Is it worth waiting for the next gen CPU?

[sam_p_lay]

Same, really looking forward to it! I've been massively tempted to not wait and get a GTX670, but don't really want the hassle of trying to sell it. There's still a bit of life in this card so I can stick with it a few more months. Plenty of 2009/2010/2011 games I didn't play that I can max on it.

 

[dscudella]

I was going to upgrade my Radeon 6850 to a GTX 660 Ti but I just couldn't justify it. I don't really play anything more demanding than Call of Duty & Skyrim (1920x1080 BO2 is maxed and Skyrim is set to High, so not really demanding) simply because I'm not a Battlefield fan and haven't played Far Cry since the first one.

I was holding out for the Radeon 8xxx's like most of you but I don't know if those will even offer me the "OOMPH" I'm looking for in my price range (I wish I had Bigmack's wallet). I might just hold off for the next line of Nvidias.

 

[determinologyz]

Same, really looking forward to it! I've been massively tempted to not wait and get a GTX670, but don't really want the hassle of trying to sell it. There's still a bit of life in this card so I can stick with it a few more months. Plenty of 2009/2010/2011 games I didn't play that I can max on it.

Sam, can i haz 770?

 

[dscudella]

I heard awhile ago some people on these forums talking about the "2 Gen" rule. I don't remember if they were talking about CPU's or GPU's (seems relevant to both) and it seems very relevant in this situation.

For instance, my 6850 is, as of right now, 1 generation old. It was replaced by the 7850 (obviously). Is there a performance increase? Yep. Does the performance increase justify the nearly $250-$300 price tag the 7850 had when it came out? No.

Now if the Radeon 8850 comes out and is, let's say 20% faster than the 7850 which would make it, lets say 50% faster than the 6850 (2nd Generation rule) then would the $300 price tag (speculation) be justified? In my opinion, yes.

 

[determinologyz]

I heard awhile ago some people on these forums talking about the "2 Gen" rule. I don't remember if they were talking about CPU's or GPU's (seems relevant to both) and it seems very relevant in this situation.

For instance, my 6850 is, as of right now, 1 generation old. It was replaced by the 7850 (obviously). Is there a performance increase? Yep. Does the performance increase justify the nearly $250-$300 price tag the 7850 had when it came out? No.

Now if the Radeon 8850 comes out and is, let's say 20% faster than the 7850 which would make it, lets say 50% faster than the 6850 (2nd Generation rule) then would the $300 price tag (speculation) be justified? In my opinion, yes.

In my case the 660ti to 770 or 780 would be a better option for me i mean the 660ti is cool but i do want a better nv card

 

[siddharthmukul007]

the upcoming cards are going to be that overpriced as the current generation cards when they came out.
these were the first 28nm cards of both the companies...since there is nothing new to the manufacturing process...hope they are priced more sensibly

 

[sam_p_lay]

Sam, can i haz 770?

Yes you may.

 

[akshayghai29785]

2nd gen rules is good to save money & get good performance vs price ratio

 

[siddharthmukul007]

i am getting more of nivida and less of amd....it really pushes me to a question.

is it because of amd 8xxx series still a pretty long wait or is it just because it is nvidia?

 

[dscudella]

The 700 series is actually farther off than the 8000 series, which is why people may be voting for it - if you wait till the 8000 series, you will subject yourself to wallet rape like I did. If you wait till the 700 series, you can pick from either side at fair prices.

People may also be thinking that the 700 series will finally see the release of something akin to "Big" Kepler aka GK110 or whatever that winds up being.

This is it for me. You hit the nail on the head. I'm upgrading this year, but why jump at the first thing that comes our way? Wait and see what both sides have to offer and how they compare both in pricing & performance.

 

[determinologyz]

I think both camps amd and nv will bring something good to the table as always. Only time will tell

 

[dscudella]

I think both camps amd and nv will bring something good to the table as always. Only time will tell

I hope so. I'm already gearing up for all the "Radeon 8970 vs GTX 770" threads we'll see.

 

[determinologyz]

With any luck it will be 8970 vs 780

Yea that sounds about right to lol

 

[dscudella]

LOL to both of you guys. I like light hearted threads like these, too often threads get too serious and involve name calling, fan boyism and the OP never returns to input their comments for fear of throwing fuel on the fire.

At least for now we have a reprieve from that.

 

[siddharthmukul007]

well here I am OP...and thanks to you @mack.
I had actually made up my mind to go for the 8xxx series whenever it comes out.
I almost forgot your wallet rape thing...thanks again for reminding

 

[vmem]

Yes, I remember Bigmack haunting the forums willing to pay an arm, leg, and maybe even his first born for a second 7970 lightning to complete the CF

 

[ibjeepr]

I heard awhile ago some people on these forums talking about the "2 Gen" rule. I don't remember if they were talking about CPU's or GPU's (seems relevant to both) and it seems very relevant in this situation.

For instance, my 6850 is, as of right now, 1 generation old. It was replaced by the 7850 (obviously). Is there a performance increase? Yep. Does the performance increase justify the nearly $250-$300 price tag the 7850 had when it came out? No.

Now if the Radeon 8850 comes out and is, let's say 20% faster than the 7850 which would make it, lets say 50% faster than the 6850 (2nd Generation rule) then would the $300 price tag (speculation) be justified? In my opinion, yes.

