PC GPU died, need help with what to go for next

Hello, I had an Asus HD4870x2 2gb GPU, intel q6600 quad core at 2.4 ghz and 8gb DDR2 memory.
My HD4870x2 finaly died and at the moment only have a spare Geforce 6600 from 2004.
Lol, tried to log on with everything set to lowest quality and got 3 to 7fps. It looked aweful so logged out.

Im going to get a new PC soon so wondering which to go for. AMD is cheaper so was thinking to get AMD FX 8150 @ 3.6ghz (8 cores) AMD HD7950 3gb GPU and 16gb DDR3 memory.
I could spend more and get intel i7 3770 @3.4ghz, HD7950 and 16gb DDR3 ram.

The Intel version costs an extra £150 so does anyone think spending extra is worth it?

I would personally go with an i5 2500k. It's $120 less than the 3770, with a minimal performance hit gaming. For the GPU I would also personally grab a factory OC GTX 670, but that's solely personal preference. The GTX 670 is something like $30-$50 more & should only see a minimal boost in average performance at 1920x1080. And I get squeemish OC'ing GPU's.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/550?vs=598

I would also say drop the RAM down to 4GB. There's no reason to go beyond that gaming unless you're using a RAM disk, which is better replaced by a 60GB-120GB SSD for roughly the same price.

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Originally Posted by Cure

Hello, I had an Asus HD4870x2 2gb GPU, intel q6600 quad core at 2.4 ghz and 8gb DDR2 memory.
My HD4870x2 finaly died and at the moment only have a spare Geforce 6600 from 2004.
Lol, tried to log on with everything set to lowest quality and got 3 to 7fps. It looked aweful so logged out.

Im going to get a new PC soon so wondering which to go for. AMD is cheaper so was thinking to get AMD FX 8150 @ 3.6ghz (8 cores) AMD HD7950 3gb GPU and 16gb DDR3 memory.
I could spend more and get intel i7 3770 @3.4ghz, HD7950 and 16gb DDR3 ram.

The Intel version costs an extra £150 so does anyone think spending extra is worth it?

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Stay away from the FX series, if you must have more than 4 cores get the Phenom 2 1100T all current bulldozers are very poor performers.

Why ATi? Nvidia Currently has the lead performance wise.

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Originally Posted by Disc

I would also say drop the RAM down to 4GB. There's no reason to go beyond that gaming unless you're using a RAM disk, which is better replaced by a 60GB-120GB SSD for roughly the same price.

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When 6 years ago? 8GB is the minimum now.

http://s18.postimage.org/ri70od8ut/Untitled.jpg
2.5GB RAM used with Chrome & FFXIV open.(1.9GB without FFXIV)

I've been out of the country for a while, do tell why anybody would need more than 4GB for gaming.

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Originally Posted by Valmonte

When 6 years ago? 8GB is the minimum now.

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are you kidding? 8 is still a luxury, 4gb is still plenty for gaming. I'm running perfectly fine with 4gb DDR3 on a mid range system.

back to the OP though, listen to Disc, she's pretty much on the ball as far as what you need is concerned, if you want to go a little higher do so, but only if you've got LOTS of cash to spare. Gaming really doesn't require a pedigree system anymore.

Ram is so cheap now, there's no point in getting less than 8gig. Actually it would be stupid to get anything less than 8gig. Yes, if you only play FFXIV, you won't be close to 4gig of usage. But if you play in window mode, with a music player running, web pages, some other tools, you do get close to 4gig. You are still ok, but the day you will want to run that new cool software while playing if you go over 4gig of ram usage, you will cry.

It is more about being futureproof for about 20$ more (4gb vs 8gb) than actually needing it.

Also the i5 3450 is cheaper, newer and better than a i5 2500. But if you want to overclock, get the 2500k.

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Originally Posted by Randelmire

Ram is so cheap now, there's no point in getting less than 8gig.

Also the i5 3470 is cheaper, newer and better than a i5 2500.

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This, at most you will spend $15 more to go from 4GB to 8GB depending on that rated speed and latency. If you play BF3 it can and will use more of that extra memory. 8GB is the new gaming standard. I have 16GB but I actually use that (hover around 12GB use often) but you will definitely won't need that for any video game any time soon, or till at least 32bit windows is finally dead.


