Strategy to avoid upgrade-itch for GPU

[KingFatty]

So I've been so close to upgrading my GPU. However, I've also been accumulating games on Steam, GOG, Greenman, etc., by buying them when they go on sale. I happened to miss a lot of games earlier, so I have a backlog that includes some games that aren't so new.

Anyway, sometimes I'd buy a game like Metro 2033 and think OK I need to upgrade my video card and play that.

But in the end, I just made a spreadsheet in Google Docs that has the game and release date, then sorted the list by year.

It was like a revelation to see all the older games I can play, that were released before my video card. I mean literally I can draw a line separating the games into ones that will be fine and ones that will need an upgrade.

So, I think it's very helpful to help me hold out until the next round of video cards, knowing that I have a specific listing of games I need to play, and just hold off on the others till after the upgrade.

Note: I'm currently playing the very oldest game, X-Com. Damn it I had to buy the whole pack on Steam, so that will keep me very busy. It absolutely flies on my current video card, but the graphics are, ah, not the latest tech!

If this is nonsensical, I should add that for FPS I play 4800x1200 eyefinity, so newer games are a no-go. But I could easily run Bioshock 1 and the Chronicles of Riddick series quite easily. After beating those two, I realized I needed a strategy to decide what order to play games, and I have to say putting them in a spreadsheet to arrange by release date was just really really helpful in a way that I didn't think would happen, kind of a mental relaxation to avoid the guilt of having a backlog of games you bought but worry about never playing, now I'm playing them.

 

[blastingcap]

"Strategy to avoid upgrade-itch for GPU"

Answer: stay off this forum and others like it.

 

[hyrule4927]

"Strategy to avoid upgrade-itch for GPU"

Answer: stay off this forum and others like it.

Too true. I'd like to keep my 7950 for 2 years or more, but that is going to take a lot of willpower . . .

 

[Corporate Thug]

Honestly, w/ 7970 @ $300, just upgrade

 

[cmdrdredd]

To avoid being bittwn by the bug, play some games without fps counters. Just play them and forgwt the forums lol.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Quit playing games. That's what I did. Now I like working on my own cars which I use to loathe...

 

[cmdrdredd]

Yeah a second hobby works wonders. A few years ago I got into firearms and forgot all about shooting fake guns in video games. Such a rush.

 

[blackened23]

Play World of Warcraft as your sole game. If you get addicted to it, you'll likely only play WoW and forget about everything else, including any upgrade itch.

I know people like this.

 

[moonbogg]

Become a COD kiddy. You'll never need to upgrade ever again. Actually, you can sell what you got and get a single 8800GT and be good to go for any COD game coming out over the next 5 years.

OR

Realize that its hopeless and just friggin upgrade like you know you want to.

 

[Blitzvogel]

Generally, I think "never going above $300" on the graphics is a good rule when it comes to a graphics card purchase. It's always been a sweet spot of performance and price anyways. The 8800GTS 320 MB in my first custom build was that price, and the 5850 in my current was $290 when I purchased it in December 2009. As awesome as a 7950 would be at the moment, realistically, there are no games out there that would make a graphics upgrade really necessary since my 5850 takes a pretty radical overclock (950/1100 easy!). Because I've started doing that on a regular basis for BF3, I've lost that "upgrade itch" thanks to the extra FPS I've been getting. Even at 1080p, there is nothing I play that really requires anything better than what I have currently. Extra AA or beyond 45 FPS is really just icing on the cake. I really want to switch to Intel though. Granted graphics have slowed down in terms of pushing the boundaries thanks to this prolonged generation, but despite being "scheduled" to build a new system once this one hits three years (built Dec 2009), I'm thinking that I'm just going to stick with it until tax return time and evaluate my current position then to decide on building a new machine.

 

[lkailburn]

I've been fighting the same itch. I'm actually still rocking a single 8800GTS 512. I bought it back in..07 or 08? i forget now, it was before i moved anyways. I don't play a lot of games, and trolling through the newest games certainly makes the itch worse but like you said seeing a chronologically ordered list of games you need to play should keep you busy for a while
I'm actually able to play Skyrim at medium settings without problem on this build..and for one that's 4 years maybe + that's not so bad The only thing that got upgraded since i first built it was the thermal grease and an SSD

-Luke

 

[Goresplattered]

Quit playing games. That's what I did. Now I like working on my own cars which I use to loathe...

don't listen to this man.

my comp cost me ~2k.

my car has cost me ~30k.

and that doesn't even include buying the car itself.

racing is fun as hell however so is gaming. Gaming is much cheaper than anything involving a car Posted from Anandtech.com App for Android

 

[Face2Face]

don't listen to this man.

my comp cost me ~2k.

my car has cost me ~30k.

and that doesn't even include buying the car itself.

racing is fun as hell however so is gaming. Gaming is much cheaper than anything involving a car Posted from Anandtech.com App for Android

That's why I sold all of my mustangs - Too much money in upgrades. I can just drive my brothers 2003 550HP Cobra for a day and be happy! My 7950 is my performance car equivalent...... pathetic right

 

[lehtv]

But in the end, I just made a spreadsheet in Google Docs that has the game and release date, then sorted the list by year.

