DX9 Card now or wait?

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MrIncognito

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I am about to do a complete rebuild on my gaming rig, and I was curious as to whether I should buy a 512mb 7800 GTX or should I buy a cheaper 6800 card and wait for DirectX10 compliant cards to come out? What kind if any performance difference would having a DX10 card with DX10 games vs. a DX9 card? Would it just be a few frames and very small setting differences, or would it be a double digit frame difference and all sorts of different graphics settings? I do plan on eventually doing SLi, I just don't want to spend all that money now, so it will just be a single card setup most likely.
 
I would actually get a 7800gtx right now. You can often find them on the fs/ft for around or below 400.00. It can handle anything now and when you go SLI later, it will still be a very competitive option. Of course I think you can get a 7800gt right now for under 300.00, which would also be a heck of deal. Hard to say how either will perform vs dx10 cards in games that aren't out yet.
 
Well, nobody could tell you what the difference between a DX9 and a DX10 could would be since there are no direct x cards currently in production.

If NV is going to release anything, it'll be after the new year as they just released their 512MB 7800GTX.
 
winston856 said:
Well, nobody could tell you what the difference between a DX9 and a DX10 could would be since there are no direct x cards currently in production.
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I realize that, but I barely remember the last big DirectX switch in terms of performance differences, so I was kind of asking moreso along those lines :)
 
point is, dx10 games will be more than playable when you end up going to sli with the 7800gts or gtx's.
 
I'd buy the nicest card for whatever your budget allows.
DX 10 games are a long way off.
 
Actually, depending on your budget and your timeframe for your next upgrade, I think you should consider waiting. DX10 is going to be a fresh start and DX10 games will NOT run on DX9 cards. Backward compatibility will be broken intentionally because DX10 will require certain HARDWARE features, features that are missing from today's cards. This is not going to be like the way DX8 cards could play DX9 games with certain features missing. Today's 7800GTX will NOT be able to play DX10 games. Check out this article on extremetech:

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,1841223,00.asp

I'm sort of in the same boat as you. I got a new system with an ATI 800XL in April and I've considered getting a 7800-series card. But I can't play the heavy duty FPS games like Call of Duty 2 because I get nauseous so the games that I can play, my 800XL can handle. I figure I can wait a year, let my card mature and then move on to a new architecture that will support DX10. The 7800-series is a great card but feature-wise, it is not much different from the 6800. I like to wait for architecture advances to offer a little bit of future-proofing (I waited until PCI Express came out before I moved from my old AGP system).
 
ddarko said:
Actually, depending on your budget and your timeframe for your next upgrade, I think you should consider waiting. DX10 is going to be a fresh start and DX10 games will NOT run on DX9 cards. Backward compatibility will be broken intentionally because DX10 will require certain HARDWARE features, features that are missing from today's cards. This is not going to be like the way DX8 cards could play DX9 games with certain features missing. Today's 7800GTX will NOT be able to play DX10 games. Check out this article on extremetech:

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,1841223,00.asp

I'm sort of in the same boat as you. I got a new system with an ATI 800XL in April and I've considered getting a 7800-series card. But I can't play the heavy duty FPS games like Call of Duty 2 because I get nauseous so the games that I can play, my 800XL can handle. I figure I can wait a year, let my card mature and then move on to a new architecture that will support DX10. The 7800-series is a great card but feature-wise, it is not much different from the 6800. I like to wait for architecture advances to offer a little bit of future-proofing (I waited until PCI Express came out before I moved from my old AGP system).
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IMO, thats a stupid move. It will give the graphics card manufacturers a nice bulge in their wallet, but not everyone can afford the best, most high-end graphics card on the market. DX10 not being backwards compatible will probably make the game producers lose a good bit of money for the time being.
 
snoopy said:
IMO, thats a stupid move. It will give the graphics card manufacturers a nice bulge in their wallet, but not everyone can afford the best, most high-end graphics card on the market. DX10 not being backwards compatible will probably make the game producers lose a good bit of money for the time being.
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I doubt it, there will be low-end dx10 cards available. The DX 9 to DX10 leap will(or should) be similar to the DX8 to DX9 upgrade where in which several graphics cards(such as 9500 pro) were already had dx9 support and we've just begun seeing dx9 games last year. But it will result in people having to upgrade if they want to play the latest games...

Also, is the 7800 series dx10?
 
