How often do you upgrade your video card? (poll included)

[Sentry2]

here we go... GF2 GTS 64MB - Ti4200 - 5700LE? - 9800Pro 256MB - 6800 256MB(able to unlock all pipes and overclock) - 6800GT - 7800GTX - 2x 7800GTX - 2x 7800GTX 512s...(@ $700ea I'll never do that again) - X1900XTX - X1900XT CF - 8800GTX - 8800GTX SLI - 8800Ultra SLI - 8800GTS 512(temp until GT200 arrived) - GTX280 (792MHz gpu...vmod) - 4850 512MB CFX(vmod... 950MHz gpu) - 4870X2 - GTX280 SLI - GTX295 Quad SLI(also...never again) - GTX285 @ 800MHz - Fermi SLI or a 5890... 7800GTX SLI and after were on water and most with vmods... I need help. :beer:

 

[fffblackmage]

Originally posted by: Sentry2
here we go... GF2 GTS 64MB - Ti4200 - 5700LE? - 9800Pro 256MB - 6800 256MB(able to unlock all pipes and overclock) - 6800GT - 7800GTX - 2x 7800GTX - 2x 7800GTX 512s...(@ $700ea I'll never do that again) - X1900XTX - X1900XT CF - 8800GTX - 8800GTX SLI - 8800Ultra SLI - 8800GTS 512(temp until GT200 arrived) - GTX280 (792MHz gpu...vmod) - 4850 512MB CFX(vmod... 950MHz gpu) - 4870X2 - GTX280 SLI - GTX295 Quad SLI(also...never again) - GTX285 @ 800MHz - Fermi SLI or a 5890... 7800GTX SLI and after were on water and most with vmods... I need help. :beer:

:Q

Sure you didn't forget one or two?

 

[tvdang7]

850xt>x1800xt>x1900xt>4850 skipped the whole 2900xt 3870 8800gtx era. Im wanting a 5850 so about every generation.

 

[v8envy]

Completely game driven. Here's the history of my 'primary' gaming machine:

CPU -> S3 Virge -> GF2 -> 4200 -> 9600 -> 850xt -> x1800xt -> 7600GT -> 8800GT OC
1998 -----------------SS2-NWN-Morrowind-----HL2-------------Oblivion-------------L4D today

So definitely a bang for the buck buyer, not quite once a year. Sometimes of slightly obsolete tech and only when required to play an important to me title. Oblivion, HL2, System Shock2/Deus Ex -- each of these caused an upgrade. Oh, did I mention I don't always have the ability to play games on release? I spent half the time between the ti4200 and 850xt on the road with a "mobility 9800" (aka roughly 9600) laptop. That kind of situation helps contain hardware costs.

 

[fleshconsumed]

Every other generation on average I think

ATI Rage (performance wise TNT equivalent I think) -> GeForce2 -> ATI 8500 (mainly because it was so cheap ~$115 or so) -> GeForce 6800GT -> 8800GT -> GTX260c216 (only because 8800GT died on me, twice, otherwise I would have waited till next gen).

I play less and less games now, so I expect in the future my upgrades will be primarily driven by games I want to play. I hope GTX260c216 is still powerful enough to play HL2:EP3 and Portal 2 at 1920x1200 whenever they come out.

 

[waffleironhead]

when a game comes out that my current card can not handle at medium settings.

 

[sanzen07]

I used to do it more but not so much anymore. I've only owned 4 cards so far:

Geforce 3 64MB > ATi Radeon 9800 Non-Pro 128MB > ATi Radeon X850 Pro 256MB > Geforce 8800GTS 640MB

I've had my current card for approx. 2.5 years now and see no reason at all to upgrade especialy since I'm limited via monitor to resolution of 1280x1024.

 

[ChrisAttebery]

Lessee...

CPU, Matrox ???, Voodoo2, TNT2, Radeon 9100 PCI, 4350.

