PC hardware forum: Same GPU?

This is normal in a free market economy. For example I'd add over a thousand bucks if I had to support the end user. No offense but do you think the market should be brought under some central control?
Bob

What I guess I meant was I want to know why two graphics cards of the same "quality" vary in cost so much. Is it the way the manufacturer assembles it? I guess I'm just wondering if I buy the one that is over $100 less than the more expensive one will it still be just as good? Just confused because they both have the same technology (Radeon HD 7970 with 3GB GDDR5), so I thought the same performance?

And the other was from a plant that wasn't so green. I can't guess if that's true but there are full retail prices and discount. There are retailers that offer great service and will take back the product or help you install it. Another sells you the box and that's it.

I'm still unsure if you are unaware it is a free market economy. That is, the price does move around.
Bob

Yeah I understand the free market economy. I was just wondering if there were benefits to buying the more expensive one that I couldn't see.

I see no links to the products so the question must be that you can't see why to pay more.

Try this. Search for a review on said card and watch for items that matter to you. For example some cards have fans that ROAR. You may want to check out the next card.

Also, why the 7970? Some gamers go to the top of the list very quickly. I've learned to go to the middle or low on the list.

What list? Link follows.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107.html

Bob

That's an excellent point that I hadn't thought of. I guess the quality of the assembly of the card in general might be better. I was just using that GPU as an example. Not necessarily the one I'm getting. But just in case you have an opinion on the card, I want to be able to get the best possible performance out of my games.

For example they pick from the list I noted within their budget and have read the following a lot of times.

"Our tests demonstrate fairly little difference between a $225 LGA 1155 Core i5-2500K and a $1000 LGA 2011 Core i7-3960X, even when three-way graphics card configurations are involved. It turns out that memory bandwidth and PCIe throughput don't hold back the performance of existing Sandy Bridge-based machines. "
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106-4.html

So that covers the GPU and CPU. For the HDD my nod is to that hybrid 750GB 7200 2.5 inch drive. Best of both worlds without the pain.
bob

When I was looking through many builds I see the 3570k CPU brought up a lot as one of the best cpu for the money and performance. I was also researching and I found that the CPU doesn't need to be that high end because it was mainly the GPU that mattered. Some people even suggested that the GPU take up 50% of your budget and that would let you play games with ease on max settings. Wouldn't that unbalance between a cheaper cpu and an expensive gpu be counterproductive? I was thinking of the 3570k matched with a top of the line gpu such as the 7970 or GTX670/680. Is that too much power? Keep in mind I want this thing to run perfectly on max (sorry for so many questions)

And one problem. I've yet to find everything to run perfectly on max. I can't guess if you know why so I'll summarize.

Current games must overtax any hardware today so when better hardware comes out, more features and eye candy show up.

There's some longer explainers about this.
Bob

http://newbcomputerbuild.com/newb-computer-build-home/november-2012-gaming-pc-builds/#build3
That's going to be the build, the "$1500" one. Minus the case. I really like the corsair obsidian black mid tower case. It just really appeals to me so I was leaning towards that one. I'm not sure about the hard drive situation either but the build will be very similar. Any other wise words of wisdom before I commence operations?

I don't pay for cases. They add zip in performance and in fact, give me a duct tape held together unit any day. The thief will look at it and think it's junk.
Bob

Well then I guess I better order a cardboard box from my garage Let the building begin.