Plan was to wait, but damnit I'm struggling...

SkyBum

Senior member
Oct 16, 2004
844
7
81
I've got a feeling someone needs to talk some sense into me. The new rig is complete, save the GPU I planned to hold off on until next gen launches. But now I find myself wanting the complete package and not feeling gimped by this 4870.

I started out a few days ago looking at a 560Ti and within 2 days was eyeballing 570's and now tonight I find my finger perched on the order button of a 580 Lightning xTreme. Story of my life..hey 600 bucks, sure wish I could have gotten to know ya....

I can swing the cost, but have no doubt I'll likely regret it several months from now. I could really use some sound advice.

The BF3 beta really hit it home that I'm in for a tough few months if I wait. Other than that, Skyrim is the only other snag and I'm thinking that wont be that much of a compromise that I couldn't live with.

So here we are at BF3, go all in to get that awesome experience, suck it up with what I've got and wait, or find a middle ground. Hell, I got my ego saying DO IT! My bank account saying SERIOUSLY? And my logic saying EHYYYYYY.....what's the freakin' hurry?

Between all that, I'm wondering what you guys might have to say.....
 

spinejam

Diamond Member
Feb 17, 2005
3,503
1
81
Life is short -- buy the card you want so you can play the games you like! :)
 

Ika

Lifer
Mar 22, 2006
14,264
3
81
Being almost a year into the cycle, and Southern Islands so close (Kepler a little less so), I would wait to see what DAAMIT can bring to the table...

Do they still call the company that?...lol
 

atticus14

Member
Apr 11, 2010
174
1
81
if money is no issue, sure why not, but it really is a bad deal to buy top of the line right now where price:performance is so bad and only going to get a lot worse once the new high end cards hit which will hopefully be Q1 2012. I would stick with a 570 or 69X0; or if you really want to spend 600 SLI/xfire them and blow away the 580.
 

tviceman

Diamond Member
Mar 25, 2008
6,734
514
126
www.facebook.com
If I were shopping right now for a card, I'd get a decent mid-ranged card like the hd6850 or a gtx460 to hold me over until the next gen cards come out. When the next gen cards hit, either SLI my current card or sell it and get a new card.
 

Via

Diamond Member
Jan 14, 2009
4,670
4
0
I know what you're saying - After painfully holding out for months I bought a 8800 GTS 320 like 2 weeks before the 8800 GT came out.

But that card served me well for well over a year. I never regretted buying it.

And this August I bought a used PC with a last gen card (5970) in it. It's been great so far; there's nothing I can't play at great settings.

Trust your gut, and don't look back.
 

Seero

Golden Member
Nov 4, 2009
1,456
0
0
Look, how long since the release of 2nd gen Fermi? It is like 9 months already. GTX580 does not worth 600 bucks, period. In about 2 months, AMD will release their new video card, either faster or cheaper than GTX580, and it's variation will arrive shortly. Even if you don't like AMD cards, there will be a price change to existing Nvidia lineup. Ususally, waiting is not a good idea as things are always faster and cheaper, but we can so close to the next gen release, it is not the best move to buy the fastest card today for premium price.

If you must, get a 560ti and get another one in a few months after the wave, that is around 200 bucks x 2, which will be good enough for next year or even 2. Unless your 600 bucks will disappear before the next gen, it is better to wait for 2 months.

What resolution are you playing at? If it is 2500x1600 then yeah, 560ti probably won't be enough, but if you are still playing with 1080p, your existing card can still get you through this winter.

If you still can't resist in the name of gaming, why not buy the game first and see if the existing card still have the juice?
 

WT

Diamond Member
Sep 21, 2000
4,816
60
91
Hah, your story pretty much mirrors mine. I was set on an MSI Twin Frozr 560ti, then read the glowing review on the Sapphire Toxic 6950 and decided to buy that. The one I got was DOA, so I waited for it to show up back in stock. When it didn't come back in stock for nearly a month, I gave up and bought a GTX580, spending a LOT more than my initial budget of $250.