Speaking of speed and latency, on SB chips don't bother going over 1600MHz @ CL9 latency or on IB 1866MHz @ CL9 latency. Anymore adds stress on your CPU's IMC and can and probably will effect your possible CPU overclocking result.


As for I7 brand, ignore it unless you need the the extra threads for video encoding, folding, 3D editing, or bit mining. Stick to either the 2500k or the 3570k, to which i personally say the 3570k for it's lower power consumption and PCI-E 3 feature.

You will most likely get a Z77 motherboard and I've seen alot of users have issues using SB chips with Z77 on all brands, (MSI, Gigabyte,ASUS) in particular with OCing, and S-states (hibernation, sleep mode), another reason to just get the 3570k to avoid compatibility problems.


I also see you're interested in AMD, if you're going that route don't bother with FX "Bulldozer", they're slower than their previous generation Thuban/Phenom II clock to clock. FX is widely known in the OC community using an absurd amount of power use when overclocked also.

For AMD stick to either Thuban X6 or the Phenom II X4 960T (Thuban chip with 4 cores, has similar overclocking and better IMC compared to Deneb) or 970.


and lastly

BUILD IT YOURSHELF AND SAVE.

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Originally Posted by Disc

http://s18.postimage.org/ri70od8ut/Untitled.jpg
2.5GB RAM used with Chrome & FFXIV open.(1.9GB without FFXIV)

I've been out of the country for a while, do tell why anybody would need more than 4GB for gaming.

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maybe for too long. take a closer look at your usage not just the little green bar. 4086 is 4GB your system has already Comited/allocated 4073 of that. that leaves you with 4099mb for your programs to play with. 1.5gb is already used up by ff14 that leaves you with 1.5 gigs left.

Tell me if you only need 4GB, why is it you have 8GB?

Edit: So your using a Paging file....once you hit the max allocate memory that leaves you with 3MB left, your system will be forced to use that swapfile.

So I started the game in the worst case scenario.

A few web pages opens, Steam running in the background because I'm lazy and never stop it, watching a youtube video, sitting in Ul'dah for shouting, MSI Afterburner to check temps (because it is stupid hot in my room in the summer). Some times even Photoshop is running too, but not in this 'test'.

I'm at 3.58 gb usage.
Not too far from 4gb.

Also, I'm about at 2gb free if you look at te numbers.

Other games could use more than FFXIV

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Originally Posted by Valmonte

When 6 years ago? 8GB is the minimum now.

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Hardly 8GB is the norm lol

Anyway I think:
i5/7, Make sure it has a K for Oc'ing (7 if you'll use the PC enough to take advantage of HT, if your just gaming i5)
Mobo : to many to pick from and all dependent if its OC or just plug and play you want.
4-8GB ram,
SSD (at least for OS),
Gtx 670 (factory OC if your not ok with doing it yourself) Asus holds the win here last time i looked for factory OC

IMO this sort of build is the best all around package,taking cost/performance into it, While AMD were king of the budget gaming rig imo (3 AMD builds but 2 with nvidia gpu's), atm i just cant get systems i think will overall be worth the money saved when I'm helping m8's put together rigs.

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Originally Posted by Dhalmel

Speaking of speed and latency, on SB chips don't bother going over 1600MHz @ CL9 latency or on IB 1866MHz @ CL9 latency. Anymore adds stress on your CPU's IMC and can and probably will effect your possible CPU overclocking result.


As for I7 brand, ignore it unless you need the the extra threads for video encoding, folding, 3D editing, or bit mining. Stick to either the 2500k or the 3570k, to which i personally say the 3570k for it's lower power consumption and PCI-E 3 feature.


I also see you're interested in AMD, if you're going that route don't bother with FX "Bulldozer", they're slower than their previous generation Thuban/Phenom II clock to clock. FX is widely known in the OC community using an absurd amount of power use when overclocked also.

For AMD stick to either Thuban X6 or the Phenom II X4 960T (Thuban chip with 4 cores, has similar overclocking and better IMC compared to Deneb) or 970.


and lastly

BUILD IT YOURSHELF AND SAVE.

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100% on the above comments, my only pondering is in favour of the SB over Ivy but I Oc and Ivy is a fair bit warmer once the volts start flowing.
Not sure which way i would go if i was building one today, but i think SB still.

I simply don't understand people who suggest a GTX670 and imply that 4 gb is good enough.

