Do we as a forum need a bit more consistency in our recommendations

[bru]

One thing that I have noticed over this last generation of cards in particular is that the advice that is given is sometimes confusing to the people asking.

Right from the start I want to make it clear that this isn't a dig at any body in particular just more of a suggestion to the whole forum.

There have been several threads especially of late where conflicting advice has seemed to be given, even when it hast actually been the case but it has come across as such. Normally these threads revolve around someone asking for what card to get, or wanting to play at maximum settings. of course what card to get is subjective depending on what games or applications you will be using it for. But sometimes favouritism to one team or the other gets the better of us and advice goes a bit astray. yes all of us do it at times, and I'm not meaning the red is god and green is the devil or vice a versa, but those times when for whatever reason someone will post something and you just feel you have to respond with a counter argument. We all do it its human nature.

Maximum settings. This is a good one, just what are maximum settings? all the sliders up as far as they will go? not a single setting left not at its highest? Well in that case we need to run everything with 32*AA and all the other bells and whistles that are tunable in the GPU control panel all up on the top settings. (cant some cards do 64*AA?)
In reality something around a 7850/660 bracket will run nearly everything at a acceptable frame rate with the very good settings. there was a thread earlier where is was mentioned that a 680 would struggle at high res, now the point the poster seemed to making was a good one, but the initial reaction is 680 not good enough don't be daft.

So is there more that we as a forum can do to make our advice more consistent?

Discuss.

 

[tommybhoy]

In reality something around a 7850/660 bracket will run nearly everything at a acceptable frame rate with the very good settings.

You don't even need that, an older 5850/460 is more than ample for high settings, but when folks just crave the bells and whistles-money gets thrown at it in sometimes crazy fashion.

there was a thread earlier where is was mentioned that a 680 would struggle at high res, now the point the poster seemed to making was a good one, but the initial reaction is 680 not good enough don't be daft.

In the case of the 680@high res, it's not a case of it's not good enough, it's rather that right now, why would you when a considerably cheaper 7950 CrossFire setup can beat a quite costly 680 SLi setup with ease-unless your tied into a Nvidia 3D solution-the sneaky dogs.

So is there more that we as a forum can do to make our advice more consistent?

Try even harder to not be blinded by brand loyalty/our own personal justification of purchase choice.

 

[Rusty0611]

Not really. It's not like your providing advice to which you're getting paid for and are held accountable for - you're providing your own personal opinion on what's the best option.

If it's based on purchase justification or bad information there's always somebody to point it out and provide a different opinion.

I think most people will decide on the balance of opinions anyway.

 

[Gregster]

You could seperate the forum into Nvia - AMD - General and this way, you will have all the fanboys bigging up what they use from either side and the general section used for debate/trolling/petty arguments whatever you wish to call it.

My gripe is when some one says for example:

I want an Nvidia card and it esculates into a torrent of purchase justification for that person for not using common sense and buying a cheaper AMD card and vice versa. Sometimes money does not come into the equasion and the OP has stated what he wants and we should respect his/her wishes. Most of us on here have witnessed cringe worthy comments and I have probably been guilty of such typing skills.

As of late, I am begging to jump in and tell someone to get a 680 Lightning but unless the OP states "I have an Nvidia 3D monitor and money is no object" I don't get that chance

All in all though, I feel we get on quite well and do advise fairly decently with pluses for each brand being pointed out and leaving the OP a little wiser than when he first posted. Go look at some of the other forums and see how much trolling is out there. We are angels compared to some

 

[Devrij]

I understand what the OP is saying, and I agree that if we were all able to take our personal opinions out of the matter it would be a good thing.

I like to think that most "spec me" threads are balanced out with some good advice against the occasional fanboy, but there's always room for improvement. I think perhaps asking more questions of the OP of a "spec me"is the only real way to determine what card is best for them, but that's usually well covered in most threads.

Perhaps the issue lies in the fact that typically we recommend what we know, and if we've always been AMD/Nvidia, chances are we won't read much about the other team. Lack of knowledge means you'd be hesitant to recommend it. Perhaps we should all read up a bit on the "other team" to balance our knowledge bases (for those of us who don't swing both ways )?

