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[Dictator93]

I swear half of the forum-goers earn way too much money.

I am poor as dirt, but I save up my available funds for my expensive hobby and splurge every once and a while. All of my other hobbies/interests cost next to nothing. If someone is buying a console... and buying games at launch... I bet so prices, it would be pretty easy to have a bad ass rig and still give out less in total than the above case.

 

[DigitalDevilSummoner]

I have a humble 7770 and I might crossfire it but I barely care really.

 

[Seanspeed]

Plan right now is.
2013 get the next 7950 level amd or nvidia card.
2014 switch to intel mobo and cpu if i get some money over i could get an ps4.
2015 is get an 4k monitor and play on setting my card can handle.
2016 get an rig capable of native 4k gaming.
2017 Hopefully next next gen is ready to release.

Off course all depends if i can finish my Software engineer degree in 2014 and get an job.

I doubt a single 7950 is going to be sufficient for playing 4k on anything but minimal settings or framerate.

And 4k monitors will likely be expensive in 2015 still.

 

[kharma45]

I have a humble 7770 and I might crossfire it but I barely care really.

You'd be better off with one single more powerful card than crossfiring.

 

[dragonelite]

I doubt a single 7950 is going to be sufficient for playing 4k on anything but minimal settings or framerate.

And 4k monitors will likely be expensive in 2015 still.

They are around 3~4k right now i imaging in 2015 they will be sub 2k when more manufacturers spring in and compete.

 

[Lumine]

Not sure actually. Still using a GTX460, but a surpisingly amount of stuff still runs at full/high settings in 1080p at 30-60fps. I wanted to upgrade to a 660 or 670 a few months ago, but I'm not so sure now. Wondering if it might be better to wait another year, not sure if I can remain strong though.

 

[cobragt4001]

Rocking 2 gtx 670 2gb cards for now. I'm hoping a single 870 will be more powerful than 2 670s because as of now I can run anything out at 1080p. I'm really interested to see what Maxwell's virtual unified memory means for performance.

 

[dark10x]

I'm not sure you are familiar with the specs of the GTX Titan Let's see, Titan against PS4 GPU:

Computational power: 4,5 TF vs 1,84 TF (2,44x difference)
Pixel fillrate: 40 176 MPix/s vs 23 040 MPix/s (1,74x difference, but this only impacts rendering resolution)
Texture fillrate: 187 488 MTex/s vs 57 600 MTex/s (3,25x difference)
vRAM bandwidth: 288 GB/s vs 176 GB/s (1,63x difference)

And, the Titan can be reliably overlocked from stock 837MHz to 1GHz which gives it 5,3 TF, 48 096 MPix/s and an ungoldy 224 448 MTex/s.

And all that without any SLI-scaling, microstutter and driver support issues.

Oh, I'm familiar with the specs, but I don't think it's going to come down to specs alone.

The 8800GT was already vastly superior to the 360 and PS3, for instance, but was ultimately not enough to last the entire generation unless you were OK making large sacrifices in the last few years. Heck, it was released a while after those previous consoles launched.

Things are a bit different this time around, no doubt, but I don't think we can predict the state of PC ports down the line.

 

[Seanspeed]

They are around 3~4k right now i imaging in 2015 they will be sub 2k when more manufacturers spring in and compete.

Well when the best card you're looking at now is a 7950, I guess I didn't think that a $1000+ computer monitor would be in your budget.

But if that's not the case, then go for it. I would get something like a GTX 780 for now at least if you want to enjoy it at all, though. A 7950 will struggle mightily even with plenty of 2011 games at 4k. Games in 2014-2015? You can forget about it.

 

[Stallion Free]

Oh, I'm familiar with the specs, but I don't think it's going to come down to specs alone.

The 8800GT was already vastly superior to the 360 and PS3, for instance, but was ultimately not enough to last the entire generation unless you were OK making large sacrifices in the last few years. Heck, it was released a while after those previous consoles launched.

Things are a bit different this time around, no doubt, but I don't think we can predict the state of PC ports down the line.

If a 8800 GT was still able to max games being released at the end of this gen then PC might as well just be a console. No one expects that though.

And I think people dragging out an 8800GT's life this long are fine with playing games at settings slightly better than what current consoles are still doing.

