Anyone else think it's pointless to upgrade now?

Modular

Diamond Member
Jul 1, 2005
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Well, I picked up an HD4850 as an upgrade from a 6600gt, so I'm in a different boat than the people who are going through the sideways upgrade that you mention here. I guess it comes down to preference as there are some people who can see a difference between 35 and 45 FPS. For them, an upgrade to a 4850 from an 8800gt might be worthwhile.
 

wayliff

Lifer
Nov 28, 2002
11,720
11
81
I am personally thinking of upgrading - i currently have a Connect3D x800xl 256MB...
It works fine but it is outdated...I like the 4850 but I dont have to upgrade right now.
 

Lazlo Panaflex

Platinum Member
Jun 12, 2006
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I'm interested in the upcoming 4850X2. But, I'll probably hold onto my 8800GTS for a while, since it runs most stuff I play very well.
 

error8

Diamond Member
Nov 28, 2007
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Overclock the hell out of your 8800 GT and you can say that you upgraded to a 4850. Of course you wont have directX 10 and that AA performance, but its the best thing to do with no money spent. :)
 

scheibler1

Banned
Feb 17, 2008
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I don't even have dx10...still using xp. A 4850 coming from an x800xl is going to be a drastic upgrade. When I went from an X850XT to an 8800gt it was night and day
 

chizow

Diamond Member
Jun 26, 2001
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Originally posted by: scheibler1
I play Company Of Heroes, Grid, COD4, HL2+both episodes, DOD/CS: Source, Bioshock, BF2, C&C Generals, MOH Airborne, Farcry, etc.

Certainly it depends what games you play and what you find acceptable, but I found single-GPU G80 and G92 were not sufficient to run many titles at 1920 without any AA and in many cases, I was also forced to turn down in-game settings or shadows. The underlined titles can certainly benefit from a faster GPU, although I'm referring to CoH DX10. Bioshock and MOH Airborne ran well on my 8800GTX although there were occasional frame rate drops.

Some recent titles that were borderline playable on an 8800GTX that play great now on my GTX 280 are Assassin's Creed, Witcher, Mass Effect, World In Conflict, LOTRO, NWN2, etc. In many of those titles, I can use AA too, but in the older titles like the ones you listed I can enable much higher AA modes without any noticeable hit to frame rates.
 

AzN

Banned
Nov 26, 2001
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People who go from a 8800gt to a 8800gts/9800gtx, 4850 have problems. It's called addiction. People will tell you they need more speed and need that extra 10 fps but the graphical difference between some medium and high settings to all high settings is not much. People will argue that it is not the case and need that extra fps and need to turn up all settings to satisfy their needs.

People who have x800xl or whatever should upgrade to a cheap midrange card available. You will see huge differences. Finally able to from low to high settings and even turn up AA.
 

will889

Golden Member
Sep 15, 2003
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Originally posted by: Azn
People who go from a 8800gt to a 8800gts/9800gtx, 4850 have problems. It's called addiction. People will tell you they need more speed and need that extra 10 fps but the graphical difference between some medium and high settings to all high settings is not much. People will argue that it is not the case and need that extra fps and need to turn up all settings to satisfy their needs.

People who have x800xl or whatever should upgrade to a cheap midrange card available. You will see huge differences. Finally able to from low to high settings and even turn up AA.

Agreed. From an X800XL-pro to even a 9600GT (or 8800GT) is a massive difference. 8800GT'ers should go for at least a 260 or 4870 to see a tangible difference.
 

Tattare

Senior member
Mar 4, 2008
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Right now with Quad Crossfire and that 3way sli garbage its time to Go dual monitor. Watch a bluray and play your games at the same time. Throw away the tv and watch it via the interwebs. Im loving trolling youtube and playing my games at the same time.
 

Peelback79

Senior member
Oct 26, 2007
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I upgraded to my 8800GTS (G92) form an FX5950"Ultra". I game @ 1440x900, and even Crysis runs good. I'm waiting to see what the next round of Nvidia is going to be. Even if it's only slightly better than ATi it will result in more price wars. If the GTX260's get any cheaper I think I might move up a step just on the principal of it. They're cheaper than my GTS was when it first came out.
 