 

[tommybhoy]

Go look at some of the other forums and see how much trolling is out there. We are angels compared to some

The FC3 thread is just about to kick off I think, you don't have to go far mate.

In the PC game section there is an AMD downsampling thread, it went nasty too by the looks of all the deleted threads- and I presume it's all AMD users.

It's just human nature most of the time and it's sooo easy to be part of the so solid crew behind a keyboard too.

It's usually well behaved in here until someone drops their sweeties.

 

[Addicted]

It's a forum, that's what opinions are for.

 

['Wes]

The FC3 thread is just about to kick off I think, you don't have to go far mate.

Just checked that, rather petty atmosphere going on in that thread.

I've used both Nvidia and AMD GPU's and i've liked both companies, but i recommend the best value if you require an AMD card in a certain series and vice versa for an Nvidia card, i stay mutual when giving advice and try my best to give people the best valued GPU you can buy.

I never sway someone who wants a 680 for example to purchase a 7970, i stick to what the OP wants.

 

[Twirlywoos]

I like the arguments/debates.

People who ask for particular cards are usually naive on the subject (or not up to speed with the latest developments) so what's wrong with offering other suggestions especially when people back it up with reviews, videos and benchmarks?

 

['Wes]

I like the arguments/debates.

People who ask for particular cards are usually naive on the subject (or not up to speed with the latest developments) so what's wrong with offering other suggestions especially when people back it up with reviews, videos and benchmarks?

There is nothing wrong with that, it's just lately i've been more inclined to reply with what the OP suggested instead of looking at benchmarks and giving him a less expensive card that does the job.

Just being lazy i guess.

 

[kkbigal]

Not really. It's not like your providing advice to which you're getting paid for and are held accountable for - you're providing your own personal opinion on what's the best option.

If it's based on purchase justification or bad information there's always somebody to point it out and provide a different opinion.

I think most people will decide on the balance of opinions anyway.

This

A forum by it's very nature will only contain people's opinions, even if they are backed up with facts. Trawl as many benchmark sites as possible and then canvas opinion for things like driver issues and any specialist areas that might not be covered elsewhere.

There's nothing wrong with healthy debate, but on many occasions it degenerates into hostile, tribal feuds. The only thing that you can do is simply ban those that take it too far; something that happens anyway

 

[spoffle]

There's nothing really wrong with suggesting someone gets something other than what they say they want. I've never really understood why people get upset when the OP says something "Only want nVidia, thanks" and some one suggests a non-nVidia card.

Interestingly, I've been moaned at for doing that very thing by people who've been doing that very thing a fair amount lately. *shrug*

It's not disrespectful, until the OP replies no one knows what the OP's reasons are for wanting to only go nVidia. It could be perfectly reasonable (they've got a 3D Vision display and want 3D), or it could be that their best mate is rabidly obsessed with nVidia to the point of it being a one-sided love affair (he thinks otherwise), the type that claims AMD drivers NEVER work (despite never having use an AMD card) and this is where the OP's wants for an nVidia card come from. Or that every game that's got "PhysX" in it, runs on the GPU and NEEDS an nVidia card to run properly.

What some one thinks they want, and what's probably right for them aren't always the same thing, especially in the current situation where realistically there's little to no benefit in spending out on a graphics card that's above the 7950 price bracket.

That's not because I "want" people to have a specific card, I couldn't care less really, but you're not going to get the improvement that the price difference would indicate. In the case of some GTX 680s and 7970s, you could get 2x 7950s that would crap all over them for performance, for near enough the same cost. Value for money is top priority for me.

 

[Cleeecooo]

Another reason there's so much inconsistency is that prices change so often it's really hard to spec the same thing.

If you were to look through my posts for a year, then you'd see me go all the way from "Don't buy from those AMD ****ers - they're ripping us off every penny we've got!" to " Holy crap - WTF are nvidia thinking?! They're not even using lube when raping us with these prices!"

