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Why do YOU upgrade...?

Anomaly1964

Anomaly1964

Platinum Member
I've been out of gaming for a couple years and getting back into it...

My current PC has a Q8200 Processor, Nvidia 9800GT video card, 8GM of DDR2 ram, and a 700w Power supply...

I am considering a Q9505 or Q9605 and a GTX470 video card...

Sure, my benchmarks will go MUCH higher, but what will my HUMAN eye notice on my monitor as I play games like Crysis, BC2, etc...?

Do "we" upgrade more for BRAGGING RIGHTS or because there is a VISIBLE difference in what we actually see?
 
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Do you know what it takes to play Crysis at above 60 fps?
Min fps drop below 45 or so and your "HUMAN eyes" should/will notice it.

Also not everyone likes to play at 1280x1024 to get above 50 fps in a game like crysis. And some people dont want to play at 1920x1200 and get ~30 or lower.

From just a random visit to a site like techpowerup, I notice that the 9800GT Amp edition gets like 20 fps at 1920x1200. That is why people upgrade.

But I understand your logic though, no point bragging about 200fps or 150fps.. when anything over 60fps probably wont be noticed by you when you play the game.
 
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I don't upgrade, I buy a new computer every few years.

:hmm:

Well, I've replaced some of my laptop displays with better ones a few times.
 
Arkadrel said:
Do you know what it takes to play Crysis at above 60 fps?
Min fps drop below 45 or so and your "HUMAN eyes" should/will notice it.

Also not everyone likes to play at 1280x1024 to get above 50 fps in a game like crysis. And some people dont want to play at 1920x1200 and get ~30 or lower.

From just a random visit to a site like techpowerup, I notice that the 9800GT Amp edition gets like 20 fps at 1920x1200. That is why people upgrade.

But I understand your logic though, no point bragging about 200fps or 150fps.. when anything over 60fps probably wont be noticed by you when you play the game.
Click to expand...


That's good info...COOL, Thanks!
 
Anomaly1964 said:
I've been out of gaming for a couple years and getting back into it...

My current PC has a Q8200 Processor, Nvidia 9800GT video card, 8GM of DDR2 ram, and a 700w Power supply...

I am considering a Q9505 or Q9605 and a GTX470 video card...

Sure, my benchmarks will go MUCH higher, but what will my HUMAN eye notice on my monitor as I play games like Crysis, BC2, etc...?

Do "we" upgrade more for BRAGGING RIGHTS or because there is a VISIBLE difference in what we actually see?
Click to expand...

Because I have enough resources available to support one of my main hobbies very well. Price wise, most of my PC hardware buying decisions have made very little sense this last year or so. I do limit myself from purchasing Ferrari like hardware though (e.g. hex core i7 CPUs, GTX 580, SSD for my Games drive, etc).
 
because i like to have the semi-best! upgrading my 5970 to a 6990 when it comes out. possibly whatever nvidia's potential dual-GPU is. if performance is equal, i want that 3d vision baby!
 
I upgrade when I want to play newer games at a higher resolution than my old hardware will allow.

The only exception was that I spent $180 on a Radeon 6850 last month to replace my 4870 as much for the lower noise and heat levels as for the improved graphics. I'll probably do a full system upgrade (from my mid-2008 E8400) late next year after the next process shrink.
 
I upgrade because I like to work on computers. It's an expensive hobby, but I enjoy it.

On rare occasion, I upgrade simply because I "need" the performance boost. Most of the time, the hardware I'm using is already plenty capable of running whatever game or application I'm trying to run at max settings. Even just now, my 2 year old GTX 285 is still playing everything I care to (save for perhaps Crysis and Metro 2033) maxed at 1920x1080. Still, I may bite on an HD 6950 or 6970, or perhaps even a GTX 570 depending on prices / performance after Christmas.
 
I upgrade when I cannot play a game at the level I desire.

For instance, I am using 5870 for eyefinity, however in most games I cannot use more than 2xAA and in some of the very latest I cannot use any. I am comfortable with 2xAA to be honest, but 0xAA is not acceptable. Same for AF, I am okay with 8xAF but under that is not good.

Before the 5870 I had 285 sli, but once the eyefinity feature came out I wanted to jump onboard and thus the downgrade to a single 5870 (although money from the 285s paid for it plus the i7 920 i use now)

I can afford to upgrade my computer and I definitely get my money's worth out of the hobby - sometimes to the point where I need to just take a break from it and get out of the house.

2x570s should last me another two years or so, but who knows what features next year will bring.

I also usually sell off my old hardware and it really helps to mitigate the costs for upgrading.
 
I upgrade when the bug bites, not usally because I really need to. I like to play with new technology. Often new hardware is out and I just want to make a change because that new hardware is out. It's very much a want and not a need. But then again nothing regarding PC gaming is really a 'need'.
 
