Waiting for Kepler?

[Smartazz]

I was surprised to see so many members here already have the HD 7950 and 7970. Anybody planning to buy Kepler? What kind of performance would these cards need to bring to prompt you to upgrade?

 

[Nintendesert]

How can I say 680 or 670 if I haven't seen the price/performance yet? I will say I own a 5870 and am waiting to see what Kepler brings in the $300 market. Current 7xxx performance is great, but the price is more than I can stomach at the moment.

 

[chimaxi83]

How can anyone say they're going to buy something, without knowing literally anything concrete about them? Well, except for model and chip names, I guess.

Well, anyone other than fanboi's, of course.

I'm eager to see something concrete, I'm upgrading to 1600p by the end of the month and my 6950 won't cut it once I do, hopefully we see something soon so that either 1. waiting for Kepler makes sense, or 2. "that's all they got? 79xx it is".

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

I'm an interested observer. I'm watching prices, performance, etc.. If something peaks my interest I'll bite if not oh well. I really don't see an upgrade happening any time soon. I want 7970 performance for $300. I see no reason I can't get 30% more performance than a 2 year old gtx 480 for $300 despite what others would like you to believe.

 

[hclarkjr]

just bought second 6950 for crossfire so i am skipping this generation

 

[Lonyo]

I was waiting for Kepler, or rather, I was waiting for Ivy Bridge, at which point would buy whatever was best in my price range. Then my tax return came 2 months earlier than I expected and I found a good deal on a 27" 2560x1440 monitor, so I could no longer wait.

 

[Smartazz]

I personally own a 6870 which I feel is going to be enough to at least wait for Kepler. By then, maybe the 7970 and 7950 will be cheaper and if the 680 and 670 are good enough buy one of those.

 

[boxleitnerb]

I got 2xGTX580 3GB in SLI. I will definitely get the top dog twice. Depending on several other factors, maybe even 3-way SLI, probably later when Ivy-E hits.
Waiting is hard but I'm sure it is worth it.

 

[Red Storm]

No point buying a new card until new console systems come out. Sad, but true.

 

[superjim]

I "upgraded" from a 5870 to a 6970 only because the low price I was able to get it for. I fully intend to take a hard look at Kepler once it's out, I just pray NV doesn't rake us over the coals AMD 7900 style.

 

[blastingcap]

Only when NV comes out with their 28nm chips will we know who is offering more bang for the buck. Rumor has it that NV will issue their first performance 28nm parts in about 1-2 months. I'm just going to wait for now. And if 28nm is not a significant step up from 40nm in price/perf then I'll wait some more.

 

[Crap Daddy]

Waiting just for fun to see what's capable. My usual upgrade is in the equivalent of 300$-300Euro and happens when it's needed and when I get have the money. In the last years NV has never disappointed me each new generation brought over 50% increase at the same price point. Hope this time they will not follow AMD's new trend and fulfill these expectations.

 

[Arkadrel]

How can I say 680 or 670 if I haven't seen the price/performance yet? I will say I own a 5870 and am waiting to see what Kepler brings in the $300 market. Current 7xxx performance is great, but the price is more than I can stomach at the moment.

^ same boat.

Im gonna be honest here though, my 5870 is still kicking, and giveing me what I feel is "enough" performance. It would have to be a decent upg over a 5870 at a pretty decent price for me to upg.

Im tempted to say, not until some game comes out that really makes the 5870 look long in the tooth, even with a few settings turned down/off.

 

[tviceman]

"not sure" and "already own an hd79xx" are the two only logical answers. Any other answer is based off of assumptions and no concrete evidence of anything yet.

 

[exar333]

I will get 2x of whatever is the best GPU <$400.

 

[djnsmith7]

No interest in Kepler, but I may pick up a 3rd 7970 down the road.

 

[MrTeal]

"not sure" and "already own an hd79xx" are the two only logical answers. Any other answer is based off of assumptions and no concrete evidence of anything yet.

"Own a 40nm or older Card and skipping Kepler" isn't a logical answer?

 

[Termie]

I'll only jump if nVidia can provide at least 7950-level performance for $300 or less. I doubt they will.

I've never purchased a video card for more than ~$300, and I've never purchased a card unless I was getting approximately double my current card's performance:
(1) x800xt pe (replacing 9800pro) - $300 in 2005
(2) x1900xt - $320 in Aug 2006
(3) 8800gt - $300 in Oct 2007
(4) HD5850 - $275 in Mar 2010
(5) Second HD5850 - $150 in Oct 2011

IMO, graphics card development has seriously slowed down over the years. We used to be able to get double the performance every 18 months (for the same price, which is the critical issue). Since there still isn't a single card with double the performance of the HD5850 for $300, going on 2.5 years after its release, I'm not inspired to buy. Having gone crossfire complicates matters, as now I'd want something that can double the performance of my setup for maybe $425 (what I spent on it). Not going to happen for a long time.

 

[rageofthepeon]

I own a Nvidia 9800GT and am planning on buying a custom 7970 in March or April. If custom 7970s aren't out by then I might consider a 7950 instead (twin frozr III or sapphire flex). I want to upgrade soon and enjoy all the games I currently have but have held off on playing instead of waiting some more.

 

[DaveSimmons]

No idea yet. I'm finally moving to Sandy Bridge this month, but I already have a 560 ti I plan to keep using for awhile, possibly until after Kepler is released.

When I decide I can't live with the 560 ti any longer, I'll decide between:
- a single 570 or 580
- SLI 506 ti
- 7950 / 7970
- Kepler if it is out

I've owned nvidia back to the TNT and ATI back to an Xpert@Play rage3d card. I'll buy what's good, when I need it.

 

[Remobz]

I have a 22inch monitor and have to game at 1680x1050 so I cannot get anything better than a 6950 2gb card. I have no choice right now.

 

[tviceman]

"Own a 40nm or older Card and skipping Kepler" isn't a logical answer?

Possibly, but not outright. Kepler could offer absolutely amazing value that would make it more logical to upgrade to in many circumstances.

 

[ZipSpeed]

Happy with my GTX 580. It does everything I need it to at the moment. But I'm toying with the idea of getting a 27" or even 30" later this year so who's the say how that will affect my next GPU upgrade.

 

[Smartazz]

There's a second part to the question that I should have made a poll for. What would it take for the 680, 670 and 660 to be appealing for you given what you own now.

 

[bryanW1995]

There's a second part to the question that I should have made a poll for. What would it take for the 680, 670 and 660 to be appealing for you given what you own now.

1. 50% faster than my gtx 480
2. $200