And, TBH, that's perfectly justified because if you stick to recommending the same card at all times, then you're probably doing something wrong. Most of us here are hopefully here because we want to help someone with their purchase - we stand nothing to gain from them buying what we spec so I don't understand fanboyism. Some people seem to be intent on getting everyone to buy from one brand, i really don't get that!

As for what Greg said earlier about someone wanting a certain brand of card, I agree with him, but I still think we should inform them of the other side's offerings in case they do change their mind

 

[Rusty0611]

The rule is criticise - I'm not criticising.

My post is on topic and on the subject of recommendations .

 

[Gregster]

I have no qualms about someone suggesting another AMD for example in a "I want Nvidia thread" and vice versa, what isn't fair is the crap that comes with it.

Spoffle mentions PhysX...Having looked at a couple of games that use PhysX, the effects look good IMO and we buy very expensive cards to make the effects look good....I am not saying this is the sole reason to buy Nvidia, it is something that needs to be pointed out. If the OP of a particular thread was big into BL2 or any other PhysX game, surely common sense would say to get Nvidia? On the other hand, if the OP was big into Dirt Showdown or Far Cry 3, then AMD would be the better choice, as these games run faster on AMD GPUs.

Devrij hits a good point with more questions should be asked of the OP. Cleee also hits a good point with prices jumping about.

Just my tuppence and nothing personal at anyone...EVER (except TimmyBhoy of course )

 

[spoffle]

I have no qualms about someone suggesting another AMD for example in a "I want Nvidia thread" and vice versa, what isn't fair is the crap that comes with it.

You have complained at me simply for suggesting an AMD card over an nVidia one on the basis of price/performance.

Spoffle mentions PhysX...Having looked at a couple of games that use PhysX, the effects look good IMO and we buy very expensive cards to make the effects look good....I am not saying this is the sole reason to buy Nvidia, it is something that needs to be pointed out. If the OP of a particular thread was big into BL2 or any other PhysX game, surely common sense would say to get Nvidia? On the other hand, if the OP was big into Dirt Showdown or Far Cry 3, then AMD would be the better choice, as these games run faster on AMD GPUs.

That's not what I was getting at. I was talking about the ignorance associated with "PhysX" where a lot of people think that all games that have "PhysX" listed definitely run on the GPU, where it's less than 10% of PhysX enabled games actually use the GPU for physics processing.

Generally though, even when it's on the GPU, most PhysX is crap and looks crap, except for Metro Last Light, that part where the guy pulls the cover off the car, now that is impressive.

If that was the definition of "PhysX" in games, I'd be far more impressed and have little to complain about when it comes to PhysX, but outside of that most PhysX effects are just token effects that go against the spirit of "PhysX" in the first place.

Second to Metro would be Borderlands, but the novelty wears off quick with that, loads of the effects are nothing we haven't already seen before for the most part, and in other areas the effects are so over the top that they get in the way.

I've lost count of the amount of times I've been in a firefight and not been able to see the enemies due to all the "PhysX" crap flying about. It's nice to look at but gets in the way for me in Borderlands 2.

Devrij hits a good point with more questions should be asked of the OP. Cleee also hits a good point with prices jumping about.

Even with prices jumping about, the price structure very rarely changes. It's been ages now since the 7950 was the best value for money high end card to get. Realistically, it's very hard for anyone to justify using sound reasoning getting anything above (in price) in straight performance terms.

 

[Gregster]

what isn't fair is the crap that comes with it.

That is my point.

 

[spoffle]

I've had you complain for me merely suggesting an AMD card over an nVidia one though. You said something along the lines of "The OP wants nVidia, so don't suggest AMD".

 

[C64]

I disagree a 7850 is slower than a 6970 apart from battlefield 3 so there is no way a 7850 can run everything with acceptable frames , hell I bet it wont even do arma 2 at good frames.A 7950 maybe but no way a 7850.

 

[Kaapstad]

There is nothing wrong with people offering different points of view, but these views should only be offered once or twice in a thread. People should not get into an ongoing arguement pushing their point of view about 25 times in the same post.