Not happy with current NV "high-end" cards.

[flexy]

I still have a 8800 GTS G92 and "slowly" wonder whether i want something better, mainly for being able to enable transparency aliasing and not lose lots of FPS with such settings.

Common sense tells me that a radeon 4870 would be great.

There are some reasons i want to stay with Nvidia at this time, also in regards to 3D Stereo and general driver compatibility. I maybe want to get a 24" 3D 120Hz monitor once they come out in some months and then have some fun with Nvidia Stereo vision.

However, the GTX cards are overpriced and NOT attractive at all to me. It just irks me to spend more money than necessary, otherwise a 4870 would be a nobrainer for me.

I hope the next line of NV high end cards is more attractive in terms of pricing and overall.

G.

 

[yh125d]

Right now, the top end GPUs are cheaper than top end GPUs have ever been. I mean, a couple years ago the MSRP for 8800 ultra, the king card of the time was $829. Right now, the top two cards are $499 MSRP for GTX 295, 399 for 4870x2. I don't think they're overpriced. Obviously you get less bang for the buck with a high end card, but that's the way it is with everything.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

Originally posted by: flexy

Common sense tells me that a radeon 4870 would be great.

There are some reasons i want to stay with Nvidia at this time, also in regards to 3D Stereo and general driver compatibility. I maybe want to get a 24" 3D 120Hz monitor once they come out in some months and then have some fun with Nvidia Stereo vision.

However, the GTX cards are overpriced and NOT attractive at all to me. It just irks me to spend more money than necessary, otherwise a 4870 would be a nobrainer for me.

I hope the next line of NV high end cards is more attractive in terms of pricing and overall.

G.

by the time anything stereovision is mature enough for good usage, it'll be time for your next video card upgrade.

i'm considering a 4870 upgrade for my 24in right now too.

 

[BFG10K]

Originally posted by: flexy

However, the GTX cards are overpriced and NOT attractive at all to me.

Eh? Isn't the GTX260 reasonably price competitive with the 4870 1 GB?

 

[AzN]

Originally posted by: yh125d
Right now, the top end GPUs are cheaper than top end GPUs have ever been. I mean, a couple years ago the MSRP for 8800 ultra, the king card of the time was $829. Right now, the top two cards are $499 MSRP for GTX 295, 399 for 4870x2. I don't think they're overpriced. Obviously you get less bang for the buck with a high end card, but that's the way it is with everything.

Lack of competition for high prices was the culprit. Not to mention 8800 ultra was king of performance crown for how many years? Current SLI midrage cards can easily outperform Nvidia's top end single GPU card which was unheard of when 8800ultra was king. If dual cards your thing there's plenty available with much cheaper alternatives than Nvidia's GTX 295.

 

[AzN]

Originally posted by: BFG10K

Originally posted by: flexy

However, the GTX cards are overpriced and NOT attractive at all to me.

Eh? Isn't the GTX260 reasonably price competitive with the 4870 1 GB?

It is. I just hope GTX 260 and 4870 drop much further. It's not worth 2x the price of 4850.

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: LOUISSSSS

by the time anything stereovision is mature enough for good usage, it'll be time for your next video card upgrade.

i'm considering a 4870 upgrade for my 24in right now too.

There are 100s of games that work well with stereovision, D3d is the main requirement.

The drivers contain 350 profiles that list tips for optomizing the game settings, and level of compatibility. The games I've tried that are not on the list have worked fine without a profile.


Personally, I consider stereo the most important factor card buyers need to consider today because it adds a level of immersion nothing else can.

 

[Kraeoss]

...

what is stereovision ?

 

[Creig]

Originally posted by: Kraeoss
...

what is stereovision ?

They're 3D shutter glasses that make game objects with z-buffer values appear truly 3D.

http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=656

The problem is that you not only need to spend $200 for the glasses, you need to fork out an additional $400 for a new 120Hz capable monitor. Also, if you don't already have a fast Nvidia video card, you'll need to buy one of those as well. So you're looking at anywhere from $600-$900+ just to get necessary equipment.

