- Jun 8, 2003
- 14,387
- 480
- 126
After years of putting up with "walls of texts" on" why we have paid to much in the past for our cards, or are paying to much for our video cards now, yesterday, last week, because the die size is too small, its not high end, its runs too cool, don't use enough power, or because we didn't pay that much for a ti4800 11 years ago, ect ect ect ect ect .
I decided to give a short lesson on how not to pay to much for your video cards and still game at high settings at decent framerates and use the latest gear with the latest features.
First you need to start with a good gaming rig. Mabe mommy bought it for you, mabe a gift from your wife/girlfriend, or you got a good tax return. Anyway you need to start with a good rig.
Lets say 6 years ago you bought a 2600k system and you know how to overclock and you got it to 4.6.
Nice 500 watt psu, cool case, 8gb memory, a nice all around system.
Any man with a job can/should be able to afford a high end, latest features, videocard each generation, or about every 2 years.
No one should have to buy a card and keep it for 4 or 5 years.
If they do, they are not a serious gamer or hobbyist.
This is how to stay at the high end for $.75 a day or less.
Let me tell you a story. I'll call it.....
"The story of $.75 and a video gamer"
Happpy medium surfs newegg in March of 2012 for a fast brand new video card. He was disappointed with the $500 gtx480 power hog his wife bought in March 2010.
He has saved .75 a day for 2 years and saved $547.50 and sold his gtx480 to some sucker for $200.
He has $747.50 in March 2012 to buy a brand new gtx680 that he read on Anandtech was "retaking the performance crown" ( http://www.anandtech.com/show/5699/nvidia-geforce-gtx-680-review ) So he pays the $500 for the gtx680 and he is happy knowing he can crank the settings with a card that has the latest features and is not a power hungry beast.
and he has $247.50 left over for his next card.
Well here it is only 14 months later he again reads on ANandtech that there is a new card, the gtx780, what they describe as "the new high end" ( http://www.anandtech.com/show/6973/nvidia-geforce-gtx-780-review ).
Well he has been saving his $.75 a day for the last 14 months ($315), has the $247.50 left over from last generation and has a buyer for his gtx680 for a real cheap $250. Now he has $812.50 but no gaming card. So he surfs over to Newegg and buys the best gtx780 he can get for $650. He again has high end performance and $162.50 left over for his next "high end" card.
October 28 2013, AMD has a new card called the 290x that was released 6 months after his gtx780 and is as fast or a bit faster but runs hot. Happy says no way am I buying the 290x, its only 4% faster than my card and costs $550!!!.
( http://www.anandtech.com/show/7457/the-radeon-r9-290x-review/12 )
He reads of a $750 gtx780ti but he is happy with his performance, he just bought his new gtx780 card and still is @ 1080p resolution.
Now he has had his gtx780 for 16 months (Sept. 2014) and once again he was reading Anandtech about a new $550 low power superfast card called the gtx980. ( http://www.anandtech.com/show/8526/nvidia-geforce-gtx-980-review/14 ) He still has $162.50 left over from his last card, he sells his gtx780 for a cheap $250 and still has been saving his $.75 a day for the past 16 months ($360). Total money for a new card $772.50. He buys the gtx980 for $550.
He enjoys top notch performance once again and has $222 left over.
He hears of a new AMD card the 390x, it only sells for $429 but sees its not an upgrade from his card.
He also watches a gtx980ti card sell for $650 but is happy with his performance because he finds that the gtx980 overclocks like a champ.
Now 20 months after he bought his gtx980 a new card called the $650 gtx1080 comes out , its much faster than his gtx980 and he needs the extra power because his wife bought him a 1440p monitor for Christmas. Happy is moving up in the world.![Smile :) :)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
He takes the $222 he had left over from the last purchase,he has been saving $.75 a day for 20 months ($450), and sells his gtx980 for a cheap $250.
He has $922 dollars for the $650 gtx1080. At 1440p resolution his gtx1080 serves him well he is happy and still has $272 in his pocket and will save $.75 a day for a new Volta card in about 18 months when he sells his gtx1080.
the end.
That's how you always play games at the high end for $.75 a day.
Now can we please stop the walls of text about how we paid too much for our cards now or 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 years ago?
Anyone!, even a 12 year old can save $.75 a day for a video card, and play at the high end. AND have money left over.
Why do I have a gtx960 4gb? because I game on a big 1080p TV 7 feet away, and I'm happy with the games I play at high settings 40 to 60 fps but I'm getting ready to upgrade my entire system soon. I just bought Deus x mankind and its killing my gpu.![Smile :) :)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
I could have used the gtx670, gtx770, gtx970 and gtx1070 and had over $900 left over and still been in the high end.
I don't know about you guys, but if I look at the same video card in my case for more than 2 years I start getting a nervous tick, start foaming at the mouth, I need a new card.![Smile :) :)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
So what do you think? Can anyone afford $.75 a day?