Piuc2020

Golden Member
Nov 4, 2005
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You don't need the new cards but if you can afford it they do provide a nice advantage, higher resolutions, more AA, whatever.

a 8800GT->HD 4850 upgrade is really a sidestep, the HD 4850 is faster, yes, but there is not ONE game that the HD 4850 will play that the 8800GT will not, so why not wait and get a much better card once your 8800GT starts to show its age?

Yes, the only reason to do that upgrade is if you have extra money and would like to have higher levels of AA and maybe a little smoother performance in some cases.

What really amazes me is the fantastic deal early 8800GTX adopters got... their card is still one of the best around and can still handle all games out there at max or near-max settings and resolutions and it's 2 years old.
 

cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
27,052
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Originally posted by: Piuc2020
You don't need the new cards but if you can afford it they do provide a nice advantage, higher resolutions, more AA, whatever.

a 8800GT->HD 4850 upgrade is really a sidestep, the HD 4850 is faster, yes, but there is not ONE game that the HD 4850 will play that the 8800GT will not, so why not wait and get a much better card once your 8800GT starts to show its age?

Yes, the only reason to do that upgrade is if you have extra money and would like to have higher levels of AA and maybe a little smoother performance in some cases.

What really amazes me is the fantastic deal early 8800GTX adopters got... their card is still one of the best around and can still handle all games out there at max or near-max settings and resolutions and it's 2 years old
.

Bold part...remember crysis? 1920x1080 is pretty bad all around. :D

Besides that yes i agree.

I guess when thinking of upgrading it depends on your situation. How old is your card? What doesn't run well? Are you upgrading monitor to a large size as well? Etc. Also it depends on the deal. if you find a nice open box deal on something and want to go for it, why not?
 

apoppin

Lifer
Mar 9, 2000
34,890
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alienbabeltech.com
Originally posted by: scheibler1
Just trying to see if anyone else out there feels the same way as me about upgrading right now. I'm a firm believer in not upgrading unless you actually need to. I see tons of people upgrading(or sidegrading) from 8800gt's,8800gts's, 8800gtx's, 3870x2's to 4850's, 4870's, and gtx 260's and don't really understand it unless you've got a 30" monitor.

I've got an 8800gt oc and e2180 @ 3ghz and still don't have any games besides crysis that I can't run @ max setting @ 1920x1200. I play Company Of Heroes, Grid, COD4, HL2+both episodes, DOD/CS: Source, Bioshock, BF2, C&C Generals, MOH Airborne, Farcry, etc. Sure I would like to play crysis again @ 1920x1200 this time around @ very high, but it just ain't happening with today's hardware....I'll glady wait for better hardware. It seems as if everyone is upgrading for more fps when the minimum fps that you already get is acceptable.

Personally I am going to play the upcoming games that I want with the most graphical demanding last such as Farcry 2(if coded poorly) and Crysis Warhead.

I'm thinkin the 8800gt oc will still hold its own in GTA4, Brothers In Arms Hells Highway(maybe), C&C3 Red Alert, COD5, and Saints Row 2

When I really need more performance quad cores will be way ahead and I'll pick up a Q6600 or q9650 for way cheaper along with whatever card is better then the 4870x2

Well i ran a 8800GTX and i couldn't stand the slow-ass FPS with 19x12 and max details - nevermind AA =P

even a 4870 didn't satisfy me, so i got an X2

what is "acceptable" to you appears to be painful for me
rose.gif
 

Jax Omen

Golden Member
Mar 14, 2008
1,654
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Originally posted by: Piuc2020
What really amazes me is the fantastic deal early 8800GTX adopters got... their card is still one of the best around and can still handle all games out there at max or near-max settings and resolutions and it's 2 years old.

I'm mashing my QFT button and I don't think I'm mashing it hard enough.
 

