Nvidia and Radion > w/ AMD or Intel chipsets?

[Anon Creative]

Greetings,

I've been following this website and these forums for a long time, but haven't posted until now. It has always been a very good reliable source of information, to a hobbyist such as myself; and I thank everyone who's contributed.

I am currently in the process of building a new desktop, and from the research I’ve done, i'm having a difficult time selecting a GPU. I know I want to buy the Intel Core i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor BX80601950. However I am not sure what would be the best "bang for my buck" in the GPU dept.

I would like to get a mobo to support X-fire or SLI; however I only plan on going with one GPU for a while, to start. I am a CAD drafter, though I don't plan on loading extremely large models on my PC. I also want a rig that will support the latest games.

I believe I've seen the questions/statements posted before "AMD chipsets are typically more compatible with ATI GPUs. Similarly NVIDIA works more efficiently with Intel. This being said, I understand that there are many different variables that would make this not necessarily true. SO, is there any kind of coconscious on which GPU chipset will work better with my Intel i7?

Please feel free to offer up any advice or ask any question you feel would be helpful.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Qbah]

There are no compatibility issues between Radeons and Intel chipsets or GeForces and AMD chipsets.

Both a Radeon and a GeForce will work very well with your Core i7. All you have to worry about is your budget and the resolution you wish to play at. Give us this and we will tell you the best candidates

 

[Lonbjerg]

Nope.
But since you are into CAD, are you considering a professional card and not a gamer card?
If so I would recommend a Quadro(NVIDIA) card.

 

[nenforcer]

You've already chosen the best platform for either Radeon or Geforce graphics cards.

Any high end X58 chipset based motherboard will run both Radeon's in Crossfire or Geforce cards in SLI.

You can't go wrong and then if you decide to switch from Geforce to Radeon you can also switch from SLI to Crossfire.

 

[Anon Creative]

There are no compatibility issues between Radeons and Intel chipsets or GeForces and AMD chipsets.

Both a Radeon and a GeForce will work very well with your Core i7. All you have to worry about is your budget and the resolution you wish to play at. Give us this and we will tell you the best candidates

Thanks for the response.

I'd like to spend less than $2k though I may let that slide up to $2500. I'm not exactly sure what resolution I want to use yet. I am still researching which monitor will be best for my needs/budget. I am looking at Dell's UltraSharp U2410 24-inch Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor, which has a 1920 x 1200 resolution. However I think there may be some similar monitors at a better price out there.

 

[Anon Creative]

Nope.
But since you are into CAD, are you considering a professional card and not a gamer card?
If so I would recommend a Quadro(NVIDIA) card.

I did look into the Quadros, however I will not be loading huge files while at home. I'll just need to make the ocasional adjustment to a part or shop dwg. In fact, most of the time ill be doing this from my laptop. :\

 

[Qbah]

Thanks for the response.

I'd like to spend less than $2k though I may let that slide up to $2500. I'm not exactly sure what resolution I want to use yet. I am still researching which monitor will be best for my needs/budget. I am looking at Dell's UltraSharp U2410 24-inch Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor, which has a 1920 x 1200 resolution. However I think there may be some similar monitors at a better price out there.

For 1920x1200 I would suggest a GTX570 - they go for ~$350 in the US, offer excellent performance and are very quiet.

A friend of mine has the U2410 and the monitor is absolutely gorgeous. The picture quality is amazing. It's without a doubt the best monitor I have ever seen. Though it is pricey. However a ~$2500 budget for everything (PC+OS+LCD) should be enough.