How do you buy cards?
Do you sell your old cards ?
DO you just take the money out of the bank and say F it, I work hard, I deserve it?
Would you rather have a card with the latest features, lower power draw , better overclocking, that comes with always having a "newer" card or the same card sitting in your case that's always a little slower, hotter, but cheaper.
Why settle for cheaper,? for $.75 a day you can be at the top!![Smile :) :)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
What's your method to stay at the high end without breaking the bank?
I decided to give a short lesson on how not to pay to much for your video cards and still game at high settings at decent framerates and use the latest gear with the latest features.
First you need to start with a good gaming rig. Mabe mommy bought it for you, mabe a gift from your wife/girlfriend, or you got a good tax return. Anyway you need to start with a good rig.
Lets say 6 years ago you bought a 2600k system and you know how to overclock and you got it to 4.6.
Nice 500 watt psu, cool case, 8gb memory, a nice all around system.
Any man with a job can/should be able to afford a high end, latest features, videocard each generation, or about every 2 years.
No one should have to buy a card and keep it for 4 or 5 years.
If they do, they are not a serious gamer or hobbyist.
This is how to stay at the high end for $.75 a day or less.
Let me tell you a story. I'll call it.....
"The story of $.75 and a video gamer"
Happpy medium surfs newegg in March of 2012 for a fast brand new video card. He was disappointed with the $500 gtx480 power hog his wife bought in March 2010.
and he has $247.50 left over for his next card.
Well here it is only 14 months later he again reads on ANandtech that there is a new card, the gtx780, what they describe as "the new high end" ( http://www.anandtech.com/show/6973/nvidia-geforce-gtx-780-review ).
Well he has been saving his $.75 a day for the last 14 months ($315), has the $247.50 left over from last generation and has a buyer for his gtx680 for a real cheap $250. Now he has $812.50 but no gaming card. So he surfs over to Newegg and buys the best gtx780 he can get for $650. He again has high end performance and $162.50 left over for his next "high end" card.
October 28 2013, AMD has a new card called the 290x that was released 6 months after his gtx780 and is as fast or a bit faster but runs hot. Happy says no way am I buying the 290x, its only 4% faster than my card and costs $550!!!.
( http://www.anandtech.com/show/7457/the-radeon-r9-290x-review/12 )
He reads of a $750 gtx780ti but he is happy with his performance, he just bought his new gtx780 card and still is @ 1080p resolution.
Now he has had his gtx780 for 16 months (Sept. 2014) and once again he was reading Anandtech about a new $550 low power superfast card called the gtx980. ( http://www.anandtech.com/show/8526/nvidia-geforce-gtx-980-review/14 ) He still has $162.50 left over from his last card, he sells his gtx780 for a cheap $250 and still has been saving his $.75 a day for the past 16 months ($360). Total money for a new card $772.50. He buys the gtx980 for $550.
He enjoys top notch performance once again and has $222 left over.
He hears of a new AMD card the 390x, it only sells for $429 but sees its not an upgrade from his card.
He also watches a gtx980ti card sell for $650 but is happy with his performance because he finds that the gtx980 overclocks like a champ.
Now 20 months after he bought his gtx980 a new card called the $650 gtx1080 comes out , its much faster than his gtx980 and he needs the extra power because his wife bought him a 1440p monitor for Christmas. Happy is moving up in the world.
He takes the $222 he had left over from the last purchase,he has been saving $.75 a day for 20 months ($450), and sells his gtx980 for a cheap $250.
He has $922 dollars for the $650 gtx1080. At 1440p resolution his gtx1080 serves him well he is happy and still has $272 in his pocket and will save $.75 a day for a new Volta card in about 18 months when he sells his gtx1080.
the end.
That's how you always play games at the high end for $.75 a day.
Now can we please stop the walls of text about how we paid too much for our cards now or 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 years ago?
Anyone!, even a 12 year old can save $.75 a day for a video card, and play at the high end. AND have money left over.
Why do I have a gtx960 4gb? because I game on a big 1080p TV 7 feet away, and I'm happy with the games I play at high settings 40 to 60 fps but I'm getting ready to upgrade my entire system soon. I just bought Deus x mankind and its killing my gpu.
I could have used the gtx670, gtx770, gtx970 and gtx1070 and had over $900 left over and still been in the high end.
I don't know about you guys, but if I look at the same video card in my case for more than 2 years I start getting a nervous tick, start foaming at the mouth, I need a new card.
So what do you think? Can anyone afford $.75 a day?
How do you buy cards?
Do you sell your old cards ?
DO you just take the money out of the bank and say F it, I work hard, I deserve it?
Would you rather have a card with the latest features, lower power draw , better overclocking, that comes with always having a "newer" card or the same card sitting in your case that's always a little slower, hotter, but cheaper.
Why settle for cheaper,? for $.75 a day you can be at the top!
What's your method to stay at the high end without breaking the bank?