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Originally Posted by Esk

100% on the above comments, my only pondering is in favour of the SB over Ivy but I Oc and Ivy is a fair bit warmer once the volts start flowing.
Not sure which way i would go if i was building one today, but i think SB still.

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Yeah IB is warmer, but anything below 85'c~90'c is fine. IB can take the higher temps. This OC temp issue maybe fixed in a future revision due to tri gate transistor manufacturing need to mature and Intel using a real flux solder to the IHS and cpu die, not cheap TIM.


My 3770k tops at 75'c in normal use @ 4.5GHz. Prime95 pushes it to 84~86'c with small size FFTs, during a 48 hour stress test.

go high end spend the extra money the parts can take more punishment and will be longer till you need to upgrade.

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When 6 years ago? 8GB is the minimum now.

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everything has 8GB now, it pertty much all you need too. unless your doing alot of rendering then you would also need alot of EEC ram

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Originally Posted by Randelmire

Yes, if you only play FFXIV, you won't be close to 4gig of usage. But if you play in window mode, with a music player running, web pages, some other tools, you do get close to 4gig.

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I don't know which programs you are using, but I never hit the pagefile in daily use/gaming. I wasn't even close to the 3GB mark, except when compressing something with 7zip at custom settings.

Currently, with Chrome open, my music playing, my messenger being on, AV running, torrent downloading and ffxiv running I am at +-2GB RAM usage. Commit is at 2157MB

It's all about how clean your system is and how much crapware you install. Yes, getting 8GB won't cost you much more, but saying it's the minimum amount is simply wrong. 4GB is more than enough.

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Originally Posted by Valmonte

maybe for too long. take a closer look at your usage not just the little green bar. 4086 is 4GB your system has already Comited/allocated 4073 of that.

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You don't seem to be aware win7 is using all available RAM a fixed percentage of RAM for speeding up HDD access. So the more RAM you have in your machine, the more will be used. This used RAM will be freed in case you need it, so going just by that number is not reliable.

Also, win8 will NOT be removing programs from RAM until it's full, so those numbers will only become more confusing as time goes by. (at least the Metro ones, just like Android and iOS do)

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Originally Posted by Soukyuu

I don't know which programs you are using, but I never hit the pagefile in daily use/gaming. I wasn't even close to the 3GB mark, except when compressing something with 7zip at custom settings.

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Steam, Chrome, Winamp, MSN Messenger, Avast, sometimes Photoshop (yes, I agree it may seem abusive, but some times I take screenshots and edit them right away), Motioninjoy, Dropbox, Microsoft Excel, Mumble.

You should know that I don't only do gaming with that computer. Depending on what I do, I often go over 4gig usage. (Virtual machines, image and video editing, etc...) Other games in the future may have to use more ram too.

Anyway, by going with 4 gig right now, you may be fine, but maybe in a year or two you will need an upgrade. Why not pay about 15 or 20$ more right away and get 8gb instead of 4gb, if you are already going to buy a gaming computer that will cost you a few hundreds?

Last time I asked myself that question was about 4 years ago. At that time, I agree that 4gb was more than enough, but not today. Not for a gaming computer.

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Originally Posted by Soukyuu

You don't seem to be aware win7 is using all available RAM a fixed percentage of RAM for speeding up HDD access. So the more RAM you have in your machine, the more will be used. This used RAM will be freed in case you need it, so going just by that number is not reliable.

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Well, that does mean that you are using more than 4gig in that case. If Windows must free up some of the space used to speed up HDD read, it means you loose that feature.

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Originally Posted by Randelmire

Ram is so cheap now, there's no point in getting less than 8gig. Actually it would be stupid to get anything less than 8gig. Yes, if you only play FFXIV, you won't be close to 4gig of usage. But if you play in window mode, with a music player running, web pages, some other tools, you do get close to 4gig. You are still ok, but the day you will want to run that new cool software while playing if you go over 4gig of ram usage, you will cry.

It is more about being futureproof for about 20$ more (4gb vs 8gb) than actually needing it.

Also the i5 3450 is cheaper, newer and better than a i5 2500. But if you want to overclock, get the 2500k.

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I lol'd at the part about future proof

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Originally Posted by Achtzen

I lol'd at the part about future proof

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Why?

It's kinda true. I know future proof in computers doesn't really exist, but having 8 gb at start will most likely prevent you from having to upgrade your ram in a few years.

