Video Card hype/enthusiasm has gone down tremendously

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since WHEN?!
top end video cards are ALWAYS in the $550 - $600 range
ATI has sold cards for that segment, and we all know nVidia has/does as well

I wasn't talking about price, the only mention of price I had was that my mid ranged 8800GTS cost as much as a high end 6970 today. What I was saying if you'd read it carefully, high end has turned into niche, as in, you only see benefit in buying high end if you're in a niche market like multimonitor, 3D, absurdly expensive high res monitors.

High end used to be a benefit to anyone who could afford it, these days, its really not unless you fall into one of the small group who actually gives a fuck about multimonitor and/or 3D set ups.
 
I wasn't talking about price... I was saying high end has turned into niche, as in, you only see benefit in buying high end if you're in a niche market like multimonitor, 3D, absurdly expensive high res monitors.

High end used to be a benefit to anyone who could afford it, these days, its really not unless you fall into one of the small group who actually gives a fuck about multimonitor and/or 3D set ups.

This I agree with. Hardware/software go hand in hand. If I didn't have a 30" monitor I wouldn't need Crossfire for 99% of the games out there. Even with a 30" monitor I probably don't need Crossfire for 80%-90% of them. It's a shame, really.

I notice it a lot on the [H] video card reviews...used to be any video card review, at least that I saw, would quickly jump up to dozens of pages. Not the case over the past 6+ months or so.

That being said, this is [H], where people go for top of the line equipment to push every last ounce of IQ out of games and performance from their hardware. Yes cost/performance is justified, but I see this card falling perfectly in line with historical price for performance. It isn't as though AMD came out with the new industry leader and then priced it at $700 - that would be gouging. This is just standard practice, IMO.

And really I think the card is a marvel of engineering. Faster, cooler, nearly the same power draw? I was really surprised when I saw the lukewarm (to say the least) responses in the comments, thought it was going to be a slam dunk after reading the review.
 
I love all the "We don't need new cards because games already work perfectly on my 1650x900 setup," almost as much as I love the "THE PRICE IS OUTRAGEOUS, I WONT SPEND THAT to run my 1080p setup 30% quicker!!!"

I mean isn't this the [H]ard forum? Fucks sakes id swear I logged into the {P}uss forum sometimes lol.

{P}eople the 7970 is the FLAGSHIP CARD, its not made FOR YOU. FOR YOU they have the entire 7800 & 7700 series. My God, its like your in the market to buy a Chevy Cobalt, yet you can't stop bitching about the Corvette.

If your not running multi monitors, a big 30" monitor, or a nice 120hz setup than please get in your horse drawn carriage, leave the thread and comeback when the econo models hit the market.

You got it.
I'm stoked about the 7970. I'll be buying one as soon as I can get my hands on it. It will be a -needed- upgrade for me. 5760x1200 is a shitload of pixels to push, and I could:
a) Spend $480-500 on 2x 6950s and hope they overclock
b) Spend $560-600 on 2x 6970s and hope the performance is there
c) Spend $675++ on a 6990 and be happy
d) Wait for the 7970, OC it, and get almost as much performance out of a single card without the crossfire hassle as the 6990, for "$550"
 
I wasn't talking about price, the only mention of price I had was that my mid ranged 8800GTS cost as much as a high end 6970 today. What I was saying if you'd read it carefully, high end has turned into niche, as in, you only see benefit in buying high end if you're in a niche market like multimonitor, 3D, absurdly expensive high res monitors.

High end used to be a benefit to anyone who could afford it, these days, its really not unless you fall into one of the small group who actually gives a fuck about multimonitor and/or 3D set ups.

How is high end not a benefit to anyone who can afford it again?
I can afford multi-monitor, therefore I can afford high end. Right?
Or does your definition of high end not include "the small group who actually gives a fuck about multimonitor and/or 3D set ups."
 
This I agree with. Hardware/software go hand in hand. If I didn't have a 30" monitor I wouldn't need Crossfire for 99% of the games out there. Even with a 30" monitor I probably don't need Crossfire for 80%-90% of them. It's a shame, really.

I notice it a lot on the [H] video card reviews...used to be any video card review, at least that I saw, would quickly jump up to dozens of pages. Not the case over the past 6+ months or so.

That being said, this is [H], where people go for top of the line equipment to push every last ounce of IQ out of games and performance from their hardware. Yes cost/performance is justified, but I see this card falling perfectly in line with historical price for performance. It isn't as though AMD came out with the new industry leader and then priced it at $700 - that would be gouging. This is just standard practice, IMO.

And really I think the card is a marvel of engineering. Faster, cooler, nearly the same power draw? I was really surprised when I saw the lukewarm (to say the least) responses in the comments, thought it was going to be a slam dunk after reading the review.

I too was surprised. I looked at the performance, at the hardware, and at the price, and personally I feel like they are all lining up appropriately.
 
I think most of ya'll on here don't need to be bitching about vid cards, but instead bitching at panel makers for not coming out with a 1600p 120hz 24" panels.
 
