"Future proof" video card purchase

[Rifter]

You mean that a gtx460 1Gb or a Radeon 6850 wont run anything on a 40inch lcd tv?

what does a 40" TV have to do with it, it doesnt matter if its a 400" 1080P TV or a 19" 1080P LCD monitor the GPU power required is the same. Its based on resolution not size.

 

[Aristotelian]

I noticed the great thread of the different range of video card but it was for the best bang for the buck.

What if factoring in "future proofing"?

Yeah I could buy a gtx460 se and play most games at mid-range resolutions for now but how long before I had (want?) to up grade just to actually play the new games other than at 800 x 600?

I am thinking a Radeon HD 6950 in price range of $250 after rebates. Then flash with 6970 bios.

I know from experience that buying the cheapest think on the block isnt always the best way to make a purchase. Save and wait sometimes works best.

Case in point: Bought original half-life PC game and it would NOT run well at all with the big action scenes on my then new video card.

My 8800GT 512k overclocked has served well for a long time.

Thoughts? (If this thread is redundent I can delete.)

Well, as with many things in life, I think this depends on your budget. The answer to this largely depends on the resolution you enjoy playing games at. If you are happy to (as others have suggested) get a mid range card every tick and tock (470 to 570 to 670 or whatever) then that's one option. I'm the sort of person that buys a computer to accomplish various tasks and then buys another one when the first isn't up to scratch. I also do well selling those computers to friends (at a friendly discount based on the computer's market value at the time of sale) to recuperate some of the costs.

Consider that if you bought the 5970 at its release that you could still be playing most games at most common resolutions at max or near max settings. The initial cost was high (in strictly monetary terms), but it would save you from the hassle (depending on how valuable your time is to you) of say upgrading from a 2XX to a 470 to a 570 and so on (or from a 4870 to a 5870 to a 6950 or whatever). If you have certain games in mind that you plan on playing for years, build around that. If you are trying to build a pc now that will guarantee you max settings in Diablo 3, Crysis two etc., it's anyone's guess as to what will be needed there.

 

[LiuKangBakinPie]

get ready to buy a new every 2 years

 

[RaistlinZ]

Can't really future proof. Either you'll spend WAY too much money now that you don't need to (580's in SLI) or you'll just have to buy a new card when new games become more demanding.

I bought a 8800GT a few years ago that was a rockstar at the time. Now it's a paperweight. Was I "future proofing" way back then when it was $300.00? Possibly. But even high end cards end up being underpowered junk given enough time.

If you try to "future proof" you're essentially playing catch-up before even getting started.

 

[dust]

Best "future proof" solution is for you to buy in the future

Just get 6850/460 for now, add the same later if required.

 

[Vdubchaos]

I used to have all that financial stuff down and done. Then I took a hit like everyone else. Least I still have a steady job and income.

Perhaps I should scale back.

Then its a Athlon II x3 and a ~$45 foxconn AM3 motherboard, if I go truly budget. :'( (Bye bye Sandy Bridge)

Instead of Radeon 6950 then going with a 6850 would be more financially sound. A 6850 for ~$150 bucks after rebate is a lot of card for the money.
Still a Athlon II X3 with a 6850/460 overclocked would run most stuff at mid-range quality.

More food for thought. lol :\

It's not about what you want or what's best that's out there, it's about what you can afford.

SImple as that. Don't extend yourself just to have a better card or SB, at the end of the day these thing will give you MINIMAL gain but you will pay top dollar.

 

[bryanW1995]

Financially the best option is to buy a card that will play games you currently want to play, and games which will be released over the course of the next year. A year later you can re-sell the card for a decent amount and upgrade once again to a new GPU. For example if you had bought a GTX 470 a year ago you could sell is now for probably $200, and buy yourself a GTX 570 for $350. This would make your upgrade essentially cost only $150.

good luck selling a gtx 470 for $200, you can get a 5870 for around that price nowadays. and gtx 460/6850 aren't too far behind that for ~ $150 or so.

 

[Rifter]

good luck selling a gtx 470 for $200, you can get a 5870 for around that price nowadays. and gtx 460/6850 aren't too far behind that for ~ $150 or so.

This X2

 

[WildW]

I bought a 5850 not long after it launched back in late 2009, and it's still going strong in anything I could conceivably want to play at 1920x1200. I should get at least another year out of it, if not longer.

What I have noticed from reading reviews is that Crossfire/SLI scaling seems to have really improved in recent times. Next time I swap motherboard I will seriously consider a Crossfire/SLI capable setup. Right now I could pick up an additional 5850 on eBay for a lot less than it'd cost to sell my 5850 and buy a new top-end card, and it would likely perform better. If only I had somewhere to plug one in

 

[Artista]

Best "future proof" solution is for you to buy in the future

True.

I have a 8800GT in a original SLI motherboard (version 1.0) (1 x16 slot and a 1x slot) so buying another 8800gt and slapping it in would result in two cards that wont play any new games!

Leaning towards 6850 but may save extra money for a 6950. I guess NVIDA has better scaling when running SLI but again by the time I do that the 460 will be old news like the 8800GT and the new whatever mid-range king will be out!D:

 

[toyota]

True.

I have a 8800GT in a original SLI motherboard (version 1.0) (1 x16 slot and a 1x slot) so buying another 8800gt and slapping it in would result in two cards that wont play any new games!

Leaning towards 6850 but may save extra money for a 6950. I guess NVIDA has better scaling when running SLI but again by the time I do that the 460 will be old news like the 8800GT and the new whatever mid-range king will be out!D:

you are not planning on getting any new card to use with your current cpu are you???