You should also consider the fact that in 2 or 3 years, who knows, maybe DDR4 ram will get released. (Some websites I have read say maybe next year) In this case, DDR3 will get rarer and prices will go up. A lot. (I know, I had to buy DDR2 ram not long about. 4 GB of DDR2 ram was the same price as 8 gb of DDR3 ram...)

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Originally Posted by Valmonte

maybe for too long. take a closer look at your usage not just the little green bar. 4086 is 4GB your system has already Comited/allocated 4073 of that. that leaves you with 4099mb for your programs to play with. 1.5gb is already used up by ff14 that leaves you with 1.5 gigs left.

Tell me if you only need 4GB, why is it you have 8GB?

Edit: So your using a Paging file....once you hit the max allocate memory that leaves you with 3MB left, your system will be forced to use that swapfile.

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I have 4GB RAM, I've never gone over 3.5GB in use at one time. And that was with a Windows XP virtual machine allocated 2GB RAM. I didn't just accept 4GB as the standard because somebody told me it was, I tested & tracked my own use.

Gamer's & casual user's do not need more than 4GB.

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Originally Posted by Randelmire

Anyway, by going with 4 gig right now, you may be fine, but maybe in a year or two you will need an upgrade. Why not pay about 15 or 20$ more right away and get 8gb instead of 4gb, if you are already going to buy a gaming computer that will cost you a few hundreds?

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Because gaming isn't going to require more than 4GB RAM any time soon. And you can put more money into your GPU/CPU/SSD/display by avoiding excess spending in areas that won't impact actual performance.

We all know when it comes to PC's gamers like to have big numbers despite the fact that they probably aren't using them. In terms of being practical:

Processor- You don't need more than 4 cores. And you sure as hell don't need an i7. Getting an i7 is really just to brag in terms of a gaming rig. And you really don't need to overclock your processor either. I know its the "cool" thing to do, but you can count the number of games that actually require that kind of performance on one hand. Seriously. Why pay extra to fry your processor?

RAM- You seriously don't *need* more than 4GB. No joke. 8GB is only the standard amongst gamers that like to brag about how awesome their rigs are. If you're using more than 4GB you aren't paying attention to your game anyway; that, or you are a phenomenal multi-tasker. In which case I take my hat off to you.

Graphics Card- Just get the best you can afford. You almost never need to overclock them, so that doesn't matter. Again, very few games require that kind of performance out of a good card. Why fry your GPU? Now if you're running hardcore graphics design programs none of this post even applies to you. I'm assuming we're talking about gaming though.

Cooling- I'm old school, get as many fans as your case can fit. I have like 8 fans in mine. They're cheap to replace, easy to replace, and are effective. Don't get stingy on the fans. Its worth it! You don't need liquid cooling imo, so forget paying extra for that noise. It does look cool though.


All in all gaming doesn't really require a maxed out pc, so don't get carried away.

All the arguments about 4 or 8 gigs are pointless.

Upgrading from 4 to 8 gigs is a drop in the bucket cost wise.

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Originally Posted by Jynx

All the arguments about 4 or 8 gigs are pointless.

Upgrading from 4 to 8 gigs is a drop in the bucket cost wise.

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But by the time you need 8GB it will be even cheaper. Jus sayin, if we're min-maxing dollars here...

I was one of those on the 4GB bandwagon. I acquired 4 more GB from a friend that went with an I7 (these are 800 MHZ modules as I use a Core 2 Duo atm).

Since going to 8GB, the load time has dropped, the lag issue greatly reduced, and anything else I do in the background does not lag or drag. It is like I got a new computer, the difference was night and day.

Not only did it affect FFXIV in a positive way, all other games I play are smoother and load faster.

For as little as memory costs the difference between 4 and 8 will be far more valuable for negligible cost. 16GB however would be overkill, save those slots for later.

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Originally Posted by Lux_Rayna

But by the time you need 8GB it will be even cheaper. Jus sayin, if we're min-maxing dollars here...

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No. It might even go up.

DDR4 might be released to the public next year. In 2 year it would be the new standard. DD3 production will go down, prices will go up. That's what happened with DDR2 right now. DDR2 cost almost twice the price as DDR3.

Also, the new "number" for people who like to have big numbers is 16 gb of ram.

Also, yes, I agree with all of you, you don't need more than 4gig of ram for gaming.

