New PC

[John25]

@Morg Budget is 1500 British Pounds m8 Which tbh isn't much different that 1500 Euros anyways :P

Also agree about AMD CPU's being more than Adequate (had no issues bottlenecking or otherwise so far with my 1100T)

but if you want the latest beast mode PC parts then follow MATRIX's advice and hold off for a few months till the new CPU's & GPU's are released

[emmerich]

I suppose holding off won't kill me and it'll give me more time to be sure exactly which parts I need and want. I can go over budget slightly if I need to £1,500 was just a starting budget for ideas. By the time I get round to making it I could have more to spend.

[HellsJester]

I suppose holding off won't kill me and it'll give me more time to be sure exactly which parts I need and want. I can go over budget slightly if I need to £1,500 was just a starting budget for ideas. By the time I get round to making it I could have more to spend.

There are more questions to ask yourself as well.
1 - Do you plan on having speakers (2.1, 5.1, 7.1) or just headphones/headset?
2 - How high audio quality do you want? You may want a dedicated sound card
3 - What resolution do you want to game at? 1080p? 1200p? 1440p?
4 - Do you want to use multiple monitors? How about 3D?

[Morganator]

@Morg Budget is 1500 British Pounds m8 Which tbh isn't much different that 1500 Euros anyways :P

Also agree about AMD CPU's being more than Adequate (had no issues bottlenecking or otherwise so far with my 1100T)

but if you want the latest beast mode PC parts then follow MATRIX's advice and hold off for a few months till the new CPU's & GPU's are released

Agreed. I figured the conversion rates would be close so no worries. I don't exactly agree about waiting though because new CPUs and GPUs tend to have little compatibility issues and minor hardwares flaws. I always wait for second generation releases of specific components before buying.

[Valefor]

Any GPU in particular that you would recommend?

That video was very informative keefy thanks.

The AMD 7950 is currently the best price-performance card available, and isn't much slower than the 7970, yet it is about £60 cheaper.

Then there is the GTX 670, which is similar in performance to the 7950, but is again about £60 more expensive than the 7950. Like with the AMDs, the 670 is only a little slower than the 680, yet the price difference is about £100.

After looking at this, it seems an easy choice to go with AMD, but there are other things to consider. Based on what I have researched (if anyone thinks any of this is wrong, feel free to correct me), consider these factors:

Driver support: Nvidia tend to be better with drivers. They tend to have their drivers optimised in time for new game releases. AMD have not always done this in the past, but they are getting better at this.

Power usage/noise: Latest gen Nvidia cards have less power requirements, run cooler, and are less noisy.

Memory/bus width: These AMD cards have 3GB, whereas the Nvidia ones have 2GB. 2GB is more than enough 99% of the time, but a heavily modded Skyrim, for example, can exceed 2GB (you can pay extra for 4GB versions, however). The bus width is also higher on the AMD cards, which, coupled with the memory size, provides greater bandwidth. However, this only really shows itself when using higher resolutions (above 1440) and/or multiple screens. If you're playing at 1080p, it won't make any difference.

Physx: This is restricted to Nvidia cards. It looks great, although not many games support it.

Overclocking: The AMDs have more overclocking potential.

Latency: Recently review sites have been looking at GPU latency alongside fps figures. It seems that AMD cards have more spikes in their fps readings which can reduce the smoothness of gameplay, even if they have higher fps overall. AMD recently said they will look to address this.

Bundles: AMD offer a better bundle with their GPUs at the moment.

The console factor: Given that AMD will be powering next-gen consoles, will this equate to better optimisation for AMD cards on the PC? I don't know.

Taking all of this into account, if you want to buy now and to go with AMD, then I'd recommend an AMD 7950. If you'd prefer to go with Nvidia, then a GTX 670. If you just want the best single card regardless of the performance increase for the money, then go with an AMD 7970 GHZ edition or a GTX 680.