 

[Artista]

you are not planning on getting any new card to use with your current cpu are you???

Honestly I had thought about it but I can't see a AMD 64 X2 3800+ (2.2ghz) working with like a new gtx460 1gb or a 6850 much less a 6950.

I am looking at a phenom II 3.2ghz x4 955 BE and be done with it for a few years or get a Athlon II x3 3.2gz with a cheap mb and upgrade fourth quarter when AMD bulldozer comes out.

Thank God I didnt buy a sandy bridge. What a PIA.

What would be the result if I pulled out the old 8800gt and slapped in lets say a 6850? lol Bottle neck from hell or would it run games way better only because games being mainly GPU dependent?

 

[toyota]

Honestly I had thought about it but I can't see a AMD 64 X2 3800+ (2.2ghz) working with like a new gtx460 1gb or a 6850 much less a 6950.

I am looking at a phenom II 3.2ghz x4 955 BE and be done with it for a few years or get a Athlon II x3 3.2gz with a cheapp mb and upgrade fourth quarter when AMD bulldozer comes out.

Thank God I didnt buy a sandy bridge. What a PIA.

What would be the result if I pulled out the old 8800gt and slapped in lets say a 6850? lol Bottle neck from hell or would it run games way better only because games being mainly GPU dependent?

a 6850 with a 3800 X2 would be a laughable bottleneck. that cpu doesn't even meet the requirements to play some games and cant even handle settings that a 6850 would be capable of running. by that I mean when you turn up the settings because you have a faster card many of those settings also impact the cpu. at 1440x900 you would not even get but about 30% of what a 6850 is capable of in more cpu intensive games. heck even with your 8800gt, a 3800 X2 is already holding you back in most cases.

 

[Artista]

a 6850 with a 3800 X2 would be a laughable bottleneck. that cpu doesn't even meet the requirements to play some games and cant even handle settings that a 6850 would be capable of running.

I guess you can see why I want to upgrade.

 

[Vdubchaos]

Wait 3-4 months and see what happens with AMD BD > decide if it's better than SB and make your choice.

Also at that point Crysis 2 and other titles will be out so you can compare performance of exact games.

I would ONLY suggest getting SB at this point (once the saga is over of course and all MBs are fixed)....I would NOT buy anything else in coming months unless AMD really has something up it's sleeve in few months.

My guess is, they HAVE to.

Meanwhile, save up your money so that you can get a sweet GPU with your new rig when that time comes.

BASE YOUR PURCHASE ON YOUR NEED. Decide which games you will be playing and at what RES you want to play it on > research research research > purchase

I think you would be making a mistake if you went with AMD today....

That's exactly what I'm doing. My current PC plays all the games I play at max settings and I simply have NO need to upgrade. Assuming Crysis 2/BF3 are great games, I might upgrade....if not, my rig lives on.

The problem you have is that your rig is VERY outdated. Regardless, you waited good 4 years, 2 more months for SB fix wont kill you.....

 

[djnsmith7]

I say buy the most expensive card you can afford, without buying "the" most expensive card available. That's about as "future proof" as you're going to get without making a poor financial decision.

 

[Artista]

I say buy the most expensive card you can afford, without buying "the" most expensive card available. That's about as "future proof" as you're going to get without making a poor financial decision.

This makes sense to a point. If all I could afford was a nvidia based 440 card that wouldnt be a wise decision then again since I am not rolling in cash buying a pair of 5970 wouldnt be a wise move either!

I think a gtx460 1 gb or a radeon 6850 or 6870 with huge discount/rebate or a radeon 6950 1Gb with rebate or shellshocker. (if it goes on sale.)

 

[cmanser7]

My GTX 460 is quiet - cool and runs every game out great.

 

[yottabit]

Worst excercise in future proofing I ever attempted was buying an an X850 XT PE AGP card for my S754 system. I spent $450 on that card, and it was the fastest thing you could get on AGP at the time. I had heard it didn't support ShaderModel 3.0, but was told that it wasn't a big deal... then came nightmare after nightmare. First was couldn't play Oblivion with HDR, then couldn't play Bioshock at all...

Also to the OP, I remember playing Half-life through software accelerated on my pentium 233 MMX laptop, because my graphics card was too small in the VRAM.

At least now graphics cards are more standardized in their features... but with the performance increases from each generation I think it really is best to consistently buy midrange, if that will meet your performance needs. I'm still running a 5770, and probably won't upgrade until there is at least a next gen replacement for it.

 

[Powermoloch]

Future proofing is futile, get the best bang of the buck card and be happy w/ it.

i'm with the same boat on yottabit..x850xt pe luls ! it was the best, but tech progression is so rapid it's not funny.

better sell old parts to recoup cost or it's gonna depreciate fast !

 

[Artista]

better sell old parts to recoup cost or it's gonna depreciate fast !

Yeah but I enjoy taking old tech cards and making rearview mirror hangers from them and giving them out as Christmas and Birthday gifts!:awe:

Nothing says "Kool" like having a old Ati Rage AGP video card hanging form your vehicles' rear view mirror!

Hummm I wonder why my relatives never send "thank you" cards!:\

 

[evolucion8]

The X8x0 series went obsolete way before you could untap their performance, did you remember Ruby's DoubleCross, Subsurface Scattering or Far Cry's Machinima demo? They looked so great, I think that games took over 4 years just to match those demos from 2004, and they were done on SM2.0b!

 

[OVerLoRDI]

This probably has already been said, but in my experience the only thing you can possibly future proof with your video card purchase is video memory. So go for more if you can.