 

[dragonelite]

Well when the best card you're looking at now is a 7950, I guess I didn't think that a $1000+ computer monitor would be in your budget.

But if that's not the case, then go for it. I would get something like a GTX 780 for now at least if you want to enjoy it at all, though. A 7950 will struggle mightily even with plenty of 2011 games at 4k. Games in 2014-2015? You can forget about it.

That is also why i said if i can finish my CS degree and get an nice job
when i get the 4k monitor its not only for gaming.
Typing code an shit flip the 4k screen monitor vertical and i would bet all that vertical space will be wonderful.
There is a reason most coders have 2~3 screens.

The 7950 is because i already set aside the money if the 9970(Not sure what the real name is anymore) is better bang for bucks i will get that.

 

[MikeE21286]

Current Setup:
GTX 570


Plan:
Buy a PS4 and in 2-3 years upgrade to the newest card(s)

 

[iNvid02]

690 atm, does well but i wish it had more VRAM sometimes. thinking SLI 880s will make me upgrade

 

[Rootbeer]

Currently rocking a GTX 570 SC and its doing me just fine. I thought about upgrading this year, but what with the console launches and all I could tell the GPU landscape wasn't putting out its best efforts. They'll save that for next year, hopefully. And my wallet will be ready. The 800 series will probably seduce me into upgrading.

I also thought about building an all-new PC this year but for two years in a row Intel has given us incredibly lackluster upgrades, so my existing cpu and motherboard hasn't aged that terribly. I really hope next year will be the year they put out an update worth looking into for desktop users

 

[TraBuch]

Dunno. I still have a 6970, guess I'll upgrade to something when games start requiring me to play on low to get a reasonable framerate. Not sure what card that'd be since I know next to nothing about video cards.

 

[Corto]

I have a GTX570 at the moment and I intend to make it last for another year at least. Will wait for th 8xx series and then decide what to do. No hurry.

 

[Gammacide]

I've got SLI'ed GTX 280s currently, so my plan for an upgrade in the foreseeable future is a PS4.

 

[CyclopsRock]

I have a 1080p monitor and don't really intend on upgrading from my 570GTX. So far it handles everything admirably.

 

[OldAsUrSock]

Probably the 870, but I will also see what AMD will bring to the table.

 

[erick]

Oh, I'm familiar with the specs, but I don't think it's going to come down to specs alone.

The 8800GT was already vastly superior to the 360 and PS3, for instance, but was ultimately not enough to last the entire generation unless you were OK making large sacrifices in the last few years. Heck, it was released a while after those previous consoles launched.

Things are a bit different this time around, no doubt, but I don't think we can predict the state of PC ports down the line.

I actually owned the 8800 GTX 768MB, which came out at the same time as PS3 launched, a year before 8800 GT (but was still faster than the latter). That little miracle from fall 2006 ran PC games well into 2012. Crysis 2 for example could be played on high-ish settings at Full HD @ 45 fps under DX9.

And during the first 3 years the differences in power were just staggering, I played most games at 1920x1440 (high-end CRT screen) 30-60 fps with frankly ridiculous AA and AF settings. In November 2009, as the card turned 3 years old, I even did a small set of becnhmarks:

That card was pretty epic and it sure could last through the X360/PS3 generation.

 

[nbthedude]

I am poor as dirt, but I save up my available funds for my expensive hobby and splurge every once and a while. All of my other hobbies/interests cost next to nothing. If someone is buying a console... and buying games at launch... I bet so prices, it would be pretty easy to have a bad ass rig and still give out less in total than the above case.

Same for me. I dont care about cars. I have never owned a new one or even a nice one. Outside of work clothes, I probably have four shirts I rotate. Gaming is where my disposable income goes, and for the last three years PC hardware and steam sales. When you arent paying $60 a pop for games regularly, it quickly adds up and you have more money for upgrades/a lot more cheap Steam sale games.

 

[TheD]

Oh, I'm familiar with the specs, but I don't think it's going to come down to specs alone.

The 8800GT was already vastly superior to the 360 and PS3, for instance, but was ultimately not enough to last the entire generation unless you were OK making large sacrifices in the last few years. Heck, it was released a while after those previous consoles launched.

Things are a bit different this time around, no doubt, but I don't think we can predict the state of PC ports down the line.

