• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Buy now or wait for the new ATi Cards?

T

Tweakin

Platinum Member
So here we go again with another thread of the same ol' sH$$....

I think I have ruled out the current crop of ATi cards as I just found out they are only Dx 9 or 9b compatable, while the 6800 Nvidia's are all 9c compatable.

Do I wait or just go get a 6800 GT? Evga or Leadtek?

Talk to me people....
 
If you can hold onto your cash for a few more months, the new gen will be upon us. If the rumors are even close to true, performance will be nothing short of jaw-dropping. Contrast that with the natural human need of instant gratification. It's the conundrum we all despise. I kinda wish I had held off on buying, but on the other hand, I love my rig. My advice? Wait. Grit your teeth and wait. You'll be happy you did.
 
Today is April 4th. Assuming ATI cards do come out in June, that's 3 months away. However, they'll cost a lot more than MSRP when they come out and that is guaranteed. You'll need to wait at least 2 weeks before prices come down a bit from $600 they usually cost right at the very beginning. So that's 3 months and 2 weeks. What if ATI cards dont ship in june but are only announced in June and will ship in July or August? Are you willing to wait this long? If you are sure, then keep waiting. Or you could pick up x800xl or 6800GT right now and sell them in 5 months to upgrade to a newer generation of cards. If you are tired of waiting, 5 months seems like an awfully long time not to play any games for a gamer, no?
 
That's how I feel. New technology is "always around the corner" and we have to deal with that. I think I have talked myself into a Evga 6800GT as they allow for future upgrades in the next year, that way if Nvidia comes out with some new fancy cmancy item that I just can't live without, then I can trad up....but the XFX model is really nice also....sheesh
 
Man, I am also stuck on what to buy. I would like a card with performance between 800xl and 6600GT in the low $200 price range... any options?
 
6800GT would be nice. You'll be able to easily ride the next couple years worth of games which will see a LOT of changes in the industry.

1. R520 and supposedly G70 won't have DX10 support, so they are nothing but current cards on steroids. The generation after them, maybe G80 should be WGF2 for sure and will make much better long term investments.

2. The consoles. NextBox and PS3 are going to be absolute monsters. But, beyond that, game developers seem to be moving towards the consoles. Look at all the games that start on consoles and move to PCs. It takes a year or more and the results are always crap. The Doom3 version for XBox is supposed to be better than the PC version gameplay-wise. If PCs are going to be stuck with the leftovers, this card may be the last one you buy.....we may just be setting a PS3 next to our computers and running it to the second DVI port or to it's own monitor for gaming.

A 6600GT, at half the cost of a 6800GT, is much less of an expense and, provided it runs BF2 and AoE III well, should be enough to tide you over for a year at which time you could snap up something new and sell the 6600GT before it loses too much of it's resale value. At the very least, in one year, we'll all, hopefully, have a much clearer picture of the path gaming and video cards are going.
 
Originally posted by: mamisano
Man, I am also stuck on what to buy. I would like a card with performance between 800xl and 6600GT in the low $200 price range... any options?
Click to expand...

AGP or PCI-E? That will determine it.
 
I agree with Russian Sensation. It will be a 4-5 month wait.

What's the big deal with Shader Model 3.0? Few games support it and it's barely even utilized. http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NjA5LDM=

Yeah, Nvidia has newer technology, but I don't think that we'll see it being used to it's potential until 2006.

Get a X800 XL or 6800 GT, but don't rely on the 6800 GT being able to keep up with the more sophisticated uses of SM 3.0 in 2006.

The new games that push SM 3.0 usage will require more powerful cards.
 
Originally posted by: HeroOfPellinor
6800GT would be nice. You'll be able to easily ride the next couple years worth of games which will see a LOT of changes in the industry.

1. R520 and supposedly G70 won't have DX10 support, so they are nothing but current cards on steroids. The generation after them, maybe G80 should be WGF2 for sure and will make much better long term investments.

2. The consoles. NextBox and PS3 are going to be absolute monsters. But, beyond that, game developers seem to be moving towards the consoles. Look at all the games that start on consoles and move to PCs. It takes a year or more and the results are always crap. The Doom3 version for XBox is supposed to be better than the PC version gameplay-wise. If PCs are going to be stuck with the leftovers, this card may be the last one you buy.....we may just be setting a PS3 next to our computers and running it to the second DVI port or to it's own monitor for gaming.