SneakyStuff

Diamond Member
Jan 13, 2004
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It's pointless to upgrade now because there are no new games out... :( I bought my 8800GT for CoD4 alone really, I can't wait for FarCry 2!
 

cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
27,052
357
126
Originally posted by: SneakyStuff
It's pointless to upgrade now because there are no new games out... :( I bought my 8800GT for CoD4 alone really, I can't wait for FarCry 2!

Yeah, I got a 4870 because my 2900xt died but I wouldn't have otherwise bought anything. Got it with a rebate so it was cheaper than the gtx260 which I was considering as well.

All that aside I think I could have spent another $200 and got a GTX280, but that $200 goes toward my other hobby which is much more costly than my PC...my gun collection.
 

RockinZ28

Platinum Member
Mar 5, 2008
2,171
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Stalker: Clear Sky will pwn your GT. It's more demanding than Crysis from what I can tell. The DX10 effects are actually worth having, but alas there's no hope without a newer card. This was on a G92 8800gts oc'd to ~800/2000/2200. Couldn't even make it playable at 1280x960 without looking like crap, let alone the desired 16x12. It still looks good in dx9 with dynamic lighting and runs fine though. The full lighting and dx10 option kills it unless you can aim with 15-30fps.
 

bryanW1995

Lifer
May 22, 2007
11,144
32
91
Originally posted by: Azn
People who go from a 8800gt to a 8800gts/9800gtx, 4850 have problems. It's called addiction. People will tell you they need more speed and need that extra 10 fps but the graphical difference between some medium and high settings to all high settings is not much. People will argue that it is not the case and need that extra fps and need to turn up all settings to satisfy their needs.

People who have x800xl or whatever should upgrade to a cheap midrange card available. You will see huge differences. Finally able to from low to high settings and even turn up AA.

well, that depends on what is is...oops, wrong forum...uh, we don't have an "addiction" so much as we just have to upgrade all the time...besides, I did get to go from a 3870 to a 4850 for only $40.
 

suklee

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
4,575
10
81
Good post.

In my younger days I had no problem splashing out $400+ for a video card, which is actually what I did with my 7800GTX when it first came out. It has lasted me 3+ years. If you read my other thread, I thought the card was lagging behind a bit, but found that after cleaning out the dust and turning down some in-game settings in TF2, it runs it just fine at 1680x1050. :)

Usually a really good game is enough to make me upgrade my video card (I think it was BF2 that made me buy my 7800GTX + Shuttle SN25P). I'm not sure which good FPS are on the horizon, but playing TF2 once in a while is enough for now. For my next upgrade I'd probably want 1) a nice 1920x1200 LCD monitor; and 2) a video card that can drive the game at this resolution with decent visuals.

edit: Diablo 3 could be the game that triggers my next video upgrade :D
 

biteman

Junior Member
Jul 25, 2008
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0
0
I have a 8800 GTX and it runs most my games as smooth as butter. But there are quite a number of games where it will have trouble running smoothly. I really do feel like getting a new video card wouldn't be such a bad purchase. For example you mentioned that you were interested in C&C 3 Red Alert, i have C&C 3 and if its any indication on how RA3 will play i really think you'll want a new video card. All the newer games will require the latest to run at such high resolution.
 

Hippiekiller

Member
Mar 30, 2006
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0
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Originally posted by: bryanW1995
Originally posted by: Azn
People who go from a 8800gt to a 8800gts/9800gtx, 4850 have problems. It's called addiction. People will tell you they need more speed and need that extra 10 fps but the graphical difference between some medium and high settings to all high settings is not much. People will argue that it is not the case and need that extra fps and need to turn up all settings to satisfy their needs.

People who have x800xl or whatever should upgrade to a cheap midrange card available. You will see huge differences. Finally able to from low to high settings and even turn up AA.

well, that depends on what is is...oops, wrong forum...uh, we don't have an "addiction" so much as we just have to upgrade all the time...besides, I did get to go from a 3870 to a 4850 for only $40.

Not an addiction says bryanW1995 with 3 Computers less than a year and half old. Not an addiction says bryanW1995 with a post rate of nearly 10 posts per day.

Not an addiction says appopin who like bryanW1995 is a loser douche bag.