How Many Years Do You Expect To Use a Card(s) in Your Main Rig?

How Long Do You Expect To Use a GPU in Your Main Rig?

  • 0-1 years

  • 1-2 years

  • 2-3 years

  • 3-4 years

  • 4-5 years

  • 5+ years


Results are only viewable after voting.

poofyhairguy

Lifer
Nov 20, 2005
14,612
318
126
Please vote in the poll how many years you expect to use a card or cards in your main rig, ie how long you expect to keep it (them) before replacing it (them). The basic concept is how long you expect to keep a GPU setup between upgrades.

You can either answer your expectations ("I expect a card to last ____ but I seem to actually replace every two years") or just how long you personally on average keep a card(s) unless you plan to change that behavior going forward. All that matters is the expected lifespan you have for any future GPU upgrade.

Please note, this is just for your main rig. So if your "retirement plan" for old cards is to give them to the girlfriend/cousin/son that time doesn't count. Only the time the card remains your flagship GPU (or GPUs) counts. The second you upgrade to a better card the old card is out of time for this poll.

Thank you.
 
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n0x1ous

Platinum Member
Sep 9, 2010
2,572
248
106
2 years. Whenever new largest chip flagship comes out, my current ones get replaced by a new pair
 
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railven

Diamond Member
Mar 25, 2010
6,604
561
126
Main rig, since I was 18, I upgrade every refresh :D

So I voted 0-1 year.
 

Fallen Kell

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
6,009
417
126
I voted 2-3. I have pushed it to 4 on the current card because there was no point buying another 28nm card when I knew the new ones should have been out anytime in the last year... I have also been waiting on upgrading to something closer to when Star Citizen releases, which seems to be getting much more realistic of releasing soon (been having a blast in the current alpha).
 
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NTMBK

Lifer
Nov 14, 2011
10,208
4,940
136
Given how long it will be until we get 10nm cards, 5 years min.
 

digitaldurandal

Golden Member
Dec 3, 2009
1,828
0
76
It depends heavily on what I have done in terms of resolution and if the games I am playing have pushed the envelope. My 285s lasted a while because I was only playing COD and they had no trouble with it. My 5950 was replaced quickly because I went triple monitor. My 670s replaced those and lasted a while because I didn't play anything that demanding. I got the 290s because they were such a bargain (less than 500 for 2 cards and 4 games.) Now I am switching to 2560x1440 144hz and an ultrawide in the nearish future, so I am ready to upgrade again.

Moving from education to system engineering has influenced my purchasing habits as well due to income increasing.
 

SPBHM

Diamond Member
Sep 12, 2012
5,056
409
126
I would be seriously disappointed if the card can't last at least 4 years doing what is supposed to, if you look at stuff like the 7900 it has the potential to still be quite usable in 2 years, and it will be over 6 years old...
 

Gryz

Golden Member
Aug 28, 2010
1,551
203
106
I won't upgrade unless the new card will improve my fps by 100%. (So a factor of 2x better).

My last (and current) videocard was a gtx680. The gtx780 wasn't twice as fast. The gtx980 also wasn't twice as fast. A gtx980ti was finally twice as fast as a gtx680. 2.25x even.

Unfortunately the gtx980ti was not easily available in the first weeks after release. Not in my country. And the EVGA with waterblock never was available (as far as I can see). That pissed me off. And the gtx980ti was 1.4x more expensive than my gtx680 (700+ euro vs 500 euro). And the overclocked models used too much power. All these factors together made me decide to not buy a gtx980ti.

The gtx1080 is gonna be 3x faster than my gtx680. Maybe even more. For the same power-budget (180W vs 175W). For a higher price (650 euro vs 500 euro). But altogether, it'll be a good upgrade. I hope they will be easily available in June. And that there is no price gauging by webshops.

When I bought my gtx680 I was planning to replace it within 2 years. That never happened. When I buy my gtx1080 I hope I can replace it within 2 years this time. But I'm afraid it'll take another 4 years before new technology will be available that gives us new cards that are 2-3 times faster than a gtx1080 for a similar price and same power-budget.
 

exar333

Diamond Member
Feb 7, 2004
8,518
8
91
I won't upgrade unless the new card will improve my fps by 100%. (So a factor of 2x better).

My last (and current) videocard was a gtx680. The gtx780 wasn't twice as fast. The gtx980 also wasn't twice as fast. A gtx980ti was finally twice as fast as a gtx680. 2.25x even.

Unfortunately the gtx980ti was not easily available in the first weeks after release. Not in my country. And the EVGA with waterblock never was available (as far as I can see). That pissed me off. And the gtx980ti was 1.4x more expensive than my gtx680 (700+ euro vs 500 euro). And the overclocked models used too much power. All these factors together made me decide to not buy a gtx980ti.

