[TonyD]

Switching to a different chipset graphics card? – I would use DriverCleaner to completely remove any trace of the previous drivers before installing the new ones. I had to do this when changing from my 5850 to the 6970 due to Win7 intelligently (!) deciding to keep the previous clock profiles.

PCI-ex 3.0? – this is apparently due on mainboards towards the end of the year, and AMD 7xxx cards are rumoured to be compliant (which should be out around December this year) as is Intel’s IvyBridge (which is rumoured to be out Q2 2012). This will allow a greater band width than is currently available, but is this a huge issue? – it’s not as if the current version 2.0 has reached saturation. And the new standard is apparently backwardly compatible with version 2.0 so there shouldn’t be any hardware conflicts. The trouble is if you decide to wait for the next rumoured hardware standard, you will never purchase, as there is always something bigger-better-faster-more on the way.