But you are building a COMPUTER. Not a gaming console. A computer can do much more than a gaming console and other stuff you do may require more than 4gig of ram.

wait till ddr3 is more expensive than ddr4 then get a new motherboard that supports ddr4.problem solved

along with my game,i also like to run fraps,aim,browser and sometimes music/movie in the bg.sometimes i also like to live stream my stuff.sometimes i also like to run 2 copies of the game so i can get into instances and keep all drops to myself.so the more the merrier

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Originally Posted by Lux_Rayna

Cooling- I'm old school, get as many fans as your case can fit. I have like 8 fans in mine. They're cheap to replace, easy to replace, and are effective. Don't get stingy on the fans. Its worth it! You don't need liquid cooling imo, so forget paying extra for that noise. It does look cool though.

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8 fans? Really?

3 or 4 fans, properly sized and properly placed give enough air to cool a 2 way SLI system.

Yeah, forget paying extra for that noise ;)

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Originally Posted by urtv

wait till ddr3 is more expensive than ddr4 then get a new motherboard that supports ddr4.problem solved

along with my game,i also like to run fraps,aim,browser and sometimes music/movie in the bg.sometimes i also like to live stream my stuff.sometimes i also like to run 2 copies of the game so i can get into instances and keep all drops to myself.so the more the merrier

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Replacing your motherboard+cpu might not be cost effective if you get a good cpu today + a good video card like the GTX670.

if you just got a new motherboard+cpu+video card, no reason to switch to ddr4 right away.it can probably last you 3-5 years

and if you do switch then you can just reuse the video card and cpu

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Originally Posted by Lux_Rayna

We all know when it comes to PC's gamers like to have big numbers despite the fact that they probably aren't using them. In terms of being practical:

Processor- You don't need more than 4 cores. And you sure as hell don't need an i7. Getting an i7 is really just to brag in terms of a gaming rig. And you really don't need to overclock your processor either. I know its the "cool" thing to do, but you can count the number of games that actually require that kind of performance on one hand. Seriously. Why pay extra to fry your processor?

RAM- You seriously don't *need* more than 4GB. No joke. 8GB is only the standard amongst gamers that like to brag about how awesome their rigs are. If you're using more than 4GB you aren't paying attention to your game anyway; that, or you are a phenomenal multi-tasker. In which case I take my hat off to you.

Graphics Card- Just get the best you can afford. You almost never need to overclock them, so that doesn't matter. Again, very few games require that kind of performance out of a good card. Why fry your GPU? Now if you're running hardcore graphics design programs none of this post even applies to you. I'm assuming we're talking about gaming though.

Cooling- I'm old school, get as many fans as your case can fit. I have like 8 fans in mine. They're cheap to replace, easy to replace, and are effective. Don't get stingy on the fans. Its worth it! You don't need liquid cooling imo, so forget paying extra for that noise. It does look cool though.


All in all gaming doesn't really require a maxed out pc, so don't get carried away.

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I highly disagree with your comments to overclocking, it's free performance. Hell it's simplistic compared to 5 years ago and a simple 400~500Mhz on the cpu or 50~100Mhz on the gpu overclock isn't going to hurt anything. The most you will get is a that system isn't stable with the chance or data corruption or the bios won't boot which can be fixed with a simple clear cmos

Do you know how hard it is these days to damage the cpu/gpu dies in normal overclocking scenarios? Most only die from high voltage/extreme cooling runs. The only componet I've ever had die on me was from having a 980X OC'd at 1.8v with liquid nitrogen.

Also your comment with fans is very flawed. 4/5 quality fans in proper positions and type are better than 10 cheap loud short life fans. CFM isn't everything also, there's also how much static pressure the fan can provide too and is very important in regards to heatsinks.

Having that many fans can also mess up your airflow and cause too much turbulence in the case.


I will somewhat agree to your 8GB comment, but as I and others said, the cost difference is so small, why not? Newer games properly made for the PC will take advantage of the extra space. See Skyrim, Metro 2033 and Battlefield 3.


Time to get out of 2006.

Noob question since I'm also following this thread as a blue print to build my pc with: I5 3450 cpu, asus Z71 board, and the gtx670. For the power supply, how much is enough?

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Originally Posted by Nightdreamer

Noob question since I'm also following this thread as a blue print to build my pc with: I5 3450 cpu, asus Z71 board, and the gtx670. For the power supply, how much is enough?

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500w easy with no GPU overclocking, but personality I would go to 600~650w, just for some headroom and less stress on the PSU's components.


