as a solution to screen tearing and flickering. As a response to it, AMD launched its VRR based FreeSync in the year 2015 which performs the same functions.

But what is VRR?

Variable Refresh Rate or VRR is a technology that mproves a game’s framerate and a display’s refresh rate at sync. It facilitates the speed matching between the display and its updates. It is an essential tool for gaming as video games create and use animations at the fly. VRR technology helps avoid screen flickering and tearing.

Screen tearing and flickering can pose a serious problem for gamers. Due to screen flickering, many images get skipped and are displayed in the monitor generated by the game.

G-sync launched by Nvidia in the year 2013 was a first attempt at fighting screen tearing and stuttering. It comes in three variants, i.e. G-Sync, G-Sync Ultimate, and G-Sync Compatible.

Both G-sync and FreeSync use VESA’s Adaptive-Sync Protocol. They both operate by giving the GPU to control the display’s refresh rate in accordance with the image rendering rate of the game. The screen gets refreshed every time a new image is rendered. This practice replaces the standard refreshing rate cycle of the screen. So even if a game is rendering images constantly, the screen gets refreshed constantly.

While both the platforms have similar functions, there are still some key differences between the two. The first and the most basic difference between the two variables is that both rely upon the use of distinct graphic cards. G-sync uses the Nvidia graphics card while FreeSync uses AMD graphics cards.

FreeSync is different from G-sync in a way that it, works over both HDMI and DisplayPort, but G-sync can only work on DisplayPort unless and until you own a G-sync Compatible TV. Another major win-win for FreeSync is that unlike G-Sync, It is free to use for anyone.

From the price point of view, Free-sync is a more affordable choice. G-sync would cost you some extra money because of the extra hardware they contain to support Nvidia’s version of an adaptive refresh.

In terms of features G-Sync, there are some extra features that the product offers. One such feature is the ULMB. It is a form of backlight strobe which is responsible for blur reduction. This feature which is common to all the G-sync monitors is rare to find in some FreeSync monitors.

In terms of HDR display, Nvidia G-sync monitors support HDR and extended color range in all sections. But with FreesSync this feature is only available in the FreeSync Premium package.

Overall if we compare both the monitors, G-sync has a slighter edge at FreeSync. Though FreeSync is less expensive than its counterpart, some features are a major miss. But FreeSync being an open-source platform offers a great price for the features it offers. So, if you do not want something as fancy as G-sync and wish to purchase a commodity which is easier on your wallet then FreeSync is surely a good choice for you.

Conclusion

Well, it was a big comparison drawn between AMD and Nvidia. A hell lot of research and effort has gone in to write this article. We have seen many phases of both the companies in this article. Starting from general performance to pricing to specialized performance, we haven’t left any thread untouched. 

The battle between Nvidia and AMD is an unending battle. Each surpasses the other in some way or the other. But for the current being, Nvidia rules the market with the best featured and rated GPUs. AMD has a higher edge over budget GPUs. 

There have been wins and ties in this competition. Both the companies are on a continuous improvement strike and are bettering their services with every passing day. New launches have been lined up by both the companies. Nvidia and AMD have revolutionized the tech market. The tale gets better day after day.

But for now, Nvidia stays as the winner of this comparison. But we are hopeful that with its new releases AMD too will pull up its socks and give a tough competition to Nvidia.

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