Eyefinity/Surround or go home... When you have that, you definitely need the best GPU you can get
 
How is high end not a benefit to anyone who can afford it again?
I can afford multi-monitor, therefore I can afford high end. Right?
Or does your definition of high end not include "the small group who actually gives a fuck about multimonitor and/or 3D set ups."

I don't think you understand my distinction between "high end" and "high end niche". I can afford high end, I could afford 3 monitors, I could afford 3D... however I do not care about 3 monitors and I do not care about 3D, those markets are a niche I don't care to be involved in, therefore the more expensive cards are a waste to me even though I could afford them, so why would I be hyped about them?

It's not that my definition of high end doesn't include those niche markets, it does. My point is that high end doesn't benefit anyone much outside those niche markets, hence the reduced enthusiasm over new cards. It used to be that you didn't have to belong to a niche market for high end cards to show their benefit, because the games themselves were intensive on hardware, you could go buy a mainstream monitor and still benefit from a high end card.

The high end hardware has shifted to a more niche market, but that doesn't mean the high end consumer base has shifted with it, some have, many haven't. The people who were buying 8800GTXs back in the day haven't all necessarily decided to jump aboard the eyefinity/surround train.
 
The high end hardware has shifted to a more niche market, but that doesn't mean the high end consumer base has shifted with it, some have, many haven't. The people who were buying 8800GTXs back in the day haven't all necessarily decided to jump aboard the eyefinity/surround train.

but these high end cards are necessary to run quite a few games at high settings on anything bigger than a 24"
 
but these high end cards are necessary to run quite a few games at high settings on anything bigger than a 24"

Dude, these kids with small monitors and no money will not understand this. They have taken over [H]. Don't waste your breath.
 
Yeah, we kinda know that. But even among the [H] things like multimonitor and 3D are "niche". I really don't care about either, regardless of their price. There was a time when high end cards were a viable option for anyone willing to spend the money, now, as you say, they only fit into the niche markets you described of people with excessive display set ups.

When I bought my 8800GTS, I only had a 1680x1050 screen, which was pretty standard for new but cheap monitors back then and I could have easily, if I wanted to spend the money, gone for the "high end" 8800GTX and still seen an improvement in many games. These days, anyone gaming on a standard sort of screen can get away with a mid to low range card and really not be worrying about the high end at all. And FYI, I spent more on my 8800GTS than you currently pay for a 6970.

The "high end" has moved from "high end" to "niche".

LMA fuckin O....DUDE I spent $700 on my 8800 Ultra back in 07' and Crysis CRUSHED it so bad I had to get a second one! Thankfully prices had dropped to $250 when I got the second one from Tiger direct clearance in late 08'

And how bout the $450 I spent on a Radeon 9700pro back in 03' so I could play BF1942 @ 1600x1200 THATS $450 DOLLARS IN 2003 MONEY when the average price of a gallon of gas was $1.60!!!! So put inflation in there and you can figure the 9700 pro cost about six thousand dollars in todays money lol.

And just cause YOU don't have multi monitors, a 30" or a 120hz it doesnt make em niche...Please provide your proof to backup that statement!

I don't think you understand my distinction between "high end" and "high end niche". I can afford high end, I could afford 3 monitors, I could afford 3D... however I do not care about 3 monitors and I do not care about 3D, those markets are a niche I don't care to be involved in, therefore the more expensive cards are a waste to me even though I could afford them, so why would I be hyped about them?

It's not that my definition of high end doesn't include those niche markets, it does. My point is that high end doesn't benefit anyone much outside those niche markets, hence the reduced enthusiasm over new cards. It used to be that you didn't have to belong to a niche market for high end cards to show their benefit, because the games themselves were intensive on hardware, you could go buy a mainstream monitor and still benefit from a high end card.

The high end hardware has shifted to a more niche market, but that doesn't mean the high end consumer base has shifted with it, some have, many haven't. The people who were buying 8800GTXs back in the day haven't all necessarily decided to jump aboard the eyefinity/surround train.

Oh my I don't even...you do realize the world doesnt revolve around you, your opinion or your purchasing decisions right? RIGHT?? Well unless your Richard Branson....are you Richard Branson??? If your not then GO STAND IN THE CORNER!!!!
 
I love all the "We don't need new cards because games already work perfectly on my 1650x900 setup," almost as much as I love the "THE PRICE IS OUTRAGEOUS, I WONT SPEND THAT to run my 1080p setup 30% quicker!!!"

I mean isn't this the [H]ard forum? Fucks sakes id swear I logged into the {P}uss forum sometimes lol.

{P}eople the 7970 is the FLAGSHIP CARD, its not made FOR YOU. FOR YOU they have the entire 7800 & 7700 series. My God, its like your in the market to buy a Chevy Cobalt, yet you can't stop bitching about the Corvette.