Just be sure to buy from a reputable OEM company, I perfer Seasonic products. Other good brands are Antec, Corsair, Thermaltake, Silverstone, NZXT. You may note I didn't list Cooler Master/OCZ, as I've seen numerous cases corner cutting with alot of their models.


A very high quality PSU that's highly efficient:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817151088

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Originally Posted by Dhalmel

500w easy with no GPU overclocking, but personality I would go to 600~650w, just for some headroom and less stress on the PSU's components.


Just be sure to buy from a reputable OEM company, I perfer Seasonic products. Other good brands are Antec, Corsair, Thermaltake, Silverstone, NZXT. You may note I didn't list Cooler Master/OCZ, as I've seen numerous cases corner cutting with alot of their models.


A very high quality PSU that's highly efficient:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817151088

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Thanks for the tip, I'm also wondering how much of a difference would it be to use a SSD over a 7200rpm hard drive for gaming. Was thinking of just using a SSD for games, and the other for internal storage.

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Originally Posted by Nightdreamer

Thanks for the tip, I'm also wondering how much of a difference would it be to use a SSD over a 7200rpm hard drive for gaming. Was thinking of just using a SSD for games, and the other for internal storage.

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It honestly depends on the game, and how the data is cached and if it's done poorly it can still be slowish on a SSD. (Deus EX: HR release build anyone?)

With my Crucial M4 most games take maybe 10 seconds at most to load maps/levels, sometimes instant.

So YMMV from game to game, but you will definitely see differences in how responsive the OS will be. One thing I can say is to make sure you connect your SSD to your the SATA 6.0 Gbps ports that is running from the motherboards chipset for speed and performance.

Avoid old SSDs that use the earlier Sandforce controller revisions, in my opinion avoid Sandforce completely unless you get the recently release Intel variants.

You should go to overclock.net for more information regarding SSDs, there's just alot to learn about the different controllers, speed, and reliability from SKU to SKU.

With the SSD your games will load faster, but once loaded, it shouldn't do a big difference.

I would also like to add about the power supply, usually if you get one a bit bigger (600-650W in this case) since it won't be used at 100% of its capacity, it will probable be more silent too.

Edit : Dhalmel suggested you good brands for PSU

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Originally Posted by Nightdreamer

Thanks for the tip, I'm also wondering how much of a difference would it be to use a SSD over a 7200rpm hard drive for gaming. Was thinking of just using a SSD for games, and the other for internal storage.

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Using a SSD for your OS and whatever programs you want to load fastest is always a good idea.

A 60GB SSD really should go into most new builds now at least for an OS drive (and you can easily squeeze a game on too in most cases, OK I cant but meh I have a 2nd SSD anyway :D ).

But i'd agree with Dhalmel, http://www.overclock.net/ is a great place to read up, i also like Overclockers.co.uk, I would def have an OS SSD over a gaming one anyway.

With a PSU, again I'm just agreeing mostly, named brand over a cheap alternative will save you in the long run and less likely to fail on you at some point.
Work out what you need +10/15% then get a psu above that amount an your good.
Though I would say consider if you will keep it your for next Pc an Will you expand your GPU to multi card at some point.
If Yes then it might be worth pushing up the power a little, a m8 recently ended up with a the Corsair AX850, for the same price as the ugg... one of the 600 variants lol... he only needed similar to you but the PSU is 100x better with the modular cabling as well.

Thanks x4, love the FF community, always going out of their way to be helpful.

In the end I bought an i5 3570K at 3.8ghz, 8gb Corair Vengeance DDR3 ram, Gigabyte Z77 motherboard and a HD7870 2gb GPU.
Before the servers went offline I could set graphics to maximum except Ambient Occlusion off and get 40 (running through the cities and 60+ fps everywere else. Can't wait for V2.0 now

Good to hear. How's the driver situation? The newest nVidias seem to be running unstably due to their dynamic clocking. My brother and a friend complain about blackscreen crashes etc. and the internet is full of complaints about it too. I usually prefer nVidia cards, but reading reviews lately shows the new nVidias are kind crippled when it comes to graphics compared to AMD pendants (which are crippled in GPGPU performance instead...). Especially annoying is how fast nVidia gives in once you start increasing AA.

Having only had bad experience with AMD GPUs so far (especially drivers), I'm kinda wary of considering them. On the other hand, gaming performance seems to be much better for the same price...