Worth upgrading from an 8800GT right now?

[Jschmuck2]

If so - what am I looking at? Should I wait until the next gen in a month or so when both companies have cards out? Should I pick up a GTX260 for ~$150?

So many questions.

And I have a tank of a 1000W OCZ, so power isn't an issue

 

[s44]

Wait till midrange DX11.

 

[CurseTheSky]

I'd wait until Nvidia unveils GT300, or the price drops on HD5000 cards. A HD5850 would be a pretty good upgrade for you, as long as your power supply is up to the task.

 

[error8]

Originally posted by: CurseTheSky
I'd wait until Nvidia unveils GT300, or the price drops on HD5000 cards.

This is a good advice and this is what I'm also going to do. If you've waited that much, you can squeeze another couple of months until December and see what Nvidia has to offer. Maybe their cards will be faster and cheaper then ATi's, or maybe they won't be, but you will surely have more choices then you have now. No point in getting a card that will probably reach EOL by the end of the year, so keep your 150$, add a couple of bucks more and prepare to get yourself a much faster card then your current GT.

 

[AzN]

If you keep on waiting and waiting there's always better cards around the corner that will replace it's current price brackets. You just have to make a decision when to jump in. This is a good as time as any that would outlast the card very long time when you look at the performance of the new cards. A 5850 would be great @ 259 if you can find it for that price.

I think ATI's new cards price is on point. If anything Nvidia will have to drop prices on their launch product just to match 58x0 cards.

 

[themisfit610]

While it's true that you can always play the waiting game - the best time is usually shortly after the competition releases a new product.

I would say wait for GT300, and then pick up a midrange card after the corresponding price drops. Or, just get a 5850 now for a slight premium and love it

~MiSfit

 

[s44]

Originally posted by: Azn
If you keep on waiting and waiting there's always better cards around the corner that will replace it's current price brackets. You just have to make a decision when to jump in. This is a good as time as any

Well, except new games will still run fine on what he has now.

If he's going to upgrade, he should have one that's enough of a leap that it will still be viable after the 8800GT is finally left in the dust.

 

[Jschmuck2]

There's a gtx 260 in the forums for $135 - might be a good stopgap.

 

[Obsoleet]

I went from an 8800GT to a 5870. I don't believe in stopgaps ect.. just get what you really want today. If you kept a 8800GT this long, a 5870 is probably a card for someone like (us). It'll last you a long time and in the end, avoiding stopgap solutions will save you more money. If you want a lesser card, just stick it out with the GT longer.

 

[alcoholbob]

Waiting until the 8800GT bites the dust = time to buy a console as your primary gaming platform in 2012.

 

[error8]

Originally posted by: Astrallite
Waiting until the 8800GT bites the dust = time to buy a console as your primary gaming platform in 2012.

Is that so?

 

[alcoholbob]

Ya rly

 

[nemesismk2]

Originally posted by: Jschmuck2
If so - what am I looking at? Should I wait until the next gen in a month or so when both companies have cards out? Should I pick up a GTX260 for ~$150?

So many questions.

I would wait until the 5750 is available. If performs slightly slower than the 5850 like 4770 did against the 4850 then it will be THE video card to buy!

 

[MarcVenice]

I doubt AMD will drop prices much, if at all. Prices will probably drop slightly when mass availability hits the stores, but that's it. The HD 5850 would probably be the card for you. HD 5770 is probably to far out to keep waiting for, let alone Nvidia's midrange dx11-cards.

 

[MrK6]

How do people always end up recommending video cards without asking the specs of for the rest of the system? OP, what resolution are you playing at? What's the rest of your system?

 

[StinkyPinky]

Originally posted by: s44

Originally posted by: Azn
If you keep on waiting and waiting there's always better cards around the corner that will replace it's current price brackets. You just have to make a decision when to jump in. This is a good as time as any

Well, except new games will still run fine on what he has now.

If he's going to upgrade, he should have one that's enough of a leap that it will still be viable after the 8800GT is finally left in the dust.

A 5850 is twice the speed (sometimes more) than an 8800gt. In my opinion that's already left in the dust.

I'll probably just get a 5850 to replace my 8800gt.

 

[Jschmuck2]

Originally posted by: MrK6
How do people always end up recommending video cards without asking the specs of for the rest of the system? OP, what resolution are you playing at? What's the rest of your system?

Natch -

e8400
4gb DDR2(800)
8800GT
The new monitor I've got coming is going to run at 1920x1080 next to my 1680x1050 screen.

 

[MODEL3]

Originally posted by: Jschmuck2
Natch -

e8400
4gb DDR2(800)
8800GT
The new monitor I've got coming is going to run at 1920x1080 next to my 1680x1050 screen.

If you overclock your 8400, the 5850 will be a good solution for you for 2009-2010 games.
After that your CPU and (especially) mem will become problem for some games. (after that a 5850 GPU also at 1920X1080 will have problems with some games withe high quality settings...)

 

[Jumpem]

Originally posted by: MODEL3
If you overclock your 8400, the 5850 will be a good solution for you for 2009-2010 games.
After that your CPU and (especially) mem will become problem for some games. (after that a 5850 GPU also at 1920X1080 will have problems with some games withe high quality settings...)

Why do you say this?

 

[bryanW1995]

um, how many games out today or even in development will benefit from more than 4gb?

 

[alcoholbob]

Depends if he is using 64 bit or 32 bit. He would only have 3GB of RAM under 32bit Windows.

Depends on game type too. If you are playing RPGS, large scale RTSs, more RAM is definitely better. Shooters tend to hog much less memory, since the number of units and level size are much much smaller.

 

[MODEL3]

O.K. let me brake it down a little bit:

Originally posted by: MODEL3
If you overclock your 8400, the 5850 will be a good solution for you for 2009-2010 games.

After that (meaning 2011 games)
your CPU and (especially) mem will become problem for some games.
(meaning some demanding games, if you remember we had in 2007, games like World in Conflict for example, in 2011 (4 years later) there will be probably games like these also, RAM capacity is doubling every 2 years and many developers are changing target specs according to what specs has the target market that are pursuing each time...)

(after that a 5850 GPU also at 1920X1080 will have problems with some games withe high quality settings...)
(i suppose this is easy to figure out regarding some demanding 2011 games?)

 

[Mustanggt]

I still have my 8800GT and love it, dont do much gaming anymore except for WOW so i will keep it for awhile

 

[nemesismk2]

Originally posted by: MarcVenice
I doubt AMD will drop prices much, if at all. Prices will probably drop slightly when mass availability hits the stores, but that's it. The HD 5850 would probably be the card for you. HD 5770 is probably to far out to keep waiting for, let alone Nvidia's midrange dx11-cards.

I am still waiting for a modern version of the 8800 GT which when it was first released rocked

 

[Grinja]

Originally posted by: nemesismk2

Originally posted by: MarcVenice
I doubt AMD will drop prices much, if at all. Prices will probably drop slightly when mass availability hits the stores, but that's it. The HD 5850 would probably be the card for you. HD 5770 is probably to far out to keep waiting for, let alone Nvidia's midrange dx11-cards.

I am still waiting for a modern version of the 8800 GT which when it was first released rocked

It rocked only because we were starved for any decent graphics cards at the time. In my mind the only card to offer good value before the 8800 GT was the Geforce TI 4200 series. I also thought the HD4850 was superb value.

In any event you can of course wait for the next gen from nVidia, I think that you should consider if the games you play at the moment will see any benefit.