Buy 5850 Now Or Wait?

[TangledThorns]

I'm in the market to upgrade my 4850 but from reading the forum new cards look to be coming out soon. Should I wait before buying a 5850?

 

[Sikkyu]

I'm in the market to upgrade my 4850 but from reading the forum new cards look to be coming out soon. Should I wait before buying a 5850?

wait till the first week in march to hear if nvidia has anything. if they do ATI may drop prices a tad... its also about 6 months from launch and might be some march madness deals.

 

[-=Antimatter=-]

We don't have specs for Fermi, or a tentative release date. All we know is that it might be out before spring is over. Spring hasn't even started yet. The 5850 is the best deal around under $300 right now. Go for it.

 

[WiLLiSTER]

March isn't that far off. Give things a little more time and maybe save yourself some money. It's not like the 5850 will jump up in price again.

 

[catmug]

Buy now? I was in the same position about a month ago. I don't regret buying it one bit...fantastic card, not too expensive, and if you aren't going to pay more for fermi anyway...just get it. My 2 cents.

 

[Elmy]

Buy a 5850 . Use Bing Cash Back to save yourself a few dollars .

 

[feedtheducks]

I would recommend waiting. there is always new tech around the corner. i have been waiting for the next new tech for 5 years. when something new comes out, they announce the next new product right afterwards, and its an endless circle that keeps u waiting forever, forever, and ever. (im crying)

 

[catmug]

i have been waiting for the next new tech for 5 years.

That is some intense impulse control there. I think we could all learn something.

 

[l00segravel]

I want that same card and I am going to wait till March in hopes of a price drop.

 

[Elmy]

Why wait to save 20 - 50 bucks ? are you that cash strapped ? Buy it now and enjoy.... If something better comes out and you want it. Sell your 5850 and buy the next card. Really the ppl that are telling themselves to wait to see what else comes out are missing out on a really good thing right now with ATI's offerings.

Seriously why wait when you can have Eyefinity gaming bliss like this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlRPfeDyFKU

 

[Kumo]

I was in a similar situation about a month ago, trying to decide between a GTX275 and a 5850. I went with the 5850, and couldn't have been happier. The card runs everything I can throw at it, overclocks easily, and doesn't break the bank. What's not to like?

 

[friend'scatdied]

The 5850 is a good card. What resolution are you at and how desperate are you for an upgrade?

 

[TangledThorns]

The 5850 is a good card. What resolution are you at and how desperate are you for an upgrade?

My resolution is 1680x1050 and my CPU is a Intel E7200. I was thinking of upgrading to quad 9400 or higher.

As for desperation I want to play the new AVP with everything turned on. I may just wait till March and see what comes out. Especially as I'm using a Shuttle XPC and would prefer a single slot card.

 

[friend'scatdied]

My resolution is 1680x1050 and my CPU is a Intel E7200. I was thinking of upgrading to quad 9400 or higher.

As for desperation I want to play the new AVP with everything turned on. I may just wait till March and see what comes out. Especially as I'm using a Shuttle XPC and would prefer a single slot card.

The 5850 is a really good card for a Shuttle (I have one as well) because it's well within the operating capabilities of the PSU.

I seriously doubt there will be cards more powerful than the 4850 in a single-slot form factor for a while. The trend is for more performance, but additional heat. Even less powerful cards like the 4770 use dual-slot coolers. You might have to wait a while for what you're looking for.

The 4850 should hold you over at 1680*1050 until Fermi is released to gauge your possible options there. Once you do upgrade, the enhancement in visuals will be all the sweeter.

I doubt Fermi will offer a card with the performance-per-watt of the 5850, but at least we'll hopefully see price cuts.

 

[vick1000]

I'm waiting for that first big price drop, considering they are actually selling for MORE than the MSRP, I might be waiting a while. I'm really waiting for sub $250 prices.

 

[kledar586]

gonna wait a bit longer and you gotta give ATI loads of time to improve their drivers anyway, always seems have drivers issues with my previous cards.

 

[Darksword]

Might as well wait a bit more at least until Fermi comes out. Personally, I don't like paying above MSRP for video cards, especially ones that have been out for MONTHS.

 

[dccmadams]

Hmmmm $300 5850 now, or $600 fermi this summer.....hmmmmm, no driver problems here. I fold with nvidia, game with ati. Best of both worlds!

 

[the.ronin]

I was in a similar situation about a month ago, trying to decide between a GTX275 and a 5850. I went with the 5850, and couldn't have been happier. The card runs everything I can throw at it, overclocks easily, and doesn't break the bank. What's not to like?

Was in the same position a couple weeks ago and went with the BFG GTX 275 OC. Coming from an HD 4670, it was like night and day. But then Micro Center got a couple XFX 5850 BE’s in stock so I exchanegd the 275 for the 5850. Now I keep getting killed in Crysis getting distracted by little animals and swaying trees.

My resolution is 1680x1050 and my CPU is a Intel E7200. I was thinking of upgrading to quad 9400 or higher.

As for desperation I want to play the new AVP with everything turned on. I may just wait till March and see what comes out. Especially as I'm using a Shuttle XPC and would prefer a single slot card.

Same resolution here but with an i7 920 stock. Still, I’m able to play everything maxed out with no issues. Haven’t checked FPS but do plan on doing so before I OC.

 

[Hamish Campbell]

Buy now if you want one. Waiting a month for a $20 price drop is just cheating yourself out of a month of gaming time. Don't wait for fermi cards, you're going to be waiting a long time.