fairly future proof card for gaming

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andy3050

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I'm usually a console gamer but usually have a fairly decent rig too.

i'm maybe looking to get out of consoles sue to the uncertainty that they can provide a full HD gaming experience that PC's have been able to do for years already.

So I'm looking for a graphics card that can last me a fair amount of time, i don't like to upgrade very often (usually around every 5 years or so)

i was looking at the Titan or GTX690 but i don't really want to pay those prices (will there be a price drop in the near future?)

So i'm down to the GTX680, but what i want to know is will the 2GB be OK or will it be better going with the 4GB since i won't be upgrading for a while?
 
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2wenty

2wenty

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A 2Gb 680 is good for 1080p gaming as of now, whether it will be suitable in 3-4 years is debatable. You could get a 7970 with 3Gb, and it offers the same performance as a 680, for cheaper and with an extra gig of VRam, which will last you longer in 1080p gaming. I probably wouldn't get a better GPU than those two, since you may start to experience some bottlenecking with your processor, which you may want to upgrade within the near future.
 
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MajinCry

MajinCry

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Future proof card? No such thing.

Ignore 2wenty. That 680 will be obsolete when the 780 comes out in the coming year. And that 780 will be obsolete when the 880 comes out in the year after. And that 880....
 
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andy3050

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Is there a massively noticeable difference for upgrading my CPU, it plays all the recent games great (above 40fps). i was thinking of an i5 3570 around the time i upgrade as well, and i'm usually an nVidia fan, which i understand would go better with intel?
 
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andy3050

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i hardly think it will be obsolete as you put it, not the best might be a better phrase. obsolete suggests it will no longer work with newer games.

my old 8800 GTS is very old now but still supported by the vast majority of new games
 
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rhysiam

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+1 for listening to 2twenty. I'd also vote for a 7970, particularly if you're up for overclocking. Gives you an extra GB of VRAM and a faster memory bus. Nvidia cards are no better with an intel processor than AMD. I've heard that crop up before but no idea where it comes from. If you are set on Nvidia, then the 670 is probably better. It's significantly cheaper than the 680 for a very small sacrifice in performance.

If you really don't want to upgrade for a long time, you could make a case for splashing out the extra $$ on a 4GB 680. Personally though, I think you'd get better performance at a lower price over time if you aimed for a sweet price/performance buy now (like the 670 or 7950) and upgrade when you find it's not enough. You might end up upgrading a little more often, but you're avoiding the real top end of the price/performance curve where you start paying huge amounts extra for tiny performance gains.

**EDIT** - I only just noticed your rig in your signature... I though you were upgrading from your 8800 GTS! The 670/7950 aren't massive upgrades from your 560ti. They're significant, but I'm no so confident recommending them. Are there games that your rig isn't cutting it for now? I wouldn't be upgrading until that's the case.
RE the CPU question: Haswell is out pretty soon, I wouldn't be upgrading right now myself. It's looking a pretty small update, but still.
 
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andy3050

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the first definition is exactly what i mean. once the 680 came out, nvidia still produced the 580 and games still supported it. to be obsolete then no new games would support it and nvidia and companies like evga and gigabyte would discontinue it. this definition is more along the lines of the 7800 GTX is pretty much obsolete, and the 6800 GTX is defiantly as there aren't any current games that support them.


now if you mean obsolete as a newer technology has been released (the second definition) then yes you are kind of right. but they are still based on the same design. you can still upgrade a mother board and attach a GTX580 even though the GTX680 is out, so technically not obsolete as there is still use for them. this definition is along the lines that AGP cards are obsolete as PCI-E has replaced the standard way of connection.
 
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andy3050

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i can run games at the moment pretty well (if i keep Anti aliasing and anisotropic filtering down to x2 or x4)

for example: crysis 2 at full settings, tomb raider at high settings (no tresFX), max payne 3 full settings all with with low AA and AF. i'm just wondering if i was to upgrade cpu could i hold off upgrading graphics for a year or so untill i can't run at full settings with low AA and AF?
 
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rhysiam

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Your FPS in every game will be limited either by your CPU or GPU. Obviously a faster CPU will only help you where you are limited by your current CPU. Your current system seems to be pretty well matched to me, I don't think that you'll see a massive boost in most games from a new CPU. I guess it depends whether you'd rather hold off and upgrade the whole system at the same time, or whether you'd rather upgrade the CPU/MOBO now and then the GPU down the track. Either option is fine as long as you accept that you're unlikely to see the full jump in FPS from a new CPU+MOBO until you get that new GPU too.
 
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andy3050

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you've put it into quite a bit of perspective. i suppose i could just not upgrade as my rig is still playing games at a good level (i'm not at all bothered about 60FPS) i suppose i'll just see what its like when games like watchdogs comes out later this year. if i end up having to reduce the settings to medium just to get it running at 30fps then i can upgrade then.

plus haswell will be out then and the possibility of a price reduction on the titans, 690's and 680's
 
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