No one thinks that a card from today will last the whole gen at max settings, games being made with max settings targeting newer, faster cards.
But that does not take anything away from the card still running at higher settings than the consoles run at.

 

[statham]

Running a 8gb, 8320 OC to 4.2, 7850 OC to 1000mhz. I can play everything right now on high/ultra. will look to see what AMD has next year.

 

[erick]

No one thinks that a card from today will last the whole gen at max settings, games being made with max settings targeting newer, faster cards.
But that does not take anything away from the card still running at higher settings than the consoles run at.

+1

 

[CaptainFalafel]

I have two watercooled 680's in my gaming rig/workstation, and like many here I will probably upgrade when the 800 series comes out and there are cooling blocks available for them.

 

[solomon]

Right now
GTX 560-ti

Next up
The 800 series

I've pretty much upgraded everything else except the gpu, I skipped the 600 and 700 series.

 

[MrFortyFive]

I have a 2GB 680. I'd like to hold out to 2015ish, but we'll see if it holds up. I don't need bleeding edge graphics, but I've gotten to the point where anything less than 60fps is tough to take. So as long as it can do that with highish settings, I'll be content. The only thing I'm concerned about is the VRAM.

 

[Akuun]

Same as any other generation.

I plan to sit on my 1080p monitor + 7950 until it's no longer tolerable. Then I'll upgrade.

 

[Artemis-Thoth]

Current setup: 550 Ti, X4 955 Black

Future: No upgrade plans, currently Overclocking my CPU as close to 4GHz as I can. I'll mainly be playing Planetside 2 and EQNext, and that engine is more CPU intensive than GPU.

Everything else is going on the PS4/Wii U/Vita.

 

[Tesseract]

5830 + phenom 550 black still kicking ass. i probably won't upgrade until street fighter v hits steam.

 

[CTLance]

I'm still rocking my ancient 4850. She's really struggling with newer games, and the meager 512 Megs of VRAM are a painful bottleneck with pretty much anything of recent design.

But I will persevere. I can play in 720p and medium settings just fine. I'm not all too big on graphics, anyway.

I'll buy a new card for Star Citizen, and after that I'll remain with that card for easily 4-5 years again. So I'm eking out every last ounce of performance from the poor card - Star Citizen will release in two years and is currently in alpha testing. Every month I can stay with my current setup is additional performance or prize savings that can go into virtual spaceships.

Frankly, my main concern is price. With Star Citizen I might splurge and go for a 350+€ card, but I'm far more comfortable in the 150-250€ range if I'm honest. Next is the power draw. I don't subscribe to the my-graphics-cards-need-three-dedicated-nuclear-plants-each-and-a-liquid-Nitrogen-cooling-solution school of thought. My current PSU can supply 450W for the entire system, and roughly half of that is eaten up by the rest of the system. My next card will have to fit that power envelope. Which isn't all that hard, admittedly. Performance is of little concern, since noise is the next show-stopper. I have no need for a noisy hot air dispenser. I'm far too lazy to install water cooling, so the large fans in my case and the stock cooling solution of the card will have to suffice. Maybe even a passive variant? Who knows.

Lastly, I have a penchant for ATi. Dunno why. The green boys just have never felt relatable. Heh. Also, I had a bad experience* 15+ years ago, and that kinda stuck. Funny how that goes sometimes.

*

Spoiler

Had a TNT2 back in the day, not the Vanta or whatever the cheaper ones were called, but still, caused no end of problems - despite middling performance. After that horrorshow I fled to the red camp and bought a 8500 - which couldn't even go above 30Hz refresh on release because the drivers were pure concentrated ass juice. Boy, was I angry that day. However, after numerous driver updates it served me damn well, until it overheated one day when the fan got stuck. Cue 4850 (which, coincidentally, got its fan replaced at the first sign of trouble).

 

[RK9039]

I currently I have a GTX 680, no rush to upgrade right now. Towards the end of 2014 or even early 2015 I plan on picking up the 880.

 

[blastprocessor]

I expect the 860 GTX to become the next 8800 GT and will last for years IMHO.

Even my 660 OEM GTX should run next gen fine, but the 860 should help bump up any settings.

