Are we in a golden period of GPU's right now?

[StinkyPinky]

Any guesses as to what the Xbox "760" and PS4 will have hardware wise? Hopefully something decent as we're going to be stuck with them for a decade.

 

[reallyscrued]

Any guesses as to what the Xbox "760" and PS4 will have hardware wise? Hopefully something decent as we're going to be stuck with them for a decade.

Seeing as how we're gonna be stuck with the current gen for another 4/5 years as it is, kinda hard to predict.

Edit: Oh and I hope to hell they don't name it Xbox 720...

Or even PS4 for that matter.

 

[Matt2]

I've been out of the custom built PC/GPU game for about five years now thanks to my Xbox 360. Keeping up with the latest and greatest in PC hardware was becoming more expensive than doing drugs.

From the little that I've read up on GPUs, it seems it is indeed the "Golden Age" if you're looking to buy in the $200-$400 range. Five years or so ago when we were rocking 8800GTX and GTS GPUs, you couldn't have even dreamed of getting the performance today's GPUs are getting in the mid-range. I mean, we're talking 50-90fps at 1920x1200 with AA and AF on today's $250 GPUs. You could barely get that kind of performance from an 8800GTX at the time and that was far and above the best GPU at the time.

You can make the argument that it's because games haven't advanced in graphics quality and that's true, but still, there has been no better time than now to only have $200-$400 and get the proverbial "bang for your buck".

 

[LiuKangBakinPie]

we buy faster cards coz of junk middelware

 

[Screech]

I've always thought the 8800GT was basically a golden age of price/performance on its own, and the 4850 about equally so.

The thing is, of course the price/performance today is better than the year before, and that was better than the year before, etc; obviously the midrange card today will beat last years midrange, and so forth. The last couple cards that IMHO made the midrange exciting in terms of price and importantly in terms of what % of high-end performance you could get for the price were 4850 and 8800gt; they didn't just sell well; really they redefined the price/perf at midrange in their respective times.

 

[LiuKangBakinPie]

I've always thought the 8800GT was basically a golden age of price/performance on its own, and the 4850 about equally so.

The thing is, of course the price/performance today is better than the year before, and that was better than the year before, etc; obviously the midrange card today will beat last years midrange, and so forth. The last couple cards that IMHO made the midrange exciting in terms of price and importantly in terms of what % of high-end performance you could get for the price were 4850 and 8800gt; they didn't just sell well; really they redefined the price/perf at midrange in their respective times.

Hardware can only perform as good as software allow it to perform

 

[StinkyPinky]

Seeing as how we're gonna be stuck with the current gen for another 4/5 years as it is, kinda hard to predict.

Edit: Oh and I hope to hell they don't name it Xbox 720...

Or even PS4 for that matter.

God I hope we aren't still stuck with Xbox 360's in 2015. What a nightmare. Playing DX9 games in 2015 is an abomination. I'm hoping 2013 is the change over date.

 

[Fox5]

Any guesses as to what the Xbox "760" and PS4 will have hardware wise? Hopefully something decent as we're going to be stuck with them for a decade.

There was a rumor AMD won the next Xbox contract with their next Fusion APU. That'd likely be a 4 module Bulldozer with a GPU that would probably be ~5870 class, assuming they get a die shrink in by 2013/2014 sometime.

 

[Wreckage]

Any guesses as to what the Xbox "760" and PS4 will have hardware wise? Hopefully something decent as we're going to be stuck with them for a decade.

Don't have high hopes as they will want to keep cost/heat/power down.

Considering fusion\sandybroken is no better than a sub $100 video card.

Odds are we wont' see it at least until next year at best, 2014 at worst.

 

[reallyscrued]

I've been out of the custom built PC/GPU game for about five years now thanks to my Xbox 360. Keeping up with the latest and greatest in PC hardware was becoming more expensive than doing drugs.

From the little that I've read up on GPUs, it seems it is indeed the "Golden Age" if you're looking to buy in the $200-$400 range. Five years or so ago when we were rocking 8800GTX and GTS GPUs, you couldn't have even dreamed of getting the price to performance today's GPUs are getting in the mid-range. I mean, we're talking 50-90fps at 1920x1200 with AA and AF on today's $250 GPUs. You could barely get that kind of performance from an 8800GTX at the time and that was far and above the best GPU at the time.

