ATI and nVidia are THE two big flavors of video cards. But of these two, which is the best for software testing? Ordinarily, you might think that either types of chipsets should work just fine. But there are some factors that you should consider before deciding which test configuration to go with....
1) Is the software locked to the hardware?
Sometimes business software is only a part of the package. For example, if you're working with a turnkey system that includes specific computer hardware, then its very unlikely you are going to change video cards. ATI regularly drops driver support on its cards, while nVidia is still creating drivers for cards that could only be described as ancient.
2) Is the software depending on video driver quality?
ATI updates its drivers monthly. As a QA professional, I have to wonder how many systems those drivers were tested against.
nVidia, on the other hand, produces new WHQL-certified drivers every 6 months. While that doesn't guarantee quality, I think it at least allows the possibility that the drivers were thoroughly tested.
3) What video performance is required?
Most computers come with relatively inexpensive, low-end video chips on their motherboards. This is perfectly adequate for most software. In this case, both nVidia and ATI are just fine.
On the other hand, if you are working on software that requires high quality graphics, you need to consider the end user very carefully. How knowledgeable are they? Will they be updating video drivers themselves? Will they change video cards? Or will they depend on customer service to help them when things go wrong?
4) Cost, cost, cost
ATI cards are generally a bit cheaper than nVidia card... and if you or your company is going to pay for the hardware, you should consider whether the extra stability and reliability of the nVidia chipset is worth the extra cost.
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