To wait (for GPUs) or no

[DaltonM]

There seems to be a big split in the PC community about waiting for Pascal/Polaris to upgrade your GPU. 

Some people say that if you wait for the next big thing, you'll always be waiting. Or that developers wont even implement the new features anyway. 

At least those are the common arguments of naysayers. 

 

Personally, I am on the side of waiting (for pascal). But for me, Pascal is special case. I wouldn't wait for the next line of GPUs if they weren't making such a large generational shift. I think people aren't taking this into account. This is the first time in a while (I can't remember since when) that they're changing the manometer process the chips are produced at. This means more power in the same amount of space. Also these cards will feature a new type of VRAM, HBM. While the change might not be monumental, it's going to be better than the DDR5 we've been stuck with forever. Also I hear rumors about GDDRX coming to newer cards as well.

 

While I think that these new cards wont push the best titles at 4k 144hz yet, I do think a 1070 (guessing the name, but I aim for a 970 tier card with HBM) Pascal card will run (my) 1080p at super ultra 666sex FPS at 1 BILLION Hertz maximum refresh rates all the babes will love. 

 

What do you think? Is this generation special and worth waiting for? Or is no generation worth waiting for? 

[Dackzy]

6 minutes ago, DaltonM said:

There seems to be a big split in the PC community about waiting for Pascal/Polaris to upgrade your GPU. 

Some people say that if you wait for the next big thing, you'll always be waiting. Or that developers wont even implement the new features anyway. 

At least those are the common arguments of naysayers. 

 

Personally, I am on the side of waiting (for pascal). But for me, Pascal is special case. I wouldn't wait for the next line of GPUs if they weren't making such a large generational shift. I think people aren't taking this into account. This is the first time in a while (I can't remember since when) that they're changing the manometer process the chips are produced at. This means more power in the same amount of space. Also these cards will feature a new type of VRAM, HBM. While the change might not be monumental, it's going to be better than the DDR5 we've been stuck with forever. Also I hear rumors about GDDRX coming to newer cards as well.

 

While I think that these new cards wont push the best titles at 4k 144hz yet, I do think a 1070 (guessing the name, but I aim for a 970 tier card with HBM) Pascal card will run (my) 1080p at super ultra 666sex FPS at 1 BILLION Hertz maximum refresh rates all the babes will love. 

 

What do you think? Is this generation special and worth waiting for? Or is no generation worth waiting for? 

There is not such thing as 4k 144hz there is QHD (1440p) 144Hz. rigth now they are saying that in about 4 months you will start to see the new GPUs, so it would be kinda stupid to buy now unless you really need a new GPU.

[Admiral Naismith]

I have little experience in this, but I'll add my 2 cents.

I waited for this current gen and really wish I hadn't. I waited for the GTX 970, and absolutely hate it.

It was an early buy. The thing about early cards is that the problems that may arise haven't been made known. Mine had coil whine (which reviewers never seemed to have oddly (despite a metric sh*t tone of posts about the 970's coil whine the first few months)), absolutely sh*t overclocking, etc.. Now that's not much of an issue for 970s, but many of us early adopters got burned because of it. Had I gone with an R9 290X or GTX780, I would have had a solid, quiet card with (probably) good overclocking sooner.

Point is, you don't really know what you're getting into when you adopt early, so I'd just go with what's tried and tested.

[Johannes_Lazor]

i will wait atleast until the next generation of GPU's, my GTX 660 is still holding up decently enough and then il probably buy something in the performance range of an GTX 980 but with more Vram.

[stealth80]

These generation shifts happen every few years and are rarely ground breaking. I remember the shift from the likes of the 9800 pro with DDR memory to the 6800 series with DDR3, the performance jump was no different from the generation skips we see now however it was quite a skip in tech, DX skip, processing skip and a change of memory, much like what were about to see. Remember they will never make such a big jump, they will have thousands of units that just wont sell if the new tech is such a leap, they are a business at the end of the day

[Dackzy]

2 minutes ago, Admiral Naismith said:

I have little experience in this, but I'll add my 2 cents.

I waited for this current gen and really wish I hadn't. I waited for the GTX 970, and absolutely hate it.

It was an early buy. The thing about early cards is that the problems that may arise haven't been made known. Mine had coil whine (which reviewers never seemed to have oddly (despite a metric sh*t tone of posts about the 970's coil whine the first few months)), absolutely sh*t overclocking, etc.. Now that's not much of an issue for 970s, but many of us early adopters got burned because of it. Had I gone with an R9 290X or GTX780, I would have had a solid, quiet card with (probably) good overclocking sooner.

Point is, you don't really know what you're getting into when you adopt early, so I'd just go with what's tried and tested.

and the 290x is better than a 970 since the 290x is a 390x with 4gb ram on most cards.

[Admiral Naismith]

Just now, Dackzy said:

and the 290x is better than a 970 since the 290x is a 390x with 4gb ram on most cards.

