Buyer's remorse

[ocre]

I bought two GTX 770 4GB editions today. At first it felt good, to be finally retiring my trusty overclocked 580s that have served me so well over the years.

But now I'm getting a case of buyer's remorse. I spent 900 bucks, for two cards that won't even see "appreciable" service until next year when the Witcher 3 (a true next generation game) comes out, and Maxwell, a supposedly massive architectural change over Kepler, also comes out.

The only game coming out this year that I'm interested in is Batman Arkham Origin, and two overclocked 580s can easily handle that game at maxed settings. Every other title that I wanted to get that came out in 2013, Crysis 3, Bioshock Infinite, Metro Last Light I already have, and played with ease on the 580s.

While Battlefield 4 looks great, I never play online, and I don't think there are any other titles coming out this year that would require me to upgrade from my 580s, other than Watch dogs which doesn't interest me either.

So basically, I feel almost like I spent nearly a grand for nothing. I know there's always something better coming around the corner, or down the road. Only a fool plays that game, especially with computer hardware.

But, I've never been one of those types that upgrades for the hell of it. I need a reason to upgrade, like a game that's coming out that will bring my rig to it's knees.

For all Crytek's talk, Crysis 3 wasn't the system buster that they said it would be, and thats a good thing because not only is it the best looking game I've ever played (in terms of graphics), it's perhaps the most well optimized game as well. I was able to play it at 2560x1440 very high settings, with 1x SMAA and v-sync off with an average frame rate of 40 FPS on two overclocked GTX 580s (900/1800/4400) and a 3930K overclocked to 4.4ghz.. For a game like Crysis 3, 40 FPS is very smooth too, so gameplay didn't suffer.

Assuming I keep the 770s, I would expect to bump the SMAA up to 2x and have much faster frame rates, but I already beat the game and don't feel the need for another play through other than testing.

Played Bioshock Infinite at 2560x1440 Ultra settings with great frame rates. Played Metro Last Light at 2560x1440 very high quality, tessellation maxed and advanced physx turned on.....again, with excellent frame rates.

So you see my point. My GTX 580s can easily last me another year which by then Maxwell will be out, and it's performance should blow Kepler out of the water..

So in your opinion, should I keep them or return them? They haven't even arrived yet, so if I decide to return them, I can tell UPS just to resend it back to Newegg..

really truly wish i had your dilemma, lol

I just love having hardware whether i use it much or not. Lately, i spend far too many hours at work and once you add in my two young kids there just isnt much time left for my PC. But i still have a great love for the technology.

If i talked myself into dropping the cash on some nice hardware it usually makes me happy just knowing i got it. When you buy the higher end products you seldom get "your money's worth" as some may put it. The gratification mostly comes from the love of the technology. This is something that you cannot put a price on.

 

[lavaheadache]

What did you think of the step down from 2560x1600 to 2560x1440? Did you miss the vertical resolution during productivity, or is 1440 vertical pixels plenty to work with? I understand that for games it would depend on the game, as some games might not take advantage of the taller aspect ratio of the 1600 vertical, and look better on 1440 (or vice versa).

I tried to switch from a 30 2560x1600 to a 27 2560x1440. Fail, The 27 felt puny even though it was "a little" smaller. The vertical resolution makes a big difference as does just feeling of 16:10 to 16:9.

 

[blackened23]

I tried to switch from a 30 2560x1600 to a 27 2560x1440. Fail, The 27 felt puny even though it was "a little" smaller. The vertical resolution makes a big difference as does just feeling of 16:10 to 16:9.

Yeah, agreed. The size difference between 27 and 30" is pretty immense, with a lot more real estate.

 

[ocre]

I was very interested to read your post, as I am currently in the process of assembling a new rig to replace my admittedly ancient setup. I'm grappling between getting two mid-level cards, or going for one single 780, and really having to think several times on it.

Let us know what you decide to do in the end, I for one am curious to know how you end up feeling.

In the past i would typically always recommend a single powerful solution but i hear SLI has improved a lot. Compared to the 780, the 760 sli is so much cheaper and a marginally faster. The performance difference by itself is compelling for sure.

You know...... I really think it wouldnt hurt to start a thread on this matter (if you havent already). Specifically asking for feedback from some of the SLI users with the more recent kepler architecture. They would really be the experts on this. We all can assume and guess but they would know.

