Anyone sick of graphics card upgrades ?

[Flanno]

Was looking at the release schedule for upcoming games, and for me besides Rome Heart Of Empire, and that brilliant platformer Psychonauts out on the 10th Feb (which is already out in the US), there is literally nothing interesting I can see in the next few months, and certainly nothing that requires a next gen card. So unless you were planning to replay Quake4, HL2, Fear etc.. at even higher AA and/or Res settings on one of the new cards, I dont see ANY point to the next gen video cards at all, at least until games come out that will make use of it.

I guess this is the way it's always been with every new generation of cards - only 1 or 2 games come out that push it, if you are lucky enough not to be cpu limited. And the next gen cards will be the same, probably allowing you to play your current games at even higher res or aa settings. But I don't see the point. At some stage you have to be happy with a certain performance level, and spending massive money to replay the same game at higher res with higher visual settings or read about the game benches in some review just doesn't make sense.

If games development was in line with card releases then it would be a different story entirely, as we would have fancy new games to look forward to playing with our new cards. But right now I think we have got into a severe case of diminishing returns.

I personally think 360 oweners are in a good position. Their hardware is locked down, and they can get on with the business of enjoying games instead of benchmarks, and as with the last Xbox, as the developers get to grips with the console, they will squeeze more and more out of it. Just look how well Doom3 and Farcry turned out on the Xbox.

I am half considering just opting out of pc gaming altogether, and buying a 360 soon.

Anyone share my sentiments ?

 

[Flanno]

One of the points I was trying to make is that it is a waste to buy into the next generation as there is nothing new on the horizon (bar Unreal 3 I guess) that will stress out current sli setups. Games development seems to have fallen behind what these cards can do. Sure Fear at 1920 with 8X AA would stress my setup out, even 4x does, but why would I upgrade to a new card to play the same game ? I will basically be exercising some common sense like a lot of people on these forums and just hold onto my setup until I cant play games the way I like anymore. I think I will uninstall 3dmark too.

<edit>Of course a lot of what I am saying stems from the fact that like a lot of people I have an uncontrollable urge to buy the latest graphics hardware. Sad state of affairs really, especially when something new and better comes along you can't afford.</edit>

 

[Flanno]

Fair dues to ya. I would never be so disciplined, but as I said I think I will be changing my tune in the future. I will let the games dicate when I need to upgrade and not blasted benchmarks or reviews.

 

[Flanno]

I disagree, there will doubtless be plenty of titles released over the next year which push modern hardware to the limit (especially considering the fact that current titles such as cod2/fear are already too demanding for current hardware). People were probably saying the same thing 2 years ago, and then Far Cry popped up.

Well if you read my post again I was talking about games that interest 'me', that I think would push the hardware. And so far looking at release schedules I don't see much that interests me at all - at least in the first quarter of this year. In fact if you look at the next gen due out in Feb, there is really nothing in the line of heavy duty 3d games due out. And I disagree about cod2 being too demanding for current hardware. It runs fine on my rig at 1680 or even 1920, despite what Fraps seems to think.

 

[Flanno]

I was in my local gamestop tonight and had a go on PGR3 on the 360. Indeed it was sweet. They finally figured out how to configure it correctly with the Samsing LCD. Also like Kameo and PD0 a lot. If a few more good titles like these come out (and they will I am sure), and games prices drop a bit, I could see myself getting a 360 in a few months time and just not bother upgrading my video card setup for ages. Especially looking at the release schedule for the next 6 months - I see a lot more 360 games I would like to play, compared to PC Games.

Of course the real stickler is the price of the 360 games. In Ireland they vary between 65 and 75 euro !!! And I picked up The Movies and POP : The 2 Thrones for the PC for under 50 euro in total in a sale in Virgin today.

 

[Flanno]

I am sure you could, but in 6 months time or a years time, will that 1000quid PC be able to play the latest games and look as visually stunning as the Xbox 360 version ?

As the developers get more familiar with the 360 hardware, visually - better and better games come out for it going by the previous Xbox. When the Xbox 1st gen games came out they were nothing special, but just look at how well Doom3 and Far Cry Instincts looked on the Xbox towards the end. Very very good. I know low res, but they optimised games very well for the Xbox considering it wasnt much more then an Celeron 733 and some sort of Geforce3 hybrid which according to Toms hardware at the time said it only had the polygon capability of a Geforce 2 GTX.

They optimise squat for the PC. Just look at the recommended requirements on most graphically intensive PC Games. Usually you will have to sacrifice something graphically if you just meet them. And what if you have the latest and greatest card - seeing as the developers are programming for the lowest common denominator, you see very few games today taking advantage of what the latest uber graphics card can do. So you get people complaining about how badly Fear, COD2, etc.. runs on their state of art rig.

For me the whole thing has become exasperating......which is why I think I wont be upgrading anything for a long long while, so will be giving at least the next 2 gen of video cards a miss.

 

[Flanno]

PGR3 awesome on the 360, watch you don't cut yourself on those jaggies mind, OUCH!!.

what jaggies - I played it tonight on a correctly configured samsung lcd in 720p mode and there was very little aliasing I could see. Aren't all 360 games using a min. of 2x AA. I havn't seen any racing game on the PC that plays as smooth or looks as nice. Quake 4 was just a bad port.

 

[Flanno]

£400 console instead... and my £200 7800GT matchs a 360 for visual quality

Where are you going with 400 quid console ? It's 410 euro, which is 280 quid.

Anyway, I got a 360 and sold my rig below (see sig). From what I have seen with the first gen games, they easily match anything the PC has in visual quality, especially at 1920x1080. Just take a look at Kameo on the 360.

 

[Flanno]

Now this is turning into a petty console vs pc thread.

Sure the pc is more flexible, but I decide on what platform to use based on what games are out, and right now the 360 games interest me more then what is due out on PC. Plus as I said already as the developers get to grips with the console hardware the games get better and better and are close to PC level without having to spend lots on hardware...Doom3 and FarCry on the original Xbox is an example.

My problem is my fault, as I have a compulsion to buy the latest video hardware unlike a lot more sensisble people on these forums. And then just spend all my time benching and obsessing about overclocking. By taking the decision to just use my 360 for gaming, and selling my PC (except for my Dell 2405FPW screen and Logitech speakers) and using what bits I had to put together a small micro atx system for browsing, I save myself a lot of grief financially and mentally

 

[Flanno]

Yeah...right I already had a 360...I sold the PC for the money !!!

And to be honest I am enjoying the 360 and Live a hell of a lot more then I did with the PC.