Which is your favoured Platform

[absic]

OK, not only do I want to know what OS you use (If you haven't voted for that you can vote here: http://forum.giga-byte.co.uk/index.php/topic,1614.0.html ) but I am also curious as to the most popular Platform.

You only get 1 vote but, if you change your platform you CAN change your vote!

Go on....... Vote..... it doesn't cost anything, it won't change anything and............... your satisfying my curiosity!

CHEERS! 

[lepiaf37]

I use Intel plateform, but the next will be AMD
I never tried  AMD  gigabyte's  motherboard

[absic]

I have been using AMD for the past 8 years, always on Gigabyte mobos and have not had too many issues, in fact they have all been rock solid.

Just wish I could say the same about some of my choices for other items of hardware but that's another story! 

[Misfire]

   Crossbred!  I love Itel chipset motherboards but use ATI (Dimond) Video cards!   odd! lol

[absic]

Not odd in my opinion, just sensible.

I used to be set on Nvidia cards but switched to ATI a few years back after encountering driver issues and extremely high temps.

[venganza]

Intel/Nvidia

[Dark Mantis]

I tend to go with whichever make is the most advanced performance wise also taking into consideration a bit of future-proofing as much as that is possible in this game. At the moment it is Intel for the processor and AMD for the graphics.

[venganza]

I tend to go with whichever make is the most advanced performance wise also taking into consideration a bit of future-proofing as much as that is possible in this game. At the moment it is Intel for the processor and AMD for the graphics.

I tend to favour performance too, provided price isn't overly silly.

As for graphics, I suspect you mean "ATI" hehe.

Actually while the ATI series is good (apart from a plethora of driver issues as usual with 10.6 being especially retrograde from all reports which was a deal breaker for me) the only Nvidia offering worth a damn seems to be the GTX480.

Ultimately for me it came down to the fact that the GTX480 is faster than the 5870 (not by a whole lot) but will easily surpass it when tessalation becomes more widely used and only run 4c hotter (albeit with more power) and given both ATI and Nviida are idential in terms of fans (both 4700rpm max) is wasn't a hard choice given prices are not far apart now.

Oh here is a decent review (unlike all the half arsed initial quickie reviews that got things so utterly wrong), it won't silence the rabid ATI fanboi crowd of course, fanbois of any kind are sadly set in stone (or should be)

http://www.bjorn3d.com/read.php?cID=1888&pageID=9214

[Dark Mantis]

Yes of course you are quite right I did mean ATI even though they are owned by AMD   I can blame it on my new keyboard
What you say is accurate, there is very little to choose between the top end cards but over here at least in "rip off Britain" the Nvidea is quite a bit more expensive. I would be happy with either card though. All I need to do now is convince Gigabyte that I would be better off with a UD9 board to put it on

[venganza]

Yes of course you are quite right I did mean ATI even though they are owned by AMD   I can blame it on my new keyboard
What you say is accurate, there is very little to choose between the top end cards but over here at least in "rip off Britain" the Nvidea is quite a bit more expensive. I would be happy with either card though. All I need to do now is convince Gigabyte that I would be better off with a UD9 board to put it on

Here in Australia as of today:

Cheapest HD5870 is $499
Cheapest GTX480 is $599

Now given the superiority of the GTX480 (and remember with latest drivers speeds are significantly faster than all those piss poor early reviews which created all the totally wrong heat/noise myths) and factoring in the much better performance with tessalation etc.. then the price gap has really closed since the GTX480 was over $800 here not all that long ago

[absic]

the price gap has really closed since the GTX480 was over $800 here not all that long ago

Maybe they will be giving them away in packs of cornflakes before too long! 

[Dark Mantis]

Cheapest HD5870 is $499
Cheapest GTX480 is $599

How much is the HD5970 over there. It will soon get to a point where it will be worth the trip just to buy some great gear

[venganza]

Aussie prices check this page, oh and it is a very nice site too

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php

[Dark Mantis]

Aussie prices check this page, oh and it is a very nice site too

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php

Thanks for the link, it's a cool site. The 5970 is about 250 aus dollars more here in the UK.

[absic]

It's not just GPU's that are cheaper in other parts of the world than the UK.

I got hold of a Wacom Intuos 3 Graphics tablet a couple of years ago in Japan the cost was £120 including an Airbrush. In the UK the same kit would have cost over £300.

Another thing of note, according to my Japanese wife, is that for some reason in the UK, we are often sold electronic products with a much shorter life expectancy to those in Japan. In fact she is often shocked by the short lifespan of kettles, hair-dryers, alarm clocks, fridges, washing machines, etc., and delights in telling me that in Japan they only replace such goods because they want a new model, not because it breaks!