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Is it worth it?

H

hauntedfury

Weaksauce
Joined
Jul 4, 2005
Messages
77
I dont know about you but is it worth spending 100's of dollars on video card when you know that its gonna be outdated soon.............I always fear this thing whenever i buy a new GPU thats why i have never bought a High end card and always stick with Mainstream or Budget cards due to this...........cause i cant dish out 300-400$ every 6 months for a video card........

Just wanted to hear your comments.............
 
It's worth if if you have the money for it, heh.

Things like this are all relative to the individual. What is worth it to you may or may not be for someone else.

One thing you can do to help alleviate the cost each generation is to sell your current card for as much as you can to recoup a little not having to spend as much each time.
 
Also, you DON'T have to upgrade every year. Many people are still using GF3 cards.

People are too focused on "I have to have EVERY bell and whistle" in a game.

You can stick with "console mentality" of your computer. Turn off some setting, lower your resolutions, and use your old card. It would be no different than owning an x-box.
X-box has it's "resolution heights" and special effects limits.

only one that day you have to buy a new videocard (think of it like buying a new x-box360..same thing) now your old games you can play again with a whole new look to them.
 
I bought a 9700 pro right when it came out in 2002 ($500), its lasted up till now

best decision ever
 
Mayhs said:
if you buy a $400 card it will last u a good 2/3 years
Click to expand...
yeah, i bought my 6800GT in June of 2004. I have dual 17" LCD's, so my gaming is capped at 1280x1024, and nothing has brought this card to its knees. i expect it to last at least until next summer.
 
I have a 6800GT as well. It's a fantastic card, and runs practically every game very well. I'm not too big on the whole "bells and whistles" thing. But I do like my games to run with a solid framerate at 1280x1024. And honestly, 2xAA is really all I need. I don't notice huge difference once you get about that. I can stand jaggies, they don't bug me much.
 
My first bought video card was a TNT2 Ultra. That lasted me through Geforce 1's. Then I got a Quattro 2 Pro card from a botched RMA of the TNT2 Ultra card I had originally bought. That lasted me through Geforce 2, 3, 4. Then I bought a Geforce FX 5600Ultra. This card was very short lived cause I ended up building a new computer about a year and a half after I bought it. After the 5600Ultra I bought an 9800Pro. I'm expecting this card to last through Nvidia 6000 and 7000 series, and ATI x800 and whatevers next.

I personally will not spend more than $250 for a video card. I too am amazed at how the people that are buying 7800GTX's for SLI are the same people that bought 6800Ultra's for SLI, and before that they bought 5950Ultra's, TI-4600, and so on.

You have to remember that alot of people that buy these kind of cards are older, have a carrer/job that pays good money, single (no offense but women cost money and would rob video card funding).

Bottom line, if you absolutely need the best performance and can pay the premium of a new card buy all means go for the best. But if 100fps at 1600x1200 isnt necessary and you dont have money for a top of the line video card you can get away with much cheaper cards.
 
You can't look at is as "$500 every 6 months"...you need to look at it "what i can selll my current card for and the cost of a new one". If you do it right you can have the top of the line card for ~$200 a year if you don't watch prices. The key is reselling. If you keep your eye out for deals you can maybe do it for ~$100 year. I just snagged a 7800GTX for the same price as the upcoming 7800GT.

The key to video cards is to:

a) By high and trade up or sell often
b) By high and stick with it

It can become a vicous cycle if you buy middle of the ground because you know all to well what you are giving up and always seeing your card near the bottom of the comparison chains leaves pit in your stomach.

-tReP
 
I still frag those with their perty 6800's or X800's quite easily with my GF4. The only difference is they die more colorfully and get more upset because they have no excuse other to admit they suck. As an nVidia shareholder I would strongly suggest getting the latest and greatest ... the profit margins are much better.
 
Big Fat Duck said:
I bought a 9700 pro right when it came out in 2002 ($500), its lasted up till now

best decision ever
Click to expand...

It was $400... unless you live outside the US?
 
arcturus said:
I still frag those with their perty 6800's or X800's quite easily with my GF4. The only difference is they die more colorfully and get more upset because they have no excuse other to admit they suck. As an nVidia shareholder I would strongly suggest getting the latest and greatest ... the profit margins are much better.
Click to expand...

Maybe, but you cant play BF2 and we can. :)
 
Is it worth it? If it's your hobby and your passion and you have the cash then hell yes. Last june i upgraded to an ATI 9800XT from a ti4200. I didn't have to, but i got it at 60% off on a 1 day ebay auction, i was very lucky.

Jumping on bandwagons can always backfire too, the FX series for example. I thought of upgrading to FX5xxx but waited just a bit, then found out that my ti4200 outperformed almost every card in the FX5xxx line. Not too bad for a DX8 card :)
 
Netrat33 said:
Also, you DON'T have to upgrade every year. Many people are still using GF3 cards.
Click to expand...

I'm running Geforce 2 ULTRA, i bought it for £300 (~530USD today) about 5 years ago. My next card is going to be Matrox G550 :rolleyes: I'm not a gamer if you havn't noticed ;)
I quit CS 1.6 a ~month ago. Never really did quite get the 99fps constant :eek:
 
heh I'm still runnin my GF4 and it has yet to fail me(don't care much for the BF series). I'm just starting to think about an upgrade. Probably gonna get a couple hard drives before I get a new gfx card. But when I buy a card I plan to buy at the top of the pack if not a little below the top.
 
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