Should i buy a 295 now or wait for something new?

[douglatins]

do not base your thoughts of value in a product on price, that's very poor logic especially when looking at computer hardware. I say that as advise not in an offensive way and sorry if you do take it offensively. but a good example is the q9550 and the q9450. When they were released the q9550 was ~550 bucks but the q9450 was ~3X0 some i believe. was the performance a big enough difference to warrant the 200 dollar difference? HELL NO!!! but as erocker said there are plenty of posts here to help you make a decision so i will move on as you wished erocker gl doug

The thing is that videocards i believe to be the only hardware that the price/performance scalability is right. You say processors and you´re very right as with Corei7 920 and 965 thle last being 3x and you get no substantial more FPS. But with videocards its different, the market is much competitive so that i think they are worth their price, since a gtx295 has more than 40 % gain in performance than a 295 and to me is 38% more expensive, that right there is value. Even being both 300$+ cards.

 

[douglatins]

""The thing that made me sell my X2 is because i like to overclock, and the X2 just can handle that, from TPUs review i saw massive gains when overclocking a 295
Also i hated the fact that if i not manually controlled my fan % (X2) the card would just cook. When i was installing Seven i touched the air flow output grill i literally burn my finger. I was not unsatisfied with the X2 performance, just the heat and "unoverclockability" oh and the underperformance from certain games.

And I don´t think that a overkill is the correct word, just look at TPU reviews, Performance per Dollar from a 295 and a 285 are pretty much equal at my resolution

And Drizzt5 is not the one having trouble deciding, thats ME! And i think its totally positive to look for advice, and none can say otherwise.""

from stock 576 core, 1242 shaders, 999 memory to 648 core, 1500 shaders and 1156 memory my score went from 16000 - 19000+ in vantage, if I oc any higher I don't get much more points since my CPU is holding me back.

Any card can overclock but from what I've read the best decisions if your going to overclock is to get a 4870, gtx260 or gtx285 not sure if you want to lose alot of performance and go with the 4850 or 9800gtx+ series, they all overclock well.


EDIT: Don't forget that gtx 285 is on par with 4850's. Playing with my resolution at 1680x1050 there's still a big boost in gaming, this should be considered, my 4850's and some gtx 285's are scoring 12k in vantage. My Q6600 and 22 inch monitor with my gtx295 is scoring 19k ++, real world gaming you say? Well before I can average a 25 - 30 fps in very high now it goes from 30+min - 50+max 40+ average in crysis.

You seem to get my point in all of this , since you have one 295, you would advice me to buy one correct? because to me those gains you presented are well worth it....
And what about noise? is the vga the noisiest part of your pc? my X2 sure were (fan50%) and i had 10 120cm fans.

 

[Blacksniper87]

just get a GTX 285 at 1680 x 1050 you will not be able to tell the diff between the GTX 285 and the 4870x2 except in crysis on very high

 

[Frizz]

You seem to get my point in all of this , since you have one 295, you would advice me to buy one correct? because to me those gains you presented are well worth it....
And what about noise? is the vga the noisiest part of your pc? my X2 sure were (fan50%) and i had 10 120cm fans.

Well there's really no need to manually control the fan of the gtx295 unless your tweaking voltages, it should always stay at expected temps. But when you blast it up from 70% and onwards it will be the loudest part in your PC no doubt, on auto there's hardly any noise.
Right now my scythe fan on my xigmatek is the loudest component in my PC even though its only running 2000rpm, 3000rpm is way too loud.

I'm just advising you to consider the amount of performance you will get even on a 1680x1050 monitor you will reap the performance as I have, but you upgrading from a 4870x2 I would have no clue weather you'll be disappointed or happy in the end, I know Binge was at least lol. And with the 4870x2 sold I think you should go with the best, since the gtx295 will cost you way less than half price making it a worth buy for the performance.

This is my own personal opinion although I have no idea how the 4870x2 will compare to my setup against a gtx295 as I don't have first hand experience, all I can state are the current results I'm getting with this card + setup and hope it helps you compare. Another thing since your moving to an i7 its just more the reason to go gtx295 from my perspective.

 

[0098]

I dont understand why some people say 8800 series cards are outdated and should never be bought again. they are still fast cards. GTX 260 card and up are expensive. who cares if the engine is outdated? I always dreamt about having a 8800gtx video card but i just got my GTS 250 which is even faster than a 8800gtx ultra and much more cheaper.

There are only a few people who owns G200 based cards. the majority of gamers have 8800gt or gtx video cards.

Buying a GTX 295 or 280 is pointless. but if you are like one of those gamers who is obssessed about having no less than 60fps in every game then buy it. otherwise dont.

For me i can play any game with 20fps. i dont care about the numbers as long as its playable for me.

 

[0098]

randomflip: and please stop bragging about your system in here. you are inciting the argument.

 

[Frizz]

randomflip: and please stop bragging about your system in here. you are inciting the argument.

???

there's an argument???

 

[0098]

randomflip: Yes you werent directly inciting an argument. but you insinuated it.

 

[Frizz]

randomflip: Yes you werent directly inciting an argument. but you insinuated it.

..... you got issues.

I wish you the best in any choice you make douglatins, I'm gonna stop posting in this thread for my own good before I say something that might get me banned >_>.

 

[Kursah]

randomflip: Yes you werent directly inciting an argument. but you insinuated it.

Really just one page later and you're back to this?

