Should i Wait?

[lrivera88]

Hey Guys, I need Opinion...right now I have a Single GTX260 and it runs fine With Games but i wanna try do SLi because i never Done it before....So my question is...Should i get another GTX260 or Wait til 300 Series to SLi...oh does anyone know when the 300 Series should coming out for Desktop (That would help me aswell)




-Thanks

 

[JackNaylorPE]

The 300 series is now being called the 400 series and is expected to drop mid march.

 

[saaiello]

i think you should wait because you will want more power for DX 11

 

[rmerwede]

Even though dual 260's are nice.... Wait for the 400's and see where they stand in terms of price, performance, and stability. Might not want to get 2 cards the day they launch. As of right now there is not much information to make an informed decision. Im guessing you want to stay on the Nvidia side, cause ATI has multiple crossfire solutions that are viable atm.

 

[lrivera88]

Wait hold on let me guess this straight there's not gonna be the 300 Series? or they skipping the 300 Series for Desktop PC.. and going to 400 Series? and when is the 400 Series Coming out? Im confused..=|

 

[paperfox]

300 series is for OEM manufactures just like the 100 series. Or so Ive heard.

 

[SV_Bubbles]

Late March from what I've heard.
I assume it's the PR or marketing dept.'s fault for the screwed up naming. Either that or nV didn't want it to be associated with the atrocity that the 300 series started out as.

 

[lrivera88]

oh i see...Thanks

 

[Mousemonkey]

Late March from what I've heard.
I assume it's the PR or marketing dept.'s fault for the screwed up naming. Either that or nV didn't want it to be associated with the atrocity that the 300 series started out as.

What one OEM card? :lol:

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

You can wait, but you will be paying alot of money for a card if you plan on getting one before May.

There are STILL Fermi production problems, and so fore the first month or so there will be only so many desktop card from that architecture. There's already Tesla customers who have them set aside, so I don't see there being many 'GTX260-esque' priced products, and most will be in the higher price range due to limitations, and even those are likely to be scarce.

The thing is since you can 'run fine with games' for now, then you could always buy a cheap second hand GTX260 for around $100 for now if you want to experiment, then when the Fermi is launched you can decide if you want something like that (but likely not get anything for a month or two) or if you want to move to the ATi options, or else keep the option you then have (the SLi'ed GTX260s), and regardless of choice, reselling a GTX260 at near $100 should still be easy at that time if you want to move, since the new card will not challenge that card, and likely also won't have too much impact on pricing into that range, and likely only mild pressure on the HD5 series due to low Fermi availability.

If you're fine playing games with your GTX260 then stick with that, but if you want to try SLi to add AA settings or such, then it's not a bad time because the price is so low, but I still think it's a waste of money unless there's a game you really need it for, because testing SLi in and of itself isn't all that interesting after a day.

 

[SV_Bubbles]

What one OEM card? :lol:

Referring to what was going to be the high-end 300 series and it's "going to be a power hog" "not going to fit in any case" stigma.

 

[Mousemonkey]

Referring to what was going to be the high-end 300 series and it's "going to be a power hog" "not going to fit in any case" stigma.

The only people referring the GF100 as the high end 300 series were (are) the misinformed rumour mongers on this forum (and others) who believe every word that is spouted by the likes of Fudzilla and Charlie, months ago I was pulling people up for saying that GF100 was going to be called GTS/GTX360/380's or whatever but still some persisted and I wouldn't be at all surprised if some people are now so convinced that there will be a retail 300 series that they will now get upset and start slagging Nv off when they finally wake up and smell the coffee and realise that some of the self proclaimed experts were talking via the rusty sheriff's badge.

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

But someone published it on the interweb, it musta be true !!!

BTW, if the G310/GT320 are renames, would the GTX360/380 be no-names? [:grahamlv:3]

 

[Mousemonkey]

As there are five cards in the 300 series now, chances of the GTX260/275/285 die shrunk 300 version for the OEM crowd is a distinct possibility. And the the GT320 can't technically be referred to as a renamed card as there is no retail equivalent that has 72 cores.

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

True, BTW the GTS360 is already used in the laptop space (nice with a GDDR5), but unfortunately it's just a GT240 rebrand (would've been nice if it was a GTX260M shrink with GDDR5)

http://promos.asus.com/ASUSROG/Spec/NB_spec.html

 

[Kewlx25]

I got $500 set aside.. I want a new card but i don't wanna pay $400 for a 5870 if something new is around the corner.. :*(

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

If you're fine with your GTX260, then it's a very competant card, so unless you have that absolute itch to mess around with SLi, then wait and see if anything materializes, but be well aware that due to ongoing production problems, the GF100 product that does materialize (whether it' called the GTX4xx or some new naming system [which is the rumour I prefer]) it's likely going to be VERY expensive at first (likely over $500 even if the MSRP is set at $499) and by all accounts it's likely going to be the crippled 448 shader part, not the full 512 shader part which is what was demoed at CES. However, like any launch we migh be surprised by what they bring even in that part, and if you camp the e-tailers, you might be able to get one near your pricetag sometime near launch (unlikely to be as low as at MSRP for a while after launch if it is a good part, just like all other products it will likely launch, then shortage, then you see only the higher priced boutique models available for a premium or the etail price rises).

If there's no game you really need to play better than your current card plays, then waitm but also be aware, there will always be something 'new around the corner' which is why I mention the wait for... wait for... wait for.. above since there's always something about to come. Just look at the GTX280 launch, then it was wait for the HD4870, then wait for the HD4870X2, then wait for the GX2 version of the GTX280 (became the GTX295), then wait for the HD48xx refresh, etc.

I would say that waiting for Fermi makes sense to get a feel for nV's new architecture, but I wouldn't expect 'value' from that launch as you're likely going to be competing with pent-up nV fanboi demand for those who just want to buy something green that plays better than their GTX28x series cards since they'd never buy and ATi card, which is the same for the other side too who likely did the same with the HD5 series.

Another thing to consider is the Titles, like AvP coming out this week, and then other titles that might give better insight into the power of either architecture, even one Fermi chips launch it's unlikely we'll have an idea of their strengths and weaknesses for a few weeks afterwards, since the initial benchmarks will be primarily those nVidia controlled in their agreements with reviewers and thus little more than PR favourable tests, and only once everyday people have had a test to grind the retail cards in different situations will we get a better feel of overall performance of the two solutions.

For now if you're happy with your GTX260 in the games you play and the settings you like, then there's no reason to upgrade. Personally I'd find it far more interesting to play with the features of the HD5870 or Fermi than to simply monkey around with SLi.