Is it worth buying a card right now?

[magomago]

Friend wants a gaming rig, been putting it together to help him out. He won't be upgrading again for the next...oooooh 4 years or so.

Anyways I feel like there is going to be a lot of move soon. Current tech has been around for a LOOONG while. The 5870 and the likes have been pimping for how long now?

Regretfully he doesn't have a xfire/sli motherboard otherwise this would be easy (GTX460 or 5850s...take your pick; I went 460 route) because you can get pretty nice performance for a great price.

However, I'm concerned about long term 1080p performance with a card like that. I feel like the baseline performance at the moment should really be a GTX480 if you want to look forward 2-3 years from now (basically...pulling off a 5870. For those who bought it, they are still going strong today. But to buy it today is questionable).

Should I toss him my older 8800gt for now and wait, or are there good options that I'm just not seeing around 200-250?

 

[cusideabelincoln]

No current video card is going to perform at a high level at 1080p for 3-4 years. You just simply buy the best you're comfortable spending money on, and upgrade when that card can't do what you want.

 

[magomago]

i agree in general there is no blanket statement that holds true, but i clearly believe there are waves of cards to ride. What i'm trying to gauge (By asking a collective opinion) is if now is one of those moments, or if i'm mis reading the situation

 

[cusideabelincoln]

Right now basically for every $50 you will get a card that is proportionally faster.

Now is a decent time. But I suppose since both companies have been stuck with 40nm we're not seeing the best performance we can. I expect the move to 28nm later this year to provide a huge increase in graphic performance. The move to a new node for a new generation chip is probably the best time to buy if you're looking for longevity. The 5870 and 5850 were great as next-gen chips on the latest process node: 40nm. The 8800 cards were great and long lasting for 90nm/65nm. The GTX 260 and HD 4800 were great for 55nm - released over two years ago and they are still good performers today.

 

[AnotherGuy]

Im just not getting this... why noone including OP, is not even mentioning current 6-series cards from AMD or 5-series cards from nVidia... im confused!

 

[wahdangun]

wait for hd 6990

 

[Dadofamunky]

I don't agree. The mid-range to high-end cards from either side are excellent performers and will hold up fine for a long time. Sure, a node change will help, but there will also be bugs. I'm planning on a GTX 570 purchase in a month or so and I have no problems with the timing.

 

[badb0y]

This is a very vague question, in response I would ask you does your current graphics card provide you with acceptable performance? If not grab another card, if it does, why would you need another card?

 

[wuliheron]

For HD gaming you want at least a gtx 460 and for sli it should be a 1gb version. Newegg has the 6870 for $210.oo and two of those puppies will max out just about everything but Crysis and Metro. I'd look again if I were you. That 8800gt is definitely long in the tooth.

 

[OCGuy]

This is one of the best times in recent memory. There is something for every budget, no matter what brand you prefer.

In fact, nV and AMD are so close, the bickering on this forum is almost non-existent! I might need to go start a AMD drivers V Physx thread just to kick it up a notch

 

[Alamat]

Nice thread. On a little tangent though..and forgive me if I seem to hijack it...
I have a Q6600 with 6 GB of RAM running Win 7. Is it overkill or just plain dumb to go get a 5870? There r a couple of guys at the FS forum selling them used. Also, is ther a difference between "reference" and just plain?

 

[dpodblood]

Your friend should rethink his upgrade strategy. It makes much more sense to buy a decent GPU, upgrade in a years time, and re-sell the old card recouping a lot of the cost.

 

[happy medium]

Nice thread. On a little tangent though..and forgive me if I seem to hijack it...
I have a Q6600 with 6 GB of RAM running Win 7. Is it overkill or just plain dumb to go get a 5870? There r a couple of guys at the FS forum selling them used. Also, is ther a difference between "reference" and just plain?

If you can get your q6600 to 3.0 , I would say buy it.

Why not get a brand new evga gtx 560 with lifetime warranty for 215$?

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2140278

 

[Alamat]

Now I'm getting confused..again. So getting a GTX 560 for that much money would be better than a 5870 for $190?

 

[happy medium]

Now I'm getting confused..again. So getting a GTX 560 for that much money would be better than a 5870 for $190?

That depends if the lifetime warranty, and the fact that its new, is worth 25$ to you.

It also has better tessalation performance for future games, and I would guess better driver support because its a new release.

 

[Termie]

Friend wants a gaming rig, been putting it together to help him out. He won't be upgrading again for the next...oooooh 4 years or so.

...

However, I'm concerned about long term 1080p performance with a card like that. I feel like the baseline performance at the moment should really be a GTX480 if you want to look forward 2-3 years from now (basically...pulling off a 5870. For those who bought it, they are still going strong today. But to buy it today is questionable).

