Topic: Video cards

[Pugnate]

http://gizmodo.com/5422706/the-graphics-cards-you-should-buy-at-every-price

[iPPi]

Good to know, but I'm so out of tune in computer hardware nowadays that I'd probably just go to the local computer store and buy a pre-built system nowadays.  Still, at least I'll know what I'm looking for in a video card.

[Cobra951]

That's supposed to help people on a budget who aren't avid geeks?  Everything in the sweet middle spot seems to be old/disappearing.  What's the point of recommending something that's "very hard to find"?  And if you have money to burn on solutions that cost as much as whole PCs, you can afford to hire a pro builder to put your rig together.

I see things haven't changed.  The 2 players in this field keep introducing a quick succession of confusingly named products.  Yeah, it didn't take long to put me in the category of people who need articles like this.  I feel so out of the loop.  *Sigh*

[Pugnate]

What you took from that is that things haven't changed?

When was the last time you could buy a $100 card (Radeon 4770) and run everything at max settings on just about every game at 1080p???

Hell, a $50 4650 ATi card can max most games at 1280x1024... That is definitely something new.

[Cobra951]

Hmm.  I didn't get that tidbit out of my read.  I thought I read it carefully too, because I was interested.  What did surprise me is that you can get decent performance without a dedicated 20-amp circuit for your Frankenstein-sized power supply.  I thought good cards without the need for an extra power connection were a thing of the past.

Radeon 4770, eh?  So if I get a middling pre-built desktop PC with integrated video, I can drop one of those in it and get my full range of gaming again?  That's uplifting.

Come to think of it, I saw an HP desktop just yesterday at Sam's with one of those 4650s in it.  It was like $900, but had good specs and a great-looking HD monitor included (literally) in the box.

[Schlotzky5]

I still don't get the numbering. Any number that is higher should be better. End of story.

[Pugnate]

Well it is like a Mercedes with different classes and numbers. Just because a certain class has a higher number doesn't mean it is better than a Merc with a lower number from a higher class.

I do understand what you guys are saying though. Video card names mean crap and it is quite stupid.

Nvidia has vowed to change that and the newer GTX2XX line has certainly been logically named.

[Quemaqua]

Damn it... don't tempt me to upgrade after I just did!

I think I may have to just build a new rig next time.  This one is still holding up pretty damned well, but I think I'm going to need a new proc next time around.  So I may hold off for a a while yet... depending on how things go, maybe even a couple of years.  Or I might cave and get something new sooner.  I don't know.

[Xessive]

At face value anyone would assume that the GeForce 5500 is somehow superior to the GeForce 260. Personally, I think they should have just done away with the "GeForce" name when they started the 1xx and 2xx series.

I kinda get why they're sticking with the old names GeForce and Radeon (even though they're worlds apart from the original series of cards that came in with those names), it's a marketing thing, but I think it's high time they changed things.

In the case of Nvidia, the series 5 cards  e.g. GeForce 5200FX and earlier all use the old legacy drivers, series 6 onwards use the current set of Forceware. I believe it's similar with ATI/AMD Radeon cards. It would have at least been simpler that when a series of cards requires a new set of drivers its branding changed to reflect the "new breed." I just think it would have made a lot more sense to make new branding (with new logical naming/numbering conventions) for radically newer tech.

[gpw11]

I see my old 9600GT is on there...for about what I paid for it two years ago. Funny how that works. 

I've thought about upgrading recently even though I haven't really had any major problems. Ever since I've discovered a decent market for used cards on Craigslist because of SLI that I can use to sell my old card, I've been tempted to do another $40-50 upgrade like last time whenever I see a sale.

[scottws]

The $100 Radeon 4770 is kind of tempting me, but there are three reasons I'll avoid it:

• My GeForce 8800 GTS (320 MB) only struggled in Crysis and the Radeon 4770 doesn't seem to be a massive improvement over what I have in that game.
• My only other experience with ATi was a poor one.  My Radeon 9800XT had major overheating problems.  Later, it became obvious why the 9800 series seemed so good in comparison to nVidia's offerings:  ATi basically was overclocking them and running them beyond their physical limits.  Drivers would fix or improve performance in new games but break things or reduce performance in old games.  It was like every driver release was just a set of hacks for the newest games.  Overheating and crappy drivers seem to be ATi's modus operandi.
• I don't know anything about the Radeon 4770 (or even my GeForce 8800 GTS mind you) so this might be unfair or totally false, but I have a suspicion that while the Radeon 4770 might do a great job running today's games for cheap, I will begin to struggle with future games at the same time my current card does.

[Pugnate]

There is one other thing you missed. Going from one video card company to another can be a real bitch, unless you reformat. Unless you do that often anyway, then I guess it is fine.

The thing with the 4770 is that it is basically the 4850, except on a smaller manufacturing process (40nm). So basically it is a far more efficient version in terms of cooling and power usage. In a sense, it is like what happened with the Jasper chip fr the 360.

But your first reason is exactly why you don't need to upgrade, and why I haven't upgraded either.

The 8 series cards (aside from Crysis) are good enough even today. The other thing is that you aren't likely to see a HUGE improvement from a 8800GT.

I don't know anything about the Radeon 4770 (or even my GeForce 8800 GTS mind you) so this might be unfair or totally false, but I have a suspicion that while the Radeon 4770 might do a great job running today's games for cheap, I will begin to struggle with future games at the same time my current card does.

Yes, the key word is at the same time, and that is correct. I just don't know when that time will come though.

For anyone interested, here is a review of the 4770:

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3553







So for a hundred bucks, it is a lot of bang for your buck. I won't say how future proof it is though, but it can certainly take anything from the current gen. It is more for those guys who have 6 or 7 series Nvidia cards, and have been out of the PC gaming loop for two years.

[iPPi]

I'm looking at the 4890 right now... this system in particular.  Considering the prices I paid for computers back then, it seems like a pretty good deal.  That said, it'll probably be a while before I decide to get a new system so there will probably be something better when I do decide to actually make the purchase.

[Xessive]

When I head to Canada I'm gonna buy a laptop (preferably a gaming one). What do y'all think of the Asus G72 at this price?