The gtx1080 is gonna be 3x faster than my gtx680. Maybe even more. For the same power-budget (180W vs 175W). For a higher price (650 euro vs 500 euro). But altogether, it'll be a good upgrade. I hope they will be easily available in June. And that there is no price gauging by webshops.

When I bought my gtx680 I was planning to replace it within 2 years. That never happened. When I buy my gtx1080 I hope I can replace it within 2 years this time. But I'm afraid it'll take another 4 years before new technology will be available that gives us new cards that are 2-3 times faster than a gtx1080 for a similar price and same power-budget.

Good example.

Although not as much of an issue now, memory amounts were a large limiter for a while. As we went from 1GB to 1.5/2GB cards, and then 2/3GB and finally 4/6GB, some people hit a wall (as I did) with both the 1GB on the 5870 and the 2GB on the 670.

With HBM2 coming, we probably will stabilize somewhat at ~8-16GB for a while.
 

Spjut

Senior member
Apr 9, 2011
928
149
106
4-5 years and prepared to wait for longer. In the end, it depends on the games, and during the last years there just aren't enough games I feel is worth upgrading for.
 

A_Skywalker

Member
Apr 9, 2016
79
4
71
I still ise GTX 560 and I will simply buy new computer as my processor is outdated also (i5 2400). I usually dont upgrade, I wait until I really got more powerful pc.
 

LurchFrinky

Senior member
Nov 12, 2003
297
56
91
I'm sure I am in the minority here as I recently purchased my first card in over 10 years. I don't play fps games, so I never really needed a discrete card.
My newest card is a FirePro W5100, and I expect to keep it around for 4 or 5 years.
My previous card was an All-in-Wonder, I think 9700? I had it around for quite a while as well.
 

thesmokingman

Platinum Member
May 6, 2010
2,307
231
106
I've had my 7970s since release, used them in my main rig till a year after 290x release, then switched. The cards then went into my son's rig and other rigs. They still clock to well over 1350mhz. I had quad 290x lightnings then downsized to three. They clock over 1300mhz. I'll hold onto those for another 8 months, then cycle them into the secondary rigs in the house, son's wife's etc. At that point the 7970s will finally be sold off for pennies on the dollar with blocks.
 

ZipSpeed

Golden Member
Aug 13, 2007
1,302
169
106
I used to upgrade every 2-3 years. My 7950 is the longest I have ever held on to a card.
 

jantjeuh

Member
May 4, 2015
45
0
0
2-3 for me as well. Sometimes longer, sometimes shorter when an awesome GPU-demanding game comes out that I have to play on max settings (Crysis!). That doesn't happen that often anymore though.
 

swilli89

Golden Member
Mar 23, 2010
1,558
1,181
136
Well lets see..

Geforce 3 in 2001
Radeon 9700 2002
Geforce 6800GT in 2004 (nvidia exposed for driver cheats, I noticed the awful aliasing in Homeworld 2 and Battlefield 1942 no matter the aa/af setting, switch to AMD and stayed since)
x1950 in 2007
4890 in 2009
6970 in 2011
290X in 2014

As an adult now, I want my card to last about two years, 3 years if its truly excellent. The 290x is truly groundbreaking in this sense, its value is untouchable. I think anyone shopping for 2-3 years would be crazy to go nvidia with the last 4 years of data trends.
 

DiogoDX

Senior member
Oct 11, 2012
746
277
136
5970 in 2010 > 7970 in 2012 > 980Ti in 2015


Next up in 2018 for minimum 2X better performance.
 

caswow

Senior member
Sep 18, 2013
525
136
116
i upgrade if i get at least 100% more perf at 200-250€ pricepoint and ideally power consumption. roughly 4 years i would say.

I think the opposite is true too. Anyone looking to upgrade every year will be let down by AMD.

this has to be a bad joke
 
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swilli89

Golden Member
Mar 23, 2010
1,558
1,181
136
I think the opposite is true too. Anyone looking to upgrade every year will be let down by AMD.

Actually I'm not sure its as straightforward for the yearly upgraders. Its just case by case. Someone that bought a 390 last summer would be in great shape if they wanted to upgrade at the same price bracket this summer with Polaris 10.

Mining makes sure AMD cards retain a solid resale value. I bought my 290x for $300 in late 2014. I can sell it for $250 instantly right now.

The 780 that was $400 during that time? Maybe worth $180 now.
 

Insomniator

Diamond Member
Oct 23, 2002
6,294
171
106
I like selling and upgrading for fun/no reason. My 7950 from Jan 2014 would be fine for the games I play now at even at 1440p.

7950 --> 780 --> R9 390 in the past 2.5 years. I'll prob sell the 390 in a few months and jump back to the Nvidia camp if the 1070 looks good. I really just like opening boxes and peeling off that plastic sheet protection. :)