If your not running multi monitors, a big 30" monitor, or a nice 120hz setup than please get in your horse drawn carriage, leave the thread and comeback when the econo models hit the market.
And the flagship card is also just a tool and computer part.
At least this is how I view everything, I'm not fanboy of any brand, or any platform and I don't put my feelings over newest hardware. What also should be understood that gaming and computing are also branches which are aging and that enthusiasm is no longer with them. Including the performance differences between each major release in CPU/GPU market. These are not 80-90s where every year you had 200% faster computers available. This is the reality, the physical barriers of semiconductors are nearly here and it is becoming standard part of our lives, just like cars, trains, TVs and so on. No one no longer feels special about them. And I think it's time to accept it because it is the way it is.
 
And the flagship card is also just a tool and computer part.
At least this is how I view everything, I'm not fanboy of any brand, or any platform and I don't put my feelings over newest hardware. What also should be understood that gaming and computing are also branches which are aging and that enthusiasm is no longer with them. Including the performance differences between each major release in CPU/GPU market. These are not 80-90s where every year you had 200% faster computers available. This is the reality, the physical barriers of semiconductors are nearly here and it is becoming standard part of our lives, just like cars, trains, TVs and so on. No one no longer feels special about them. And I think it's time to accept it because it is the way it is.

And the Corvette is just a tool as well. At the end of the Day the Vette will get you from point A to point B just like a Yugo without A/C does. BUT THATS COMMIE TALK....COMMIE TALK I SAY!!!

I dont get you {P}eople, first you say the 7970 is too powerful for you and then you say its not powerful enough of an increase in power!! WTF! I'll take 30% gains anyday...Imagine 30% more tits in your life, a 30% bigger penis, a 30% salary increase, 30% height increase, etc. etc.

Like I said before...perhaps the 7800s & 7700s are for you {P}eople...GAWD DAMN you {p}eople are lucky AMD & NVIDIA makes GPUS and not ME. If I made GPUS there would only be one model available and it would melt faces and make babies cry while carrying a MSRP of $20k.
 
And the Corvette is just a tool as well. At the end of the Day the Vette will get you from point A to point B just like a Yugo without A/C does. BUT THATS COMMIE TALK....COMMIE TALK I SAY!!!

I dont get you {P}eople, first you say the 7970 is too powerful for you and then you say its not powerful enough of an increase in power!! WTF! I'll take 30% gains anyday...Imagine 30% more tits in your life, a 30% bigger penis, a 30% salary increase, 30% height increase, etc. etc.

Like I said before...perhaps the 7800s & 7700s are for you {P}eople...GAWD DAMN you {p}eople are lucky AMD & NVIDIA makes GPUS and not ME. If I made GPUS there would only be one model available and it would melt faces and make babies cry while carrying a MSRP of $20k.

Save your breath. When people don't want to listen, they will ignore sound advice.

Kind of like how multi-monitor is niche, I guess I'm part of that niche.
 
Kind of like how multi-monitor is niche, I guess I'm part of that niche.

I think both sides are talking past each other. 1600p and multi-monitor IS niche, something like a few percentage points of the market. These cards absolutely help that market.

The other side, 1080p and below, don't really need the horsepower of new cards because the vast majority of games right now don't push the envelope.

Ok, now that both positions out there, where I get confused is why people in group 2 are somehow still saying the price and performance increase of the 7970 are too high/not enough?? Since you have enough performance, what the heck else are you looking for? What is the problem with this card that has improvements and pricing perfectly in line with prior new generations of GPUs?! Just because you have nothing to use that performance on you're mad that it doesn't use the spare cycles to generate Skittles, or something? I'm just confused, this is a beast of a card.
 
I think both sides are talking past each other. 1600p and multi-monitor IS niche, something like a few percentage points of the market. These cards absolutely help that market.

The other side, 1080p and below, don't really need the horsepower of new cards because the vast majority of games right now don't push the envelope.

Ok, now that both positions out there, where I get confused is why people in group 2 are somehow still saying the price and performance increase of the 7970 are too high/not enough?? Since you have enough performance, what the heck else are you looking for? What is the problem with this card that has improvements and pricing perfectly in line with prior new generations of GPUs?! Just because you have nothing to use that performance on you're mad that it doesn't use the spare cycles to generate Skittles, or something? I'm just confused, this is a beast of a card.

Yes, exactly this ^^^ whats blowing my mind is in the same breath people are saying the 7970 is too powerful because they already have cards that run their piddly 1080p just fine and then they immediately followup with "the 7970s 30% performance upgrade is not enough!"

WTF!! Mind = Blown
Blown mind is blown
 
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And the flagship card is also just a tool and computer part.
At least this is how I view everything, I'm not fanboy of any brand, or any platform and I don't put my feelings over newest hardware. What also should be understood that gaming and computing are also branches which are aging and that enthusiasm is no longer with them. Including the performance differences between each major release in CPU/GPU market. These are not 80-90s where every year you had 200% faster computers available. This is the reality, the physical barriers of semiconductors are nearly here and it is becoming standard part of our lives, just like cars, trains, TVs and so on. No one no longer feels special about them. And I think it's time to accept it because it is the way it is.
I agree with this, and I'm somewhat relieved by it. I always chased the latest hardware not because I really enjoyed it, but because I felt I had to have the latest and greatest. It was more of a compulsion than a hobby. Now I can coast a lot longer on a new build before I really feel the need to do it again.
 
