Man I want some hot video card deals :(

[soccerballtux]

Darn you Nvidia for sucking at releasing the most revolutionary video architectural rework to date. I want cheap cards.
And you, too, TSMC. Get your rear in gear.

I can't play Quake Wars: Enemy Territory with everything turned up (minus AA) at 1920x1200. It's really bugging me.

 

[Wreckage]

You can get a 5850 for $270
http://www.techreport.com/discussions.x/18389

I saw a BFG GTS250 on clearance at Best Buy for $113

Those are not too bad.

Otherwise Fermi should be here next month, that's not too long to wait. If you want I can fire up Quake Wars and kick your butt around till then. (I'm much better at the original ET though)

 

[happy medium]

i feel your pain

 

[fffblackmage]

I know what you mean.

Last summer was a great time to buy a new card, even though the 5000-series was coming out soon-ish.

After seeing the GTS250 for under $100 over the summer, it just doesn't feel right to pay $113 now....

 

[RussianSensation]

We need some killer games though. While resolution and AA do help, shader effects and tesselation, sharper textures contribute to outstanding graphics quality. Remember when Far Cry and Doom 3 came out? Even at 1024x768, either of those games blew anything out of the water regardless of AA and resolution!

I agree that the videocard market is boring right now, with no great deals really. NV needs to crush 5870 so we have 5850 @ $199 and 5870 @ $299; and then ATI releases HD6000 series to compete with Fermi (wishful thinking?). But again, innovative games > graphics imo.

 

[konakona]

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2047077
Not bad if true and you have MC nearby.
Welcome back, MSRP

 

[Imp]

I'd be happy paying the original MSRP, but I'm annoyed to learn that the 5850 was $270 at release here, and now sits at $315 minimum with sales taking it down to $300.

 

[soccerballtux]

You can get a 5850 for $270
http://www.techreport.com/discussions.x/18389

I saw a BFG GTS250 on clearance at Best Buy for $113

Those are not too bad.

Otherwise Fermi should be here next month, that's not too long to wait. If you want I can fire up Quake Wars and kick your butt around till then. (I'm much better at the original ET though)

What's your username, do you play frequently? I usually play that or UT3. GTS250 is meh...a faster 8800GT

 

[Wreckage]

What's your username, do you play frequently? I usually play that or UT3. GTS250 is meh...a faster 8800GT

I have not played in a while actually. But I do really like that game. I just finished downloading UT3 from Steam. (Is there an AT server, maybe I can play there). EVGA is having a TF2 contest starting the 12th with some good prizes just for playing.

The GTS250 performs similar to a 9800GTX+ which should play Quake Wars really well. Otherwise, yeah it may be a month or 2 until we see some real deals.

 

[soccerballtux]

I have not played in a while actually. But I do really like that game. I just finished downloading UT3 from Steam. (Is there an AT server, maybe I can play there). EVGA is having a TF2 contest starting the 12th with some good prizes just for playing.

The GTS250 performs similar to a 9800GTX+ which should play Quake Wars really well. Otherwise, yeah it may be a month or 2 until we see some real deals.

No AT server; hardly anybody plays UT3 anymore. I play exclusively in nOx's igCTF server.

 

[The Sauce]

You can get a 5850 for $270
http://www.techreport.com/discussions.x/18389

Deal taken, thanks.

 

[soccerballtux]

Hm. I think I'll just wait till Fermi comes out and see what happens. If it's only a month perhaps Nvidia will have a solid launch [improving TSMC process] and prices will come down etc. If Nvidia can get Fermi's low-level driver interface ironed out and efficient then we could have a real performance king on our hands. Forward looking architecture too.

On the other hand it might just be 20% faster at which point having the advanced architecture before any games implement any of it would be useless and I'll go AMD....

 

[Zebo]

This 5850 screams and it costs about half of what we normally pay for a "high-end gamer" card. Wish I would have waited..isn't that always the case though...

 

[soccerballtux]

What's your username, do you play frequently? I usually play that or UT3. GTS250 is meh...a faster 8800GT

I have not played in a while actually. But I do really like that game. I just finished downloading UT3 from Steam. (Is there an AT server, maybe I can play there). EVGA is having a TF2 contest starting the 12th with some good prizes just for playing.

The GTS250 performs similar to a 9800GTX+ which should play Quake Wars really well. Otherwise, yeah it may be a month or 2 until we see some real deals.

There was a GTS250 deal for $40 AR 3 weeks ago. I really wish I had taken advantage of it. Back then I hadn't touched any PC games for a few months so I just didn't need it. That card probably would have held me over on qw:et for plenty long.

 

[Acanthus]

The 5850 and 4890 deals have been pretty good lately if you catch a sale or a good MIR.

 

[nyker96]

got a hd 4850 last year for 80 and a friend got his 4850 for 65AR. I don't think the newer 5750 which runs in 120s are worth it because it can barely beat a 4850, if anything the prices gone up. maybe the supply of 40nm parts are relatively low compare to demand. but prices have definitely gone up.

 

[RussianSensation]

This 5850 screams and it costs about half of what we normally pay for a "high-end gamer" card. Wish I would have waited..isn't that always the case though...

5850 is a decent card, but it's not a great card. Its performance over 4890 tends to hover at +30% (sometimes less, sometimes more). Considering 4890 came out on April 4, 2009, around April 4, 2010 we should expect to get about 50-70% performance increase for the same price. 5850 doesn't meet this criteria: http://www.techreport.com/articles.x/17747/6

Also, since 5850 cost $259 a while back, this deal is still more expensive than what you could have gotten 5 months ago.

Finally, 5850 only looks "good" right now because there is not a single NV offering worth considering >$200. Naturally, without a competitor in sight, it's the only viable card in this price range.

 

[crisium]

ATi's second fastest card cost $549 in January 2006. Now it's $299 (or $399 if you count the 5870 as second to the 5970). History isn't on your side guy. You start an argument about relative prices and late 2004-2006 will pwn you.

 

[ayabe]

I got tired of waiting so I pulled the trigger on a 5870 Vapo-X last week when they were finally in stock at the Egg.

Felt a little dirty spending $430, but my work will give me half of that and I can still sell my 260GTX, so it's a nice upgrade.

 

[dguy6789]

ATi's second fastest card cost $549 in January 2006. Now it's $299 (or $399 if you count the 5870 as second to the 5970). History isn't on your side guy. You start an argument about relative prices and late 2004-2006 will pwn you.

Indeed, the 5850 is ATI's #3 card right now.

 

[v8envy]

You think you guys have it bad... 8800GT is just not cutting it. 3.8 ghz i7 and a 8800GT. Yeeeaaah. Good times.

I keep waffling between spending $160 for a stopgap 4890 or hanging on and hoping...

 

[ayabe]

Get a GTX260, it's great with an i7. Only reason I upgraded is because I felt the urge.

 

[v8envy]

GTX 260s are mosty unavailable. And if one can be found anywhere near $200, there's always the risk of it squealing like a stuck pig due to cheap VRMs. At almost the price of a hot deal 5850 I'd be a complete moron to get one over a cheaper and faster 4890.

 

[ayabe]

Didn't realize they were still that expensive. Good news for me when I sell mine.

But yeah a 5850 for ~$70 more is a no-brainer.

 

[Absolution75]

Still loving my HD 4890 for $120 about a year go


$189.99 for the MSI Radeon 4890 - 2.5% Bing Cashback ($4.75) - $30 EBillMe Rebate - $30 Manufacturer's Rebate = $125.24

I also sold my 9800GTX for like $90, so it was a $30 upgrade. That's a hot deal