FYI The cheapered 7970
http://www.ebuyer.com/392962-sapphir...t-11197-12-40g
and the Cheapest Nvidia card to match the same performance
http://www.ebuyer.com/354000-pny-gtx...-gf680gtx2gepb
http://www.hwcompare.com/12351/gefor...adeon-hd-7970/
There is more to know rather than price/performance on a card, but FYI there both similarly matched. And if you looking at 7970 then consider 680's as well as there both around the same price.
The 79xx series have recently benefited from a comprehensive driver review that has significantly boost performance across the board from when it was launched, if your going looking for reviews then look for the ones from the last 3 months as earlier ones wont show the current performance properly for any card.
Also bear in mind that a lot of manufacturers have overclocked versions of these gpu's out, now... thats not a problem but do remember you can buy a non overclocked one and do it yourself saving lots of £££s
For instance overclockers.co.uk has a (mildly overclocked) base 7970 http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...=56&subcat=938 for 299 inc vat, that will easily go up to the speed of the cards mentioned above.
They also have this http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...=56&subcat=938 which is the never settle 3 bundle with crysis 3 and bioshock.. again its an overclock away from the factory clocked cards for a lot less £££s
You can do the same with the 680 if you so wish, although the headroom isnt as good.
Thanks for the info guys. The more I read the more I see that there isn't a massive deal in it between these cards really.
I've seen that GPU accelerated PhysX is only used in a handful of games, not many of them I would play, so that's that out of the equation.
Out of the box they will both handle what I'll be throwing at it with ease.
I think it really will come down to which has the best games bundle for what I want. Seems to be a few more reports of grey screen/blue screen issues with AMD cards but the consensus is that the latest drivers have sorted that now.
670 draws less power, but not sure that makes much odds.
Have seen some amazingly mind numbing fanboy slanging matches though!
Watched many many videos comparing the cards last night and I couldn't shake the impression that the GeForce ones looked smoother. Plus where PhysX was used to a high standard it completely changes the game IMO, adds real life to the world.
Trouble is, the smoother thing could easily be down to setup, system spec, the video itself, but I got the impression from most videos I watched.
Will see if I can find the extra for a GTX 680, the Asus CUii TOP is only £60 more... Hardly a drop in the ocean compared to total spend!
Wait a second.......... ah nevermind. Sideways knows better.Originally Posted by Delboy
I would really like you to buy that AMD kit you listed, just so I can say "I told you so"
I didn't list any AMD kit, the original spec was for a GTX 670 GPU, then the 7970 curveball was thrown in and I had more homework to do.
I'm sure both are fine and coming from console land my eyes would get a treat from either, but after last nights research I'm leaning towards a 680 at the moment.
It's just a shame barely any games make use of the GPU accelerated PhysX, as it does look impressive on high.
You do know that latency on 12.xx drivers was recently a big deal and the 13.xx driver series has resolved a lot of these issues.
Go to the techreport for info.
I never understand why nvidia seems to get away with driver issues but AMD's drivers are always pissed on.
Price / performance is not with nvidia at the moment, reliability is pretty much the same for both.
Just to provide some balance to the argument. I've not experienced any problem with ATI Video cards, In fact I find their laptop chipsets to be better than Nvida's when it comes to how hot they run. However I have experienced issues with ATI drivers
In fact Nvidia have not had the best reputation when it comes to overheating video cards, although they seem to have fixed it now.
No I do not have a problem with Nvidia, I currently run one of their cards in my home desktop
The latest Catalyst drivers appear to be spot on at the moment
Dont get me wrong, AMD have a history producing some right shit.
Look at the 1st gen phenom... it was crap and took the release of the phenom2 before it was a good processor, same with the first gen bulldozer it needed piledriver before it was a good competitive cpu.
These misfires on the release of a new product cast them in a poor light, they have to stop chucking out a 95% finished article.
However they do make some really good stuff once the first generation is fixed, there APU's are currently magic and video cards by and large are great - if a little power hungry.
Intel have done some recent hilarity, remember the sata controller bug when sandybridge came out - that was a stinker.
Nvidia released the 590 and it started melting VRM's almost out the box lol. Not to mention the laptop chips...