I'm currently weighing up my options for a new card too. I've been using AMD cards for as long as I can remember, and I would like to try an Nvidia card. However, I would like to heavily modify Skyrim, which means the AMD would be more sensible. As a result, I am trying to wait until the next round of GPUs are announced to see what they offer.

[emmerich]

There are more questions to ask yourself as well.
1 - Do you plan on having speakers (2.1, 5.1, 7.1) or just headphones/headset?
2 - How high audio quality do you want? You may want a dedicated sound card
3 - What resolution do you want to game at? 1080p? 1200p? 1440p?
4 - Do you want to use multiple monitors? How about 3D?

1. I plan on using a headset, I don't plan on using speakers at all.
2. Audio quality I never really thought of but I suppose I'd want decent audio.
3. I plan on gaming at 1080p
4. No, single monitor only. 3D I was never interested in but wouldn't mind the option.

The AMD 7950 is currently the best price-performance card available, and isn't much slower than the 7970, yet it is about £60 cheaper.

Then there is the GTX 670, which is similar in performance to the 7950, but is again about £60 more expensive than the 7950. Like with the AMDs, the 670 is only a little slower than the 680, yet the price difference is about £100.

After looking at this, it seems an easy choice to go with AMD, but there are other things to consider. Based on what I have researched (if anyone thinks any of this is wrong, feel free to correct me), consider these factors:

Driver support: Nvidia tend to be better with drivers. They tend to have their drivers optimised in time for new game releases. AMD have not always done this in the past, but they are getting better at this.

Power usage/noise: Latest gen Nvidia cards have less power requirements, run cooler, and are less noisy.

Memory/bus width: These AMD cards have 3GB, whereas the Nvidia ones have 2GB. 2GB is more than enough 99% of the time, but a heavily modded Skyrim, for example, can exceed 2GB (you can pay extra for 4GB versions, however). The bus width is also higher on the AMD cards, which, coupled with the memory size, provides greater bandwidth. However, this only really shows itself when using higher resolutions (above 1440) and/or multiple screens. If you're playing at 1080p, it won't make any difference.

Physx: This is restricted to Nvidia cards. It looks great, although not many games support it.

Overclocking: The AMDs have more overclocking potential.

Latency: Recently review sites have been looking at GPU latency alongside fps figures. It seems that AMD cards have more spikes in their fps readings which can reduce the smoothness of gameplay, even if they have higher fps overall. AMD recently said they will look to address this.

Bundles: AMD offer a better bundle with their GPUs at the moment.

The console factor: Given that AMD will be powering next-gen consoles, will this equate to better optimisation for AMD cards on the PC? I don't know.

Taking all of this into account, if you want to buy now and to go with AMD, then I'd recommend an AMD 7950. If you'd prefer to go with Nvidia, then a GTX 670. If you just want the best single card regardless of the performance increase for the money, then go with an AMD 7970 GHZ edition or a GTX 680.

I'm currently weighing up my options for a new card too. I've been using AMD cards for as long as I can remember, and I would like to try an Nvidia card. However, I would like to heavily modify Skyrim, which means the AMD would be more sensible. As a result, I am trying to wait until the next round of GPUs are announced to see what they offer.

This is excellent, based on this currently I think I would go with a GTX 680 as I have always used Nvidia. I'm not saying AMD is bad cause I know nothing of them but I'm most likely going to stick with what I know.

However, I might also be waiting for the next round of GPU's to see what they offer.

I won't be rushing this build as it'll be my first ever build that I do on my own (with a little help here and there).

Agreed. I figured the conversion rates would be close so no worries. I don't exactly agree about waiting though because new CPUs and GPUs tend to have little compatibility issues and minor hardwares flaws. I always wait for second generation releases of specific components before buying.

I'll definitely be taking this in to consideration, thanks.

[keefy]

FYI I cannto see 3D on the 3D monitors but I have a 120Hz/144Hz monitor because it make the picture look a lot smoother and vsync at 144FPS is super smooth and has barely any input lag.