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Just curious

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Well it is an expensive hobby, I suppose I was thinking more of value than of personal interest, I mean, if this is your hobby, then by all means go ahead and spend how much you want if you enjoy doing it.

But for the poor gamer like me, I cant afford to have bleeding edge stuff so I'll just have to be content with the most balanced =p

That said, Im having 1335 marks on my 3D Mark 05. I think there is something wrong as a A64 3200+ 1GB ram and 9800pro 128mb cant go this low can it? others are getting higher on lower systems, anyone know whats wrong?
 
Even with the same CPU... a 6800GT will be noticably better in any recent game than a 9800XT. I'm not really sure how you could think it wouldn't be! Whether it allows you to turn up the AA/AF, resolution, frames per second or a little of all three... any gamer will feel that sweet, hardware-orgasm that is often worth $200-$600 but unfortunately only lasts about 1 month. =P
 
Originally posted by: effee
Alright, I've been seeing alot of people upgrading to the latest PCs, FX53s S939s etc etc with 6800Ultras and X800. The question is on my mind, why not get something cheaper, and still gives you the same performance?
Click to expand...

and here i stopped reading 🙂 If 'something cheaper' would give the same performance i would of course buy it...too bad thats not the case.

You sound like someone arguing a celeron 1.2 Ghz is plenty for gaming, which is TRUE from a certain point of view because you *certainly* can play games with a Celeron 1.2 Ghz and a , say, TI4200. You can even play really DEMANDING games with it....problem is just...it is no fun 🙂

My current sys w/ a Radeon 9800Pro, for sure not slow - but then again there is no way around a X800 and/or 6800GT/Ultra if you want to play D3 or HL2 or similiar with decent framerates. My 9800Pro is built on the 9700...and how OLD is this card already ? (In geek terms ?) Its ancient...the whole R300 core is out for a very long time...

I need to update since my sys (XP1900) is almost 4 years...and i say, IF i upgrade then of course everything, eg. nice CPU and nice card...because a A64 3500 with a 9800 Pro makes as much sense as putting a 6800GT in my XP1900 machine 🙂
 
Just curious...because if i spent all my money upgrading just to have the highest possible FPS, i'd be living in an alleyway under a hut made out of my 'puter parts.
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yeah..but you would have a kick-ass puter 🙂

 
Originally posted by: effee
hehe, but can any graphics card be justified at $400?
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not to spoil your fun...but if i believe people upgrading from an 9800 to a 6800GT/X800 i must assume yes, they say its a huge difference.

There's no question it is VERY retarded to spend that much money, i spent $350 (???) or so when i got my Radeon 8500, i spent a bunch on my 9800 Pro, i spent a bunch on my first Riva 128 and my first TNT. And all that **** is worth NOTHING in 5 to 6 months...and WE ALL KNOW IT 🙂
But..well...somehow its fun 🙂 Others spend monmey on...their cars, wifes (/me looks at wife..hahaha), drugs, clothes....so...updating once every few years is not really that big a deal. (As long as you dont tell your gf/wife what you REALLY paid for that "extremely important" component 🙂 )

Besides..i dont think the whole 'upgrade'-"addiction" has a lot to do with "logic" 🙂
 
btw, why get the 9800 xt when you can get a 6800 gt for the same price and double the performance almost?
 
Originally posted by: masshass81
Originally posted by: biostud666
Some just like to have the fastest, and like to tweak and o/c. Just like tuning a car etc.

Most though buy more price balanced system choosing 6800GT over Ultra, 3500+ over FX-55.
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Thats true and also, people with the 6800s and x800s will be able to play resolutions at 1280x1024 and 1600x1200 with AA and AF very smoothly while the 9800xt would just fall to its knees.
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bah, i like to play all games at 1024 x 768
 
because some of us just can't get enough toys
and if we have the $$ we choose to spend it on
PC parts and upgrades
😀

I actually get excited when I get to order a new component
or just released part!
 
Originally posted by: lavagirl669
because some of us just can't get enough toys
and if we have the $$ we choose to spend it on
PC parts and upgrades
😀

I actually get excited when I get to order a new component
or just released part!
Click to expand...

A girl that gets excited from PC parts, who would have thought 🙂
 
The difference between other hobbies and computer upgrading as a hobby is that with computers, you can never keep up with having the latest and greatest. With cars, or even model trains, once you have the best of everything for them, it will be a while before technology catches up with you and you need to upgrade once again to have the latest and greatest.

I am certainly not one to talk about trying to keep up with the Jones' as far as computer upgrading goes, but I do try to be somewhat frugal about it, and usually only upgrade once every year and a half to two years, and I never get what it the total top of the line when I do. I usually get technology that is about six months old, which saves me quite a bit of money and also allows me to play and game or app I find necessary. In fact, I am about due for a proc/vid upgrade very soon. Of course I will have to wait until I can afford it.
 
Yup, upgrading is considered a hobby, an especially expensive and fickle one, as there are always better components coming out. The best challenge would be to balance price for performance, unless you have rolls of cash to give out
 
I'm sorry but a 9800XT won't play FC or doom 1600x1200 every detail maxed.. That's why I upgrade at least.


In general, I agree, people are extremly wasteful and fail to identify thier computing needs then doing a price/performance analysis before making a purchase....that's america for ya... but commerce is a GOOD THING...so don't worry.
 
I upgrade when my parents, siblings, or girlfirend need a new computer so I give them all my hand me downs and buy new stuff 🙂 . The worst thing is I built my current computer a year ago just in time to play HL2, those liars!! I just ordered a A64 3000+ this week cause my dad wants a new computer, but guess what, my new hotness will be waiting to play HL2. Maybe when i get a $600 ATI R500 with 512mb of ram it will come bundled with an actual disc of HL2.

But in the end I spend more money a year on mountain bike suff, and right now I'm looking into getting into road biking, so computer stuff is the least of my poor college kid money troubles.
 
Originally posted by: effee
Upgrade every year or 2 is ideally best IMO, it allows you to get the decent upgrades you need, while allowing for the components to mature and decrease in value so you wont have to spend that much cash when you UG.
Click to expand...

Its time to upgrade when....

1) Games you want to play dont run smoothly/look good enough.
2) The power of your PC doesnt equal the size of your manhood.
3) You have too much spare money and you dont like saving for that nice sports car.
4) You dont have the most powerful PC in your school/town/street/institution.
5) Your parents want to upgrade so you pile in your cash, give them your old parts and use them for yourself.
6) Its the equivilent of a drug addiction except you have your own mental bearings and dont commit crime.

Im sure theres thousands of these. To be quite honest, Im 1) and 5). Being an Accountancy Student at University, I learned that having money is better than not having money and that having a good PC and large amounts of alcohol is possible. If I won the lottery, I might actually upgrade every generation in the graphics card market. My motherboard would probably stay the same and Id just change processers every few months to suit my overclocking urges.

Effee pretty much described my upgrade tactics in as much as thats all PC parts last for nowadays. 1-2 years and you can bet they're just not good enough to play games on imo. I suppose my GF4 Ti4400 would still play some games as Ive picked up a few old ones to play but some games, it couldnt.
 
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