When should I upgrade?

[Melkorus]

Hello,

I'm looking to spend around $100ish - $200ish (lol, maybe a bit more if it's really good bang for the buck) on a new video card in the next few months. Is there a reason that I should hold off for a while or should I just go to newegg and order something tonight? When are AMD 6K series coming out and do I have any reason to wait for them?

Thanks,
Mel

 

[zerocool84]

What rez do you play at? What's your whole system specs?

 

[RussianSensation]

1. Upgrade when the games which you play (not intend to buy in 6 months) are performing below your expectations (visuals and framerates).

2. Stick to rule #1 and you will end up saving $ without having to purchase a card you don't really need yet.

3. New NV graphics cards are coming out March 26th. However, given the likely limited availability and their high end positioning, it is unlikely that there will be a pressure on price for current HD5000 offerings. I suppose you can wait until March 26th to see what NV brings to the table.

4. AMD has not even released a refresh of the HD5000 series so I doubt HD6000 will be released until October of 2010.

In the price range you specified, currently HD5770 is a good card, but simply because there are really no other alternatives (GTX 260/ 275 and 4890 have all but dried up).

The graphics card market is not a buyer's market right now. Refer to Rule #1

 

[Melkorus]

What rez do you play at? What's your whole system specs?

1280x1050

8800 GT - Factory overclocked but I keep having to DOWNCLOCK it, it's below the speeds that nVidia specifies it should be, I have to downclock it at least once a month. I let it reach 100+ C few too many times before getting aftermarket cooler. It's gonna die soon.

Core 2 Duo E8400 @ 3GHz (stock). I could overclock this a bit.
Generic Value DDR2 4GB RAM
Lame cheap GA mobo that doesn't support raid
7200 RPM HD

In about a year or so from now I will be upgrading my whole system, probably i7, but I want to buy the card now (in this price range) that would be viable for at least 2 years from now.

 

[blanketyblank]

5770 or 4890 if you can find a good price on it.
5770 is about 60% faster than your current card probably a bit faster than that since you have to downclock. It should last about 2 years with current trends though with some games you'd probably have to switch to medium settings assuming you get a bigger monitor. If you stick with that resolution this will last you a lot longer than that and you can play with maxed settings.

 

[Melkorus]

5770 or 4890 if you can find a good price on it.
5770 is about 60% faster than your current card probably a bit faster than that since you have to downclock. It should last about 2 years with current trends though with some games you'd probably have to switch to medium settings assuming you get a bigger monitor. If you stick with that resolution this will last you a lot longer than that and you can play with maxed settings.

Thanks!! I'm favoring 5770 right now, going by what reviews say and what people recommend.

One last question is, should I tolerate my current card until it dies in hopes that 5770 will come down in price soon, or would I just be torturing myself with the current card as 5770 wont get any cheaper any time soon. I gotta say tho, the price is right even right now on the 5770.

 

[blanketyblank]

Honestly I don't think the cards will change much in price at all for quite some time. If they do change I think you could possibly see the 5770 for about $120 or so, but I think only around Christmas/ Black Friday. Since you can actually get these cards for about $140 now with a good sale I don't see much point waiting for a $20 savings that may never happen.

 

[edplayer]

I think we will start to see $120 and less (on sale, bing, rebates whatever) within 3 months or so. Sub $100 by Christmas. The 5770 is a volume product and ATi/partners can probably make a small profit on it even at $90 (right now)

 

[blanketyblank]

I think we will start to see $120 and less (on sale, bing, rebates whatever) within 3 months or so. Sub $100 by Christmas. The 5770 is a volume product and ATi/partners can probably make a small profit on it even at $90 (right now)

Why do you think ATI would suddenly drop their price in 3 months?
There is realy no competition in this price range and Nvidia is doing nothing about that.
I doubt a company would suddenly decrease prices if there is no need to. In fact a lot of cards have risen in price since they've first come out like the 5850 and 5750 (which is actually sometimes MORE expensive than a 5770).
I do agree that prices should drop a bit during Christmas, but that's only due to holiday promotions/sales.

 

[edplayer]

I don't think that ATi would suddenly drop their prices in 3 months.

I expect msrp to stay the same.

I expect their partners to offer rebates and I expect some stores to have sales on them. Don't know if you follow hot deals sites like slickdeals and fatwallet but sales happen all the time, not just Christmas and Black Friday.

 

[jtisgeek]

Lots of choices 4870 or 4890 depending on money or 5770. Try to overclock your 8400 should at least do 400 bus which is a easy 3.7. New video card and cpu overclock will be a night and day difference.

 

[happy medium]

Best bang for the buck right now are 5770's and referb 4890's.

 

[fffblackmage]

Buy now if you need it. There's no reason why ATI should drops prices on anything if nVidia doesn't put up a fight.