how often do you guys replace your GPUs?

n3ll

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I'd like to know how often you guys upgrade your GPUs? is it in every bew chip release? for example: 5900 to 6800 to 7900 nvidia cards
 

Herr_Fritz

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My GPU upgrade path went thusly

TNT -> TNT2ultra -> GeForce4Ti -> GeForce7800GTX

That'a about a 10 year timespan, so it looks like a few years average for myself.

Fritz
 

chenBrazil

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depends on budget...and needs...when I change my system I usually got a better vga, max as I can get... as I change or add a new system every year...a new vga will be added... but now I will stay with 6800 ultra for a longer time as they could be fully converted to quadro and by now no 7 series gpu can be fully unlocked as quadro (driver will recognize as quadro with rivaturner but it do not work like quadro as 6800 gpu does work) ...
 

cleeve

Illustrious
I replace my GPU when two factors occur at the same time:

1. I own a game I can't play at settings I find satisfactory, and

2. I can afford something that allows me to play at the settings I want


Upgrading at any other time is a waste.
 

rodney_ws

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Personally I think it's best to skip generations... I went from a ATI 9600 Pro all the way up to a 7800 GTX shortly after its release... the ATI did everything I needed it to do right up until it was retired... it was getting a little weak in the gaming department but still played the games I was interested in.

Anyone who buys every current generation card is crazy... no way did I even consider buying a 7900 GTX when it was announced over 7 or 8 months after I had my card... however, I am looking ahead to the next generation cards from ATI/Nvidia.
 

sojrner

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I agree...

I begin the upgrade shopping when i cant play a game i want to. GLquake, UT'99, first GhostRecon, anticipation of HL2/Doom3, and now FEAR all did it to me. That translates into a voodoo (cant remember, before i was into hardware...), TNT2(32meg), GeForce3ti, 9700pro, x1900xt. before the TNT2 i kinda lagged in gaming after quake. spent most of my time on C&C/red alert and really never taxed the system, lots of 2-d stuff.

That is skipping more than a generation on each step, and in the case of the 9700pro it still plays most games smooth so is still viable. I am hoping to get similar life from the 1900...
 

n3ll

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YUP! that's wise shopping for you people out there. I have a friend who's just lucky being a trustfund baby. He buys every card he could get he's hands on he previously had an xfx 7800gt 256mb, Then the 1900xtx came out and hell! he bought it. like the performance upgrade would be like in a 5900 to a 7900gt. It's nice to know people are still using up their money's worth out there. I currently have a gecube x850xt 256 and will be replacing it in the next directx 10 cards when they're out and have good reviews
 

hjohnso2

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TNT2 --> GEFORCE 2 MMX 400 --> GEFORCE 6800 and thats over 5 years.
I am guessing my current Geforce 6800 will last a bit longer than the two previous cards..man did they suck but I have to recall what was available back in the day. Its really amazing how these cards have advanced to where now folks are pairing 4 amazing grahpic cards in one machine..crazy.
 

KingGreatYat

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I also like to skip a generation.

I have owned gefore MX 2 - Ti 4200 - 6600GT
before that I have a Voodoo 3 2000 (frickin brilliant card)

My next card will most likely be a geforce 8*** of some kind.

This has worked out at once every two years.
 

turbo_mcgillicutty

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Lets see, here's how my upgrade path went.

TNT (my first Real Comp)->maxtrox g400 (i loved that card)->Gforce 2 (bro bought it for me)->radeon 9000 (swapped GF2 for it)->Radeon 9800 (couldnt play ut04 that well on the 9000)->x1800xl (my a64 agp system blew up so i went pci express).

So most of my upgrades have either been free (GF2-Radeon 9000) or out of necessity (up to the x1800xl). I think this xl will be ok for a bit and then i will go for a good midrange card that is available at the time that wont destroy my bank account.
 

phaxmohdem

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Hmmm My upgrades:

Trident 256K VLB Card :)
Trident 1MB PCI Card
ATI Rage 4MB AGP Card
TNT2 Pro 32MB AGP Card
GeForce4 Ti4600 128MB AGP Card
Radeon AIW 9800Pro 128MB AGP Card
ATI x800XL 256MB AGP Card

These are just for my main rig(s) as it has been upgraded over the years. I've got a whole dresser drawer full of old vid cards at home though ranging from Matrox 8MB-32MB cards, FX 5200's, ATI 7000, 9250, 9550, 9600, GF4 MX's TNT's.... Too much crap to remember.
 

powerbaselx

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I'd like to know how often you guys upgrade your GPUs? is it in every bew chip release? for example: 5900 to 6800 to 7900 nvidia cards

Nope. I replace the videocard when i feel the games start getting with low frame rate in the minimum acceptable detail level (usually below 20 fps in average). Or else, if i perform a major upgrade that force me to change GPU interface (like PCI to AGP and now for PCI-E).

Nowadays i try to OC a bit the videocard so it can last a bit longer... and you have the SLI option again.

.- Luis Duarte
 

chumbawumba

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Anyone considering buying a graphics card on a limited budget you should consider the fact that ATI & Nvidia bring out the new range every 6 months and as such the old cards drop in price usually at this point...