 

[2is]

I went SLI on my 680s about a month or so ago, no complaints. In fact, I've been so happy with it, i'm adopting a Tick-Tock upgrade cycle of my own. Tock being a whole new build with the fastest single GPU card available that doesn't cost $1000, followed by a Tick that consists of buying another one of those cards used a year or so later.

 

[OatisCampbell]

:hmm:

Get along pretty well with a single 7970 on 25X16, $900 seems like a LOT of bucks to pay for some higher AA.

Return one? Return both and get a GHz Edition?

 

[RaistlinZ]

Here's what I'd do...

Since the 760 is faster than a 580 I'd return your 770's and buy two 760 4GB cards. That'll cost you $560.00, saving you $340.00.

760 SLI will give you faster performance than your current 580 SLI, use WAY less power, and give you the benefit of 4GB VRAM.

 

[Rvenger]

760 4gb is a bargain for sure.

 

[RussianSensation]

And if you thing about it... you are trying to future-proof with rebadged 1,5yr old gtx680 SLI. Not the wisest move.

I am not. I said if the goal was to "future-proof" then GTX780 now + 2nd one later actually makes sense. GTX770 4GB SLi doesn't make sense since it's barely cheaper and is much slower.

Regardless, since OP sold his 580s for an outstanding price of $435, I would just pick up 2 760s to hold me over until 20nm generation. 2 overclocked 760s would be 30-40%+ faster for $65-80 more. I can't believe someone would pay $435 for 2 580s. Good job on that sale! :thumbsup:

 

[blackened23]

Since Eren brought it up, let's clarify what we mean here by "future proofing". I certainly am not suggesting that one can buy a GPU and have it last five years, that is very unlikely. However, I think future proofing is really the wrong term to use here - Buying a GPU is a minimum of a one-year investment, and in many cases will last two to three years. As I've mentioned, games this holiday season will begin having more in terms of assets - buying a GPU with that in mind isn't unreasonable.

That's just my buying mindset. If I were buying a GPU now, a 3GB GTX 780 sounds pretty tempting, and that's actually what I bought. I'm more ready for upcoming games such as Titan's fall, Killzone, etc by having more than 1-1.5GB of VRAM. It isn't future proofing, it's ensuring that my GPU will perform as well as possible within the one year that I own it. I wouldn't refer to that as "future proofing", as GPUs usually aren't even released on a yearly basis many times - I'm just ensuring that I have the best possible experience within my 1-2 year time window of owning the GTX 780; I certainly expect a GPU to have a 1 year lifetime at a *minimum*.

 

[2is]

Since Eren brought it up, let's clarify what we mean here by "future proofing". I certainly am not suggesting that one can buy a GPU and have it last five years, that is very unlikely. However, I think future proofing is really the wrong term to use here - Buying a GPU is a minimum of a one-year investment, and in many cases will last two to three years. As I've mentioned, games this holiday season will begin having more in terms of assets - buying a GPU with that in mind isn't unreasonable.

This may be true of upcoming games, but that's still several months away and nVidia isn't going to stop selling GPU's between now and then. I say if his 580's are getting the job done right now, let them continue to do the job and replace them when they no longer perform to your (his) expectations.

There are some who would say I'll be SOL with my 680s due to them being 2GB. This may or may not be true, but I'm certainly not going to buy new 3 or 4GB cards today.

 

[Carfax83]

What did you think of the step down from 2560x1600 to 2560x1440? Did you miss the vertical resolution during productivity, or is 1440 vertical pixels plenty to work with? I understand that for games it would depend on the game, as some games might not take advantage of the taller aspect ratio of the 1600 vertical, and look better on 1440 (or vice versa).

It was definitely a noticeable change I'll tell you that much. After rocking the 30 inch for so long, the 27 inch looked much smaller in comparison..

But all in all, I actually prefer my 27 inch LED monitor, mostly because it has a glossy screen rather than the matte surface of my 30 inch. A glossy screen has more vibrant colors to my eyes, so games look really nice.

I'm surprised you got that much for 580s. But yeah... might as well keep the 770s now.

That's about what most people are selling them for. Around 400 to 450.. Mine were the superclocked versions as well, and came with backplates and high flow exhaust brackets.

Here's what I'd do...

Since the 760 is faster than a 580 I'd return your 770's and buy two 760 4GB cards. That'll cost you $560.00, saving you $340.00.

760 SLI will give you faster performance than your current 580 SLI, use WAY less power, and give you the benefit of 4GB VRAM.