You can make the argument that it's because games haven't advanced in graphics quality and that's true, but still, there has been no better time than now to only have $200-$400 and get the proverbial "bang for your buck".

Please make that distinction. Otherwise it just sounds nutty.

 

[RussianSensation]

The worst part about next generation of consoles is that the current generation has set a new precedent -- PS3 and 360 have sold well and will continue to do in the foreseeable futur despite the fact that they have been out on the market for 5-6+ years (normally by now these consoles would be at $99-149 and close to EOL). This means that even if Xbox 720 ships with a GPU that is 2-3x faster than a single GTX580 (which in itself is probably wishful thinking), it will also probably have a similar 8-10 year lifespan like the current 360 version. Basically, we will be facing the same graphics stagnation once again, approximately 3-4 years post next generation console launch.

 

[blastingcap]

I didn't read any other posts, so sorry if this is redundant, but, imho, the answer is NO.

It only seems like you are getting a good deal because video requirements have plateaued due to long-lived consoles coupled with the declining market for PC games relative to console games (in the eyes of game developers, at least).

Stagnant graphics and hardware catching up to stagnant graphics does not a "golden age" of GPUs make.

For instance, a GTX 460 is only about as fast as a GTX 280, maybe a 275 or 285 depending on the game in question. It only SEEMS fast because software hasn't kept up the pace it used to.

If we're measuring golden ages in profits rather than raw speed, one could argue that we are seeing the COMMODIFICATION of GPUs and lower profit margins, since even $100 cards can run new games pretty well these days. Look what happened to sound cards after we reached the point where onboard audio was "good enough" for the average user and even most gamers? Only hardcore audiophiles and gamers have sound cards in their computers these days. (I'm not saying we're going to go there, not while NV and AMD push 3D, Eyefinity, PhysX, etc.)

Anyway, "golden age" is an ill-defined concept. I just don't think we are in a golden age for GPUs by ANY definition, other than either a) the narrow "cheaper GPUs can max out new games" definition... but that has more to to with software than hardware; or b) GPUs are branching out into things like supercomputers. But then that wouldn't be the golden age of GPUs anymore, more like the golden age of massively parallel computer chips.

Looking at the incredible value of video cards $100 and up, I honestly think that, as consumers, we're in a golden age of GPU's in respect to performance that we're getting for the value. Speaking strictly on cards that are either being still made or have very wide availability, starting with the gts450 for moderate gaming and HTPC setups, and moving up the chain to the hd5770, gtx460, hd6850, 6870, gtx560, hd6950 and gtx570 - there are quite literally at least 10 different cards at different price points from $100 to $330 that can all run today's software and games at reasonable to maxed out levels of performance.

Either by a combination of consoles stagnating much of the graphical innovation in games, or by way of the industry simply trying to cater to a larger potential audience (through customers with capable hardware), I think we might be seeing the best GPU market that has EVER existed. In my opinion, I think both Nvidia and ATI are going to have a small mountain to climb in finding new customers when they come to market with 28nm technology based strictly on performance alone. As a result, I think we're going to see both companies continue to differentiate their products through features i.e. physx, cuda, eyefinity, 3D, etc....

28nm GPU's might have the capability to extend and improve this "golden age" of video cards, but at the very least I think we're in it now and as the future moves more toward cpu/gpu on the same die and SoC's, we may look back at these times with our fondest memories of this market.

 

[Matt2]

Please make that distinction. Otherwise it just sounds nutty.

Noted.

 

[drizek]

The worst part about next generation of consoles is that the current generation has set a new precedent -- PS3 and 360 have sold well and will continue to do in the foreseeable futur despite the fact that they have been out on the market for 5-6+ years (normally by now these consoles would be at $99-149 and close to EOL). This means that even if Xbox 720 ships with a GPU that is 2-3x faster than a single GTX580 (which in itself is probably wishful thinking), it will also probably have a similar 8-10 year lifespan like the current 360 version. Basically, we will be facing the same graphics stagnation once again, approximately 3-4 years post next generation console launch.

Sony said that the PS3 had a 10 year lifespan when they launched it. Everyone thought it was a cynical attempt to justify the $600 pricetag, but they weren't kidding.