 

[Burgess_101]

I have had a flurry of upgrades over the past year or so, It started with a 7870 last year which I then crossfired at christmas to help with my acquisition of a 1440p monitor then around may time I sold them and bought a 680 then about 2 months later I sold it and bought a 780 (so purty). So I am now planning to whether the storm with one and then eventually SLI one and I have no doubt that will last me a long time.

 

[Teppic]

Wait until there's a lot of games I want to play that won't work on my current set, and then buy a new awesome computer with a graphics card that won't offer too much noise.

I usually never go with the latest cards because they're so noisy.

Currently have a 6850

 

[Unai]

I have a GTX TITAN and an i7 2700k right now. I'm pretty sure I could pass the generation running games at higher settings than the consoles, but maybe in two or three years I could buy another titan for SLI.

 

[Ally1987]

I have a GTX Titan, no need for upgrade untill a few years.

 

[Zeth]

Have a 680, should be more than enough for the next few years, though I will probably want to pick up an 880 or equivalent next year.

Might even get a 7xx if I end up with a 1440P monitor soon.

 

[Rooster]

I'm limited to Nvidia MXM cards so I'll have to wait a see what comes out. Have a 770m at the moment so I can wait a while.

 

[Hrothgar]

Currently:

GTX 460 OC

2nd half 2014:

800-series (unless AMD has a better offer).

I will probably buy a new PC + 1080p monitor at the same time, current one will be 4 years old and I am now using a 1680x1050 screen. My i5-760 doesn't play well with every game anymore, despite OC.

 

[Nachtmaer]

Frankly, my main concern is price. With Star Citizen I might splurge and go for a 350+€ card, but I'm far more comfortable in the 150-250€ range if I'm honest. Next is the power draw.

Luckily for you the price range you mentioned is where you usually get the better price/performance and performance/Watt. Something like a 7870 fits right in there at the moment and is a pretty big leap if you're coming from a 4850.

 

[CambriaRising]

I have a 670ftw, so I will probably wait for the 870/880 at least before upgrading. Maybe longer depending on how Next Generation games utilize hardware.

 

[Tacitus_]

Currently: GTX285. I'm thinking of breaking my piggy bank and getting a GTX760 since they hit that sweet price/performance ratio.

Oughta last me a few years again, since I only have a 1080 monitor.

 

[Stallion Free]

Currently: GTX285. I'm thinking of breaking my piggy bank and getting a GTX760 since they hit that sweet price/performance ratio.

Oughta last me a few years again, since I only have a 1080 monitor.

Get the 4gb version for like 30$ more. There is no reason not to. It boggles my mind when people just buy the stock edition.

 

[BrokenEchelon]

I was going to grab a 700 series but now that nvidia is supposedly pushing out the 800s in Q1 of next year, I feel like it would be silly not to wait.

 

[Future PhaZe]

Rolling with 680 2gb in sli I get a better idea of what the 800 series can do and what the reasonable expecations of V-RAM are going to be.

Then I'll sell my SLI setup and get the strongest single card on the market around late 2014 more than likely--with 6GB VRAM hopefully minimum.

I'm not even comfortable with 4gb of VRAM at this point with 1080p starting to slowly but surely fall behind on higher end rigs and cheaper 4k monitor solutions coming years down the road.

 

[Momentary]

Don't say that man :'(

Well, you can look at Volta as the next generation of technology, but I doubt that you'll see AAA multiplat devs take advantage of its power. It would be nice if a AAA studio made a PC exclusive to show people what's up.

 

[burgerdog]

I have a 6870 and I really need to upgrade. AMD's next line will be unveiled soon, right?

 

[Stallion Free]

Well, you can look at Volta as the next generation of technology, but I doubt that you'll see AAA multiplat devs take advantage of its power. It would be nice if a AAA studio made a PC exclusive to show people what's up.

Volta better not get delayed at all. I want that 12 gb of vram.

 

[OldAsUrSock]

Oh, I'm familiar with the specs, but I don't think it's going to come down to specs alone.

The 8800GT was already vastly superior to the 360 and PS3, for instance, but was ultimately not enough to last the entire generation unless you were OK making large sacrifices in the last few years. Heck, it was released a while after those previous consoles launched.

Things are a bit different this time around, no doubt, but I don't think we can predict the state of PC ports down the line.

No, the 8800GT still does better than the consoles in 720p.