How much does your graphics card really cost?

[Geck0]

I have to say that I completely disagree with this rationale. I wear glasses...without them I can't see much, certainly not enough to do without them. I could spend a pittance on a cheap pair, or, invest a little more into something that will protect my eyes from harmful things, enable me to see and perhaps make me look a little better. I'd be wearing them every day and they'd be having an impact on everything I do....therefore in my book they're worth something to me, especially as they may last 2 to 4 years.

Same goes for graphics cards...the initial outlay might be a fair amount but If I'm using it regularly, it enables me to do things I'd not be able to do so well without, and importantly doesn't make me feel like I've misjudged what I want then it's worth it. What else is a better use for your hard earned money than the things you enjoy outside of work. For me resale value is moot. Much like cars I use my PC until it meets it's maker.

Buyers remorse is where you end up buying something you don't think you need...perhaps in this instance it might be a Titan GPU in a 1080 machine that is only used for Minecraft or visual novels. Certainly I think few educated consumers (ergo not those on these boards) run into buyers remorse very often.

So how much are you renting your glasses for per week / month, and why didn't you just pay cash for them? Your post doesn't address the premise at all unless you do, which you haven't said at all. I never said you can't spend your money your way, but to state that it's costing you $x.xx per day / week / month when you haven't even ended the use of it is obviously flawed on an accounting level and pointless at any other level unless you are trying to convince yourself that it's not as expensive as it actually was.

 

[Bluntwrapped]

I'm a 70 series buyer. I was borderline on the price as the 970 was £250 but ended up paying £380 for my 1070 at launch and sold my 970 for £150 to offset the cost.

I would never buy a graphics card that cost me more than £200 maybe £250 to upgrade from generation to generation.

I am not justifying the current prices of graphics cards although I would be very interested to know how much it costs nVidia to make them.

However, your "mental" comment is insulting to say the least. Many people spend far more than say £800 a year plus cost of games on other miles more expensive hobbies.

Is it "mental" to buy an expensive watch, diamond ring or car?

It wasn’t supposed to be insulting, more of a “hello!?” type wake up call.

 

[Dirk Diggler]

If you’re prepared to blow the best part of a couple of grand to better play a handful of mediocre games this would suggest you’re mental.

What part of "enthusiast" do people fail to comprehend? It's clearly not for you, but it hits the spot for others.

I know people that wouldn't spend £200 on a GPU let alone £1k, but they spend a fortune on motorbikes or cars that wouldn't interest me in the slightest. I don't expect those people to "justify" anything to me, and why should they?

 

[Bluntwrapped]

What part of "enthusiast" do people fail to comprehend? It's clearly not for you, but it hits the spot for others.

I know people that wouldn't spend £200 on a GPU let alone £1k, but they spend a fortune on motorbikes or cars that wouldn't interest me in the slightest. I don't expect those people to "justify" anything to me, and why should they?

I don’t expect anyone to justify anything to me. It kinda sucks when someone chooses to be offended by an opinion that differs from their own. ‘enthusiasts’ really are a sensitive bunch - especially when Nvidia are the topic of debate.

 

[andybird123]

I don’t expect anyone to justify anything to me. It kinda sucks when someone chooses to be offended by an opinion that differs from their own. ‘enthusiasts’ really are a sensitive bunch - especially when Nvidia are the topic of debate.

Calling someone "mental" for having a hobby they enjoy is not a difference of opinion, its a flat out insult. Its not someone "choosing" to be offended, or being sensitive, if someone walks up to you in the street and shouts "you're mental", how is that supposed to be taken as anything other than an attack?

It kinda sucks when people aren't able to state their opinion without resorting to cheap insults.

You could've just said that you wouldn't spend x amount on PC gaming, which would be fine and a difference of opinion. Going on to a PC gamers forum to call most of its members "mental" was not really called for.

I'm sure the world would be a better place if we were just all drones with the exact same likes and dislikes and nothing was different or interesting at all. /s

 

[Bluntwrapped]

Calling someone "mental" for having a hobby they enjoy is not a difference of opinion, its a flat out insult. Its not someone "choosing" to be offended, or being sensitive, if someone walks up to you in the street and shouts "you're mental", how is that supposed to be taken as anything other than an attack?

It kinda sucks when people aren't able to state their opinion without resorting to cheap insults.

I’m sorry but you kinda reinforce the point of Nvidia ‘enthusiasts’ being sensitive wee souls.