It was like a revelation to see all the older games I can play, that were released before my video card. I mean literally I can draw a line separating the games into ones that will be fine and ones that will need an upgrade.

It would be awesome if you could make that Google Doc public.

Note: I'm currently playing the very oldest game, X-Com. Damn it I had to buy the whole pack on Steam, so that will keep me very busy. It absolutely flies on my current video card, but the graphics are, ah, not the latest tech!

Oh, the memories...

X-Com Apocalypse is also really good, I've been playing that recently via DosBOX. Works nicely although sound is a bit low quality but so is the graphics so what the heck.

 

[KingFatty]

But don't you guys have that feeling in the back of your mind, sort of like regret, when you buy a bunch of games that you end up never playing.

I feel like I'm getting that monkey off my back, and it's a nice feeling, which really helps minimize the aching urge to push the button on a new card.

 

[nitromullet]

Staying off of AT and other tech forums is probably the best advice.

Definitely getting easier to not go insane on graphics cards these days though. Generally, the pace of tech on the desktop has slowed down a lot. I've considered getting a second GTX 680, I have the money, but every time I look them up on newegg I just think "why bother?" BF3 runs fine on a single GTX 680, and that is definitely the most demanding game I ever play at the moment.

 

[skipsneeky2]

Become a COD kiddy. You'll never need to upgrade ever again. Actually, you can sell what you got and get a single 8800GT and be good to go for any COD game coming out over the next 5 years.

OR

Realize that its hopeless and just friggin upgrade like you know you want to.

I do something like this,except i play BF2 from time to time,always a good laugh to see my card sitting at 22% usage on my 7850 while pumping out a solid 100fps....

My current 17'' lcd 1280x1024 does keep some games like BF3 still dipping in the 40s maxed out,so dropping the details to medium sustain a solid 60fps...cheap and still fun.

The upgrade itch is a son of a .....

 

[BD231]

Using 1 gpu to feed three monitors = fail.

 

[Powermoloch]

so far i have avoided the GPU itch wooo

 

[Binky]

Clearly this entire thread is a "help me explain my 'necessary' upgrade to my wife." This must be true, since you've been around long enough to know that 80% of the people here will tell you to upgrade no matter what your post is about.

I just claim it (video card) broke and I had to replace it. The last video card cost me $300, so I spent $300 again. See, no upgrade, nothing to see here.

 

[Smoblikat]

This is what you want to hear:
Just upgrade, its SOOO worth it, and youll have a backup now for a friend or a new comp.
This is what you need to hear:
My SLI 470's max every game there is with full AA and AF @ 1920x1080. The only limitations I have is VRAM, I always run out of VRAM in skyrim, and im fairly close in BFBC2.

 

[Vdubchaos]

This day and age you don't even need a strategy. Our crappy gaming industry and console choke hold on graphics advancement has done it for me.

My gaming interest are is going down as well...

 

[SickBeast]

My new strategy is to use bitcoins as my hardware budget. That way it's effectively free.

 

[billyb0b]

Yeah a second hobby works wonders. A few years ago I got into firearms and forgot all about shooting fake guns in video games. Such a rush.

same here.. about 10 years ago... but now instead of forking over beans for computer upgrades every few months it goes to stockpiling guns and ammo

 

[RussianSensation]

I think the biggest cost is not hardware but software. Even if you lose $200 on a GPU in 12 months from depreciation, if you play a lot of newer PC games, the $40-60 games add up. The solution could be to wait until Steam sales and wait until games reach $5-7.50 and that usually means waiting 1-2 years. By the time today's latest games reach sub-$10, an entire GPU generation passes (or more) and a mid-range card is usually more than adequate to play last generation games. For example, you can now find HD7850 for $180 and OC = GTX580 that cost $500. The downside is you don't get to play the latest games maxed out.

If hardware costs are really a concern, get a PS4/next xbox and ditch PC gaming but honestly I think PC gaming is cheaper. The cost of games is lower, the sales are more frequent and if you already have a desktop PC, the upgrade is usually just the GPU. Even a Core i7 920 @ 3.9ghz from 2008 will last another 2-3 years with a single modern GPU. I bet Haswell + OC will last 4-5 years at the current pace. Yes, I realize that it'll hold back GTX980 SLI and so on but for most folks, Haswell @ 4.5-5.0ghz should last a long time.

And as others have mentioned, find another hobby. There are some sports which are both physically and technically challenging making learning them pretty rewarding, like tennis or downhill skiing is a very easy to pick up sport and usually that's the entire weekend gone. (But both of these hobbies are more expensive than gaming though).