Upgrade from a 280GTX SSC to an Radeon 5850 or 5970?

[Jie]

I've just recently place an order for the components of my new gaming rig. I originally ordered a Radeon 5850 to replace my 280GTX SSC. I realize now that this may be a bit of a sideways step rather than an upgrade. Especially since I'm currently gaming at 168x1050. My concern, however, is having some longevity. The 280GTX was a big upgrade for me over a year ago. With DX11 here, I'd prefer to invest in a card that will at least give me 2 years. I could also go Crossfire later if needed.

I'm just very torn if I should upgrade my GPU along with the rest of my system. Is the 5850 or 5870 worth it over the 280GTX? I know DX11 is in it's infancy, but I tend to play almost all the latest games lol.

Another option I've considered is going with the 5870 and also upgrading my NEC 20WGX2 20.1" to a NEC 23" IPS EA231WMi.

Cost isn't too much of a concern, but I'd like to see an upgrade in performance across the board. My old system was starting to show it's age and my e6600 and cheaper DDR2 ram was really bottlenecking my 280GTX.

I guess one more thing to consider is the next generation of Nvidia cards. I could very easily hold onto the 280GTX SSC for now until they're out, but I'm not sure how long this will.

Thanks for the advice. Hashing stuff out like this on forums is greatly appreciated.

 

[jay2tall]

The GTX285 is still an awesome card. You will probably be disappointed if you upgraded to a 5870 from a GTX285. Sure it outperforms it, but not by terribly much. The 5970 on a single monitor, short of a 30", is going to be a waste. I would honestly keep your current card until you start to struggle with graphics. The 285 still has tons of life left, I'd keep using it for now. Remember Nvidia has yet to release their new cards, so maybe you will want to wait until them.

A 20" LCD, heck I'd upgrade my display before a video card. Why an IPS panel? they have more input lag than a TN panel, but are far better for color. So unless you are into photography or graphic design, it is probably not worth it. A nice big fast TN panel is what you need for gaming.

My buddy has this display and it is by far one of the best gaming monitors I have seen. It has VERY low input lag and a 2ms response time. It's big and bright and ooozes kill things.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236046

 

[Jie]

The GTX285 is still an awesome card. You will probably be disappointed if you upgraded to a 5870 from a GTX285. Sure it outperforms it, but not by terribly much. The 5970 on a single monitor, short of a 30", is going to be a waste. I would honestly keep your current card until you start to struggle with graphics. The 285 still has tons of life left, I'd keep using it for now. Remember Nvidia has yet to release their new cards, so maybe you will want to wait until them.

A 20" LCD, heck I'd upgrade my display before a video card. Why an IPS panel? they have more input lag than a TN panel, but are far better for color. So unless you are into photography or graphic design, it is probably not worth it. A nice big fast TN panel is what you need for gaming.

My buddy has this display and it is by far one of the best gaming monitors I have seen. It has VERY low input lag and a 2ms response time. It's big and bright and ooozes kill things.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236046

This is exactly what I needed lol. I was WAY over thinking this. And now that I see the GF100 on the horizon, I'm going to hold off for a bit longer. You're absolutely correct about the card. It's the reason I purchased it in the first place, but I think I lost that along the way. I really think my older rig was slowing the 280GTX down. Going i7, SSD and DDR3 should help.

That monitor does look very good. I'll have to check it out.

 

[Jie]

Best answer selected by Jie.

 

[jay2tall]

This is exactly what I needed lol. I was WAY over thinking this. And now that I see the GF100 on the horizon, I'm going to hold off for a bit longer. You're absolutely correct about the card. It's the reason I purchased it in the first place, but I think I lost that along the way. I really think my older rig was slowing the 280GTX down. Going i7, SSD and DDR3 should help.

That monitor does look very good. I'll have to check it out.

My buddy who has this monitor is running an OCed i7 (1366) and liquid cools everything including his GTX285. There isn't anything he can't run graphics wise, it looks awesome. Think about it this way to, the Nvidia also gives you Physx which ATI does not have. So for those games that use it, there is a nice benefit. If you play Batman, it is HEAVY with physix and you cant even turn it on with an ati card.

Just get a big fat monitor, it is the thing you stare at for hours on end.