A 6600GT, at half the cost of a 6800GT, is much less of an expense and, provided it runs BF2 and AoE III well, should be enough to tide you over for a year at which time you could snap up something new and sell the 6600GT before it loses too much of it's resale value. At the very least, in one year, we'll all, hopefully, have a much clearer picture of the path gaming and video cards are going.
Click to expand...


i thought the R520 are being built to support WGF
 
Originally posted by: HeroOfPellinor
6800GT would be nice. You'll be able to easily ride the next couple years worth of games which will see a LOT of changes in the industry.

1. R520 and supposedly G70 won't have DX10 support, so they are nothing but current cards on steroids. The generation after them, maybe G80 should be WGF2 for sure and will make much better long term investments.

2. The consoles. NextBox and PS3 are going to be absolute monsters. But, beyond that, game developers seem to be moving towards the consoles. Look at all the games that start on consoles and move to PCs. It takes a year or more and the results are always crap. The Doom3 version for XBox is supposed to be better than the PC version gameplay-wise. If PCs are going to be stuck with the leftovers, this card may be the last one you buy.....we may just be setting a PS3 next to our computers and running it to the second DVI port or to it's own monitor for gaming.

A 6600GT, at half the cost of a 6800GT, is much less of an expense and, provided it runs BF2 and AoE III well, should be enough to tide you over for a year at which time you could snap up something new and sell the 6600GT before it loses too much of it's resale value. At the very least, in one year, we'll all, hopefully, have a much clearer picture of the path gaming and video cards are going.
Click to expand...

that rumor computer gaming is dying has always been around. no way. you think all those companies will just let computer games die? microsoft, GOD(or whatever they named themselves). etc are not gonna let this happen. dont worry about it too much.
 
Originally posted by: mamisano
Man, I am also stuck on what to buy. I would like a card with performance between 800xl and 6600GT in the low $200 price range... any options?
Click to expand...


X800 or 6800
 
Sorry, I'm looking at an AGP solution. As for a 6600GT, I tried one and didn't think anything of it. It didn't blow the doors off my 9600xt, and at 12x10 it didn't appear any smoother then my current ATi.

I'm trying to get a decent (not fantastic) 12x10 gameplay in HL2 and FarCry with 4xAA and 8xAf on, and my current card just can't do that...He$$, It can't even really do 12x10 in either of those two games with high textures enabled.

I know it's not cpu as I'm running a 3200+@2.52 and power is coming from a 520 Ocz Modstream...I'm still listening.

This is really a tough decision...
 
12x10 needs a 6800gt at the least. you can get a x800xl though, if you have no qualms about upgrading in about a year and an half.
 
I think either of these cards would still be "decent" in another year or so. I have always upgraded my system and used the same video card, until now...after playing HL2 and FarCry I'm hooked. The days of COD are over...I want the serious stuff....
 
if you get an x800xl you'll be upgrading late this year.

if you get a 6800gt/ultra...you'd be good for a good while longer with Sm3.0 support. have you seen SM3.0 with a 6600gt in SC:CT? it ran well enough for me, and i could tell they were using some of its more advanced features...and the SC games always run badly on even the fastest rigs (usually topping no more than 60fps in 10x7), so that isn't really a good way to say "well new games will run even worse"

If I were you, I would get the 6800ultra now and sell it later after the next cards come out. You could get a good $200-300 depending on what type, GT/ultra, and how good of a condition it is in.
You see, I heard that the next Nvidia cards will blow ATI out of the water. So, I would get a 6800ultra now, which plays games very very well and will even play UE3 games well (even the programmers of the engine said that) and then when the next ATI/Nvidia cards (read up and see which is best...ATI could pull a move like the FX cards, you never know. This will be a completely new chip and design) you can decide if it is worth the $ for them.

So just get a 6800 and relieve yourself of bad FPS

but about you having a 6600gt and it doing as well as your 9600xt...you need to look into better drivers 😉 My 6600gt plays HL2 at 40-120fps (avg 70) at all high in 12x10...of course, my ram was bad and it stuttered alot, but a good 1gb of ram will stop that.

and get leadtek.
 
Originally posted by: RussianSensation
Today is April 4th. Assuming ATI cards do come out in June, that's 3 months away. However, they'll cost a lot more than MSRP when they come out and that is guaranteed. You'll need to wait at least 2 weeks before prices come down a bit from $600 they usually cost right at the very beginning. So that's 3 months and 2 weeks. What if ATI cards dont ship in june but are only announced in June and will ship in July or August? Are you willing to wait this long? If you are sure, then keep waiting. Or you could pick up x800xl or 6800GT right now and sell them in 5 months to upgrade to a newer generation of cards. If you are tired of waiting, 5 months seems like an awfully long time not to play any games for a gamer, no?
Click to expand...