Interesting that you point that out. That's pretty much the upgrade cycle I'm on but I always looked at it as just a 2 year cycle and not really a generational one. That's even the price range I'm working with in, about $300. I'm running a 5870 right now (long story) but then next gen is my upgrade cycle due date. I've found that building a PC about every 4 years (at most) and upgrading the video card every 2 (every other gen) seems to work very well.

 

[dscudella]

I actually built the PC I have now in September 2012. The only difference was I upgraded from the i3-2100 and Antec VP-450 to the i5-3470 and Corsair CX600V2 (Christmas presents to myself) so that this year I could upgrade my video card. I also added the OCZ Agility 3 and I really don't see myself upgrading anything besides the video card within the next two years or so.

Quad Core and 8gb RAM seems to be the sweet spot (don't quote me on this in 6 months) so I'm sticking to the 2 Gen cycle for my CPU and GPU. GPU this cycle, I'll skip on Haswell and upgrade the next gen of Intels unless AMD shocks the community and releases something that is simply amazing.

 

[ibjeepr]

I actually built the PC I have now in September 2012. The only difference was I upgraded from the i3-2100 and Antec VP-450 to the i5-3470 and Corsair CX600V2 (Christmas presents to myself) so that this year I could upgrade my video card. I also added the OCZ Agility 3 and I really don't see myself upgrading anything besides the video card within the next two years or so.

Quad Core and 8gb RAM seems to be the sweet spot (don't quote me on this in 6 months) so I'm sticking to the 2 Gen cycle for my CPU and GPU. GPU this cycle, I'll skip on Haswell and upgrade the next gen of Intels unless AMD shocks the community and releases something that is simply amazing.

I just built my system over the last couple months as well. Sold my core 2 duo system with a 5770 and built my current rig. Bought a used 560 Ti on craigslist for $120 to hold me over until the next gen comes out. Then got the bright idea to just get a 7950 so I sold the 560 Ti on Ebay for a net $10 loss. Then I realized I was just being impatient and foolish so I bought a used 5870 off craigslist for $80. So I guess ultimately I only spent $90 on a video card to hold me over instead of $120 at least. It's just so darn hard waiting for the NVidias to come out

Edit: Darn sig. stopped appling itself again... here's my system:

MB: ASrock Z77 Extreme4 / CPU: i5-3570K / 212 EVO push-pull fans / RAM: G-skill Ripjaws 12gb 1600 / Graphics: Sapphire 5870 Vapor-X OC/ SSD: Samsung 830 128Gb / PSU: Corsair TX750 / CASE: Antec 900 USB 3.0 / Monitor: Acer GD235hz 120hz

 

[determinologyz]

I just built my system over the last couple months as well. Sold my core 2 duo system with a 5770 and built my current rig. Bought a used 560 Ti on craigslist for $120 to hold me over until the next gen comes out. Then got the bright idea to just get a 7950 now so I sold the 560 Ti on Ebay for a net $10 loss. Then I realized I was just being impatient and foolish so I bought a used 5870 off craigslist for $80. So I guess ultimately I only spent $90 on a video card to hold me over instead of $120 at least. It's just so darn hard waiting for the NVidias to come out

Yea that wouldnt be smart to buy a card now just to sell it to get a new gen gpu..Waiting is a pain tho

 

[siddharthmukul007]

all expecting so much from nvidia...lets just not make things so hard for nvidia.
expecting too much results in disappointment most of the time.

another matter that just came up my mind...with ddr4 due to be released this year itself...should we expect a dramatic change in gaming?
just out of my curiosity.

 

[sam_p_lay]

From DDR4, probably not. That's just based on benchmarking of low latency memory, high clock speed memory and triple/quad channel chipset performance. Dual-channel DDR3 1600 seems to be delivering all the performance CPUs need at the moment. As for expecting too much from nVidia, we'll just have to wait and see!

I think a lot of it may be based on the fact that GTX680, though very impressive, was clearly not anywhere near as powerful as it had the potential to be. Of course fulfilling that potential would mean higher temps (so more fan noise) and power consumption, so we got a nice best-of-all-worlds. Maybe GTX780 will be a little hotter and a lot faster. We'll just have to wait and see

 

[ibjeepr]

all expecting so much from nvidia...lets just not make things so hard for nvidia.
expecting too much results in disappointment most of the time.

another matter that just came up my mind...with ddr4 due to be released this year itself...should we expect a dramatic change in gaming?
just out of my curiosity.

It isn't really a matter of expecting anything from Nvidia so much as just wanting to see what the video card landscape is going to look like once both AMD and Nvidia have their next cards out. I'll be buying something for sure, just want to see what all the options are going to be.

I've heard nothing about DDR4 other than it's coming.

 

[vmem]

I believe intel said DDR4 will be first available for Haswell-E

 

[dscudella]

It's not that I'm putting all the pressure on Nvidia, it's the fact that out of the two, they release last. So we'll see what AMD brings to the table with the new Radeons in the next two months (crosses fingers) but we'll have to wait a little longer for Nvidia to release theirs.

By that time we'll have a very good understanding of what AMD offers and hopefully more through driver updates. It's up to Nvidia, being the last dog to chow, so to speak, to dazzle us.

Edit: As far as DDR4 goes, release date, as of today was Q4 2013.

Here's the video CES 2013 DDR4