Worth waiting?

MrPatate

Gawd
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Jan 4, 2007
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I'm currently using the onboard graphics of my i5-4590. I want to buy the Asus Strix 970 GTX, but it's mainly for Fallout 4 (coming out in november). Do you guys know if there'll be newer/better GPUs for the same price schedule to launch till then or maybe big price drops or there's no need to wait till november to buy it(less than a 20$ price drops isn't worth waiting IMO).

Also, about that specific model, I'll be playing at 1080p and I keep my parts a long time (5+ years) will this card be able to handle 1080p at MAX for a while or in 2+years I'll probably forced to play at "medium" in newer games?
 
but if the 970 isn't even able to max out for today gaming... if you are planning to keep a card such long you have to at least with a GTX 980.. being my recommendation go straight with a 980TI if you can afford it. as probably with a card like the 980 will be obsolete in 2 years.
 
Pascal is already close enough if Nvidia were planning a Maxwell refresh we would have heard about it by now, or maybe very soon. It would be hard to squeeze a new set of Maxwell cards into ~Q4 2015 and then launch a full range of Pascal cards sometime in 2016. Refreshes aren't worth waiting for, anyway.

Also for the love of god, don't buy ASUS products and don't buy a Strix. If you really want to support asian economies, buy the MSI Twin frozr or Gigabyte G1.
 
Pascal is already close enough if Nvidia were planning a Maxwell refresh we would have heard about it by now, or maybe very soon. It would be hard to squeeze a new set of Maxwell cards into ~Q4 2015 and then launch a full range of Pascal cards sometime in 2016. Refreshes aren't worth waiting for, anyway.

Also for the love of god, don't buy ASUS products and don't buy a Strix. If you really want to support asian economies, buy the MSI Twin frozr or Gigabyte G1.
I don't know about Pascal, will they be available Q1 of 2016, if so I might wait (2-3 months ain't bad).

I've had only good experience with Asus, MSI and Gigabyte on the other hand is 50/50. Why not Asus?
 
Rumors appear around 6 months in advance. Even if it's just a "there's something in the pipeline", especially from Nvidia. We knew about the "GTX 880" in Feb~March of last year.

In fact the last thing we heard was that Big Pascal (not consumer grade?) taped out a month ago. Q1 would be way too soon.
 
but if the 970 isn't even able to max out for today gaming... if you are planning to keep a card such long you have to at least with a GTX 980.. being my recommendation go straight with a 980TI if you can afford it. as probably with a card like the 980 will be obsolete in 2 years.

A friend of mine has a 970 and plays everything at ultra high 60fps at 1080p (latest Batman and other recent titles I don't remember).

980 obsolete in 2 years? At 1080p? That's seems very unlikely. I won't go to higher resolution than 1080p and don't see the difference between 40 and 60fps. 980 are minimum 200$ more than 970, not even looking at 980TI. Budget won't allow it.
 
Rumors appear around 6 months in advance. Even if it's just a "there's something in the pipeline", especially from Nvidia. We knew about the "GTX 880" in Feb~March of last year.

In fact the last thing we heard was that Big Pascal (not consumer grade?) taped out a month ago. Q1 would be way too soon.
Thanks, so I won't wait for the next gen.
 
Oh also, if I'm wrong, don't give me shit about it. :cool:
It's all speculation. Nvidia could launch a Maxwell refresh tomorrow for all we know.
Don't worry ;)
Like Axarie, do you think the 970 isn't even up for the job right now and won't last like I though it would?
 
At 1080 you would be fine with a 970. The 980/980Ti are if you run a 1440p or 1600p monitor. The only real exception is if you are running a 144hz monitor, then you might want a 980/980Ti so you can drive the frame rate higher. To me the general rule is from 1920x1200 or lower a 970 will be fine, but if you go 2560x1440/1600 then you will most definitely want a 980Ti now. When I had a 970, for most games it was enough for 1600p with a bit of tweaking, but it always felt like to was struggling a bit. The 980Ti on the other hand is the perfect card for 1600p now IMHO.

