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How do you define 'obsolete'?

Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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When do you consider a card obsolete?

Total: 26 votes (3 blank votes)

  • The next generation comes out
  • 5 %
  • It wont play the new games coming out
  • 34 %
  • It wont play the games i like
  • 38 %
  • Its more than a few years old
  • 5 %
  • A card is never obsolete, its always got a purpose for someone!
  • 17 %
  • It was obsolete from the day it was released!
  • 5 %
Graphics card Master
CPUs Master

I notice people saying that certain cards and CPUs are obsolete on a fairly regular basis.

When do you consider a card to be obsolete and why? Is it as soon as a better one is released because you want to have the latest and greatest, or do consider a card to be good until it cant do what you want it to anymore? Lets hear it! [:jaydeejohn:7]

More about : define obsolete

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Its obsolete when it stops doing what I need it to do.. or starts performing poorly at those tasks... as long as it can run the games without lagging and such then its fine.. if it cant handle it.. time to upgrade... and yes.. I will resort to using low graphics to avoid upgrades :D 
Graphics card Master

Up until a few months ago, I was gaming with a Pentium 4 system on a 7800GS AGP video card. Most people would say that was obsolete, but I was playing Oblivion, Fallout 3, Unreal Tournament III, Bioshock, F.E.A.R., Dragon Age: Origins, and a few other recent releases with no problems. As time went by, I realized that there were some games I wouldn't be able to play, and I was curious what I was missing by not being able to play at higher levels of graphical settings. So eventually I took the leap and expense for a great new system that will hopefully last me as long as my old one.
Graphics card Master
CPUs Authority

its obsolete when it is no longer fast enough and I can afford to get a new one. All my obsolete parts become hand me down to my dads computer, he is not so fussy.
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Graphics card Master
CPUs Master

A card becomes obsolete when it cannot play games with settings that meet the individual's expectations.

If you refuse to play games at anything less than "high graphics quality settings", then you will be upgrading more often than someone who finds "medium graphics quality settings" to be acceptable.

You can also toss in FPS into the mix as well. If you get pissed off when your average FPS drops below 45, then you will be upgrading more often than someone who finds an average of 30 FPS acceptable.
Graphics card Expert
CPUs Authority

I guess it would probably be one of these:
# It wont play the new games coming out
# It wont play the games i like

Quote:

You can also toss in FPS into the mix as well. If you get pissed off when your average FPS drops below 45, then you will be upgrading more often than someone who finds an average of 30 FPS acceptable.

lol. Yeah. Like me.
Graphics card Master
CPUs Expert

I choose no.5: A card is never obsolete, its always got a purpose for someone!
As long as the card itself is still working... :) 

A card is never obsolete, you can use it as a spare card in case your current card is broken or something, give to someone that really need the card (not have money to buy a card), or as a paper weight...
Graphics card Expert
CPUs Authority

wa1 said:
I choose no.5: A card is never obsolete, its always got a purpose for someone!
As long as the card itself is still working... :) 

A card is never obsolete, you can use it as a spare card in case your current card is broken or something, give to someone that really need the card (not have money to buy a card), or as a paper weight...

Good point. I still have PCs (I have 6) using 8800GTS/9600GT/8800GS and 4850.
Graphics card Master
CPUs Expert

I voted "it wont play the games I like" but that does not necessarily mean that it is obsolete, just time to upgrade. Later on that "obsolete" card can be passed on to someone in need =)

I would have to say that obsolete to me means that it does not support the current standards, I.e. a card that is not PCIe now, or doesn't support DX10.1 at least.

I do believe that a card can be obsolete and still be useful however.
Graphics card Master
CPUs Master

microterf said:
I would have to say that obsolete to me means that it does not support the current standards, I.e. a card that is not PCIe now, or doesn't support DX10.1 at least.

I do believe that a card can be obsolete and still be useful however.


Going along those lines, with the DX10.1 support that would mean that everything in nVidia's line up between a GTS 250 and a GTX 295 is obsolete as none of them support DX10.1, so is DX10.1 or DX10 or even DX9 our line for being obsolete? We know that the GTX 295 is a perfectly capable card and can handle many of today's games just fine, and there are many older DX10 cards that still perform quite well. Consider how many people still have 9800GTs and similar cards.
Graphics card Expert

Obsolete?

To me it means that the card has served its purpose with me, and its not capable of playing the games I want how I want them to look and perform.

But does this mean the card itself is obsolete, or just my thinking on this? No, no card, component, electronic device is obsolete, everything has a "life" and if I cant use it for my purpose then im sure someone I pass it to will..

But in terms of opinion of technology advances, everything nVidia, ATI, AMD, Intel etc produce is obsolete. research and technology progression means as soon as companies release a product, it then instantly becomes obsolete as they will be researching on how to make things faster, better, smaller....

It wouldn't surprise me at all if NVidia is already working on its 7xx/8xx/9xx series of GPU's, whilst ATI are reviews and progressing on there 7xxx/8xxx (same with AMD and Intel on there CPU's)

Things are pushed forward far beyond compare, and the things these companies advance is becoming which boggles the mind. How?? Before long, will just buy 1 single chip which has everything placed on its chipset/dye to progress. Rather than the bulky machines we have today.

hunter315 said:
Going along those lines, with the DX10.1 support that would mean that everything in nVidia's line up between a GTS 250 and a GTX 295 is obsolete as none of them support DX10.1, so is DX10.1 or DX10 or even DX9 our line for being obsolete? We know that the GTX 295 is a perfectly capable card and can handle many of today's games just fine, and there are many older DX10 cards that still perform quite well. Consider how many people still have 9800GTs and similar cards.


I didn't really mean to put the line at 10.1, I was just saying that for me, there is a difference between no longer useful and obsolete, even though obsolete is defined as exactly that.

For me, I just sold 2 of my 5870s anticipating the 69xx series in the next month or so, but the 5870s, 260s, and even 9800GTs are still very useful for others.

Personally, I like to be able to install a game, put it at max settings, with everything on at 2560*1600 and hopefully be able to play it. But for me, computers is my main hobby. For others, obviously this is not the norm.
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