Debate about GPU gaming futureproofness

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aspri

aspri

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Hi forumers,

I'm just wanting to make a thread about what you guys think about "futureproof" of grapic cards.
I can see all over forums "nah don't go with this card in 2 years it won't run anything" (or so), whereas games' producers recommend minimal GPUs that came out like 5 years before (or so).
Is it necessary to spend a lot of money just for upgrading wile you can just lower settings a little and still have fun without having to mortgage your living place??
Feel free to comment.
 
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envy14tpe

envy14tpe

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When it comes to GPUs and future proofing. The only way to keep up is to get a new GPU every 1-2 years. This seems crazy to some but you don't actually lose all that much. I'd estimate that you'd get back 50-60% of original value after 1.5years. Your other components can last much longer. Say upgrading the CPU every 4 years (and mobo at same time).

I prefer eye candy and once you go from High to Ultra it is hard to go back in the future when you know it can look better.
 
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ZionZA

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Future proofing a graphics card is like buying the fastest car to be the fastest. Problem is something is going to come along to give that car a run for its money but at an extremely fast rate. Companies who make games for the sake of having the most visually realistic game (ie. Crysis) makes this a problem as well. I personally don't believe in holding onto a graphics card for longer than 2 years when it comes to being able to play all the games at max settings.

Some people say that you could go SLI/Crossfire with your top end cards and then not have to worry about it for the next few years. But saving your money by only getting one card now, selling it in two years and then getting the newest top end one then is sometimes actually cheaper.

I duno. I personally don't believe in future proofing when it comes to graphics. Theres just to many things to take into consideration. If you want a card that will play all the games that come out in the next 3 to 5 years then you should be safe if you choose something like the 780ti. But thats only in the sense that you will be able to play the games and not play them on their max setting.

The GTX 580 was a good card when it was released 3 years ago. But today a GTX 660 gives similar performance and is a mid to high end card. The 760 is faster and the 780 is more than twice as fast. So in 3 years time performance has doubled.

Anyway. I personally made a rule with graphics cards in my own system. I will try and replace them with newer models once every year to 2 years. Its expensive but the only way to kinda stay on top. If playing games at max settings is an important part of your gaming life then you sadly need money and generally lots of it too.
 
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huilun02

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There is no 'one size fits all' answer to this issue.

'a lot of money' is subjective.

Generally for mainstream games at 1080p, cards like the GTX 660 and HD 7870 or better will hold their value for quite some time.
At lower resolutions, a HD 7790 or GTX 650 Ti will do the same.
Beyond the 280x and 770, performance you get for every extra dollar diminishes. Those are for people who have money to burn or have large/multi monitors to feed anyway.
 
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Quaddro

Quaddro

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i've run my 4 years old 5850 and overclock it to 1000/1250 since out of box, and cooled with mk-13..

And no graphic card can tempting me so much to remove this old puppy from my pci-e socket..still give me 40fps+ in any game at max setting in 1440x900 res..

Futureproof..something almost impossible in computing world..every step is too fast..
The key is, never buy something "enough". Enough for today, that means it will have no breath for tommorow.

Buy something overkill..it will give a futureproofness..a longer breath to your system for next 5 years..

well..something overkill, for example..
Run 3 cards 780Ti in Threeway SLI mode for 1366 x 760 res monitor..:D

I believe, this system will play anything in ultra setting for next 5 - 7 years..and have a good futureproofness...:D
 
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aspri

aspri

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Lol
"Futureproof..something almost impossible in computing world", you've got a point there and I see that for most of you upgrading the GPU often in gaming is a necessity.
Ok, let's see things in another way, and I hope I won't sound retarted :)
Basically for the next couple of years technology will bring us more and more detailed graphics and high textures but won't it at a time or another slow down, I mean the technology growth curve will flatten up a little then the mid-high end GPUs will last easely for 5-7 years...?
I'm not a tech-guy but I loved video games since the Atari and my god how great it evolved lol, so I want to know a more of how this works.
 
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Quaddro

Quaddro

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Yeah..like i said before, future proof or not, it's depend on us..
For example..
With my old card, the performance is still satisfying me..
Even in certain game only give me 40fps+ in ultra setting..
i'm happy with this card, and that's mean this card give me a very good futureproofness..

The point is, If your old card still make you happy, then your card is future proof..:)
 
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aspri

aspri

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Lol you're right and as Quaddro said if you're happy with your GPU then futureproof isn't a big deal since you'll have to change the GPU someday depending on your needs. I have a GTX 660 and as long as it can run new games I won't change it.
 
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aspri

aspri

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LOOOL, Ok but let me tell you something, I bought BF4 myself, and I don't know why but you shouldn't try BF4 until they fix it otherwise...I guess...OMG that poor GTX 660TI won't last for long.
I mean you won't last long before doing a crazy thing xD
 
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aspri

aspri

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Wouldn't the 660TI be closer to 7950?
 
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envy14tpe

envy14tpe

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Sorry for side tracking the question about future proofing. I added the comment about BF4 and my gpu to show how people react to changes in games that can influence buyers. My gpu gave me 60fps on Ultra in BF3 but if I want the same in BF4 then I have to upgrade my 16 months old gpu.
 
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aspri

aspri

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Again, you're not totally wrong. you could still play it on mid-high, on ultra there are going to be massive FPS drops in certain areas but that is IMO still negligeable. I guess a BF fan would do the upgrade, it's a choice I respect but I believe playing at lower details isn't an issue.
 
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nikoli707

nikoli707

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there are plenty of people running 2010 cards like the gtx470/480 and amd 6950/6970. those cards still play any game today at 1080p and dial down a few settings and your have a great gaming experience. many people are so caught it in maxing out every single ticker in a games settings that its becomes ridiculous. but i would say after this year those still running those 2010 cards will be looking to upgrade to the 780/290 cards sometime in Q2/Q3 2014 when the prices will definitely drop into the low $300 range and actually have value to mainstream gamers. future proofing is impossible... even 4way sli 780ti's cant run crysis 3 on three 4k displays and get anything over 30fps.
 
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envy14tpe

envy14tpe

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I would find it extremely difficult to justify buying a 780 or higher gpu for a one monitor system. People that own a 480 or 6970 are the high end group, and those gpus lose value really quickly, whereas mid range cards aren't so bad.

How often do you guys upgrade cpu + mobo?
 
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