Future planning question: Lower marginal cost over time?

S

singe_101

2[H]4U
Joined
Dec 17, 2005
Messages
2,160
Much of this is pre-supposing that there will even be software I want to use where extra muscle will be nice or necessary. As much as I come back to Source and the UT3 engine, plus Blizzard catering to the 1280x1024 crowd, who knows. And if someone makes a big DX11 Crysis homage... the game really isn't that awesome. I'm not benching against these games. But it's a hobby, I can always sell at a low price for someone playing WoW or something.

But for anyone who went with the big purchase to get extra performance (a substitute would still play the games and run apps well), even at great cost, has it been satisfying to see the hardware last over time? Or were subsequent upgrades needed/wanted and done?

It's really cool that the 8800GTX has pretty much lasted, but it did cost some $600 in 2006. And I saw the 8800 GTS XXX edition was $370 on the egg, though it cut through most games. Was the long life helpful in compensating for the marginal cost? Or at the enthusiast level is it part of the enjoyment to spend more anyway? It's peanuts compared to cars or jewelry (and home theater sometimes). 7800/7900 series owners?

And is it worth it for the XXX, FTW, OMFG, QQ-More edition? I don't see huge frame differences for the cost, but will there be games that change things? How does an OC'd high memory in the GeForce 8 series or an ATI line compare to the reference or very close one on contemporary games?

But I rarely see the 3870, or 2900XT still being used.

Now obviously for price it's good to wait 2+ weeks from launch, though it might appreciate a bit like the 4770.

I want to hit the sweet spot. After using the 4830 and the 8600 GT with the same CPU and RAM (or doing the 4830->4850- OC vs stock) it is nice to have more power but I can't discern a large enough difference to upset me (yet). And the most fun I've probably had was a month of WoW going from slideshow 1024x768 to 1920x1080 smooooth (on old toons) and showing my mom Blu-Ray Narnia (they're in an analog, IDE, eMachines/Compaq world). But I am also interested in collecting and learning, without going overboard.

Anyway, I just bought a 4870 Toxic here so that will last me a year, fingers crossed.

Any thoughts on the GTX275? :D
 
Last edited:
A bit anecdotal but might help: In 2007, I bought a 7900GS for $120 rather than get the 8800GTS 320MB for $300 as I found out that for the majority of games that I was playing (BF2, Bioshock, C&C 3, COH) played just well with the 7900GS. A year later in 2008 I bought the 8800GT for $160 as the newer crop of games I was playing and planning to play was a bit more demanding (L4D, Crysis Warhead, FO3, TF2). From the reviews I saw with those games and the 8800GTS 320MB, I found that the 8800GTS 320MB was now struggling with those games. However the 8800GT was playing those games just fine.

So basically my point is this: Buy the video card to fit the games you're playing now. Upgrade the card when the video card can't handle the newer games. It might be cheaper that way and you get more performance. For a total of $280 for the 7900GS and 8800GT, I gained more performance for less money. However, it does depend on whether one wants greater performance in games now or later.

It rarely is worth the extra costs for the factory OC'd, special HSF, or any special edition video card as the performance increase is, at most, 5% to 10%. Video card overclocking, at least in my experience, rarely exhibits the substantial performance increase that you get with CPU overclocking.
 
If it is available we must have it. Stroke it poke and mess with it. Fiddle with it and worry it to death. Sometimes fix it till it breaks. My old motto "I can fix anything unless it's broken"

Money is no object when we want something. Yes I sleep better at night knowing I have it.

Until the next it comes out then rinse and repeat.

You make a good point for everyone else however. lol
 
singe_101 said:
It's really cool that the 8800GTX has pretty much lasted, but it did cost some $600 in 2006.
Click to expand...


I bought the 8800 GTX OC when it first came out and I must say, it was fast, it was hot 85Celcius, and it was AWESOME!

However I do not now know if the price was proper for me. I paid 1200. for mine just as they released it. I have yet to find anything it can't handle.

I must say tho, I only need one desktop computer and one laptop.. so I will sell anything should I require to build a more awesome system. ;)
 
8800GTX was something of an anomaly, ahead of the game at its time and milked for a LONG time due to a lack of competition. I don't think we are likely to see this again. to answer your question NO. having a product that normally deprecates 50% or more its first year is hard to consider buy the fastest card at a steep premium worth it from that vantage. You would in fact be money and performance ahead by buying the mid ranged card and upgrading more often. Look at what has happened to the GTX 280/285, even after Nvidia initial price drops. Right now you can buy a card that is around 90 to 95% of the performance for 125-175 less then it. kind of a stark contrast (maybe even unusually so) but it as saving that money for next up grade is going being in a better performance category relative to the market then spending out your ass for the current.

not that I don't tend to buy the high end anyways, I just know its not cost effective.
 
I am glad I skipped the 8800gtx since it was so expensive. I picked up my gtx260 for $189 last November and that was a much better deal. even if I only get 50 bucks when I sell it I still got a lot of use for the money.
 
Over the years, I've noticed that $250 seems to almost always be the ideal bang-for-buck pricepoint. The 8800GTX flagrantly broke that rule and was an aberration in many other ways, but ignoring that one card, the $250 pricepoint has been the way to go. Witness that the GTX 275 and ATi 4890 are now just below that.
 
Yeah it was exceptional.

I do like the midrange. We'll see how "only" 4870 512mb does, probably really well.
 
evilsofa said:
Over the years, I've noticed that $250 seems to almost always be the ideal bang-for-buck pricepoint. The 8800GTX flagrantly broke that rule and was an aberration in many other ways, but ignoring that one card, the $250 pricepoint has been the way to go. Witness that the GTX 275 and ATi 4890 are now just below that.
Click to expand...

better put then my post.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top