Why I feel dirty thinking about the 460

[jomofro39]

I really, really like the new 460. I haven't read a bad thing about it. But I feel weird about it. The reason being, every other time I am upgrading or building a new rig, guess who consistently won the value war? ATI. Now, nVidia seems to have gotten this right, really right.

I WAS planning on upgrading to a 5850, and later down the road get two more monitors (run some eyefinity), then decide whether or not to CF another 5850. Now, that seems plain ridiculous. Two 460's for 100 bucks more and possible 3d surround? yes please.

Where was this ace up the sleeve the whole time? Where was this promise? Was I missing out on some key headlines that would have introduced the concept of an affordable, performing nvidia card? Am I missing things NOW about a possible ATI 6XXX release that will blow this out of the water? I consistently read THG, Anand, and 3dguru, but never expected this, what was I doing wrong?

Anyone have any suggestions on what sites keep on top of the NEXT big thing? I would hate to plan to get two 460's to run 3 monitors, and find out ATI is releasing 6XXX for 40 bucks that runs like quad 480's (hopeful) in two months. I understand technology gets outdated super fast, but for me, the 5XXX series getting owned at the $200 price mark this quickly seems a little rapid.

Needless to say, I plan on getting a 460 (my first nVidia card ever), and I feel like I am leaving my old wife for some hot new gf, but I could care less about that bitch. She should have maintained...

 

[jyjjy]

Eh. the GTX 260 is a very nice card but if the HD5830 hadn't been such a poor card at its price point it wouldn't be looking quite as impressive as it does. ATI did blow it with that card but keep in mind the HD5850 launched at $260. It went up to $300 because of high demand/short supply then stayed there because demand stayed high and there was no competition. With the GTX 470 dropping down to $300 and the introduction of the 460 I'm sure the HD5850 will come back down to at least it's launch price before too long.
As for the HD6000 cards I wouldn't expect them until at the very least the end of the year and more likely a month or three into 2011.

 

[AMW1011]

Southern Islands will be ATI's next release. It will be a tweaked version of the current 5xxx series. It is due at the end of the year or early next year. That is a good 4-6 months from now, so you shouldn't have any problems buying now.

Also nVidia has taken the value crown many times. Do you remember the 6600 GT? How about the amazing 7600 GT? Should I even mention the 8800 GT, the same architecture holds the value crown over at Techpoweup still (GTS 250)? Even the GTX 260 was good for the money.

Both companies have offered some amazing cards for the money.

 

[Lamiel]

I wouldn't worry about buying now and then being disappointed later. In the PC hardware game, you just can't. It's inevitable that whatever you get now will be surpassed long before you're ready to upgrade again - unless you're Richie Rich, of course. The only thing you can do is make the best choice in the here and now - considering all your options and then just going for it. And I think going for it with a GTX 460 is a great idea. What an awesome card... If only my wife would understand my great and pressing need to finally upgrade my SLI'd 8800 GT's for two of the 1GB trim 460's!!! Chicks...

 

[rolli59]

ATI has had great time in the $150 - $230 card market since the release of the HD5xxx cards. It was time for some competition.

 

[wolfram23]

Based on all the things I've read, the GTX 460 is easily the best bang for your buck GPU right now.

I went and already got a pair of 5850s not too long ago. Can't really complain since they're doing great in everything (Crysis, Metro 2033, Cryostasis) but yeah, it's nice to know the future...

 

[megamanx00]

Probably because the 5830 was such a big "Meh". With too few ROPs it often preformed more like an overclocked 5770 and only got closer to the 5850 in very shader heavy titles. Anyway, that just about leaves the GTX460 uncontested. For the price it's great.

Still, a 5850 is generally faster and the lower end 5700 series cards seem to be what moves in volume. If sales of 5850 cards start dropping off, then AMD will just lower the prices to put the squeeze on the GTX 460, but 460 cards need to be selling in volume for that to happen. As for new cards, the silicone is rumored to be tapped out, but the soonest you would see new cards would be September. No idea how they would preform though

You could spend your time waiting for what ifs, but if you want something now and are looking at a 460 or two, then buy it. Game and be happy

 

[jonnyboyC]

agreed, i feel in the PC world, you're always going to be disappointed every couple of months because, ohh man if only i waited 4 more months i could have got this, or that new and shiny toy, i mean i built my pc last may, and in that time sdd have gotten alot more mainstream, the 5xxx and the 4xx came out, new 32nm intel chips sprung up, the X6 came out,

but back when i got my 275 it was a great buy, and it's still a pretty potent card, and the same will goes for the 460, you can really only look at todays picture, unless it's obviously the next big tech thing is going to come out like tomorrow, so all those people who bought a 295 right before the 5870 may have been a bit disappointed, but otherwise you can't do much to helpe it

 

[iam2thecrowe]

My solution with my 8800gts 640mb is to just buy older games (although it will still run new games). There are still tonnes i havn't had the chance to play that have been released over the years and the titles come down to like $10-$30. Stay a step behind the latest technology and you will save yourself lots of money, rather than trying to keep up with the latest and greatest tech.

On a side note I dont think they will release a card like the 8800 series again that completely blew the competition out of the water at the time.