June is TWO (2) months away. 😛

it's not that the card will be so overwhelming, it's that the price on the current cards will drop rather dramatically when the next gen is available.

The 6800Ultra has already been discounted at Frys to $350 after MIR . . . i fully expect the regular price to be ~$250 by End of Summer.

If the OP can "stand" his 9600xt a bit longer, he will have more options . . . if not, now is not a bad time to buy . . . look in Hot Deals at least TWICE a day . . . and i DO recomment the 6800GT as still best bang-for-buck currently.

 
You currently have a 9600XT?

You obveously are interested in buying a next generation card if your posting this question.

Why buy a card now then? The 9600XT can last you until the new line of cards come out.

You'll buy a card now and then want a next gen when there out wont you?

Its not like the 9600XT is old school hardware. The only thing your going to miss out on for 3 months is higher FPS, cmon you can live with that.
 
Originally posted by: Tweakin
Sorry, I'm looking at an AGP solution. As for a 6600GT, I tried one and didn't think anything of it. It didn't blow the doors off my 9600xt, and at 12x10 it didn't appear any smoother then my current ATi.

I'm trying to get a decent (not fantastic) 12x10 gameplay in HL2 and FarCry with 4xAA and 8xAf on, and my current card just can't do that...He$$, It can't even really do 12x10 in either of those two games with high textures enabled.

I know it's not cpu as I'm running a 3200+@2.52 and power is coming from a 520 Ocz Modstream...I'm still listening.

This is really a tough decision...
Click to expand...

I think an x800pro is in that pricerange.
 
The new cards will probably be paper launched around May. From some initial reports, we are talking better performance then 2 6800 Ultras in SLI. That's a big leap up with these 24 pipe monsters. The next generation won't be typical small jumps like the GEForce 2 to 3 or the 9700 pro to the 9800 pro/XT/FX, or even the 9700 pro to the 6800 ultra, it will be even bigger.

Take into account the hit to their reputation ATI is now trying to PR out of due to this generations lack of delivery on the X800s, especially the XL, I would guess the initial release of their high end cards will happen soon after announcement and the release of a $280 ranged 24 pipe card that will double the power of a current 6800 ultra within a month after that. Not to mention an ATI SLI MB for them.

If the 6800 series was just released or the new generation release was totally unknown, I'd say get a X800 XL at least, but now I think your better off waiting since you already have an XT. I ordered a PCIe MB recently myself and am sticking in a $68 refurbed 6600 from new egg and will up the clock speed to 600. That will tide me over fine while I hold my $300 for something that will play the Doom3 upgrade maxxed at 60+fps.
 
Ok...OK...I'll wait a little bit and see how the prices drop, which is really a good thing for me. I juess I can live with 10x7 and no filters for a few months...school is starting back up anyway.
 
While it's true there is always something just around the corner, most next gens in the industry are just minor to moderate jumps forward. To my thinking, there were only several big leaps in the last decade, the thunderbird CPU/pent equiv., the voodoo vid card, GEForce Ultra2, the 9700 pro and the 6800 series. The next series of vid cards will be on this kind of level and anyone who is looking to upgrade now should probably just hold off a few months.
 
Originally posted by: hans030390
if you get an x800xl you'll be upgrading late this year.
...
You see, I heard that the next Nvidia cards will blow ATI out of the water. So, I would get a 6800ultra now, which plays games very very well and will even play UE3 games well (even the programmers of the engine said that) and then when the next ATI/Nvidia cards (read up and see which is best...ATI could pull a move like the FX cards, you never know. This will be a completely new chip and design) you can decide if it is worth the $ for them.

So just get a 6800 and relieve yourself of bad FPS
Click to expand...

Where exactly did you hear that, hans? I know you'd like to think that was true, but I havent heard anything like that. So what if it's a completely new chip design? The 9700 was also a completely new design, and it turned out a lot better than the competition.

I'd say right now both ati and nvidia are pretty close matched in the performance department (besides sli). But with new generation hardware coming soon, I wouldnt buy an expensive current gen card, it's just not worth it. I'd just keep the 9600xt a little longer and then you'll have a lot more options to upgrade in a few months.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top