New Card or Not?!

[jhughes87]

Hi, just joined the forumz...anyway I was recently looking for something i'd like for christmas and I was wondering if I could get some input on a graphics upgrade.

Currently I have a connect3d x800 gto 256mb card with the R430 core, 12 pixel pipelines, 256 bit. But my question is would it be worth it to upgrade the card now since dx10 cards are coming out soon and also what to upgrade it to. I'm looking for a NOTICEABLE increase in fps AND image quality. I typically play my games at resolution 1280x960 and have an enjoyable experience playing my games there with most lag in oblivion and f.e.a.r of course. After looking around for hours at various reviews on new graphics cards, I figured i'd ask the players themselves.

I play F.E.A.R, Oblivion, CS:S and the other Half-Life 2 mods, and thinking of getting GRAW and some others. Thank you guys in advance.

A Couple System Specs:
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice 2.0 GHz
1 GB Kingston Hyper X RAM
19' Viewsonic Display
WD 320 GB HD

 

[chuckshissle]

You can choose to upgrade when time comes for you to get a DX10 game, that way the price should be lower a bit and save some money.

 

[steelchain]

Hey mate,
To tell you the truth unless you are having huge problems with FPS or running games then it is well worth the wait. At this point in time most of the cards out there will only be a stop gap between another upgrade next year. Thats if you are a hardcore graphics's fan. If you still want to upgrade try the x1950 pro. I got one because my x800xt died. They are crazy little cards and are crazy cheap for what they can do. It would eat CSS Fear and Oblivion and still have some power left.

 

[jhughes87]

Yeah...I haven't had a real problem with my frame rates in my games, as long as I keep it at 1024x768 then the games usually run smoothly. As far as budget, if I was upgrading I'd like to keep it below 300 bucks but it would have to be a card worth it. Thanks for the advice so far, i'll look into that 1950x pro and think about it some more. Also, how much of a difference does shader model 3.0 make in the games I play?

 

[aceprowler]

I play basically the same games. FPS games. Anyhow, I have the x1800gto right now. I have seen how much more power the x1950's have for around $140. For $100 more the 1900xt. Just a bit more performance out of it.

I have been itching to try the 1950 out. Some benches seem to be almost double of that of the gto.

I too run @ 1024x768 on a CRT. I am getting a 19" widescreen soon. So I am worried the gto won't push it.

Let us know what you do, well me. I would like to know if it would be worth it. Or just wait till next year.

 

[jhughes87]

I've decided to just wait till the dx10 cards come out. Right now i'm pretty satisfied with running F.E.A.R. at 1024x768 with little or no lag, along with Oblivion on High settings at the same resolution. I'm a pretty patient guy so waiting won't be too hard as long as I can enjoy my games. Thanks again for your help guys...

 

[bullaRh]

in CSS its ur cpu thats chocking your fps, just so u know it.