My older brother used to build gaming rigs for fun about 10 years ago but stopped when console gaming started to make good improvements. My older brother thinks gaming rigs are ridiculously over priced compared to modern gaming consoles in terms of gaming performance and value.


I like gaming on my RIG but it's not cheap. It's a luxury hobby.

truth spoken, you will be unpopular if you keep saying that here ;)

So is console gaming. :)

console gaming is a luxury but it's not expensive....not anything comparable to pc gaming cost

OP,

I have also noticed it and I myself got out of pc gaming recently. It just got too time consuming, too expensive, too much all for what, some nicer graphics, a few mods? Not enough return on the investment when all you want to do is mash your ass to the couch, pick up a wireless controller and be in the game in under a minute and just as quickly be done on to real life. You know, for those of us who don't have disposable hours of time to devote to video gaming hardware, software, patches, updates, bugs, drivers, OS issues, etc.....

Today's console is more than adequate. I know there are better graphics out there. I simply could care less.

I think what you may be experiencing is this phenomenon I call, growing up. As you get older and take on more responsibilities like wife, kids, college, mortgage, etc.....you have less time for video games. You lose that appreciation you used to have for getting 10% more performance from todays hottest video card. It no longer means anything to the people you are around daily if you get 90fps or 60fps in your video games. You become less and less comfortable talking with co-workers about that glorious headshot you got in a video game over the weekend and spend more time thinking about how you got head at all over the weekend. Suddenly you are an asshole for sitting in the office room or in the corner at a pc desk playing video games. But if you are sitting in the living room and every now and then you pick up a 360 controller and get in an hour of casual gaming on the big screen with surround sound, it's not as big a deal. When friends are over, you can toss them a 360 controller and start up a game of madden or rock band or other game...and it's completely socially acceptable, encouraged even. Try doing that with a pc......
 
I think what you may be experiencing is this phenomenon I call, growing up. As you get older and take on more responsibilities like wife, kids, college, mortgage, etc.....you have less time for video games. You lose that appreciation you used to have for getting 10% more performance from todays hottest video card. It no longer means anything to the people you are around daily if you get 90fps or 60fps in your video games. You become less and less comfortable talking with co-workers about that glorious headshot you got in a video game over the weekend and spend more time thinking about how you got head at all over the weekend. Suddenly you are an asshole for sitting in the office room or in the corner at a pc desk playing video games. But if you are sitting in the living room and every now and then you pick up a 360 controller and get in an hour of casual gaming on the big screen with surround sound, it's not as big a deal. When friends are over, you can toss them a 360 controller and start up a game of madden or rock band or other game...and it's completely socially acceptable, encouraged even. Try doing that with a pc......

This is what we call allowing society to define and make inappropriate an otherwise harmless and appropriate hobby.This is [H]. Several people here have computer systems that cost more than many people's first automobiles. And you can be damn sure that many of the people here have serious, stressful professions such as engineering, legal-related, etc that financially allow them to partake in this hobby. These people also have families and real-life commitments. Do you really think that an attorney, who often works 60 hours a week and who *gasp* still plays computer games brags about his killstreaks to other partners at the office or to clients? No. There is something called self-control.

Being able to indulge in this computer hobby and afford nice components: (a) does not require that you talk about it 24/7, (b) does not mean that you will not find a significant other who will respect your hobbies, (c) does not mean that you will be unable to live up to your real life responsibilities, and (d) does not mean that you will be the outcast of your workspace or other social settings. These are just feeble-minded reasons that people come up with to justify the fact that they've lost interest in a challenging, expensive, and ever-changing hobby. It would be better to just say that over the years you've lost interest in computers/hardware/etc. rather than bragging about how much "head you get" because honestly outside of the 19-year-old frat-boy demographic, not too many people care about that.

Sorry to rant, but I just get the feeling that the world is getting dumber, lazier, and generally more apathetic towards anything remotely resembling a challenge. Sure, on the PC at the moment it is very difficult to replicate the console's "plug-and-play with 4 buddies around the plasma TV" setup so consoles fill a very necessary void there, but these other justifications just reek of insecurity and fear of being labeled a "kid" or a "nerd." Who cares. Most of us are not high school anymore, can think for ourselves, and do not mind if the secretary at the office tells us to grow up because we like to play flight sims a few hours a week on our expensive computers.
 
I didn't even bother reading reviews for the 7970. In the past, I always studied the reviews of new high-end offerings.

New GPUs just seem rather pointless. I can already play most games at 1080p with settings maxed out. Gotta wait until the next-gen consoles so that the game companies will raise the hardware bar.
 
I didn't even bother reading reviews for the 7970. In the past, I always studied the reviews of new high-end offerings.

New GPUs just seem rather pointless. I can already play most games at 1080p with settings maxed out. Gotta wait until the next-gen consoles so that the game companies will raise the hardware bar.

they're not for you - they're for people that are [H]
so don't say they're "pointless"
they're very pointy
 
I dunno, maybe I'm just misremembering in my old age, but being "[H]" didn't used to be just about spending [$], or always having the flagship models in the UPS truck on release day, it was also, if not more so, about getting the most out of whatever it was you had to work with, by any means necessary. :D Not that it hasn't been even more expensive in the past than it is today, because it most certainly has, but a few short years ago, the benefits of spending that cash and pushing that OC were actually useful and readily apparent to anyone with eyes and a monitor.

I guess my [H] card has expired, if I ever even truly held one, as nowadays I just don't see the point, not because I don't understand the hardware lust side of things, but because the software just isn't there (speaking as a gamer only). I've had an 1155 combo in my newegg cart a few times in the past month or so, and I keep deciding against it, because while the performance bump would be undeniable, the usefulness of said increase, to me, just isn't worth the trouble. Yet.

I even split my 6950 CFX pair today, as one is plenty for me at 19x12, and without the aforementioned SB upgrade to take advantage of it, 6950 CFX is a 6950 too many.

I HOPE that the next gen consoles can make being a half-assed enthusiast/gamer like myself fun again. I want to build a new rig right the fuck now, but (and maybe due to my grey-bearded senility) nowadays I actually need a reason to do it. Upgrading for the sake of upgrading just isn't what it's about for me, but to each their own.
 
This is what we call allowing society to define and make inappropriate an otherwise harmless and appropriate hobby.This is [H]. Several people here have computer systems that cost more than many people's first automobiles. And you can be damn sure that many of the people here have serious, stressful professions such as engineering, legal-related, etc that financially allow them to partake in this hobby. These people also have families and real-life commitments. Do you really think that an attorney, who often works 60 hours a week and who *gasp* still plays computer games brags about his killstreaks to other partners at the office or to clients? No. There is something called self-control.

Being able to indulge in this computer hobby and afford nice components: (a) does not require that you talk about it 24/7, (b) does not mean that you will not find a significant other who will respect your hobbies, (c) does not mean that you will be unable to live up to your real life responsibilities, and (d) does not mean that you will be the outcast of your workspace or other social settings. These are just feeble-minded reasons that people come up with to justify the fact that they've lost interest in a challenging, expensive, and ever-changing hobby. It would be better to just say that over the years you've lost interest in computers/hardware/etc. rather than bragging about how much "head you get" because honestly outside of the 19-year-old frat-boy demographic, not too many people care about that.

Sorry to rant, but I just get the feeling that the world is getting dumber, lazier, and generally more apathetic towards anything remotely resembling a challenge. Sure, on the PC at the moment it is very difficult to replicate the console's "plug-and-play with 4 buddies around the plasma TV" setup so consoles fill a very necessary void there, but these other justifications just reek of insecurity and fear of being labeled a "kid" or a "nerd." Who cares. Most of us are not high school anymore, can think for ourselves, and do not mind if the secretary at the office tells us to grow up because we like to play flight sims a few hours a week on our expensive computers.

Well said syncore. Very well said.
 
I dunno, maybe I'm just misremembering in my old age, but being "[H]" didn't used to be just about spending [$], or always having the flagship models in the UPS truck on release day, it was also, if not more so, about getting the most out of whatever it was you had to work with, by any means necessary. :D Not that it hasn't been even more expensive in the past than it is today, because it most certainly has, but a few short years ago, the benefits of spending that cash and pushing that OC were actually useful and readily apparent to anyone with eyes and a monitor.

I guess my [H] card has expired, if I ever even truly held one, as nowadays I just don't see the point, not because I don't understand the hardware lust side of things, but because the software just isn't there (speaking as a gamer only). I've had an 1155 combo in my newegg cart a few times in the past month or so, and I keep deciding against it, because while the performance bump would be undeniable, the usefulness of said increase, to me, just isn't worth the trouble. Yet.

I even split my 6950 CFX pair today, as one is plenty for me at 19x12, and without the aforementioned SB upgrade to take advantage of it, 6950 CFX is a 6950 too many.

I HOPE that the next gen consoles can make being a half-assed enthusiast/gamer like myself fun again. I want to build a new rig right the fuck now, but (and maybe due to my grey-bearded senility) nowadays I actually need a reason to do it. Upgrading for the sake of upgrading just isn't what it's about for me, but to each their own.

OMG its BIZARRO VEGA!!!
 
This is what we call allowing society to define and make inappropriate an otherwise harmless and appropriate hobby.This is [H]. Several people here have computer systems that cost more than many people's first automobiles. And you can be damn sure that many of the people here have serious, stressful professions such as engineering, legal-related, etc that financially allow them to partake in this hobby. These people also have families and real-life commitments. Do you really think that an attorney, who often works 60 hours a week and who *gasp* still plays computer games brags about his killstreaks to other partners at the office or to clients? No. There is something called self-control.

Being able to indulge in this computer hobby and afford nice components: (a) does not require that you talk about it 24/7, (b) does not mean that you will not find a significant other who will respect your hobbies, (c) does not mean that you will be unable to live up to your real life responsibilities, and (d) does not mean that you will be the outcast of your workspace or other social settings. These are just feeble-minded reasons that people come up with to justify the fact that they've lost interest in a challenging, expensive, and ever-changing hobby. It would be better to just say that over the years you've lost interest in computers/hardware/etc. rather than bragging about how much "head you get" because honestly outside of the 19-year-old frat-boy demographic, not too many people care about that.

Sorry to rant, but I just get the feeling that the world is getting dumber, lazier, and generally more apathetic towards anything remotely resembling a challenge. Sure, on the PC at the moment it is very difficult to replicate the console's "plug-and-play with 4 buddies around the plasma TV" setup so consoles fill a very necessary void there, but these other justifications just reek of insecurity and fear of being labeled a "kid" or a "nerd." Who cares. Most of us are not high school anymore, can think for ourselves, and do not mind if the secretary at the office tells us to grow up because we like to play flight sims a few hours a week on our expensive computers.

/applause
 
And how bout the $450 I spent on a Radeon 9700pro back in 03' so I could play BF1942 @ 1600x1200 THATS $450 DOLLARS IN 2003 MONEY when the average price of a gallon of gas was $1.60!!!! So put inflation in there and you can figure the 9700 pro cost about six thousand dollars in todays money lol.

Setting aside the fact that you sound like a complete fucking moron with your exclamation points, multiple periods, capital letters, etc. Something cost $450 in 2003 would cost $531.99 in 2010. The latest data available is 2010.

The only way it'd cost even anywhere near to $6k today is if you bought it in 1800 and I don't think they had the kind of computers we do today in 1800.


/rant
 
This reminds me of an argument I had on another forum a few years ago about the diff between a pc gamer and someone that just plays games on their computers. A PC gamer is going to demand the best out of his hardware for a whole plethora of reasons.

The other half doesn't care about maxing the game out as long as they can play it. They are perfectly happy playing the game at 1680x1050, or 1366x768 or some other ridiculously low resolution. I would even consider a single monitor at 1920x1080 a low to mid range setup. Anyone that has built / setup a real gaming rig knows there is a god damn FUCKING HUGE diff between 1920x1080 and 5760x1200 and even 580's in SLI struggle at times with those resolutions, even in games that are not/should not be really taxing. *Cough* Rift *Cough* lol

Multi monitor is here, and ignoring it or dismissing it as a "niche" is ridiculous. It's not going away and it's getting more prevalent. Depending on who you listen to, around 40% of "gaming" pc's are multi monitor now and who can blame them when you can get a 24" 1920x1200 monitor for $200? Honestly I find the people that are mostly against multi monitor has never worked with a decent multi monitor setup. I am a firm believer that once you go multi monitor, you will never CAN never go back.
 
LMA fuckin O....DUDE I spent $700 on my 8800 Ultra back in 07' and Crysis CRUSHED it so bad I had to get a second one! Thankfully prices had dropped to $250 when I got the second one from Tiger direct clearance in late 08'

And how bout the $450 I spent on a Radeon 9700pro back in 03' so I could play BF1942 @ 1600x1200 THATS $450 DOLLARS IN 2003 MONEY when the average price of a gallon of gas was $1.60!!!! So put inflation in there and you can figure the 9700 pro cost about six thousand dollars in todays money lol.

So, except for the moronic inflation claim... you're agreeing with me? Cool, thanks :p

And just cause YOU don't have multi monitors, a 30" or a 120hz it doesnt make em niche...Please provide your proof to backup that statement!
Hey, maybe its not, I can't find any numbers for it anywhere, it doesn't even register on Steam hardware survey. Maybe you can find some proof that it is popular? :p The fact that many games still don't bother supporting it out of the box tells me games devs themselves don't care too much about it.

The reason I think it's niche is because just because you are a high end user doesn't mean you'd make the step to eyefinity or 3D or extremely large monitors. Not everyone wants them regardless of price, based on previous forum discussions I'm not the only one who feels that way.

Used to be that even if you owned a pretty stock standard display set up, a high end card would be beneficial... its really not anymore.
Oh my I don't even...you do realize the world doesnt revolve around you, your opinion or your purchasing decisions right? RIGHT?? Well unless your Richard Branson....are you Richard Branson??? If your not then GO STAND IN THE CORNER!!!!

YOU DO REALISE that talking like THIS!!?! Makes you SOUND LIKE a TOTAL douche???? EVEN if you're just doing it to be SARCASTIC, IT REALLY DOESN'T help with the PERCEPTION of your level of INTELLIGENCE.

I guess not. ;)
 
but these high end cards are necessary to run quite a few games at high settings on anything bigger than a 24"

Yeah, which games? I can think of maybe 2 or 3.