Then there is Apple who dont appear to be able to release anything these days without making and arse of it.
Thanks for keeping this balanced and factual guys, much better than all the rows I've seen over the last few days from googling!
More and more it just seems to come down to personal choice, pros and cons for both with no real right or wrong answer.
I've certainly learned a lot through this exercise and I'm sure that will carry in!
Moving on from the GPU subject, is there anything I need to consider on the actual task of putting it all together? Presumably the parts should come with the relevant cables? Having watched a few tutorials it all looks fairly logical but I'll be taking my time and double checking as I go.
Are anti static wrist straps really needed or just a gimmick?
Also assume setup should be a case of installing operating system, getting latest drivers and away I go?
All parts should come with relevant cables, but should is a dangerous word. Check to see if the GPU comes with any cables in case you require a converter to power it. A new PSU should have the required connector anyway.
Make sure when you buy the SSD that you can fit it into the case. You may require an adapter to install into a conventional HDD bay.
If you're buying everything separately, make sure you google/read/youtube thermal compound and put it on right. I've taken some pre-built PC's apart before and there's been less than a pea sized amount in the center.
I'd use one. If I was just changing out a GPU I'd probably risk it and do it. Building a whole PC, I'd be tempted to use one.
Pretty much. Make sure once it's all up and running you check to make sure all the drivers are manufacturers own and not something the OS has popped in.
What i do is install all the drivers that come on the CD's. check its all working then i update to the latest downloaded from the chipset manufacturers website, Ie ATI/Nvidea
Thanks Ross.
From memory the case I've chosen has 2.5" bays and the SSD is 2.5" so should be good.
I'll pick up an anti static wrist strap then, or do some googling to find a ghetto/improvised alternative.
Have seem bits about thermal compound on my travels. I think the bundle I'm looking to buy doesn't come assembled, but one of the guides I watched that was using an i5 seemed to come out of the box with the compound already applied to the base of the stock cooler and the commentary implied this was normal?
I think I'll be fine with assembly, but I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions around the initial system set up when things don't work as planned!
Edit: And thanks for the advice re drivers Monkey, that was what I had in mind to do
I usually dont even bother with installing the cd's, just go straight to the web for all the up to date drivers.
Up to date drivers make a huge difference, performance increase's well over 10% can be seen with newer ones over launch/box drivers.
This goes for graphics cards, network cards and chip-sets amongst other things.
I wouldnt bother with a strap, i have never killed a component in 20yrs of hardware hilarity - good paste though is important.
If you get a "retail" CPU, it'll come with a heatsink that has thermal compound on. If you buy an "OEM" CPU, it has no heatsink nor compound, you have to get aftermarket kit.
For further balance, you don't need to go for top end kit. A black edition quad core phenom II with a 7850 will run all new games, most all of them with very high detail settings at 1080p all day long for a heck of a lot cheaper. 1080p isn't "high res" for PC, stacking 3 of them together in an eyefiniti setup is.
I go with AMD/ATi/Intel as and when their price/performance is most attractive.
All this talk of upgrading I've decided to do an upgrade myself, i've had my Quad Core since 2007/8 i think so its well overdue.
Maybe we'll compare benchmark scores when we are both ready.
Quite an upgrade! Your spend on upgrading is more than my total spend for starting from scratch!
Something tells me comparing benchmarks would go in your favourwill be a bit of an animal
And Stoofer, yeah I know I could make a competent machine for less, but I'm half future proofing as don't want to be upgrading too soon. The budget is comfortable, don't really spend money on much else for myself these days so quite happy to spend some cash on my home entertainment/gadgets
Del, where are you buying from? One online seller or each component from whichever seller is cheapest?
From the reviews I've seen, the 7970GHz edges the Nvidia 680 for performance and is cheaper, although it does draw more power, so electrickery bill will eventually balance it out
Those were real world performance tests and not just 3dMark Pub results
Off topic, I have seen a workstation that was running an Nvidia Tesla GPGPU for doing Video processing and the Tesla card just gobbled it up and spat it out in no time
Titan was paper launched, today. Same card (pretty much) as the K20 Tesla. Same price as a 690 and not as fast, allegedly.
Downside to a 7970GHz is the noise. 680 is a fair chunk quieter.
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