How much is too much for a video card?
- Thread starter LOOP
- Start date
fussnfeathers
E.M.I.
I'll agree, then throw in the "what do you need it for" part. If you're a generic home user, that might play the Sims and surf the web, a high-dollar vid card is a waste of your cash. TBH, unless you're a hardcore gamer, SLI is a waste of money, you will NEVER touch two cards worth of bandwidth.
I look at it this way...........if you live in the US, and need a car, you can certainly buy a Ferrari F40. But if all you do is drive to work and the grocery store, do you NEED it? Nah.........a VW Beetle will do you just fine, and more than exceed your needs. Anything more is simply a waste of cash.
I look at it this way...........if you live in the US, and need a car, you can certainly buy a Ferrari F40. But if all you do is drive to work and the grocery store, do you NEED it? Nah.........a VW Beetle will do you just fine, and more than exceed your needs. Anything more is simply a waste of cash.
When I had the choice of buying a 7800GT or 7800GTX, it was a matter of did I really need the GTX? I didn't care about paying the extra, but it would have been wasted because I don't game on anything above 1280*1024, so the GT suited me fine.
Like other things in life.. if it makes you happy, it's worth the money.
Like other things in life.. if it makes you happy, it's worth the money.
SqueekyClean
Obliviot
Around $150 is the most I pay for a video card. You may of guessed, that I'm not that hi-tech here. I have a decent machine that serves my needs, but thats about it.
Jakal
Tech Monkey
What resolution do you normally run games? Like Rob mentioned, the 7800GTX is best suited for resolutions above 1280x1024. You can pick up a new http://www.pcnation.com/web/details.asp?affid=308&item=J676027900GT<a href ="http://www.pcnation.com/web/details.asp?item=J67602">7900GT</a> which is a good bit better than the 7800GT for under $300.
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Well at the time the GTX was just overkill for my needs. A 7900GT is a wicked choice right now though, because games are pushing the GPU harder than ever.
fussnfeathers
E.M.I.
I did the same as Rob. I never play over 1280x1024, and I really don't care about articulated shadows and resurfaced sprites. *grin* As long as it looks halfway decent, and plays smooth, I can live without all the eye candy..........for my eyes, anyway, I find that all the super-quality effects distract me from the game too much. My $160 X800GT works just fine for me.
sbrehm72255
Tech Monkey
Same here, 1280x1024 is all I ever do, my X800XL does just fine at all games at standard settings. I'm to busy trying to stay alive to worry about the pretty suroundings to even notice how they look...............
I would say $300 is about tops for me, but I haven't paid cash for a card in a while now, the last 2 I got in trades and had the cooling systems broke on them, so I got some great deals.
I would say $300 is about tops for me, but I haven't paid cash for a card in a while now, the last 2 I got in trades and had the cooling systems broke on them, so I got some great deals.
How much is too much depends a lot on how long you can get out of the video card before needing to upgrade. If I only can get 2 years out of the card before needing to upgrade again in order to play the latest games, then I would not want to spend more then $300. If I could get 4 years out of a video card, then I would easily spend $500.
It all depends on how long you can get out of the card for playing the latest games.
It all depends on how long you can get out of the card for playing the latest games.
fullpicture
Obliviot
xstatic said:
I totally agree. Would be worth spending $500 for a graphics card that would last 4 years and STILL be able to play all the newest games at the highest frame rates after 4 years. However, what are the odds of that happening? With the rapid development of new graphic cards, the current generation cards will always become obsolete within a couple years. Thats why I like to spend under two hundred bucks when I buy a card because I know I will have to do it again within a couple years.
Orbit said:
Where is the commandment that says you need to buy the card as soon as it gets released? Or who says you can't buy a lower price model and overclock it to the exact same speed and specs as the higher price model?
When the Geforce 4 came out you could overclock a Ti-4200 to a Ti-4600, saving you a couple hundred bucks in price. When the Geforce 6800 came out, you could buy a Geforce 6800 GT and overclock it to the same speed as a Geforce Ultra.
I think $300 is all you need to spend for the best graphics card for each generation. Rely on overclocking to get that card up to the performance of the best cards.