Should I toss him my older 8800gt for now and wait, or are there good options that I'm just not seeing around 200-250?

What's questionable about buying an HD5870 for $205 now? Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...E16814102883. How is that any worse than buying one for $380 last year, or worse than buying an HD6950 or GTX570 for $250 today? It's not - and it's still your best bargain for a seriously powerful single-card solution.

On the other hand, if he doesn't have a ton of new games yet, that 8800gt should keep him happy for a while (especially if it's the one with the accelero cooler that I'm quite familiar with, magomago). In 7-9 months, there will be a new awesome card that is 50% faster than an HD5870 and 100% more expensive. Worth waiting for? Your call.

 

[sandorski]

Now is a great time. Going the Mid-Level route with an Upgrade every 2ish years will save money and give consistent performance in the long run though.

 

[Alamat]

Good point Happy. Just wanted really to know which one is a better card. Now time to haggle....like always...
Thanks again!

 

[RavenSEAL]

HD6990. Only thing i can think of.

 

[tweakboy]

No current video card is going to perform at a high level at 1080p for 3-4 years. You just simply buy the best you're comfortable spending money on, and upgrade when that card can't do what you want.

You are soooo wrong my good friend. I play @ 1080p 4xAA 16xAF High Quality , vsync on game settings maxed. my COD Blackops never drops a frame no matter where you are how many soldiers or how big of place. The framerate is stuck @ 60

UT3 @1080p,, also flys in a 8800 GT just to note

I play all my games @ 1920x1080 and right now my fps is stuck at 60 no matter what. From NFS hp to medol of honor.. soo I dont know what you talking about. gg and gb

 

[edplayer]

You are soooo wrong my good friend.

Really?

Did you go 3~4 years into the future to test it on games? Read what you quoted.

 

[magomago]

What's questionable about buying an HD5870 for $205 now? Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...E16814102883. How is that any worse than buying one for $380 last year, or worse than buying an HD6950 or GTX570 for $250 today? It's not - and it's still your best bargain for a seriously powerful single-card solution.

On the other hand, if he doesn't have a ton of new games yet, that 8800gt should keep him happy for a while (especially if it's the one with the accelero cooler that I'm quite familiar with, magomago). In 7-9 months, there will be a new awesome card that is 50% faster than an HD5870 and 100% more expensive. Worth waiting for? Your call.

Indeed it is bwahaha. Actually, he lives with me, so the card isn't going anywhere That card was basically king on my old dual 19s at 1280x1024...but I knew that the card wasn't going to be able to hand dual 1080p 22"s. Speaking of which, I'll be keeping that card for an older system I'm going to keep at my parents house with that same 19" monitor. One thing I miss is how that card was DEAD silent....I can't imagine pulling that off with a pair of GTX460s


As for why he doesn't just sell in a year, move up, and do everything that many of you do...it is because he won't. Once he is done spending, he will lock that account and not listen to any reason. Don't ask me why...I'm just helping the guy..its ultimately his choice lol

dplod...to answer your comment about 'spend $$ to buy a decent gpu'...geez a budget of 200-250 is not a decent amount of money?!?! I guess there has to be someone out there to quad sli GTX580s....

Of course what will come later this year will most likely blow everything away...but too bad I can't delay things.

 

[Termie]

Indeed it is bwahaha. Actually, he lives with me, so the card isn't going anywhere That card was basically king on my old dual 19s at 1280x1024...but I knew that the card wasn't going to be able to hand dual 1080p 22"s. Speaking of which, I'll be keeping that card for an older system I'm going to keep at my parents house with that same 19" monitor. One thing I miss is how that card was DEAD silent....I can't imagine pulling that off with a pair of GTX460s

Nice! Sounds like you want to keep that 8800gt around (and I don't blame you, of course!), so just tell your buddy to cough up 200 bones for an HD5870.

 

[LiuKangBakinPie]

Tallon ATTACK

 

[netxzero64]

Friend wants a gaming rig, been putting it together to help him out. He won't be upgrading again for the next...oooooh 4 years or so.

Anyways I feel like there is going to be a lot of move soon. Current tech has been around for a LOOONG while. The 5870 and the likes have been pimping for how long now?

Regretfully he doesn't have a xfire/sli motherboard otherwise this would be easy (GTX460 or 5850s...take your pick; I went 460 route) because you can get pretty nice performance for a great price.

However, I'm concerned about long term 1080p performance with a card like that. I feel like the baseline performance at the moment should really be a GTX480 if you want to look forward 2-3 years from now (basically...pulling off a 5870. For those who bought it, they are still going strong today. But to buy it today is questionable).

Should I toss him my older 8800gt for now and wait, or are there good options that I'm just not seeing around 200-250?

go for an upgrade... if you have a deep pocket, get the best you can have because 4 years is the time before you do something about your rig again?? am I correct?