The new gen consoles won't use anywhere close to 8GB ofV RAM, and they aren't really coming out with 8GB of VRAM, they have 8GB of RAM and use shared memory, like an APU or iGPU. In short, new gen consoles are going to be about as strong as a Phenom X4 + GTX470 more or less (ie xbox is weaker gpu more like 460). Or i3 + 7770, for a more modern equivalent. Something with such little power, is hardly going to be setting standards for future PC games.
We saw the same thing happen when Xbox 360 and PS3 launched. "Omg buy Phenom X6, new games are all going to be 6 cores like the new consoles!".
To date, we have only 4, AAA games that use 6-threads - BF3, FC3, BS:INf, Cry3, and all of them still prefer stronger IPC to 6 threads (ie a stronger quad-core like an i5 > Phenom X6/6300 or even 8350), all of them are much, much more GPU dependent than CPU dependent (ie an i3 + 7950 will way outperform an i7 + 7850 system), and only the latter has sub-100FPS with even an i5.
Furthermore, if all you do is play, say, Starcraft2, for the next 10 years, then your GTX 450/640/7750 will easily last 10 years. It's all about the applications you use.
The idea of 'future proof' is just retarded. Computer components, especially graphics cards, are fungible, meaning they are very liquid, like cash, they sell off easily. Buy the exact graphics card you need for the games you play today, and if you need more, sell it off and buy a new one. Because any dollar more you spend on unnecessarily 'future proof', means a dollar less in the rest of your system, where the performance would've made a difference. Your monitor, your sound, etc, lots of things can be upgraded, and those are all fungible too.
So don't buy the 780 if you don't need it. Get a 7950 instead, and use the extra money to sell your monitor and then all together buy an even better one.
Most games hardly use more than 2GB of VRAM, so don't worry about VRAM. You can easily google how much VRAM X game uses, or use a program like HWInfo or Rivatuner to see how much VRAM you currently use. VRAM isn't really a significant impact on your FPS until you are down about 500mb+ from how much a game is using. You really only need to concern about it if you play on larger resolutions, like 1200p or 1440p.
yea! Just like Ivy was going to be this huge jump over Sandy! Oh, and remember Bulldozer? Smashing success! And dang, I'm so glad I waited for the 7xx series!
Next gen will never be a huge step up. As for AMD GPU's competing with Titan, sure, and with a similar price tag too. Titan is still seen as ridiculous overkill for 99.9% of gamers anyways, it'll be a while before Titan-level performance is really at an affordable price or worth getting for most gamers.
My point is don't wait on new tech. Like I said, you can always sell what you got and buy it. People around here act like when you build a custom computer, you can never swap out the parts, and that you must throw them away afterwards or something.
If you bought, say, a GTX 460 3 years ago for $100, and you sold it today for $60, I mean you basically 'rented' it for $40, which is a damn good deal. Throw that on, say, your 7850 you buy for $150, $90 for that 7850 that you'll sell off in the future and make most of it back, I mean you are paying very little.
All this computer components... at the same time, they will never be future proof, and they will always be future proof. A Phenom X4 + GTX 460 system for $350 from 3 years ago will still play any Crysis3 or top tier game on decent graphics, for example, and will destroy the vast majority games still.
Buying a 780 to be 'future proof' is just about the dumbest thing you can do. No matter what, in a few years, or even a few months, there will be a better purchase for the dollar. If you really want 'future proof'... buy on Black Friday. Just get what you need, and sell it off and replace it as necessary. You have a custom computer, the whole point of it is swapping out parts as necessary.
Its cool that you all can understand me just fine, im still learning english.
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