Looking for advice on new PC

**Furunculus** · 07-01-2011, 15:02

always better to get one good card than two average ones.

if i was buying right now i'd get:

£160 - AMD 990FX motherboard (AM3+)
£230 - AMD 6970 2GB graphics
£70 - AMD Phenom II X4 840 (fine for now, stick an 8 core bulldozer for £150 in eight months time.

**Lemur** · 07-01-2011, 15:09

Originally Posted by Furunculus

always better to get one good card than two average ones.

We seem to all be singing from the same hymnal ...

**Tellos Athenaios** · 07-01-2011, 15:27

But that said, it is often better to get a mid range card rather than a high end one because few high end cards stand the test of time (by which I mean that they can compete with the mid range two to three generations down the line, sometimes they don't even last a single generation).

**Lemur** · 07-01-2011, 17:02

Sure, of course, never buy top-of-the-line; the premium on price is not reflected in performance. I usually buy a card of CPU that's a couple of notches below the top-grade. In other words, if the ACTIONMAX 9 MILLION is the top gaming card, but they're selling the ACIONMAX 8 MILLION for a couple hundred less, the purchase is obvious.

You don't want to step too far down the value tree, though; once you get to videocards meant for consumers and home theaters, you start to miss out on good stuff.

**Furunculus** · 07-04-2011, 13:28

Originally Posted by Tellos Athenaios

But that said, it is often better to get a mid range card rather than a high end one because few high end cards stand the test of time (by which I mean that they can compete with the mid range two to three generations down the line, sometimes they don't even last a single generation).

true, when the top-end commands premium prices.

however, the 6970 at £230 is nothing less than a stellar bargain for the price.

**Beirut** · 07-02-2011, 14:35

Originally Posted by Furunculus

£70 - AMD Phenom II X4 840 (fine for now, stick an 8 core bulldozer for £150 in eight months time.

Ahh, the endless AMD vs. Intel debate. Good fun.

I've used AMD CPUs and they were always great, and the price for their top of the line 6-core is ridiculously reasonable. http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16819103913

That said, given the reading I was doing - and keeping in mind I am a flightsim-head and my hardware goes in that direction - it seems the Intel Sandy Bridge CPUs have the edge. And there is (apparently) room to grow with the 1155MB.

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html

But then again an AMD system is going to be wallet-friendly and I'm sure a rig built with that AMD CPU I linked to above would be stinky fast.

**Crazed Rabbit** · 07-03-2011, 08:25

I find the Ars Tech system guide to be a very good starting place for info on basically every piece of hardware;

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/guide...11-edition.ars

A couple months out of date, but a good primer.

CR

**naut** · 07-04-2011, 08:59

Originally Posted by Beirut

But then again an AMD system is going to be wallet-friendly and I'm sure a rig built with that AMD CPU I linked to above would be stinky fast.

They certainly are. I wouldn't get an AMD if I was running a PC designed for SETI cosmos data crunching. But, the price/performance nature of AMD CPUs make them great for your average tasks/games. Plus, you don't feel bad when it comes time to upgrade, because the cost of replacement isn't so steep.