Was it a bad purchase compared to what I originally wanted to buy ?? Yeaaa ...
Was it a bad purchase for the rig I built ?? Nope .. it was the fastest card I could get for $400, which is what the last two video cards I've bought have cost me.
 

TakeNoPrisoners

Platinum Member
Jun 3, 2011
2,599
1
81
Get a 560 Ti now and it will hold its value reasonably well when the new cards come out.

The GTX 570 is a little extreme, and the GTX 580 is beyond the pale.
 
Last edited:

Slufa111

Senior member
Oct 13, 2002
813
0
0
SLI GTX 460 1GB. Beats the GTX 580 in some tests, and costs more than half as less.
 

Will Robinson

Golden Member
Dec 19, 2009
1,408
0
0
It seems GTX580 does poorly in BF3 compared with the much cheaper HD6970 so why recommend one...:confused:
 

Axon

Platinum Member
Sep 25, 2003
2,541
1
76
My GTX 460 1 GB SLI is a pretty baller combo, I must say. It's been killing the BF3 Beta.
 

Attic

Diamond Member
Jan 9, 2010
4,282
2
76
I was going to come in the thread to say wait, but see you bought a 580.

Hard to go wrong with a card that fast.
 

jacktesterson

Diamond Member
Sep 28, 2001
5,493
3
81
I would save your money and buy the 570...

580's are not worth 2x the cost for 10-15% increase in performance over a 570.
 

MiataNC

Platinum Member
Dec 5, 2007
2,215
1
81
Why not pick up a used 4870/4890 and Crossfire until the next gen comes out?
 

BD231

Lifer
Feb 26, 2001
10,568
138
106
I've got a feeling someone needs to talk some sense into me. The new rig is complete, save the GPU I planned to hold off on until next gen launches. But now I find myself wanting the complete package and not feeling gimped by this 4870.

I started out a few days ago looking at a 560Ti and within 2 days was eyeballing 570's and now tonight I find my finger perched on the order button of a 580 Lightning xTreme. Story of my life..hey 600 bucks, sure wish I could have gotten to know ya....

I can swing the cost, but have no doubt I'll likely regret it several months from now. I could really use some sound advice.

The BF3 beta really hit it home that I'm in for a tough few months if I wait. Other than that, Skyrim is the only other snag and I'm thinking that wont be that much of a compromise that I couldn't live with.

So here we are at BF3, go all in to get that awesome experience, suck it up with what I've got and wait, or find a middle ground. Hell, I got my ego saying DO IT! My bank account saying SERIOUSLY? And my logic saying EHYYYYYY.....what's the freakin' hurry?

Between all that, I'm wondering what you guys might have to say.....

Unless you've got so much cash you'd care to waste money on a 500 dollar video card that will depreciate by half within a year of its release I'd say keep it simple. Video cards are ridiculously overpriced for the meager 20 to 30 percent gains you see over value cards. I sold my 4850 for 90 and got the GTX 460 for 140, traded my phenom II x3 and got this x6 for 80. That's generally how I keep my hardware up to date without being wasteful, so next time sell your card when its still worth something.

DX11 hardware does *SO* much better on DX10/11 titles than DX10 hardware, it was a night and day switch for me so if you DO make a switch you won't be disappointed.
 

edplayer

Platinum Member
Sep 13, 2002
2,186
0
0
I think if you get a high end card you should do it towards the beginning of its cycle. Right now we are past the middle part, of the refresh. Supposedly the smaller process the new gpus will be made on will allow for some big gains.

Wait till the 680 (or AMD's equivalent) is out. Either suck it up now with your 4870 or get a good bang for the buck card like a GTX 460 or Radeon 6850. I saw a 460 the other day for $60 and there will probably be a few ~$100 6850 deals coming up.