how long will my 7850 last?

[An00bis]

I've saved up about $300, and I wanna use that money to buy some stuff OR i can save it up and use it to buy another gpu, next year or something like that. My 7850 is OC'd at 1200mhz, 1.15v so it's basically a 7950. Runs most games at perfect settings and those who don't run at the highest usually need AA lowered, which doesn't really bother me, I'm ok even with 2-4AA or FXAA. Will me 7850 last another year?

Considering current games are all crappy console ports that run perfectly on consoles but run like hell on PC (besides the fact that consoles now are like 10-20x weaker than a mid range PC and that's no exaggeration), I mean besides the fact that consoles run them at 0x AA, 720p and 30fps, PCs still have to cope with unoptimization. I've heard that the PS4 will have a gpu comparable to the 7850 at least in terms of tflops (i know tflops mean nothing but it's an AMD gpu, presumably 8XXX series) so that means it would basically make all future PC ports require the future equivalent of present crossfire 7970 or sli gtx titan to run at 60fps 1080p or more?

 

[daveybrat]

Save your hard earned money until at least the next generation of AMD or Nvidia cards come out.

Your 7850 should be fine for a while.

And with the PS4 and Xbox720 coming out this holiday season, you can expect even more wonderful console ports coming to the pc.

Enjoy what you have and don't let that money burn a hole in your pocket, even if it IS very hard to resist!

 

[An00bis]

Save your hard earned money until at least the next generation of AMD or Nvidia cards come out.

Your 7850 should be fine for a while.

And with the PS4 and Xbox720 coming out this holiday season, you can expect even more wonderful console ports coming to the pc.

Enjoy what you have and don't let that money burn a hole in your pocket, even if it IS very hard to resist!

Oh, so i still have another year of current-gen console ports, right? That means I can buy my next gpu after 2 years, or at least during the next christmas.

 

[BallaTheFeared]

It all depends on what kind of sacrifices you're willing to make to get acceptable fps.

First to go for me when I switched to a single 470 was AO, then AA, SMAA/FXAA are fine with me.. Next is Shadows, high vs ultra typically costs a lot more than the IQ it provides, I haven't really had to go anywhere else but I'd probably guess view distance depending on the game would be up next...

So really the only person who can make that determination is you, if you're just playing games the point of upgrade is when what you get for IQ is no longer acceptable vs what's available.

 

[VulgarDisplay]

It all depends on what kind of sacrifices you're willing to make to get acceptable fps.

First to go for me when I switched to a single 470 was AO, then AA, SMAA/FXAA are fine with me.. Next is Shadows, high vs ultra typically costs a lot more than the IQ it provides, I haven't really had to go anywhere else but I'd probably guess view distance depending on the game would be up next...

So really the only person who can make that determination is you, if you're just playing games the point of upgrade is when what you get for IQ is no longer acceptable vs what's available.

This, how long you keep a GPU is how willing you are to compromise on your settings.

I ran a 5870 for close to 3 years. Longest I have ever had a GPU.

 

[aaksheytalwar]

There are lots of games out with which a 7970 oc struggles even at 1080p maxed out and at times even with 0x AA in some cases. For 1440p most new games don't run on even a titan without AA, the most intensive ones that is.

Considering the above, the 7850 is already not doing that great. By the beginning of next year latest you will be dropping settings at least some of them to low/med at 1080p no AA no AF to maintain 50+ FPS.

 

[OS]

I have a 7870 OC and crysis 3 makes me think about upgrading.
However, I noticed that getting into 7950s and 7970s, the dollar increase doesn't buy a proportional increase in performance. That is a 7970 costs twice as much as a 7870, but it's roughly only 40% faster.

 

[KingFatty]

It all depends on what kind of sacrifices you're willing to make to get acceptable fps.

First to go for me when I switched to a single 470 was AO, then AA, SMAA/FXAA are fine with me.. Next is Shadows, high vs ultra typically costs a lot more than the IQ it provides, I haven't really had to go anywhere else but I'd probably guess view distance depending on the game would be up next...

So really the only person who can make that determination is you, if you're just playing games the point of upgrade is when what you get for IQ is no longer acceptable vs what's available.

Hey Balla, would you consider starting a new thread outlining your strategies? Maybe have a chart where you list the effects in order of importance like you did, with an easy to digest explanation for each effect and why it is OK to disable it?

I think I would use a guide like that, maybe it could be stickied? Nice to know what effects to disable and when, if you need more FPS.

 

[An00bis]

I have a 7870 OC and crysis 3 makes me think about upgrading.
However, I noticed that getting into 7950s and 7970s, the dollar increase doesn't buy a proportional increase in performance. That is a 7970 costs twice as much as a 7870, but it's roughly only 40% faster.

yeah that what pains me as well, but that's why i'm waiting for the next gpus. Maybe nvidia will finally start dropping their prices, if not, I'll just get one of amd's next gpus or the 9XXX series if it will exist, and hope it will overclock like the 7XXX gpus did. I'll stick to my "buy a cheap mid-high end card every year or two, and sell my other card" policy, it seems to be the best thing to do.

 

[Jacky60]

One year, seven months and 3 days.