Nomikal said:
I doubt it, there will be low-end dx10 cards available. The DX 9 to DX10 leap will(or should) be similar to the DX8 to DX9 upgrade where in which several graphics cards(such as 9500 pro) were already had dx9 support and we've just begun seeing dx9 games last year. But it will result in people having to upgrade if they want to play the latest games...

Also, is the 7800 series dx10?
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The 7800 Series are not DX10, But how am i suppose to upgrade, i have 2x 7800GTX, i cant sell them when DX10 comes out because everyone wants a DX10 card. I dont think it will be a good move at all, there going to, or should make a way around it if you have a DX9 card...
 
Thanks for the article link and opinions, they've all given me some more to think on. Still not quite certain, but i will probably be ordering very soon (in the next week) or about two weeks after new years (maybe prices will dip a bit, heh)
 
IMO, thats a stupid move. It will give the graphics card manufacturers a nice bulge in their wallet, but not everyone can afford the best, most high-end graphics card on the market. DX10 not being backwards compatible will probably make the game producers lose a good bit of money for the time being.
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IMO, that's a really naive and ignorant way of looking at the situation. It's not just about HV's and MS wanting to pad their wallets, it's about the frustration behind having to check for every single capability on a graphics card. The 100% guaranteed feature set of DX10 is simply FANTASTIC to have for developers, because it means that devs don't have to make sure that some obscure texture format is supported, or have to make fallbacks in case something like filtering or blending isn't supported.

I dont think it will be a good move at all, there going to, or should make a way around it if you have a DX9 card...
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Kick, whine and scream all you want, DX10 is not and will never be backwards compatible. Your SLi 7800GTX's will be obsolete when the first DX10 only game is released (which is probably going to be awhile from now; 3 or 4 years at the least).

Would it just be a few frames and very small setting differences, or would it be a double digit frame difference and all sorts of different graphics settings?
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For games that have a DX10 codepath made, the game will be significantly different. Devs will be able to have things like more dynamic reflections, a greater variety of textures, a large increase in the number of particles, and much faster shadowing, to name a few. Save your money and wait for a DX10 card to come out.
 
Theres no way that when DX10 games come out, all dx9 and lower cards will become completely obselete and have to throw them out and get a brand new dx10 card. That will be insanity, and noone will di this. You gotta realize that the percentage of consumers that buy the top end of video cards if very small, over 95% of the market is not buying the best card as soon as it comes out.

So to think that by completely ditching dx9 and making every one buy a new card right then and there is bogus, because the game and card manufacturers will lose money, since 95% of their consumers do just fine with older cards, and only 5% of them will be the ones buying the bleeding edge new cards.
 
hennessy1 said:
]Theres no way that when DX10 games come out, all dx9 and lower cards will become completely obselete and have to throw them out and get a brand new dx10 card.
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Kick, whine and scream all you want, DX10 is not and will never be backwards compatible. Your SLi 7800GTX's will be obsolete when the first DX10 only game is released (which is probably going to be awhile from now; 3 or 4 years at the least).
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But if you think about it, how long did it take for games to become DX8 only, basically? That was released in, what, 2000 or 2001? Doom3, released 3 years later was, AFAIK, the first game that required DX8 cards as a minimum requirement. And what about Battlefield 2? That games requires DX9 level cards as well, and DX9 is a few years old as well.
 
Good luck supplying that many readily available video cards as well... I also dont see that happening.
 
get a 6800gs or something and tough it out... i know i won't be replacing my 6600GTs for a while
 
Zallek said:
Good luck supplying that many readily available video cards as well... I also dont see that happening.
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Geez, you're looking at it as if when DX10 is out every game will be DX10 only and everyone will have to upgrade on that day. That won't be the case at all!
 
Cypher19 said:
Your SLi 7800GTX's will be obsolete when the first DX10 only game is released (which is probably going to be awhile from now; 3 or 4 years at the least)
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This is the important part

It is going to be a long time before there are DX10 only videogames.

A large percentage of the market has to have them before they make DX10 only games. That means it will be on integrated motherboards and low end cards for a long time before they come out.

I don't think we even have any DX9 only games yet
 
Developers would be shooting themselves in the foot by requiring DX10 hardware right off the bat. I'm pretty sure that alternate DX9 render paths will be supported by all important titles for at least a year after DX10 is released.
 