But either way, 24" is pretty much the standard display resolution, used to be that even at the standard display resolutions a high end card would give a noticable performance gain for a handful of games.

People are asking why video card enthusiasm has gone down, I'm just giving some reasons, people are acting like I'm attacking their uber high resolution way of life or something :p

Used to be that you'd play a game and think "wow, I could use a better card", these days its more you read a review and think "wow, I want a new card" then play a game and think "wait, why did I want a new card again, this one works fine?" :p
 
I think most of ya'll on here don't need to be bitching about vid cards, but instead bitching at panel makers for not coming out with a 1600p 120hz 24" panels.

Personally I'm still waiting on a 1600P display at more than 30".

My PC is also my TV so I need something at least 40".
 
Yeah, which games? I can think of maybe 2 or 3.

But either way, 24" is pretty much the standard display resolution, used to be that even at the standard display resolutions a high end card would give a noticable performance gain for a handful of games.

People are asking why video card enthusiasm has gone down, I'm just giving some reasons, people are acting like I'm attacking their uber high resolution way of life or something :p

Used to be that you'd play a game and think "wow, I could use a better card", these days its more you read a review and think "wow, I want a new card" then play a game and think "wait, why did I want a new card again, this one works fine?" :p

24", is NOT a resolution.; it's a size.
 
Once they start making (normal) TV's in resolutions over 1080p we'll chat. Once you go over 55" with home theater surround sound, there's no going back to 30" irregardless of the higher resolution. Espeically not with monitor bezels or a cockpit setup.
Besides, If I can't run the Witcher 2 with all of the details up at 60FPS/Vsync and Ubersampling in 1080p, Eyefinity sure as hell isn't going to be able to do it at double that.
As usual, it comes down to the gap in PC games. We can max out 95% of games, but there's a 5% sitting on the margins that NOBODY can, even if you've spent 3X as much and have 20 monitors and video cards hooked up...hence the issue. I'm holding my excitement for a card that'll kick the Witcher 2's ass totally maxed out, and that card isn't on sale yet. I can't justify buying a new card that will perform the same as my current one with the normal 95% of games and still won't handle the other 5% well enough either.
 
I didn't even bother reading reviews for the 7970. In the past, I always studied the reviews of new high-end offerings.

New GPUs just seem rather pointless. I can already play most games at 1080p with settings maxed out. Gotta wait until the next-gen consoles so that the game companies will raise the hardware bar.

This. I've got a cheap 5770 displaying @ 1920x1200 and most games can be maxed out. Unless you have an Eyefinity setup or are running a handful of recent PC optimized games (all of them FPSes) any GPU over $150 is probably going to waste. All my GPUs since my AiW 9800 Pro seem to die after several years. Everytime I've gone out and replaced an original $400+ card with some sub $200 card and been just as happy. Starting with the 5770 I'm just sticking with modest GPUs.
 
I remember people getting plenty excited over the 6950 when they found out you can mod it, myself included. People tend to get excited over thing like new DX paths, game changing huge jumps in performance or extreme bang for the buck releases. So I'd say the hype is there, it just wasn't as pronounced with the 7900 cards. Also, given that this card follows the 6900's only one year later and the relative performance to the competition, the whole release feels more like a refresh than a new generation. Refreshes generally garner less excitement and many people, again such as myself, aren't chomping at the bit to spend $450 to $550 upgrade my modded 6950 when I originally spent $280 for a year ago (again bang for buck). If the 7950's are released and can be flashed close to 7970's there will be some excitement there, but until $300 buys me another near-top-tier then I'm going to continue being the same, stingy enthusiast I've always been.
 
...but until $300 buys me another near-top-tier then I'm going to continue being the same, stingy enthusiast I've always been.

One of the interesting things about this thread is how it's been kinda twisted into a discussion about how if you hold to an opinion like that which I quoted, then you are decidedly not [H], therefore your opinion is invalid, and you shouldn't be worried about or even have an opinion about what goes on in the upper echelons.

It's almost like a BF3 KDR thread.

Speaking for myself, I'm absolutely not trying to take anything away from those that have invested serious time and money into a hobby they obviously enjoy, and that will continue to do so regardless of utility. I've seen the rigs that some in this thread have shared with us, and they are of course very impressive, and I am grateful to them for sharing with us what they have done.

My only point is, if we are to limit [H] to only those willing to go to such extremes with no other considerations such as price vs utility, to the exclusion of all of us that aren't seeing the point in making such investments to play games that 90% of are developed to run on 6 year old hardware, well, there will only be like 8 members left.

Is that what you're saying l88 ?
 
This is what we call allowing society to define and make inappropriate an otherwise harmless and appropriate hobby.This is [H]. Several people here have computer systems that cost more than many people's first automobiles. And you can be damn sure that many of the people here have serious, stressful professions such as engineering, legal-related, etc that financially allow them to partake in this hobby. These people also have families and real-life commitments. Do you really think that an attorney, who often works 60 hours a week and who *gasp* still plays computer games brags about his killstreaks to other partners at the office or to clients? No. There is something called self-control.

