Wait or buy?

Spryngo

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So I want to buy a PC, but I'm not sure whether to buy a GTX580 now or wait for Southern Islands, specifically for the 7970, since I do want a high end card either way.

What are the expected performances from the Southern Islands series?
 
What are the expected performances from the Southern Islands series?

No one apart from AMD engineers etc know anything yet. But one thing is for certain, going from 40nm to 28nm is going to result in a significant performance increase. Could be the biggest step in a long long while, but we will have to wait how big.

Personally I would wait for 28nm, as I have been doing for a while now. Only now the games that require massive GPU (especially DX11) power to run, are seeing the light of day, with a few exceptions such as Metro 2033. DX11 is still in its bleeding infancy in terms of implementation, but 2012-14 is looking very good for this tech if devs like DICE is to be trusted on this, which is why it´s going to be crucial to wait these extra few months to purchase (that is if you want to enjoy your card for a couple of years).

This winter is going to be very good gaming wise, and it seems that AMD is fairly confident that they will first with 28 nm, and not only "by a mile". Here is hoping we will see these cards out in October. November is OK too, but my head will explode if they can´t get it done before December! :D
 
Wait!

Just had my MSI Lightning 6970 go tits up and the manufacturer couldn't replace it so I decided on getting a full refund so I can wait for Southern Islands. I figure by the time I get my new card I'll be itching for some gaming action.

I think it would be dumb to purchase a $300-500 dollar card right now with AMD's next gen supposedly only a few months away...
 
I must admit -- I've been researching the hell outta stuff, and my GTX280 is getting pretty long in the tooth.

Just built an i5-2500k system for an incredible price - running 4.2GHz on air, all I need to complete it is a shiny new gfx card.

Really wanting something badass right around the time Battlefield 3 comes out, I'm a huge fan of nVidia and CUDA, but it looks to be that ATI will be the first out of the gate with the next-gen cards. Such a conundrum!


Do I buy a "good" card now for 300 dollars, do I wait a few months and spend 400 or so on the bleeding edge ATI 28nm stuff? Or do I wait upwards of 6-8 more months for nvidia to roll out their 600 series?

Money is an issue - its possible to spend 400 but only with about 4 months of saving.

As much as I hate not having a plan -- seems the best thing to do is just continue to enjoy my GTX280 in Black Ops (1920x1280) and try not to think about any of this till september or october as we get closer to Battlefield 3
 
Wait!
I think it would be dumb to purchase a $300-500 dollar card right now with AMD's next gen supposedly only a few months away...

There is ALWAYS something supposedly only a few months away, waiting is pointless when it comes to PC hardware. Buy something now so you can enjoy it.
 
There is ALWAYS something supposedly only a few months away, waiting is pointless when it comes to PC hardware. Buy something now so you can enjoy it.

got to agree - always stuff around the corner let alone ... the corner lots of times gets stretched out to be a long corner ...
 
die shrinks only come around so often though. its worth the wait imo.
 
But one thing is for certain, going from 40nm to 28nm is going to result in a significant performance increase. Could be the biggest step in a long long while, but we will have to wait how big.

die shrink doesn't necessarily mean huge performance increase...it does mean huge heat decrease...we'll have to wait and see about the performance...I'm sure it will be better then what's currently available but don't know if it will be this huge leap

plus it's not easy to make that transition from 40-->28nm...potential for a lot of issues...might be better to wait for the refresh on 28nm
 
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A year is only 12 months long, and waiting 6 months is a long time when there is always another 6 months to wait after that. Unless new shit is imminent, don't wait. Unless you don't need anything, then wait all you want.
 
I must admit -- I've been researching the hell outta stuff, and my GTX280 is getting pretty long in the tooth.

Just built an i5-2500k system for an incredible price - running 4.2GHz on air, all I need to complete it is a shiny new gfx card.

Really wanting something badass right around the time Battlefield 3 comes out, I'm a huge fan of nVidia and CUDA, but it looks to be that ATI will be the first out of the gate with the next-gen cards. Such a conundrum!


Do I buy a "good" card now for 300 dollars, do I wait a few months and spend 400 or so on the bleeding edge ATI 28nm stuff? Or do I wait upwards of 6-8 more months for nvidia to roll out their 600 series?

Money is an issue - its possible to spend 400 but only with about 4 months of saving.

As much as I hate not having a plan -- seems the best thing to do is just continue to enjoy my GTX280 in Black Ops (1920x1280) and try not to think about any of this till september or october as we get closer to Battlefield 3

When I thought about upgrading to a 470, people told me to wait for the 500 series. When I thought about upgrading to the 500 series, people told me to wait again.

Lol I'm done waiting...I sold my GTX 285 for $140 and just got a Asus DCII 6970 for $280. Let's just hope I have a better experience with AMD drivers than I did the last time I went red.

Get what benefits you NOW...you can always sell it for something better later.
 
Yeah, no point waiting. You are the one always missing out if you wait. Get something now them sell it down the road when new things come out.
 
Either wait 3 or 4 months to build your pc when the next series comes out or just buy a gtx580 now and max your games.
 
There is ALWAYS something supposedly only a few months away, waiting is pointless when it comes to PC hardware. Buy something now so you can enjoy it.

Let's see... Your architecture is like ancient, and you are giving advice to the guy to spend money now and get the latest?

Your credibility=0
 
Let's see... Your architecture is like ancient, and you are giving advice to the guy to spend money now and get the latest?

Your credibility=0

That's a pretty dumb thing to say. Why does it matter what he's currently running to offer advise? A couple scenarios off of the top of my head on why he gave that advise with older hardware...