Before I was married I tried to keep on the current generation. Once I got married I didn't have the time and I had such a crappy system that the newer games weren't worth playing on it. I finally broke down and bought an i7 system and I'm enjoying playing HL2 for the first time right now. The system came with a ATI 4350 and it keeps up with HL2 at 1920x1200. At some point I may upgrade to a newer card, but only if I find a game I want to play that actually needs a better GPU.

 

[crisium]

2001: GeForce 2 GTS 32MB for $50 eBay... August 2002: GeForce 4 Ti4200 128MB $150 eBay... Summer 2004: Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB ~$160 eBay... July 2006: Radeon X1800XT 256MB ~$250 Newegg... December 2007: Radeon 3850 512MB (factory overclocked) $210 Newegg*... December 2008: Radeon 4850 512MB $95 eBay

So I sometimes skip a generation (GeForce 3/Radeon 8, GeForce 6/Radeon X) and other times it's every gen. I want to get back into the every 2 years trend, so I'm gonna ride the Radeon 4850 out for at least 2 years. Just thinking about some of the prices is absurd - especially if you add them up for the years and consider that you can always get something much faster for much less if you wait.

*It was near 3870 performance in a review, so it was a good deal. 3870s at this time were $250+, 8800GT was $270+, 8800GTS G92 was well into the $300s... boy was 2005-2007 way too expensive to buy a GPU. The Radeon 4800 series really spoiled us good. After a huge Microsoft cashback I got a 4850 just a year later for under $100. Even without that, they were around $150+ anyway and easily the 8800GTS that retailed for more than double just a year earlier. Then if you think about what the 7800 and 8800 G80 cards cost at launch... yowza!

At least I never paid $650 for a GTX 280 or $450 for a GTX 260 Core 192. I fully intend for that Radeon X1800XT to be my most expensive GPU purchase ever (with inflation). I like the $150-$170 range really, even if I've only hit it twice. It's really foolish to pay much more because of the price drops. That range now can get you a nice performing GTX 260 Core 216. The hell you need more power than that? In a year you'll be able to get a 5850 for that price, or less.

 

[Schadenfroh]

the abyss -> Voodoo2 -> TnT2 M64 -> Voodoo5 -> Geforce4 TI4200 -> Geforce 6800GT -> ATI x1950 Pro -> nvidia GTX260

 

[woolfe9999]

Diamond something or other (Virge)-->RIVA 128-->Voodoo2x2--->Voodoo5 5500---->Radeon 8500---->Gefore 7600GTSx2---->Geforce 8800 gts 320.

- Dave

 

[nOOky]

I upgrade once a year around x-mas time with my x-mas bonus. Probably buy whatever is best for price/performance in a few weeks, put it in my main computer, and put my 4870 in my spare computer. I don't think I'll shell out close to $400 for a 5870, maybe just get a 4890 or 5850 and sell the good old 8800GTS 512.

 

[lavaheadache]

primary rig- voodoo 2 8 meg > voodoo 2 12 meg sli > voodoo 3 2000> voodoo3 3000> voodoo 5 5500 > Geforce 4 ti 4200> 9600 XT > 9800 pro > X800 pro > 6800 GT > 7800 GTX > X1900 XT > 8800 GTX > 8800 GT's SLI > HD4870> GTX 280....... I want an HD5870

Secondary computeres in no particular order

6600 GT's SLI
7800GT's SLI I actually had like 2 sets of these
2x X1800XT
Geforce 2 GTS
Radeon 7000
8800 GTS 320
X1900 GT
X800 GTO
Geforce 6200
3 or 4 9800 pro's flashed to XT

Yeah, I've had a shitload of video cards.

I could really blow you guys away with a photo cause I still have a lot of them

 

[Bill Brasky]

pretty much never. x800 -> x1900gt -> hd5850

Unfortunately I spend too much money on going to bars to upgrade more often. I stayed at home on the weekend for about a month so I could afford my most recent build.