Yeah, that's very tempting I must admit. 760 SLI would easily last me till next year when Maxwell comes out.

 

[Carfax83]

I am not. I said if the goal was to "future-proof" then GTX780 now + 2nd one later actually makes sense. GTX770 4GB SLi doesn't make sense since it's barely cheaper and is much slower.

I think you're slamming the GTX 770s too much dude.. One can easily overclock the 770s to 1200 core, which would put it snapping at the heels of the GTX 780, and with an extra 1GB of VRAM..

And I don't know about barely cheaper, as the GTX 780s I saw were over 200 USD more than the 4GB 770s. I toyed with the idea of going the same route as blackened23, by buying a single GTX 780 for now, and when the prices start to drop, buy another one. But if I'm going to do that, I may as well just wait for Maxwell because unless AMD's 8970 pounds the crap out of the GTX 780, the GTX 780s are going to hold their value until the next generation arrives.

Regardless, since OP sold his 580s for an outstanding price of $435, I would just pick up 2 760s to hold me over until 20nm generation. 2 overclocked 760s would be 30-40%+ faster for $65-80 more. I can't believe someone would pay $435 for 2 580s. Good job on that sale! :thumbsup:

I checked the prices on Ebay before deciding how much I was going to price my cards, and 435 seemed fair to me.

That said, I certainly wouldn't pay 435 for a pair of GTX 580s.....not with the 760 around at any rate :biggrin:

 

[2is]

Just read that the cards were sold for $435... I have to ask, is that USD? If so, That's amazing! I bought my 680 for $350!

 

[flexy]

I would KEEP them.

And then, when all the new games actually come out, you can always sell the cards on ebay for $15 each to get new, recent hardware 🙂

 

[flexy]

The gratification mostly comes from the love of the technology. This is something that you cannot put a price on.

This is correct and not always has this to do with "common sense", I guess only enthusiasts really understand this.

HOWEVER, as an early adopter of "the newest and greatest" and in particular when buying something in terms of "what the future will bring" you will always be the fool since technology changes just too quickly in this market.

Short: The earlier and quicker you buy, the older and more outdated your h/w will be at some point. It's just not a market where a large "investment" is worthwhile, IMO.

 

[blackened23]

This may be true of upcoming games, but that's still several months away and nVidia isn't going to stop selling GPU's between now and then. I say if his 580's are getting the job done right now, let them continue to do the job and replace them when they no longer perform to your (his) expectations.

There are some who would say I'll be SOL with my 680s due to them being 2GB. This may or may not be true, but I'm certainly not going to buy new 3 or 4GB cards today.

Of course! I completely understand that. Everyone has different needs and wants based on what they play, what resolution they're using and what type of surround if applicable. You are not in the market for a new GPU and I wouldn't expect you to switch. My example is simply that, if you *were* in the market for a new GPU - let's just say for instance you didn't own your 680s and had a 280 instead. If you were on the market right now, today, for a new GPU - you would want one that would serve you the best for your needs in the next 1-2 years right? That's all i'm saying. If you're buying a new card, you buy one that will bring you the most use for the next 1-2 years. That's exactly what your 680 does, i'm guessing you had it for a year so you received plenty of good use out of your 680 for the past year, or maybe another year on top of that.

I play a lot of games in single screen mode and dabble with surround, and in this environment I thought the 3GB 780 made sense. It serves all of my needs now and presumably will be well ready for any upcoming games as well. 2GB 680s were fine for me and worked great for the year or so I used them, but since I was recently in the market for a new card I figured the 780 with more VRAM would serve me well for another year or so.

 

[djnsmith7]

Since your 580's are serving you well, I suggest you return the cards & buy the fastest cards you can comfortably afford when you need them.

 

[RaistlinZ]

Since your 580's are serving you well, I suggest you return the cards & buy the fastest cards you can comfortably afford when you need them.

I believe he already sold his 580's.

 

[Carfax83]

Just read that the cards were sold for $435... I have to ask, is that USD? If so, That's amazing! I bought my 680 for $350!

Yeah that's USD. I'm surprised that people are surprised I managed to sell them for that much 😵

Ebay search for EVGA GTX 580 superclocked shows that people are apparently willing to pay over 200 for a single card. One guy has his listed for a whopping 395 USD! And it's used too!