Anyway 15 years of PC's and I've had:
Trident 512k ISA -> Trident 1M ISA -> + Voodoo 1 (4M) -> Voodoo 3 3000 PCI (16M) -> Matrox Dual head AGP (32M) -> Nvidia 5700 Ultra AGP(128M)

I play most games in 1024x768 and HL2 has high frame rate, however FEAR is only good with low eye candy and Quake 4 chugs.
I would like a x1900 XTX but you try justifying that to my wife and child... I will probably not consider and upgrading till I upgrade my PC which would be early next year now...

Otherwise I think the real issue I would hold off, is the recent debate over the latest graphics card also processing the physics.

If I would buy a card now I'd go for the X850. :)

Andy
 

delanooch

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Once a year, unless I know something better will come if I wait another month or 2. I will hold out so I dont end up buying something I cant upgrade for another year.

ATI 7500 32M -> Geforce 2 64M (can't even remember what it was lol) -> Geforce 4 MX420 64M -> GF4 ti4200 128MB-> Geforce 5700 Ultra->Geforce 5900 Ultra-> 6800 GT AGP-> Dual 6800 GT's in SLI -> current setup dual 7800 GTX KO's in SLI

There was a 9600XT all-in-wonder in there too, for my media center but I bought back my old 6800GT from the friend I sold it to and added a tv tuner pci card. 9600 wasnt cutting it anymore but was great in its day!

I got lucky with my 7800's and am currently in the step up proggy, still waiting though :( but at least its a free upgrade - shipping untill next upgrade, may even swing to ATI 8O

Sorry Uncle Phil, if you happen to read this :D
 
I replace my GPU when two factors occur at the same time:

1. I own a game I can't play at settings I find satisfactory, and

2. I can afford something that allows me to play at the settings I want

Upgrading at any other time is a waste.

Same thing here...my upgrades went in this succession: AIW 128 Pro=>Radeon 8500 64MB=>Radeon 9600 128MB=>BFG 6800GT OC

Some of the games that caused me to upgrade were Max Payne2, Wolfenstein, and Doom3...still living in AGP, not yet ready to make the jump to PCIe as I haven't found that game yet, thought it was going to be CoD2, but nope...but the again, haven't tried HL2 or FEAR yet, so...
 

shabodah

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This is going to be fun! These are all my systems, but I usually have two at any given point. By the way my age is midtwenties just to give you perspective.

IBM 286 - Onboard
budgest 386 - Onboard
IBM 486 DX2 50mhz Onboard
Pentium 1 75mhz Onboard
Pentium 2 200mhz Onboard
Cyrix 233myz Onboard
K6-2 400mhz Onboard :)
Athlon 800 (here we go!) Voodoo 4
Athlon xp 1000c (1.0) Geforce 4
Sempron 2800 (1.6) onboard 6100 then 7300GS
Athlon 3000 (754 venice stock 2.0 running cool at 2.5 no extra voltage) 7600GS

Now if I can only forget those days of Onboard, maybe I'll get my sanity back!
 

raven_87

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Gotta love the 9700 PRO.

It has to be the best, longest lasting viable videocard the planet has ever seen...

So true. I bought my Sapphire 9700pro a week after launch, and its still turning out the frames like the day I bought it.

Anywho, a little more on topic. Depending on cash flow and product realeses, I get a new GPU every 5-8 months (almost twice a year you could say)
 

enewmen

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I usually buy new cards about every 1-2 years and whole new systems about every 3-4 years.
Such that, the video cards get leap-froged TNT2-GeForce2-ATI 9600-Nv 7800GS - (Future PCIe DX10 card)
The motherboards last longer and I usually upgrade based on sockets or slots - 440BX - i865 - (Future i965x or AM2)
Finally the Keyboards - Monitors - Printers last the longest.
15" crappy VGA - 21" CRT - 24" LCD wide.

So, spend the most on the Monitor, then the system, and no more than $350 on the video card. (even though the video card makes the biggest difference in game framerates)
 

shabodah

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Yeah, back to topic. Sorry. Seems to me it is not worth while for most people who have a 6800/7800 cards to upgrade till the 8XXX series cards come out.
 

Vokofpolisiekar

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Well, I went from mx400 to FX5600 to 9800XT to X800XT to X1800XL to 6600GT (XL blew) to X1900XTX (was posted instead of XT - dumb asses!).

From this one would reckon me buying a new gen card everytime, but being from SA I had people travelling abroad and thus due to high pricing here in SA, I was able to "import" top gcards from US at USD prices, sell my old cards at exactly what I payed to import - maybe loose the odd $20.
 

bluntside

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It all depends if I can play certain games, If I cant then I get a new vga, it also depends upon budget. But what I want I usually get. I upgraded my Ati 9800pro>Atix1900xtx. So it al comes down , If I oc my card and push its life span until I get the funds for a new card, or just oc it until my card fries up :twisted:
 

mas0n

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ATI 8500 64MB
ATI 9800Pro AIW 128MB
BFG 7800GS OC 256

3 upgrades in about 5 years

Hell i am still using Socket A and AGP

My next upgrade will be to a 939 chip and mobo which will be one generation behind once the AM2s come out.
 
I replace my GPU when two factors occur at the same time:

1. I own a game I can't play at settings I find satisfactory, and

2. I can afford something that allows me to play at the settings I want

That sounds familiar, have you said that before? :lol:

Upgrading at any other time is a waste.

you're SILLY! I upgrade when there's acool new Box Cover.

first a Race Card, then A Cool Shield, then and Evil Goalie, then dark nymph, and finally a Pegasus.

Hope someone brings out someting cool pretty soon, my game play is pretty sucky right now. :twisted: