What is the top of the line Nvidia and Ati Video Cards?

Or better yet, should I get a nvidia or ati? Im not sure which is better at the moment.





Looking to get a nvidia 9800 though.

What is the top of the line Nvidia and Ati Video Cards?
At the moment the top of the line cards for the manufacturers are the following:


ATI:


single: HD3870


dual: HD3870x2





nVidia:


Single:


Fastest: 8800 Ultra


Top of the Line: 9800GTX


Dual:


9800GX2





nVidia 9800GTX preliminarily doesn't really look that good from what I've heard. Just a die shrink and tweak of the 8800GT I believe.


ATI's HD4xxx series should be out by June, and I would personally wait for that, because ATI kinda got the s*** kicked out of them this round, and since the GF 9 series offers little more the the GF8 series, a new rocking core from ATI is sure to take the market.





As for ATI versus nVidia, I like the ATI board partners better (less shady ones), and the ATI drivers. nVidia has had better performance in this round, but ATI remains the multi-gpu king, and may be moving more and more towards multi-gpu solutions. I think the real reason nVidia is winning is because so many games are optimized to their cards. So what's the bottom line? If you have to buy now the 8800ULTRA is probably your best option for single slot, and the Radeon HD 3870 crossfire is probably the best option for multi-gpu (though 8800gtx/ultra/9800gtx will take them, it won't be by a huge ammount and will cost more.) My advice would be to wait for the HD4xxx series, which should really rock. I'd say stick with what you got till then. If you can't, get an 8800GT for $180, and that is almost as good as an 8800GTX/Ultra, and will definately tide you over until the HD4 series is out.