There's a lot of people out there that don't stay current on computer hardware. A GTX 580 was outright faster than a GTX 660, and could actually outpace the GTX 660 Ti in high graphical fidelity gaming (especially when overclocked) because it has a 384 bit bus, compared to the 192 bit bus of the 660 Ti which gave a measly 144 GB/s bandwidth.

The arrival of the GTX 760 changed that though, so now we have a really fast mid range card that beats the GTX 580 in every conceivable manner.

But still, a lot of people probably don't even know NVidia just released the GTX 760..

 

[Dribble]

I have a single 570, and would normal buy a 770 about now as I tend to upgrade every other generation but tbh everything I play right now runs great on the 570 at 1080p at high settings. The games just don't need the extra performance at the moment. Would probably be better waiting a year till all the new consoles mean games with much higher gpu requirements and then getting maxwell (or whatever AMD have out then).

 

[guskline]

That's generally pretty good advice, unless you're made of money..



The 680 is still a very robust card though that will last for years, especially the 4GB editions. The 770 addressed the main weakness of the 680, which was it's fairly low memory bandwidth.



When you have 4 children like me, your wants sometimes have to take a backseat to the wants and needs of your family.

With my wife of 40 yrs and me raising 3 daughter, I can tell you the need of your family ALWAYS should come before a computer upgrade. I admire you CarFax83 for thinking that way. You recouped a lot of the expense by selling your 580s. Perhaps send one of the 770s back to break even and then pick up a second when the price drops.

 

[aigomorla]

i cant decide between ATi or Nvidia this time around.

Im really close in grabbing 3 x 7970's or 2 x 780's, but i really want to see the new ATi's first and give them a chance at a titan killer.

Also im not having any problems running anything lately on 3 x 580GTX's so im crossing my fingers my luck will hold out until ATi has a titan killer.

 

[Carfax83]

With my wife of 40 yrs and me raising 3 daughter, I can tell you the need of your family ALWAYS should come before a computer upgrade. I admire you CarFax83 for thinking that way. You recouped a lot of the expense by selling your 580s. Perhaps send one of the 770s back to break even and then pick up a second when the price drops.

It was never really a money issue though, as I can afford the cards. I never would have bought them in the first place if I couldn't. I have a pretty high salary, although my wife doesn't work, but we live in Texas where the cost of living isn't as high as in other states. So even with four rapidly growing children, I can still indulge a bit every now and then.

The buyer's remorse was mostly about perceived value for my money, and that is the bane of every computer enthusiast.

You buy the latest and the greatest, and then a few months later, something new comes out that thoroughly supplants what you bought in terms of price, performance, energy efficiency etcetera.

I remember when Fermi first came out, I bought two GTX 480s. I was annoyed that the consumer version of the GTX 480 only came with 480 shaders compared to the full fledged 512 part, but oh well.

A few months later NVidia release the GTX 580 that came with the full complement of CUDA cores, and it was faster, cooler and more energy efficient. Suffice to say, I was not pleased, but this kind of thing is unavoidable if you're into computer hardware due to the rapid pace of the industry.

In the end, I sold my GTX 480s, bought two 580s and vowed never to buy first generation cards ever again. I would always get the respin or tweaked version that came out later. That's mostly why I never upgraded to the 680s, because I figured NVidia would optimize the Kepler architecture further and release updated cards with higher performance.

The GTX 770 is just that, and the GTX 780 even more. The 780 however is priced too high for my tastes, seeing as I would need to buy two of them. Dropping 1300 bucks solely on GPUs doesn't sit well with me.. My absolute limit is 1,000, but preferably under.

Which is why the 770 4GB is the most compelling option for me. Sure, it's really a respun GTX 680, but the price point is very attractive for what you get.

It's a shame that NVidia has artificially limited the voltage range on these cards, to prevent people from not only damaging them, but surpassing the GTX 780 through overclocking.

The 770 seems to max out at about 1250, which is right at the point where it's snapping at the heels of the GTX 780. If the cards had unlocked voltage, you could easily get them to equal, and even overtake the 780 I'd wager..

My cards arrive tomorrow (UPS is so fucking slow I swear!), so I have until then to make a final decision.

 

[Carfax83]

i cant decide between ATi or Nvidia this time around.

Im really close in grabbing 3 x 7970's or 2 x 780's, but i really want to see the new ATi's first and give them a chance at a titan killer.

Also im not having any problems running anything lately on 3 x 580GTX's so im crossing my fingers my luck will hold out until ATi has a titan killer.

Is there even a firm release date for AMD's next generation cards?