As far as pascal goes, I don't expect it till Fall of 2016 at the earliest. Even then I'd probably wait till a Ti version came out so around spring 2017 realistically for me. If it can handle 4K at 60hz with a single card maxing everything out at the time, then I'll grab one and a new 4K monitor. :)
 
I'm not dead set on the Asus Strix 970GTX. More the price range.
From what I see AMD hasn't good cards right now (correct me if I'm wrong, don't know much about GPUs). I usualy like EVGA's products as well. Suggestion?
 
I'm not dead set on the Asus Strix 970GTX. More the price range.
From what I see AMD hasn't good cards right now (correct me if I'm wrong, don't know much about GPUs). I usualy like EVGA's products as well. Suggestion?
Sales pop up every now and then, GTX 970 is regularly $290-$300 so I wouldn't spend more than that unless you have a specific card in mind. The last EVGA sale I saw was $290 @ Jet.com.

Right now the MSI LE model is $299 @ Newegg.
I would avoid the ASUS card as much as possible since there's really nothing special about it in particular and ASUS sucks.
 
At 1080 you would be fine with a 970. The 980/980Ti are if you run a 1440p or 1600p monitor. The only real exception is if you are running a 144hz monitor, then you might want a 980/980Ti so you can drive the frame rate higher. To me the general rule is from 1920x1200 or lower a 970 will be fine, but if you go 2560x1440/1600 then you will most definitely want a 980Ti now. When I had a 970, for most games it was enough for 1600p with a bit of tweaking, but it always felt like to was struggling a bit. The 980Ti on the other hand is the perfect card for 1600p now IMHO.

As far as pascal goes, I don't expect it till Fall of 2016 at the earliest. Even then I'd probably wait till a Ti version came out so around spring 2017 realistically for me. If it can handle 4K at 60hz with a single card maxing everything out at the time, then I'll grab one and a new 4K monitor. :)
Thanks you are reassuring, from my research I also found 1200p and less the 970 was fine. Will it last a while or after 2 years I'll struggle even at medium?
 
Honestly the 970 is the best value card we've seen in a long time, comparable to the 8800 GTX in its hay day. If you're in the market it's a no brainer unless you want to deal with AMD and the 390.

It's even more enticing when you consider there doesn't seem to be anything else coming up to replace it anytime soon. If you have no GPU at all right now, then I wouldn't hesitate to buy a 970. There's no reason to sit on your iGPU for a year.
 
Looks like the best you will get right now is a game bundle. You could always check EVGA's B stock for a refurb card. 970 seems to have a vice grip on the mid range right now.
 
Will it last a while or after 2 years I'll struggle even at medium?
That's a tough call, it's dependent on the game devs, but I would guess for 2 years you'd be fine at medium settings for that time for certain. The only time you'd really have to worry is after the 970 equivalent of the pascal chip comes out at the earliest.
 
Honestly the 970 is the best value card we've seen in a long time, comparable to the 8800 GT.

FTFY

The 8800 GTX was terrible value. The card launched at $629, and was demolished 11 months later by the 8800 GT at $250!

http://www.anandtech.com/show/2365/9

But I agree the 970 is the 8800 GT of it's generation. Only difference this time: you don't have to wait 11 months for it to be released :D
 
If you're ready to drop $300 on a 970 today, then keep saving money so you can afford a 980 or 980Ti in November when you purchase FO4.
 
If the game doesn't come out until November you might as well just wait for Black Friday sales on video cards.
 
If the game doesn't come out until November you might as well just wait for Black Friday sales on video cards.

I think this is your best advice. Never buy a card for one game, especially months before that game is out. Anything you buy now will be cheaper or at worst the same price. Manufacturers and distributors know when to move volume and that is when the competition for your money gets serious and those same dollars go farther.

After lots of poor decisions I no longer buy in the spring when I am about to use my gear less and I plan my purchases for video cards out for months so I can watch the market and know what I want and what a good deal is compared to a flashy sale.

Luck to You.
 
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