 

[Borealis7]

i don't upgrade often but when my current card can be sold at 50%-60% the price of the next gen card i'm starting to think about it.

also it depends on the games. as long as i can play games i dont upgrade. there were almost 2 years where i didnt play anything and just watched Anime on an IGP so i didnt need anything and at the time i managed to do some gaming with the IGP.

history:

S3 Virge 4MB -> ATI Rage Pro 2 8MB -> added a Creative VooDoo2 8MB -> ELSA GeForce2 GTS 32MB (that was a BEAST!) -> SiS FX661 IGP -> (3 years) -> ATI Radeon X850XT 256MB -> GeCube Radeon X1950Pro -> BFG 8800GTS 512, second hand -> card died after a year, no warrenty -> current: MSI Radeon HD4850 512MB second hand again, hope it wont die.

i'm not an ATI fanboy, these cards were just best at price/performance where i live.

 

[gevorg]

Every ~3 years.

 

[SingJsong]

Roughly every 2 years.

Gone from ATI Radeon 7200 > GeForce 4600 (D.O.A) > Radeon 9700 > X800 > 3870 > 5870

 

[Krakn3Dfx]

Well, usually every other generation, but my GTX 260 is with EVGA at the moment, so I picked up the Diamond Viper HD 4870 512MB GDDR5 XOC Black Edition because the benches I saw online put it closer to a GTX280 and it was only $130.

I shouldn't have bought it, but I did. If it doesn't live up to my expectations, I'll probably take it back.

 

[evolucion8]

Originally posted by: Krakn3Dfx
Well, usually every other generation, but my GTX 260 is with EVGA at the moment, so I picked up the Diamond Viper HD 4870 512MB GDDR5 XOC Black Edition because the benches I saw online put it closer to a GTX280 and it was only $130.

I shouldn't have bought it, but I did. If it doesn't live up to my expectations, I'll probably take it back.

The card that you are refering to is the 1GB version. The 512MB is on par or slighly slower than the GTX 260+

 

[Krakn3Dfx]

Originally posted by: evolucion8

Originally posted by: Krakn3Dfx
Well, usually every other generation, but my GTX 260 is with EVGA at the moment, so I picked up the Diamond Viper HD 4870 512MB GDDR5 XOC Black Edition because the benches I saw online put it closer to a GTX280 and it was only $130.

I shouldn't have bought it, but I did. If it doesn't live up to my expectations, I'll probably take it back.

The card that you are refering to is the 1GB version. The 512MB is on par or slighly slower than the GTX 260+

This review is for the 512MB version, not the 1GB version. AFAIK, there is no 1GB version of the Viper 4870 XOC from Diamond.

 

[evolucion8]

Originally posted by: Krakn3Dfx
This review is for the 512MB version, not the 1GB version. AFAIK, there is no 1GB version of the Viper 4870 XOC from Diamond.

A pity, the lack of VRAM is clearly holding back that card. That review is very old, the drivers had changed a lot the landscape of the HD 4870, specially with the 1GB version.

 

[Krakn3Dfx]

Originally posted by: evolucion8

Originally posted by: Krakn3Dfx
This review is for the 512MB version, not the 1GB version. AFAIK, there is no 1GB version of the Viper 4870 XOC from Diamond.

A pity, the lack of VRAM is clearly holding back that card. That review is very old, the drivers had changed a lot the landscape of the HD 4870, specially with the 1GB version.

I think all 4870 reviews are pretty old at this point.

Have been testing out the card, and it's scoring quite a bit better in UT3, 3DMark, and L4D than my GTX260 was. Going to see how it is stability wise, but if it holds up well, I'll probably keep it.

 

[SithSolo1]

Every new computer build:

P3 500 w/ STB Velocity 4400>>Athlon 1ghz w/ Radeon>>Athlon 2500+ w/ Radeon 8500>>Opteron 165 w/ 7900GTO

 

[thilanliyan]

Originally posted by: SithSolo1
7900GTO

That was a cool card (basically a 7900GTX?)...sold it 2 months after I bought it and made a profit.

 

[Painman]

I usually skip a generation between upgrades, but I'm making an exception right now and grabbing an rv870 unit. Practically all of this is because 285s like to die on me for some reason, and if it weren't for that, I'd be sitting tight with the 285 probably until 2011.