His computer fulfills all of his current needs, but if it didn't, he would probably upgrade right away rather than wait.

Or maybe he doesn't have the money for an upgrade, but if he did, he would probably upgrade right away.

Or maybe he hasn't update his sig in a while, who knows
 
Id say waiting isnt as bad advice as you guys are putting it to be. Only because hes waiting anyways for games to come out at around the same time (Oct-December). Now if the games he was dieing for were out now, then id say get something now.
My Dilemma is similar. My rig is getting by on highest settings on things like BF3 (Alpha), Witcher, Crysis 2 DX11, DA:2 DX11. However its getting close to either moving to medium settings or upgrade time (around the same time, oct-dec).

However my options are different. I plan on building a whole new rig (IV-B or SB-E) and then i will have to decide do i put my 6950 on that rig and get a second for CF, or are the new (and at the time would be out) 7000 series 28nm be more advanced/ x2 powerful than a single 6950 that i should just get the 7950 or 7970. I cant imagine the 6950's will price drop far enough for the decision to be easy.

My advice if im right that your waiting for BF3, skyrim etc (all games coming out oct-dec) that you might as well wait for the 7000 series that come out at the same time. My only concern personally is i dont like being the "first" for anything. Being the first for 28nm and all that is more risk than i usually like to take.
 
I like to make sure that my hardware will support any big new standards that are coming out. For instance, I wouldn't want to buy a new motherboard right before PCI-E 3.0 comes out,
 
Let's see... Your architecture is like ancient, and you are giving advice to the guy to spend money now and get the latest?

Your credibility=0

That's because I gave up gaming a few years ago,so I have no need to upgrade, my PC does exactly what I need it to do. :rolleyes:
 
If you are looking to buy a Computer/motherboard as well as a GPU I would say wait for the next gen products at this point. This gives you the opportunity to get and enjoy the latest technology for a longer period than buying now when 28nm dies are imminent. You will also have the extra time to save for what you really want in a CPU/Motherboard and GPU.

There are not many PCI-E 3.0 Motherboards out yet, I only know of 1. That is a consideration for your motherboard purchase. What about the CPU's? 8 core beast are also slated to come out from both AMD and INTEL. Also if any of these come out by "BLACK FRIDAY", there will be a major savings for you.

What games can't you play with what you have now? With the DX11 and the fastest stuff on the planet(if you wait) you can have a new experience with old games.

Be a little patient and wait, you will be happy you did.
 
Wait. Next generation is just around the corner if you want the absolute latest. But do it as soon as it comes out or you'll be waiting for the generation after that...
 
for all you know amd could come up with a delay and stuff gets pushed backed. if you need something now get it.
 
We're coming into August just now. I really don't think you'll see a high-end 7xxx part until December, coming a full year after the release of the 6970. Five months is a long time to wait on a newly built system with a subpar video card. There are games to be played and enjoyed right now. Get a 6970 and call it a day. If you want to save a bit of money, then get a 6950. If Nvidia is more your thing, I would look at the 570 since that's closer in budget than the 580 which is over 500 bucks and really not that incredibly faster than a 6970 for a hell of alot more heat and less vram.
 
I plan on getting 2 6950's and run them in crossfire when I have time and then wait for the 7 series. It all depends on what is more important to you. I'd rather enjoy the "now," sure a 7 series would be awesome to have but we won't know what its capable of until someone reviews and benchmarks it. Will it be better, definitely a yes, but by how much, we won't know Even if you buy now, you can re-sell your cards later to recoup some of it's value and apply it towards a 7series purchase. That's one approach but you can also wait to purchase when the 7 series comes out. The appearance of 7 series cards should drop prices across the board.
 
As we are maybe 2 months away from AMDs next generation, it might be a good idea to not buy anything more expensive than a 6950. The prices of 6970/570/580 are probably going to suffer most from the introduction of the new 7000(?) series cards.

A single 6950 will perform great at 1920x1200 and ok at 2560x1600.
 
If you are waiting for the nexgen 28nm card be sure and save your money 'cause it will be expensive! Then it will be the premier offering, which means it will be improved shortly after launch with a more efficient version of the series.

Might be best to buy the latest of the current gen in either ATI or Nvidia, which will run any current game, or any game currently in development, hang on to it and hold off on the 28nm cards until they have time to work out any kinks in the design. I think jumping on board further along in the series development is smarter than being an early adopter.
 
As we are maybe 2 months away from AMDs next generation, it might be a good idea to not buy anything more expensive than a 6950. The prices of 6970/570/580 are probably going to suffer most from the introduction of the new 7000(?) series cards.

A single 6950 will perform great at 1920x1200 and ok at 2560x1600.

I think it's very unlikely your going to see any high-end 7XXX series part in 2 months based on reports coming out so I wouldn't hold off on upgrading now if you plan on gaming now. That's not to say go out and buy a Quadfire setup but if you were looking to pick up a 6950 or 6970 I wouldn't wait thinking your going to buy a 28nm 7950 or 7970 in September because chances are it will be November or later. AMD is pushing for a 4th quarter release but TSMC has just stated that 28nm will only account for roughly 1% of their total wafer revenue by the end of fourth quarter so most likely the higher-end parts won't show until November at the earliest and could be first quarter next year.
 
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Buy now and upgrade in a few years.

There will always be something new coming soon no matter how long you wait..
 
You know its hard to tell, only thing to do is wait for some leaked benchmarks in a few months, hopefully. I'm interested in lower power consumption for the 28nm.
 
if you wait for something to come out, news of something newer/better will soon come along. if you don't bite the bullet and just buy something, you never will.

if you're waiting for something specific to release (ie: sata 6g/s), sure wait.
 
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