 

[nOOky]

As you can see in my sig, I have the card you have and a 4870 1 gig. It is a nice upgrade from the 8800GTS. I would do as suggested in most other threads of this type. Review the hardware sites comparison of the 4870 1 gig and the GTX260 and see which fares better in the games you play. The 260 is generally more expensive but a tad faster overall.

 

[nitromullet]

I hope the next line of NV high end cards is more attractive in terms of pricing and overall.

Good luck with that one. I doubt we're going to be seeing sub $200 "high end" cards for any time soon.

I'm not sure when you got your 8800GTS, but a GTX 260 (or 4870) now at the same price as an 8800GTS was a year ago is a significantly better card.

 

[Leyawiin]

I still play Oblivion a lot and have a factory OC'd GTX 260 (original 192 model) with an AMD X2 6400+ on XP. I recently installed Qarl's Texture Pack, updated the drivers to the 181.22 set and out of curiosity maxed everything. 16X AA (I tried 16Q this time), 16X AF and all quality options on full (shadow quality, view distances, water, blood, reflections, etc...). It was still pulling in a minimum of 30 FPS and was usually in the 40-50 range (1680x1050). Plus for a game released in 2006 it looked stunning. I then tried Fallout 3 with all in-game options on full (8X AA, 16X AF). Again, it was staying well above 30 FPS all the time - usually 40+.

I have what would be considered a somewhat weak CPU these days - its barely mid-range at best compared to most Intel offerings. The GTX 260 still amazes me with its performance. And the card I upgraded from was an 8800 GTX, which is the same performance as your 8800 GTS 512MB O.P.. The newest GTX 260s are a bit more than an HD 4870 1GB and I wouldn't encourage you to change your mind. The ATI would be a great choice. I would just like to point out that you shouldn't write off Nvidia's current cards as "disappointing" when you really have no first hand knowledge of them. They are very good.

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: flexy
I still have a 8800 GTS G92 and "slowly" wonder whether i want something better, mainly for being able to enable transparency aliasing and not lose lots of FPS with such settings.

Like others said, the mid-range parts from both ATI and NV (4870 1GB and GTX 260) would allow you to do just that, and probably for not much more than what you paid for that G92 GTX.

As for the performance increase, there wont' be a huge difference at lower resolutions or without AA, but you'll see a significant difference in newer titles that may very well be the difference between playable or not playable with AA or at a higher resolution.

 

[nOOky]

If you could sli the 8800GTS that would be sweet. Wish I could find another MSI like I have I'd try it. Do you have an sli mother board OP?

 

[exar333]

Originally posted by: nRollo

Originally posted by: LOUISSSSS

by the time anything stereovision is mature enough for good usage, it'll be time for your next video card upgrade.

i'm considering a 4870 upgrade for my 24in right now too.

There are 100s of games that work well with stereovision, D3d is the main requirement.

The drivers contain 350 profiles that list tips for optomizing the game settings, and level of compatibility. The games I've tried that are not on the list have worked fine without a profile.


Personally, I consider stereo the most important factor card buyers need to consider today because it adds a level of immersion nothing else can.

I think he may have been referring to the hardware being more mature. Give it some time and there will be many more monitor choices supporting 120mhz along with (possibly) even cheaper stereovision goggles if the idea picks up. Also, as the technology matues, we will probably see better and better resolutions available as well.

Just my $0.02.

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: ExarKun333

Originally posted by: nRollo

Originally posted by: LOUISSSSS

by the time anything stereovision is mature enough for good usage, it'll be time for your next video card upgrade.

i'm considering a 4870 upgrade for my 24in right now too.

There are 100s of games that work well with stereovision, D3d is the main requirement.

The drivers contain 350 profiles that list tips for optomizing the game settings, and level of compatibility. The games I've tried that are not on the list have worked fine without a profile.


Personally, I consider stereo the most important factor card buyers need to consider today because it adds a level of immersion nothing else can.

I think he may have been referring to the hardware being more mature. Give it some time and there will be many more monitor choices supporting 120mhz along with (possibly) even cheaper stereovision goggles if the idea picks up. Also, as the technology matues, we will probably see better and better resolutions available as well.

Just my $0.02.

Agree 100%-

Tech that sells only gets better and cheaper for the most part. (although high end CPUs seem to hold the line at $1000 every year no matter who makes them)