PC Upgrade worth it?

[Garfield_]

Hmm now that I have some money I was thinking either updating my PC with a new mobo and graphics card or buy an XBOX 360, which I don't know.

For the XBOX 360, it's only Gears Of War, Alan Wake and Resident Evil 5 that I'am waiting.

I currently have an X800XL but it's damn slow in new games so I was thinking to maybe buy an 7800GT and later buy another, but I'm sure that's not enough to run Crysis or anything new coming so my choice is, to save the cash?

EDIT: Should I buy an X1800XT now and another one later and run them in Crossfire, will this be enough to play Crysis?

 

[3ssence]

To be honest, if i was in your position i would wait and save the money until DX10 cards appear. If you were to buy a card now, i would recommend either a 7900GT or an X1800XT, as both can be had for a very reasonable price now.
But honestly, i'd wait it out a bit longer and buy a DX10 card when they come out, which would most likely get the best out of a game engine like cryengine2 (i think that's its name !)

 

[Garfield_]

Yup had that in mind but the fact is that these DX10 card's will be very expensive and I doubt I'll be able to afford any of them.

 

[Dekstar]

Yup had that in mind but the fact is that these DX10 card's will be very expensive and I doubt I'll be able to afford any of them.

They'll get cheaper very quickly, because they're all going to be running on the same technology as each other (restrictions are tighter). If you really must then I'd buy some decent cooling and overclock rather then splash out double for a brand new card.

 

[3ssence]

Yup had that in mind but the fact is that these DX10 card's will be very expensive and I doubt I'll be able to afford any of them.

I shouldn't imagine that they will be any less affordable than the last generation to appear. i.e. the equivalent release to a 7900GT should be a similiar price, and give it a couple of months after they are released and they should be affordable to a large majority. And don't forget that they will release mid-range cards on DX10 technology as well, which will be considerably faster than your X800XL and also provide the benefits of DX10.

 

[VictimOfScience]

Yes, wait for the DX10 cards to come out. If you were going to buy a 360 and games for it anyway, then you will likely have enough for the GPU. Most of the really amazing stuff for the next-gen consoles won't be out until who-knows-when next year and if you can wait til the holidays next year, you will have a TON of amazingly awesome titles to pick and choose rfom for whatever new system you like--and the 360 price may have dropped a bit by then too!!

 

[JNightshade]

That's... odd...
what proc/RAM do you have? I have an X800 XT, and games still run great for me. If I were you, I'd either wait to upgrade, or buy a next-gen console.

 

[Garfield_]

I have an AMD 64 3200+ 1GB DDR400 and X800XL. I am considering buying one Sapphire X1800XT 512MB because it has the same price as the 256MB in Sweden. Later this year I'm probably going to buy an AMD 64 X2 4400+, 2GB DDR2 and another X1800XT 512 to run in Crossfire when the some new mobos get out with better stability. Hopefully this rig should run Crysis good enough.

Or?

EDIT: Crysis will be released long before either Vista or DX10 card's are released or affordable, so why would an upgrade be bad?

 

[JNightshade]

Hmm... I have 2 gigs of RAM and a 3400+... that might be it. The extra gig makes an enormous difference. Anyway, trust me, you'll want to wait on that upgrade, and buy a DX10 card when they debut. It won't be that bad.

If you're really having trouble with performance, you could always just drop 80 bucks on a new gig of RAM for now...

 

[Garfield_]

But the DX10 cards will most likely not be released this year, and how long would'nt it take before these cards are stable and affordable?

I won'nt be able to afford or get a DX10 card before march-april next year

 

[giant384]

i imagine they would be the same price as all launch cards are usually 400-500+.

 

[DEATHMASTER]

I think an x800xl is plenty untill next year...unless you're rich.

 

[Warbie]

I'd get a 360 and then upgrade your pc a year or so down the line.

 

[Ren.182]

I'd wait for the DX10 cards, then wait a little longer for their priced to drop.
The 7xxx series of nVidia cards dropped down in price only after a few months iirc. No point in upgrading then having it all out of date again at the end of the year.

If you save what you have now, and keep saving then you'll probably have enough for a pretty awesome PC once DX10 comes around.

 

[Garfield_]

I think an x800xl is plenty untill next year...unless you're rich.

Sure is, if you can accept playing on LOW details and no AA/AF turned on. Ghost Recon 3 runs on 25-30 fps, SiN Episodes 25-30 outdoors and 150 indoors. And Im far from rich, but I could afford an X1800XT :I

I'd get a 360 and then upgrade your pc a year or so down the line.

360 is a great device, with a nice pricetag but it's the games that cost, there are'nt many games i'd spend $90 on

I'd wait for the DX10 cards, then wait a little longer for their priced to drop.
The 7xxx series of nVidia cards dropped down in price only after a few months iirc. No point in upgrading then having it all out of date again at the end of the year.

If you save what you have now, and keep saving then you'll probably have enough for a pretty awesome PC once DX10 comes around.

Probably yes, but is it that easy to save money?

 

[DEATHMASTER]

Sure is, if you can accept playing on LOW details and no AA/AF turned on. Ghost Recon 3 runs on 25-30 fps, SiN Episodes 25-30 outdoors and 150 indoors. And Im far from rich, but I could afford an X1800XT :I

Really? I thought the x800xl was about as good if not better than the 6800...I dont know about those games since I dont have those but CS:S runs with everything on max 2x AA and 4x AF with 70-90 fps average for me. I do have a 3800+ X2 processor and 1.5 gigs ddr400 which is also a difference to consider...

 

[Garfield_]

Really? I thought the x800xl was about as good if not better than the 6800...I dont know about those games since I dont have those but CS:S runs with everything on max 2x AA and 4x AF with 70-90 fps average for me. I do have a 3800+ X2 processor and 1.5 gigs ddr400 which is also a difference to consider...

Yup CS:S runs well aswell as DOD: Source but all the new games... not :/

 

[Adrien C]

It's funny that I still run on a 2.4 Ghz and a Nvidia fx 5200 and am happy with its performance and you guys beach about those cards

 

[Garfield_]

Some are happy with low details, gameplay and decent framerates instead of high-end graphics and great framerates. In my case, the graphics, physics and other visuals come before story, gameplay etc. But if I find the story and gameplay boring I quit playing no mather how good the graphics are.