If NVidia sticks to their 6-month product release schedule....and maybe I make up my mind....

[MichaelD]

...then the GF3 Ultra is due out when? At that point, the "lowly" GF3 should drop in price, right?

My head hurts...I've been pondering a vidcard upgrade: GF2 Pro or the Ultra. Basically, the Pro is a 20% improvement over the regular GF2 GTS I have now, and the Ultra is about 15% over that.

Then, of course, there is the Big 3. As in GF3, which right now, isn't much "better" than the Ultra, but the 3 is the wave of the future and it also comes with a 5 year (or is it 6?) warranty, guaranteeing (sp? I'm tired) a working card (or a replacement) for years to come.

If we are talking about getting a GF3, why not wait until the "Ultra" or "SuperDuper" or whatever the next level is called, comes out, and the price of the regular 3 drops?

Now you see why my head is hurting! Thanks for listening.

 

[resinboy]

If NVidia had their way, we would be upgrading our cards every 2 months

Resinboy

 

[MichaelD]

Hmm...no other takers?

 

[Looney]

<< If we are talking about getting a GF3, why not wait until the &quot;Ultra&quot; or &quot;SuperDuper&quot; or whatever the next level is called, comes out, and the price of the regular 3 drops? >>



I say wait until the GF5 comes out then the GF3 will be under $100... that's a deal.

I don't know why people get stressed out so much from buying a videocard. It's a videocard. It's not a life-changing event that's irreversiable.

 

[konichiwa]

I'm most likely going to wait until the revamped GF3 comes out. I may be old-school, but I can't justify spending $400 on a video card.

 

[MichaelD]

Moralpanic,

LOL! I hear you. I&quot;m not getting stressed...It's just that my PC is one of my hobbies. I have a very busy work schedule. Job #1 keeps me in front of a PC about 75% of my day..so I've lots of net access and time to ponder upgrades. I just love FPS. The smooooooothness of high framerates makes me happy. I'm just not an RC5 Kinda guy. That's all.


Konichiwa,
I hear you about the $$$. I said to myself, &quot;Self, $400 for a videocard? You must be out of your freakin' mind!:Q&quot;

ESPECIALLY after I paid $245 for my GF2 GTS (32mb) and now it's $120 everywhere you look. Sucks big moose parts!

Thanks for the replies guys.

 

[filmore crashcart]

My problem is that I've gotten on a annual upgrade path for a video card that falls around my birthday in June. I treat myself to the top running card out at this particular time. The problem, as I've soon realized, is that June seems to be the worst time for getting the &quot;latest and the greatest&quot;. But, despite that fact,I bit the bullet and I'm getting a G3 tomorrow after much agonizing and debate. I'm paying about as much for it as I paid for my current Hercules 3D Prophet 2 GTS, 32 meg last year at this time. I know damn well the price will drop by August but, damit, it's my birthday and it's a treat to myself (gee, how easy it is to talk myself into foolishness). Like last year, I've vowed to not buy anymore computer stuff until income tax return time. I really shouldn't have to with my current system. I am looking forward to this card just purely on it's potential which, when the stuff arrives that takes advantage of it's features, will feel like getting a whole new video card again without buying a new one. No, I don't have the money - I'm using my credit card - and I full realize that I &quot;don't need it&quot;, but I still can't wait to get it. Anyway, all I'll get for my birthday otherwise is a few shirts and a card reminding me that I'm getting old. Gee, no kidding Dick Tracy.

 

[bjc112]

I would wait..your GTS has tobe (well should be) enough to hold you over till around christmas.. at that time.. get a new GF3 or the original.. which will run for about 250 (i think).. i don't want to but.. i am going to have to hold on to this MX as long as possible...!! and then get me one NICE VIDEO CARD!!!!!!!!!!

 

[JellyBaby]

According to the news coming from E3 quite a few games arriving in 1.5-3 years will be GF3 &quot;enhanced&quot;. If I had to buy today, I'd opt for a fast GF2 and pickup a GF3U at about the times all these games actually arrive. The GF2 is pretty inexpensive now and plays everything well. The GF3 class video cards will be essential for the next generation of games. Waiting saves you money and the GF3 drivers will have matured as well.

 

[MichaelD]

Hi JellyBaby,

Yours is the most concise, intelligent answer so far. I've been thinking the same thing. Then only small (well, $100, so not really small) problem is this; Pro or Ultra. Thanks for the input, buddy. Cheers.

 

[Wingznut]

Buy the best you can afford, as soon as the opportunity arises. I've never been a fan of &quot;waiting until...&quot;, because there's always something around the corner.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

Well if the games are 1.5 to 3 years away, then the G3 will not omly be a dinasoar at that point,it will also be sold for spare change that you can get fron under your coushins on your couch. The G3 is not a purchase to be made right now, just like Jelly said. What good does it do to buy this card now, when by the time the games actually take advantage of the technology this card will be out of date?. The time frame of 1.5 to 3 years tells me by that time we should be up to at least a G5435326275 Ultra with 25546372 drivers. To me just seems smart to waite. Oh and one more thing Happy Bday filmore, hope you enjoy your G3.

 

[MichaelD]

W-N-Pez,

Well, then in that case, it's one of the GF2 family. $400 for a card is out of my reach...too bad, so sad. I get a bonus $$ mid-June...maybe the Ultra will drop a few $$$ by then.

 

[Wingznut]

Keep your eye out, and you can probably get a GF3 for $300. I picked up mine two weeks ago for $315.

I'm not sure if that's still out of your pricerange or not.

 

[MichaelD]

Wow, really? The cheapest I've seen an Ultra is $245+shipping. For $50 more....

OK, SCREW THAT! Tell us about it! Benchmarks! Real world! Drivers, good or blase? Share the wealth, please. Allright, I'll ask nicely; please share w/us your opinions of the GF3.

 

[jagr10]

Some people are like me and want the latest stuff, but i'm slowly growing out of that and coming to reality. New hardware comes out so fast that you'll never be able to keep up unless you are extremely rich. I mean, if I buy a 1.4 GHz cpu now, then in 2 months a faster one will be out. Same goes with video cards.

Some people say wait until the latest comes out and the previous model's price will fall. However, if you're like me you wonder why you should get an older model when a newer one is out. If you buy the latest, you can wait a year or two to upgrade, but if you buy an older model you have to upgrade sooner. So maybe the latest is wisest, but like someone mentioned above, get the latest if you can afford it.

 

[Wingznut]

The GF3 is a real nice card. It's a bit overkill, for the software out today. But it will most definitely outlast a GF2. One of my favorite features is Quincunx FSAA. It is not a huge performance hit, and the quality is very good, especially compared to the GF2's FSAA.

So far it's been extremely stable, and I've had no issues with it. Other than price, I don't see any reason NOT to get a GF3.

 

[TimidOCer]

GF3

 

[MCS]

In todays games the difference between the GF3 and the GF2 Ultra is small (forget 3DMark2001 for a minute). Maybe the GF3 pulls a few extra frames here and there but when you are over 85FPS you can't REALLY notice the difference during gameplay anyway. By the time GF3 enchanced games arrive the GF3 Ultra will be out and will make the regular GF3 look slow in the benchmarks. If you buy a GF3 now you WILL want a GF3 Ultra when it arrives. Therefore it might make more sense to buy and GF2 Ultra now, enjoy all the current games with it (this card is NOT slow BTW, it ****ing fast!) and buy a Geforce 3 Ultra in a years time, when the newer games are around. That's the way I see it. That way you enjoy the cream of the GF2 line while its useful and then enjoy the cream of the GF3 line when IT is useful.

 

[Insane3D]

I am in the same situation, and I am leaning toward the GF2 Ultra. I just found it online for $229, but I can't decide if it is worthwhile over a Radeon 64mb VIVO. If I get a GF3, I would prefer the Leadtek because it comes with 4ns memory...same as the GF2 Ultra, a HUGE HSF, and a better TV out decoder chip than the Visiontek that supports up to 1024 x 768 TV Out.

 

[nortexoid]

upgrading from a gf2 to pro or ultra seems pointless (waste of money)...get at least a gf3 or wait...i'd wait.
soon, the gf3 ultra and radeon 2 will be out (not to say that u should consider the radeon 2, but it hsould bring down gf3 prices even more)

 

[MichaelD]

Thanks for all the great replies! What MCS said does make a lot of sense to me...it would be the most logical thing to do. However, I am sometimes prone to um...impulsive things. What I'm probably going to do is wait a month or so and see what happens with prices. I am hoping that whatever ATI comes out with will affect NVidia's prices. I'd never buy an ATI, because of a bad experience I had with one of their cheaper cards, but that' another story entirely.

Again, thanks everyone and have a great day.

Regards, Mike

 

[thorin]

Well it kinda depends what' you're running with right now.

Your rig specs say you have a GF2 GTS. So IMHO don't bother upgrading, wait for the NV30 which will be the first GPU that has both nVidia and 3Dfx tech (according to recent nVidia interview(s)).

Thorin

 

[Biggs]

Now if only Matrox stuck to a 6-month product cycle...

 

[thorin]

&quot;Now if only Matrox stuck to a 6-month product cycle...&quot;

They have no reason to, they aren't in the gaming/enthusiast market.

Thorin