Best graphic card

[kemperkipie]

Hello,
I'm planning on building a new computer, this is what I have in mind so far:

ASUS Sabertooth 990FX
AMD FX-8150 Liquid cooled edition
16GB 1600MHz RAM
2x120 OCZ 120 AG3 (RAID 0) + 1 TB 7200rpm
Zalman Z11 Plus case

Now I need to decide what graphic cards i would take. I'm planning to play Guild Wars 2 1920x1080 on maximum possible settings. What card should I buy.
XFX AMD Radeon 7970 Black edition - Dual Fan
Or the Nvidia GTX 680 (not sure what edition)

I'll probably take 2 for Crossfire or SLI. But I think i'll start with 1, maybe buy a second one in about a month.

Do u have any advice on what I should buy?

 

[Max1s]

If you actually care about performance, dont buy bulldozer. Get the intel i5 2500k or better.

Since it dosnt seem like you have a budget limit, you might as well take the gtx 680, as its better and nvidia is usually more reliable. Or if you want to wait nvidia is sure to release the GTX 690 which will basically be two 680s on one card.

 

[kajabla]

You should not go AMD for the CPU. The FX-8000s are generally seen as a failure in the gaming world. Just get a 2500K: it'll be both faster and cheaper.
Also, SSD RAID 0 is probably a waste of money. You'd do better to get a single 256gb drive that's known to be reliable, unlike the Agility, with the money. Check out the 256gb Samsung 830: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147135

The 680's looking better at the moment, though the 7970 comes quite close when OCed. What really matters here is pricing and availability. On the one hand, the 7970 costs way more than it has any right to relative to the faster 680. On the other, though, no amount of money will get you a 680 right now. They're sold out everywhere. If you're willing to wait a week or two you might be able to get yourself a 680, or else the 7970 may drop in price enough to be a reasonable buy.

 

[kemperkipie]

You should not go AMD for the CPU. The FX-8000s are generally seen as a failure in the gaming world. Just get a 2500K: it'll be both faster and cheaper.
Also, SSD RAID 0 is probably a waste of money. You'd do better to get a single 256gb drive that's known to be reliable, unlike the Agility, with the money. Check out the 256gb Samsung 830: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147135

The 680's looking better at the moment, though the 7970 comes quite close when OCed. What really matters here is pricing and availability. On the one hand, the 7970 costs way more than it has any right to relative to the faster 680. On the other, though, no amount of money will get you a 680 right now. They're sold out everywhere. If you're willing to wait a week or two you might be able to get yourself a 680, or else the 7970 may drop in price enough to be a reasonable buy.

I have enough time to decide, i have to sell my current laptop (alienware m15x) before i can afford a new pc. The main reason i went for AMD is because i really like the Sabertooth 990FX. I prefer ASUS as MOBO, but i really want at least 3 or more PCIe slots, in case i want to put a tripple SLI or Crossfire.
But does it really matter what kind of card i take, to play the game "Guild Wars 2" an MMORPG. because i currently have a 6970M in my laptop, which performs battlefied and call of duty on almost maxed out settings on 1920x1080.. but MMORPG? WoW, and Aion.. can't even put it on ultra..

Anyway.. usually i really prefer Ati as card, since i've always had ATI.. but this GTX 680 seems a lot better.. I really want to know if for GW2 i should take Crossfire 7970, or SLI GTX 680.

And about my SSD's. i thought RAID 0 really increases the read/write speed of my SSD's. how can it ever be better to take a single? Not really sure what i should take now..

(if u can ever convince me to pick Intel instead of AMD, i would at least go for 2600k or perhaps 2700k)

Thanks for your quick reaction

 

[Sunius]

What about this motherboard? It has 3 PCIe slots.

If you want 4 PCIe slots, only sandy bridge extreme socket offers that.

EDIT: <- retarded. Forgot to post the link.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131790

 

[omega21xx]

If you are considering CF/SLI with two high end cards, you should definitely go with a i5-2500k. You'll bottleneck pretty severe on the FX-8120/8150. Of course if you were playing higher than 1080p it wouldn't be too big a deal but at 1080p you will see a bottleneck.

In games the i7 won't net you more performance. I'm guessing you need 8 threads for something?

As for more than 2 PCIe slots, You won't see very good scaling beyond two cards. With a good OC you can get 3 cards just fine but that is the max right now before having all sorts of driver issues and bottlenecking.

 

[kemperkipie]

If you are considering CF/SLI with two high end cards, you should definitely go with a i5-2500k. You'll bottleneck pretty severe on the FX-8120/8150. Of course if you were playing higher than 1080p it wouldn't be too big a deal but at 1080p you will see a bottleneck.

In games the i7 won't net you more performance. I'm guessing you need 8 threads for something?

As for more than 2 PCIe slots, You won't see very good scaling beyond two cards. With a good OC you can get 3 cards just fine but that is the max right now before having all sorts of driver issues and bottlenecking.

I think I would really consider Intel i7 2600k now, while i still prefer AMD...

But now i realy need to know what kind of graphic card i should take whit cross/sli..
Mainly for the upcoming game Guild Wars 2.
Should i take 2x 7970 xfx black edition, or should i take 2x gtx 680,

 

[Sunius]

2x gtx 680 would be more powerful.

 

[kemperkipie]

Hmm, I have a lot to consider now.. i'll most certainly going to look at all option. Thanks for your help.

 

[kemperkipie]

Best answer selected by kemperkipie.