 

[skyofavalon]

There was a rumor AMD won the next Xbox contract with their next Fusion APU. That'd likely be a 4 module Bulldozer with a GPU that would probably be ~5870 class, assuming they get a die shrink in by 2013/2014 sometime.

I hope there is no way Microsoft will put something as weak as a 5870 performance wise in the next Xbox. That would be pretty damn disappointing.

 

[drizek]

They will almost certainly produce a custom chip for the XBOX. That said, it is reasonable for it to only be 5870 class if it is to be built at 32/28nm. Keep in mind that the power consumption of a console is only around 200W total. The current one has a 130W PSU. I think at that TDP a 5870 or, more likely, a 6870 on roids, is going to be it assuming it comes in the next year or two.

 

[Cogman]

I hope there is no way Microsoft will put something as weak as a 5870 performance wise in the next Xbox. That would be pretty damn disappointing.

Rumor has it that the next Xbox may not be released for the next 5-10 years... So, I wouldn't hold my breath for it.

 

[Munky]

I'd say the golden age was a few years back with great bang/buck cards like the 8800gt and the hd4850.

 

[evolucion8]

I'd say the golden age was a few years back with great bang/buck cards like the 8800gt and the hd4850.

Oh and don't forget the times before that like the X1950PRO, 7900GT, X1800GTO, 6800GS and X800GTO, good times, gooood times....

 

[crisium]

Summer 2009 was the golden age - I remember it well.

$95 Radeon 4850
$140 Radeon 4870 1GB
$180 Radeon 4890 1GB

This was all before rebate, of course.

We are nearly 2 years after this point. The Radeon 4850 and equivalent are still the same price. The $180 Radeon 6850 is only 20% faster than the Radeon 4890. Nearly 2 years later, and the same money only gets you 20% more. If you're at $100, you get the same. That's no golden age.

Though things are better than in Mid 2010, to be sure.

 

[Wreckage]

Sony said that the PS3 had a 10 year lifespan when they launched it. Everyone thought it was a cynical attempt to justify the $600 pricetag, but they weren't kidding.

Well the PS1 and PS2 lasted that long. Although I don't think they will wait until 10 years after the PS3 was launched to create a PS4.

Odds are the next consoles will be polished versions of what we are starting to see now. 3D + 1080p + motion sensors.

Currently the 360/PS3 only half assed support these features.

 

[boed]

I wouldn't say we are in a golden age or in the dark ages - somewhere in between. I remember when video cards nearly double in memory and the GPUs were at least 50% faster than the previous generations. The current ATI king of the hill is about on par with the model that came out a generation ago. nVidia just tweaked their current GPU so it could surpass the ATI. Perhaps the next gen will again be a huge leap forward but this year was dissappointing for me. I had the 4870 - a great bang for the buck card a couple of years ago. I skipped the 5870 thinking the 6870 isn't that far away and it should really be worth spending the money on. While the 6970 is a fine card it isn't very impressive when compared to the 5870.

 

[Vdubchaos]

There was a rumor AMD won the next Xbox contract with their next Fusion APU. That'd likely be a 4 module Bulldozer with a GPU that would probably be ~5870 class, assuming they get a die shrink in by 2013/2014 sometime.

So it will be outdated when it comes out, just like 360

If above is true, we are looking at another 5 years of 0 advancement in graphics...

 

[Gryz]

Voodoo 1. GeForce 4 Ti4200. Radeon 9800. Geforce 8800. From the top of my head, those were big steps up, and a lot of value for your money.

There's always improvement in computer hardware (I remember using 1200 baud lines. I remember a PC costed 10k euro. I remember the first color displays. I remember videocards did not exist, unless you bought a SGI workstation for $100K. I could go on). Just because this year's hardware is faster and cheaper than last year's hardware doesn't mean a thing.

 

[sxr7171]

Sure $100 cards run most games well, with the exception of 1-2 outliers. This is because these games are meant to run on 5 year old crippled consoles. So if you spend $1000+ you can run that same console game with AA and AF that the console can't do and that right there is the main benefit of our $1000+ gaming rigs. So we are not really getting big improvements in graphics, when has a game recently made you go "wow"? We are just spending 5 times as much to get rid of jaggies on those console ports.

If anything we have entered a dark era of PC gaming. I know it keeps getting repeated again and again but really tell me what would amaze me for my $1000+ "investment".