Anyone who has thrown top dollar for a top flight setup has regretted it later. The best value is almost always just below the bleeding edge. The 6800GS and 7800GT are pretty good buys right now, and will do ok in the latest and greatest titles. I agree with the others that when DX10/UE3 titles hit the street, anybody with hardware that is available right now is going to be feeling the hurt that those games will be putting on their cards. Better to be feeling the hurt on your card than on your wallet, at least IMO :) I only have $200 in my X800XL, and I will have to replace it with a DX10 card when they come out. Beats having to replace a $400 card, my 2 cents.
 
Cypher19 said:
Geez, you're looking at it as if when DX10 is out every game will be DX10 only and everyone will have to upgrade on that day. That won't be the case at all!
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Yeah, Im sorry I kinda forgot how DX9 went around.. I retract my statement. This isnt anything new.
 
DougLite said:
Anyone who has thrown top dollar for a top flight setup has regretted it later.
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I wouldn't be so quick to speak for everyone

I know there are quite a few people who bought 9700 Pros from the beginning and said it was the best purchase ever. Now that is different from a total top flight setup but I wouldn't claim that everyone was dissapointed
 
...but to continue with that example, many of those systems that had 9700 Pros had RDRAM in them, big regrets there. I'm not saying that every top flight product is a total dud, or that every compromise is worthwhile. However, it is pretty clear that the more you spend, the more you stand to lose.
 
Cypher19 said:
Your SLi 7800GTX's will be obsolete when the first DX10 only game is released (which is probably going to be awhile from now; 3 or 4 years at the least).

Save your money and wait for a DX10 card to come out.
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So DX10 is 3-4 years away and you're suggesting that this person wait for DX10 to come out? Are you really advocating this person wait 3-4 years to buy a new video card??? Pardon me if I think that sounds plain stupid.
 
I don't really think that there are going to be yet any DX10 games next year. So I would get the fastest I could get now.
 
the earliest possiable dx10 compliant card would be this summer with the release of the g80. i really doubt it as nvidia has stated they will do dx10 on all levels at 1 time, and the 7800 series will live for another 1.5 years as a midrange next year and a budget solution the year after. (todays teleconference) so it may come later than we think. i think you would be better off to buy a 6800gs or 7800gt as doug said. the less expensive soultions still perform at 1600 or less. i dave went a bought the best and regretted it and i have bought low upper end and loved it. i bought a 6800nu at release and unlocked it and loved it for 6 months, i than swaped a few different cards but its hard to look at a 300 or less card and realise you made a good buy.
 
One other factor that's making me wait, which maybe isn't a consideration for the original poster, is for graphics cards that support HDCP. As much as I hate the copyright scheme, it's all but inevitable and the only way we're going to be able to see HD-DVD or Blu-Ray in full HD resolution is with cards and monitors that support HDCP. I don't want to buy a card today that, one year from now, is guaranteed not to able to play a hi-def movie (also the reason why I'm holding off on buying a new monitor although I think Gateway's latest LCD monitor does support HDCP). These are all things that are coming down the pipeline but which Microsoft and the hardware guys don't like to talk about because they don't want to kill sales today but there's no reason why we shouldn't factor it into our buying decisions.
 
I have an overclcocket 6800 GT and was thinking about this alot. I personally am going to wait until DX 10 to upgrade my gard. The 6800 is still kicking some serious ass. :D
 
Hi MrIncognito,

I think you are suffering for "analysis paralysis" waiting for technology that really is a couple of years off from taking off.

There aren't even any HD-DVD or Blu-Ray players, no HD content that's even out yet.

Sure, we all hate the fact that technology has the self life of warm milk, but that's it's nature.

I think that you have to ask yourself these questions:

Do I have the money to spend?
Will I get satisfation/benefit from the new hardware NOW?
What is my upgrade path?

I think the last question is is key. No matter what you buy, or when you buy it, it will become obsolete. The question is how will you respond when it that happens.

What I try to do every two years when it comes to computing is look at the things that I do with my computers. I'm a business software developer, I like to play FPS, and I record TV shows and burn DVD alot. Thoses are the primary tasks that I perform on my systems.

So two years ago, I bought the about the best hardware there was at the time to do those things, and it's paid off.

Yes, the socket 754 system I bought in December 2003 would soon be outdated by Socket 939, but the last time I did major upgrading had been December 2001, so compared to what I had, the Athlon 3200+ system I bought was a HUGE jump, and to be honest, this is primary system still, until I do my upgrade this year, it's time!

Just a little philsophy on the matter. Hopefully it gives you some ways to objectively decide the issue.
 
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