Worthwhile video upgrade? 8800GT 512mb to...

[Harv]

ATI Radeon 4870 1GB?

Is the gain significant at this point? I'm running an E6750 with 4gb so I figure I'm okay on CPU for a bit.

Was thinking I could probably sell the 8800GT for around $100 to finance the upgrade. I think it's either a BFG or EVGA, can't remember off the top of my head.

[axion]

I'm pretty sure the 8800GT will be fine for the foreseeable future, but if you really feel the need to upgrade above and beyond, it's an alright upgrade. Personally I'm in the same boat with an 8800GT, and am going to wait it out as long as possible.

[Harv]

If it were say consistently 30% or better in performance across the board I'd probably upgrade.

At this point it isn't necessary, but I can offset the cost by selling the 8800GT since it is still a decent card.

[axion]

The performance is superior, however at this point games aren't requiring the extra performance boost anyways. I'm waiting since there is going to be something that trumps the 4870 in a few months anyways, then another...

[Harv]

Well, the only issue really is running games at 1680x1050 without any slowdown since that is my LCD's native res. Some games get boggy with maximum settings even with the 8800GT.

[biosc1]

Well, the only issue really is running games at 1680x1050 without any slowdown since that is my LCD's native res. Some games get boggy with maximum settings even with the 8800GT.

Jeez, you have the exact same machine as I do (8800GT, E6750, 4GB). I was doing similar research earlier, wanting to upgrade to a 4870. Seems to me that it will not be a whole lot of gain for the price.

Personally, I'm going to wait until one more generation of card or the 4870 drops to the $125-$150 mark, whichever comes first.

Some things I've considered, instead, is bumping up my processor to a faster dual-core, or faster RAM, or a faster HDD. Though, I'm feeling pretty comfortable with what I have right now, heck even Crysis runs great. I don't really encounter anything with regards to getting bogged down, unless I crank the AA on Crysis. I haven't tried Stalker: CC yet, but the original Stalker was probably the most demanding game I have (always seems to crank the vid card fan speed up) and it plays great.

[Spectre-7]

Some things I've considered, instead, is bumping up my processor to a faster dual-core, or faster RAM, or a faster HDD. Though, I'm feeling pretty comfortable with what I have right now, heck even Crysis runs great. I don't really encounter anything with regards to getting bogged down, unless I crank the AA on Crysis. I haven't tried Stalker: CC yet, but the original Stalker was probably the most demanding game I have (always seems to crank the vid card fan speed up) and it plays great.

Yeah, but you're a known practitioner of black magic. That's not exactly fair.

[biosc1]

Yeah, but you're a known practitioner of black magic. That's not exactly fair.

No, just haven't gotten into any intense firefights yet ;)

[KingGorilla]

Not now, but as the price on that creeps lower, it is worth considering. Is your 8800 GT showing its age? I cannot think of many games out right now or on the horizon it will not handily render.

[Wackman3000]

I traded up my 8800GT about a month ago for a GTX260. It came down to me getting a decent resale value on my card and I caught the GTX260 on sale with a decent sized MIR. All in all I upgraded to a brand new card and fresh 3 month Step up program with EVGA for about $130.

So if you can sell your old card and can swing a decent deal on something new, I'd say go for it if you want to squeeze that extra FPS or turn on that extra bit of detail.

[Harv]

Eh, I play more RTS games and some of those will bog down with everything turned up to the max and a lot of units on the screen. Supreme Commander and Company of Heroes as well as World in Conflict. It's not a big deal though, not like I can't turn off some AA or go one level of detail down and it works fine, but it's just an excuse to upgrade really. Not anything valid performance wise. :D

But there is always something on the horizon that will tax what I currently have, so if I can get out of this and into something else that increases performance by a third or more with little expense then I might do it.