Cause I'm a gamer and had been nearly 30 years and I insist on the best...🙂 (not to mention I'm getting into 3D this month - Crysis 2 anyone😉)
 
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I upgrade when I can no longer play a majority of games (1920x1200) at the highest resolution with good fps. Obviously this depends on the game, but most games for me are FPS so I usually want >60 with solid minimums.
 
Part of it is the technolust, and part of it is that I simply can't accept poor performance for what I do, which is play WoW, SC2 and TF2. I need a smooth experience and I'll pay whatever for it (within reason, I'm not going to like, give up my left thumb or something).
 
I like to stay ahead of the curve. Once you need, you've waited too long.

When you really need to upgrade you probably need to do it ASAP, which will not put you in the best position in terms of being able to research the best option or find the best price.

Also, your old gear is worthless. I've owned a lot of hardware, but I'm not amassing a huge pile of old, outdated gear. I sell my components well before they are obsolete, and I use them to fund new purchases.

I also buy stuff that I know will have a decent resale value. This is the reason I have no problems dropping $1k on video cards - I'll get most of it back in re-sale. This is also the reason I don't have an SSD yet - boot time is of minimal importance to me, I have too many games to use it for that, and any over priced SSD you buy today will be completely worthless in a year.
 
nitromullet said:
I also buy stuff that I know will have a decent resale value. This is the reason I have no problems dropping $1k on video cards - I'll get most of it back in re-sale. This is also the reason I don't have an SSD yet - boot time is of minimal importance to me, I have too many games to use it for that, and any over priced SSD you buy today will be completely worthless in a year.
Click to expand...

Sorry dude but you're missing out. You can pickup a 64gb ssd drive for under a hundred bucks these days, what's the problem...
 
I had the upgrade bug hard for a while. But I've spent so much on 775 stuff, it looks like I'll be sticking with it for some time. Probably just a GPU upgrade, when 28nm comes out. Maybe I'll think about a platform upgrade then, but not until.
 
solofly said:
Sorry dude but you're missing out. You can pickup a 64gb ssd drive for under a hundred bucks these days, what's the problem...
Click to expand...
I just jumped on the SSD bandwagon myself. I was waiting for what I considered to be a reasonable price. When I had the opportunity to pick up a 64GB Kingston for @ $70, I bit. There have been a few other good deals lately as well.

If you do your homework and can get in on a good deal, I'd say prices are low enough now for practically anybody to consider getting one as a boot drive.
 
Performance and gaming experience value. Gaming experience motivates much more than just raw performance numbers in a benchmark. Out-of-the-box features have motivated more and the quality that they offer. They're not the same and do things differently and killed me watching rotated grid being compared to order grid and yet apples-to-apples based on the same amount of samples, yet the quality was totally different years ago.

Features like EyeFinity or , multi-monitor, MLAA, improved filtering that todays hardware offer from past years, CSAA, Edge Detect ( CFAA), the sheer amount of AA, Stereo3d, GPU Physics, improved CPU Physics, Ambient Occlusion, Sli-AA, Super-AA,mixed or hyprid modes, Full Scene SSAA, transparency/Adaptive, flexibility, having the ability to have transparency or Full scene SSAA in DirectX 10/11 content.
 
solofly said:
Sorry dude but you're missing out. You can pickup a 64gb ssd drive for under a hundred bucks these days, what's the problem...
Click to expand...

It's a matter of priorities. I get more out of a high end gaming card than I would out of having an SSD boot drive.
 
Anomaly1964 said:
I've been out of gaming for a couple years and getting back into it...

My current PC has a Q8200 Processor, Nvidia 9800GT video card, 8GM of DDR2 ram, and a 700w Power supply...

I am considering a Q9505 or Q9605 and a GTX470 video card...

Sure, my benchmarks will go MUCH higher, but what will my HUMAN eye notice on my monitor as I play games like Crysis, BC2, etc...?

Do "we" upgrade more for BRAGGING RIGHTS or because there is a VISIBLE difference in what we actually see?
Click to expand...
That depends on your display. If your display is 120hz and 1ms response time, then you will see the difference between 80 FPS and 120FPS. If your display is 60hz and 10-20ms response time, then you won't see much difference beyond 30FPS.
 
Creig said:
I just jumped on the SSD bandwagon myself. I was waiting for what I considered to be a reasonable price. When I had the opportunity to pick up a 64GB Kingston for @ $70, I bit. There have been a few other good deals lately as well.

If you do your homework and can get in on a good deal, I'd say prices are low enough now for practically anybody to consider getting one as a boot drive.
Click to expand...
How much difference does it really make to every day gaming?

i just got a 128 GB Kingston SSD (v now series) to evaluate; obviously all my programs and games cannot fit on it. Does it make that much difference using it as a boot drive for my 500 GB HDDs?

i upgrade because i *have to*
🙂
 
When I get sick of how my machine can't run anything above low-medium settings, then wait an extra year.

Pretty stupid since I just spent $500 on fancy jackets over the weekend, and plan on spending another $200 within the next week or two. I'm a fancy man.
 
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