How about we get this back ON TOPIC AND KEEP IT THERE this time. The 295's and 280's aren't pointless depending on what you want, if you want max performance with high af/aa settings at super HD resolutions and a solution that will last at those resolutions it makes absolutely perfect sense. Everyone has a preference, some would prefer 60fps to 20, some don't care about maxing out all the settings, that's why companies like NV and ATI release multiple ranges of cards. I chose a GTX260 as a longer term investment in comparison to my previous vid card purchases which were generally mid-range to lower-mid-range. I do like to play with at least med-hi settings at my LCD's native resolution and a little AA 2x-4x generally. Well with that said, my GTX is kicking ass and taking names and has been since July when I purchased (well more-so invested). It's lasted, ran great, keeps cool, folds a lot, and is a great gaming card. I could've kept my 9600GT in my rig and dealt with it, but I chose to buy something more powerful so I could just crank things up and spend more time playing the game rather than tweaking to find the best mix of performance/visuals. Again everyone has their preference, though personally if I were to get a GTX295 I'd wait till the single PCB versionw as out, reviews both pro and consumer were out and choose then.

 

[PaulieG]

randomflip: Yes you werent directly inciting an argument. but you insinuated it.

I don't see anyone creating an argument except for you. There have been several warnings. I'm losing my patience, and infractions will be coming next. Stay on topic guys.

 

[a_ump]

I dont understand why some people say 8800 series cards are outdated and should never be bought again. they are still fast cards. GTX 260 card and up are expensive. who cares if the engine is outdated? I always dreamt about having a 8800gtx video card but i just got my GTS 250 which is even faster than a 8800gtx ultra and much more cheaper.

There are only a few people who owns G200 based cards. the majority of gamers have 8800gt or gtx video cards.

Buying a GTX 295 or 280 is pointless. but if you are like one of those gamers who is obssessed about having no less than 60fps in every game then buy it. otherwise dont.

For me i can play any game with 20fps. i dont care about the numbers as long as its playable for me.

well it's is mostly enthusiast or high end users that participate here. so naturally whats most talked about are the new techs around. hence GTX's and HD 48XX's and so on. I mean can't say you'd be as interested in something about a core 2 duo e6600 as you would a new i7 CPU. But i do agree the G92 and G80 were great chips and still are, but they are more towards mid-high end than high-enthusiast, i myself am looking at purchasing a GTS 250. i know it will satisfy me since it's a better performer than my previous 8800GT and i've gotten used to med settings with my 7800GTX. And no one mentioned they shouldn't be bought but in this topic, the OP is talking about purchasing a GTX 295, the best graphic card currently available so therefore sub $150 cards won't be mentions, only other enthusiasts chips will be talked about or considered, it's just logical.

 

[Drizzt5]

The OP seems to want to get a GTX 295 based off of his posts. Just go get it dude if you wan't to. Your no stranger to multiple GPU's since you just sold off your 4870x2 so you don't need to be warned about the possible problems. Only thing that might be worth waiting for is to see if the single PCB gtx 295 offers any advantages/ drops the price on the double PCB.

 

[melodyaries]

it depends on whether you really need!

if you just want to play crysis or Far cry 2 more fluently,please get it(Don't suggest!)

 

[Wagnard]

Hi guys.
This is my first post.
I came here to ask you something.
I use to have a 4870 , 4870X2 and now I have a GTX295.
Most member here say a 4870 is far enough with a monitor with resolution of 1680*1050.
I tend to disagree on this.
I'm a gamer who can hardly play with less than 50fps on screen and I like those AA filtering.
So I don't think you can play crysis or Company of heroes on DX10 max setting and 8X + AA on a single card at 1680*1050.
I only could play with all those eyes candy on my new GTX 295 (200% satisfied by the way).

Care to share your tough on this?
Thanks

 

[h3llb3nd4]

Thats why i said a GTX295

 

[wolf]

HD4850 < HD4870 ≈ GTX260 (c192) < GTX260 (c216) < GTX280 < GTX285 ≈ HD4870X2 < GTX295

I think that about summs it up, almost no matter what this will be the progression of how good the cards are, minus discussion about 4870 and GTX260 c192/216 models (why i used ≈). And again @ max OC the stories will be slightly different.

The answer is simple, if you want today's best BFX card, its the GTX295, no iff's, butt's or maybe's, it just is. depending on purchase price however the GTX285 is THE most powerfully single GPU on the planet and the performance is by no means lackluster.

my 2 cents.

 

[Frizz]

Makes me think.... why couldn't they just sandwich 2x gtx285's together ><

 

[a_ump]

maybe the heat would be too great? dout it, probly just to costly to produce and no need to develope a card that powerful when the GTX 295 is already king.

 

[BUCK NASTY]

Buying a GTX 295 or 280 is pointless. but if you are like one of those gamers who is obssessed about having no less than 60fps in every game then buy it. otherwise dont.

Did you forget about Folding @ Home and the monstrous productivity that the GTX2xx series puts out? Oh, and this comes from a current GTX 295 owner.

 

[Blacksniper87]

hmm still recken you only really need a GTX 285 at the most but it's your call mate its not my money

 

[Attix]

Buy the GTX 295 and you should be set for a while. But isn't the 4870X2 better?

 

[Frizz]

You should put a poll up, that helped me decide which to get its alot easier to revise people's opinion that way rather than reading through page 1 and up of your thread.

EDIT: Although after I bought the gtx295 the 48701GB crossfire was suddenly winning lolol, so yeah don't base your whole decision on it.

 

[HammerON]

You should put a poll up, that helped me decide which to get its alot easier to revise people's opinion that way rather than reading through page 1 and up of your thread.

EDIT: Although after I bought the gtx295 the 48701GB crossfire was suddenly winning lolol, so yeah don't base your whole decision on it.

You should place the link to your thread in this one!

 

[Frizz]

http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=88960&page=7

I did let the majority decide for me in the end.