worthwhile? Is it a good time to upgrade?

[LongCoolMother]

im currently using my Radeon 8500 from years ago and its starting to show its age on the newer games. not majorly, but i can tell its downfall is starting. anyway, i was wondering if you guys think NOW is a good time to make a VGA upgrade. im eager to pick up a new card, but i feel like itd be better to wait it out until the next gen games come in (hL2, Doom3, etc.) so that the prices and performance will be a lot better.

Are the cards right now future proof? i dont mean the highest end stuff, im talking about $150-$200 range. the radeon 8500 lasted me years, and im hoping i can get another one that can do that.

the geforce fx 5600 ultra is nice and cheap now. but i dont think thatll last me. i was thinking geforce 4 ti4600? that one is sweet for $150. unfortunately it has no dx9...

 

[CJP]

I just bought a Radeon 9800 non-pro. I was upgrading from a Geforce 3 Ti-500 which is fairly similar in performance to your 8500. The difference is very dramatic with 4xAA and 8XAF which my Geforce 3 could never do. I've got 2 months of very enjoyable use out of it and even though the new stuff will be out soon I'm happy with my choice because the Geforce 3 just wasn't cutting it. I'm sure it'll play any game that comes out in the next year very well (Doom 3 possibly excluded). If you don't want to spend more than $200 I've heard people say that the Nvidia Geforce 5900 nu costs around that and performs well. The Radeon 9800np is supposed to be better at directx 9 but I'm not sure what they cost now compared to the 5900nu. Of course if you can wait though, that's always better.

 

[VIAN]

I personally think Upgrading a graphics card should be every two years. And you have waited that long already. Right now is as good as any time to upgrade, but don't expect it fly-by HL2 and D3. No card on the market right now can do that well. But, then again, how do you know the year after that, that there is gonna be another game that you really really want and your gonna have to buy a new card again. I recommend either a 5700 Ultra or 5900, but choose the 5900 over the 5700 Ultra if you can.

 

[Corporate Thug]

9800 NP for $200 with free HL2 is by far the best price/performance upgrade u can possibly make but it would be really hard to find at this point

 

[LongCoolMother]

Originally posted by: shady06
9800 NP for $200 with free HL2 is by far the best price/performance upgrade u can possibly make but it would be really hard to find at this point

i saw the radeon 9800 non pro today at fry's for $200. hows that card? i dont need doom or hl2 to fly, but id like to be able to play it and enjoy it decently...

 

[VIAN]

you only get hl2 with XT versions.

 

[CJP]

Originally posted by: LongCoolMother

Originally posted by: shady06
9800 NP for $200 with free HL2 is by far the best price/performance upgrade u can possibly make but it would be really hard to find at this point

i saw the radeon 9800 non pro today at fry's for $200. hows that card? i dont need doom or hl2 to fly, but id like to be able to play it and enjoy it decently...

It's a great card for the money. It's only 10-15% slower than the 9800Pro but it's more than 15% cheaper (at least it was when I bought one). It's exactly the same as the Pro in every way except it's clocked slower on the core and memory.