Intel is not terribly gaming oriented, so using a modern Intel graphics chip would probably be similar to using a mid-range Radeon card with the free software drivers. I myself can attest that using the free drivers still allows for a whole world of games to be played, but I am assuming you wish to use the binary drivers, in which case you need to go AMD again or Nvidia, and since you were not happy with Catalyst, you will probably wish to go with Nvidia.

Thanks, Hamish :) And I'll probably give the open source drivers a go initially, if not just because installing catalyst has sometimes caused me much hassle and occasionally killed my x-server :P

In terms of system integration and convenience nothing can beat a proper in-kernel driver like the free radeon and Intel drivers. Top performance and access to certain specialized features are the major trade offs, but this is an area of constant improvement from both camps.

I have a desktop with a Geforce GTX 650TI, which mostly works, I can run all the games I´ve tried on it.
Then I have a laptop with Intel HD 3000, I know it´s quite a crappy card, but I have a lot of games which I can´t even run on it, due to that it´s not supported. I also had a Geforce G 210, the cheapest Nvidia card I could get about a year ago on a desktop I used as a HTPC before I bought my other rig, but it performed quite okay for it´s price compered to my GTX 650Ti. 

I would recommend you to get a Nvidia card, even if there´s a Intel card that shows better on benchmarks for the same price.

If you're going to get Nvidia, assume you won't be able to game much with the free drivers and just resign yourself to using their binary drivers, which are well-maintained by most reports.

By the way, I happen to have experience with the i7 version of http://zareason.com/shop/Limbo-5880.html having just bought one in September. It has worked great for me -- so far I love it. I ordered mine without a graphics card, and added a radeon from Newegg. Brief playtests using the builtin Intel graphics, before installing the radeon, showed that it was quite usable for some games. Whether you'll be happy with the builtin graphics depends on what sort of games you play and how high you expect to be able to turn up the graphics settings. It might be worth a try buying Limbo without Nvidia or Radeon, use it for a while, and if you're not satisfied add an Nvidia graphic card later. Installing a PCIe card is not that hard; you can find somebody at your local LUG to help if you're not confident doing it by yourself yet.

I have the nvidia 560ti and it works perfectly, hasn't failed me yet!

I've decided to wait a bit on the new rig; lest friends and family go without gifts this season. Regardless, thanks for all the info, I'll be sure to keep it handy come tax season :)

Just saw a Phoronix benchmarking article which illustrates well why gamers don't bother with Nvidia reverse-engineered driver, while some (like Hamish) can happily use radeon free driver

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=21way_thanksgiving_gpus&num=3

The situation for free Nvidia drivers might start improving next year, since Nvidia actually started releasing some docs (though nothing that solves the big nouveau problems yet), but I'm guessing it will take a while for them to achieve parity with radeon even after some relevant documentation gets released.

http://lists.freedesktop.org/archives/nouveau/2013-September/014480.html

In the realm of proprietary drivers, I suspect Linux Catalyst driver is also going to be improving rapidly thanks to Valve's influence on behalf of SteamBoxes like the one posted earlier... gap could be narrowing in both directions.

Well, after a few months of saving I finally have enough for a new gaming rig :) I decided to go with a Dell desktop: http://www.dell.com/us/p/xps-8700/pd?oc=fddogx315&model_id=xps-8700

At $200 dollars off I can't pass it up; looks to be fairly well equipped for gaming :D

Quoting: HadBabitsWell, after a few months of saving I finally have enough for a new gaming rig :) I decided to go with a Dell desktop: http://www.dell.com/us/p/xps-8700/pd?oc=fddogx315&model_id=xps-8700

At $200 dollars off I can't pass it up; looks to be fairly well equipped for gaming :D

Were you that opposed to building your own system? Just wondering of course.