Are you *trying* to make me cry

[GeekaWhat]

I think the issue is that if you wait for the next gen of Nvidia GPus for example you might have the attitude of waiting for the new Intel CPUs and then waiting for the new AMD CPUs to see if prices get pushed down and then waiting for new AMD GPUs and you end up pushing it back so much its almost time for new stuff D:

That being said, as you mentioned, it is such a huge manufacturing shift, so in this case, I'm gonna wait

[App4that]

I prefer to live, not wait.

[Dackzy]

39 minutes ago, Admiral Naismith said:

Are you *trying* to make me cry

No, but I am trying to tell the truth. I am running a HD7950 because my 780 ti broke and I am waiting for the new cards because the cards that are here rigth now a not that great for the price you pay and since I can live with turning down setting to medium and play at 1440p with a HD 7950 I don't see why I should upgrade when I don't really have to wait that long and I  feel like buying a card that will be outperformed by a cheaper card in 4-5 months.

[Dackzy]

14 minutes ago, App4that said:

I prefer to live, not wait.

That is also a way to lose a lot of money, when we are talking about life in general.

[App4that]

Just now, Dackzy said:

That is also a way to lose a lot of money, when we are talking about life in general.

No, I just bought a 980ti. The replacement for the 980ti is more than likely over a year away. And my 980ti will still destroy games at ultra settings for years to come, and when it doesn't I can get a second one for cheap while you pay full retail for a 1080.

There is ALWAYS something a year away, waiting is a great way to waste your life.

 

 

[DaltonM]

8 minutes ago, App4that said:

 

There is ALWAYS something a year away, waiting is a great way to waste your life.

 

Yeah, but it's not every year they change the VRAM and nm process which is the point I was trying to make with this topic. 

[App4that]

5 minutes ago, DaltonM said:

Yeah, but it's not every year they change the VRAM and nm process which is the point I was trying to make with this topic. 

And that means what exactly? Look at the Fury/X, where are the benefits? Having more VRAM has proven more important than the speed. 

 

IF you have a 4K monitor, wait. Most of us have 1080p monitors though, and waiting is foolish if you have a 1080p monitor. 

[The_Stig]

I'd personally wait for arctic islands/pascal just because they are the first GPUs with a 16nm process and come out just this summer.

[daniellearmouth]

7 minutes ago, App4that said:

IF you have a 4K monitor, wait.

And thus, I wait.

[MEC-777]

Buy what ever is the best among what you can afford at the time. Otherwise, you'll always be waiting. 

If new GPUs are about to launch in a month or so, it's debatable. IMO, it's best to buy a GPU later on in it's life cycle after it's gone through several price cuts and discounts.

[DaltonM]

38 minutes ago, App4that said:

And that means what exactly? Look at the Fury/X, where are the benefits? Having more VRAM has proven more important than the speed. 

 

IF you have a 4K monitor, wait. Most of us have 1080p monitors though, and waiting is foolish if you have a 1080p monitor. 

But can your 980ti Max out witcher 3 at ultra at 60FPS on 1080p? 

I don't think there's a card out there that gets 60fps ultra every game 1080p. 

Pascal is going to be great for 1080p at 970 level. I don't think even pascal era GPUs are gonna handle 4K in the latest AAA titles. 

[Mr.Meerkat]

I'm more than happy with my single 290x currently and if I really needed an upgrade, I would install my second 290x...only if I decide to switch cases that allows me to remove the drive cages...

[LordLeewee]

i wanted a new gpu at christmas so i bought a 970, it runs my favourite games at 60fps/1080p at high to ultra so its doing its job for now. ill upgrade when i get a 34" ultra wide 1440p 144z ips in 12 months. 

[App4that]

2 hours ago, DaltonM said:

But can your 980ti Max out witcher 3 at ultra at 60FPS on 1080p? 

I don't think there's a card out there that gets 60fps ultra every game 1080p. 

Pascal is going to be great for 1080p at 970 level. I don't think even pascal era GPUs are gonna handle 4K in the latest AAA titles. 

Um, yes my 980ti maxes out Witcher 3 even Hairworks in 1080p. And I'm mean ultra, not just some ultra settings. I run Witcher 3 in 1440 using DSR

The 980ti is an absolute monster of a graphics card. And something you have to own to appreciate 

[DaltonM]

3 minutes ago, App4that said:

Um, yes my 980ti maxes out Witcher 3 even Hairworks in 1080p. And I'm mean ultra, not just some ultra settings. I run Witcher 3 in 1440 using DSR

The 980ti is an absolute monster of a graphics card. And something you have to own to appreciate 

Yeah but is the FPS locked at a constant 60? 

[App4that]

27 minutes ago, DaltonM said:

Yeah but is the FPS locked at a constant 60? 

Yes, no matter where I am. Like Fallout 4 it actually stays at 61fps. I have the cap set to 60 so don't know why those two do that but they do.

Witcher 1080, Fallout 1440

[GigaSnow]

I want to get an R9 390x, am I better off waiting until the new stuff drops for a chance at a lower price, or will it matter much?

[App4that]

1 hour ago, GigaSnow said:

I want to get an R9 390x, am I better off waiting until the new stuff drops for a chance at a lower price, or will it matter much?

Depends on your monitor. If you have a 1080p get the 390x. The 390x beats the Fury in some games at 1080p because the new cards are meant for resolutions above 1080p