Being able to indulge in this computer hobby and afford nice components: (a) does not require that you talk about it 24/7, (b) does not mean that you will not find a significant other who will respect your hobbies, (c) does not mean that you will be unable to live up to your real life responsibilities, and (d) does not mean that you will be the outcast of your workspace or other social settings. These are just feeble-minded reasons that people come up with to justify the fact that they've lost interest in a challenging, expensive, and ever-changing hobby. It would be better to just say that over the years you've lost interest in computers/hardware/etc. rather than bragging about how much "head you get" because honestly outside of the 19-year-old frat-boy demographic, not too many people care about that.

Sorry to rant, but I just get the feeling that the world is getting dumber, lazier, and generally more apathetic towards anything remotely resembling a challenge. Sure, on the PC at the moment it is very difficult to replicate the console's "plug-and-play with 4 buddies around the plasma TV" setup so consoles fill a very necessary void there, but these other justifications just reek of insecurity and fear of being labeled a "kid" or a "nerd." Who cares. Most of us are not high school anymore, can think for ourselves, and do not mind if the secretary at the office tells us to grow up because we like to play flight sims a few hours a week on our expensive computers.

You don't have time to play video games when you get all the responsibilities of married with kids life. That, or you don't spend enough time with the wife and kids. There's a lot of grown people even on these forums who I am sure fall into this category and they will get all pissy and nerd rage when they read this, because it's not something they want to admit or come to terms with.

Besides all that even if I wanted to I simply could not be bothered with maintaining a pc to get less than I get from a small console purchase. I will give up everything a pc does better in exchange for what the console does better and will keep the wife and kids happy in the process.

Call me weak, old, boring, complacent, apathetic, I don't care. I'm grown. Playing pc games was a blast when I was younger and had time for it. Then I grew up. I still love to play a few games here and there and the hardware still interested me but no more than todays latest super phone or other neat gadget. It's possible to enjoy the technology without creating a hobby out of it. I read the latest hardware and game reviews still. Only because it interests me and I want to stay current with all aspects of technology.
 
Setting aside the fact that you sound like a complete fucking moron with your exclamation points, multiple periods, capital letters, etc. Something cost $450 in 2003 would cost $531.99 in 2010. The latest data available is 2010.

The only way it'd cost even anywhere near to $6k today is if you bought it in 1800 and I don't think they had the kind of computers we do today in 1800.


/rant

LOL oh NOOOEESSS!!!!!!! Itz InTERnetZ Tuuuuuuuffffffff GUi T1m3!!!!!!!!!!.........!!!!!!......

Wow buddy, the six thousand dollar cost of inflation was sarcasm...now please go back to your miserable existance and make sure the fries are extra crispy and you get those happy meal orders correct....I would hate for you to get in trouble with your teenage supervisor, miss out on your 25 cent raise and not be able to afford that "adequate"pentium 90 youVE gOt yOuR EYEz on!!!!!.....!!!!
 
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LOL oh NOOOEESSS!!!!!!! Itz InTERnetZ Tuuuuuuuffffffff GUi T1m3!!!!!!!!!!.........!!!!!!......

Wow buddy, the six thousand dollar cost of inflation was sarcasm...now please go back to your miserable existance and make sure the fries are extra crispy and you get those happy meal orders correct....I would hate for you to miss out on your 25 cent raise and not be able to afford that "adequate"pentium 90 youVE gOt yOuR EYEz on!!!!!.....!!!!

The funniest thing about this post, is that you've come back to edit it 5 times over 20 minutes.
 
You don't have time to play video games when you get all the responsibilities of married with kids life. That, or you don't spend enough time with the wife and kids. There's a lot of grown people even on these forums who I am sure fall into this category and they will get all pissy and nerd rage when they read this, because it's not something they want to admit or come to terms with.

Besides all that even if I wanted to I simply could not be bothered with maintaining a pc to get less than I get from a small console purchase. I will give up everything a pc does better in exchange for what the console does better and will keep the wife and kids happy in the process.

Call me weak, old, boring, complacent, apathetic, I don't care. I'm grown. Playing pc games was a blast when I was younger and had time for it. Then I grew up. I still love to play a few games here and there and the hardware still interested me but no more than todays latest super phone or other neat gadget. It's possible to enjoy the technology without creating a hobby out of it. I read the latest hardware and game reviews still. Only because it interests me and I want to stay current with all aspects of technology.

Man nobodys knocking you for having a life and kids, but don't use them as an excuse for not having a high end rig or having the time to relax and "play games." Plenty of married folks find the time to read books, watch tv and go to movies while raising a family, so if they can find the time to do those activities then why can't you find the time to play some games?

My wife has no problem with me getting a few hours of gaming in each day, but then again shes a smart woman that realizes it keeps me home where she can see me and not out at a bar wasting money or out somewhere else doing something much worse.
 
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