If you’re prepared to take something said, partly in jest and be offended by it as if it was meant to be insulting, that’s not my issue.

There are those here that’ll find an angle to defend Nvidia no matter what. In this context, what is more insulting?

 

[Gregster]

I’m sorry but you kinda reinforce the point of Nvidia ‘enthusiasts’ being sensitive wee souls.

If you’re prepared to take something said, partly in jest and be offended by it as if it was meant to be insulting, that’s not my issue.

There are those here that’ll find an angle to defend Nvidia no matter what. In this context, what is more insulting?

I am not a fan of NVidia or AMD, both have their faults but I do really enjoy my hardware and my PC is my hobby. I love my gaming time, even though it has been very limited lately but I hope no matter what someone uses to have fun, be it a console or PC, they have fun! So many people get hung up on the AMD or NVidia camp, they lose sight of what matters to us all.

 

[andybird123]

No one was even talking about nvidia, this was a PC gpu thread last time i checked.

Kinda funny when the person dishing out "mental" insults is the person who can't read "PC gaming" without getting insulted by the thought of "nvidia".

 

[easyrider]

so much wasted energy in this thread.

 

[Gregster]

Not surprised actually.

Of course you are not! What baffles me is I found it quite an interesting way of looking at how much my GPU cost and how much that was over the course of 11 months I have owned it but at no time at all did I think about buyers remorse or couldn't afford it. You made a statement as fact but couldn't be further away in truth.

 

[Bluntwrapped]

No one was even talking about nvidia, this was a PC gpu thread last time i checked.

Kinda funny when the person dishing out "mental" insults is the person who can't read "PC gaming" without getting insulted by the thought of "nvidia".

I was specifically talking about Nvidia before your reply. You cannot expect to then generalise the thing to make your defensive stance easier.

If you believe what you say is remotely convincing of neutrality and free of bias, surely then it would be fair to question why you feel the need to discredit my opinion as insult? Choosing to interpret “you’re mental” the way you have is nothing more than nit picking.

Transparency and delusion don’t work well together - hence the almost guaranteed heated debate when someone mentions Nvidia.

I’m as much of an enthusiast as others here. If you don’t like opinion against the grain of your own, again this isn’t my issue.

Enough said anyway.. time to move on.

 

[andybird123]

I don’t think there’s any way of dressing the thing up to get around the fact £800+ for a GPU is absolutely ridiculous. When you factor in the added cost of a gsync monitor (many here will have both) then consider the quality of current titles, surely this becomes difficult if not impossible to justify. Whether it’s over months or years it doesn’t really matter. If you’re prepared to blow the best part of a couple of grand to better play a handful of mediocre games this would suggest you’re mental.

You werent talking about nvidia when you first started throwing insults about and the thread wasnt about nvidia. Unless you just want to forget vega64 exists... I'm not quite sure who the delusional one is.

Enough said anyway.. time to move on.

if you believed this, why pre-face it with this

delusion

a PC gaming enthusiast wouldn't start throwing around words like "mental" and "delusional" regardless of their brand affinity... when someone says they have a vega64 I don't say similar things to them, even though I myself wouldn't pay 1080ti money for less than 1080 performance, but its a personal preference, if someone is happy with their V64 (and possibly because they feel they "saved money" on a freesync monitor to go with it) then that is up to them... if someone starts a thread asking for advice I'll gladly give mine, but at no point would "mental" come in to it

 

[WantoN]

Thread turns into people attacking brands, and then people. What a surprise.

Just chill out for Christ sakes, it’s a thread for a bit of fun. You don’t like the premise? Fine, you’ve said your peace, why let it descend into a silly argument.

Seems like hidden agendas, argumentative nonsense and card envy fuelling all of this.

 

[Bluntwrapped]

There’s more drama in GPU discussion threads than there is in an episode of Eastenders.

Don’t dare criticise or you’ll have someone playing the victim card (no pun intended).

“A pc gaming enthusiast wouldn’t..” I was about to stop reading there then I saw brand affinity. If you’re admittedly loyal to one brand or another, then perhaps a skewed perspective of enthusiasm is to be expected.

 

[x-st]

So how much are you renting your glasses for per week / month, and why didn't you just pay cash for them? Your post doesn't address the premise at all unless you do, which you haven't said at all. I never said you can't spend your money your way, but to state that it's costing you $x.xx per day / week / month when you haven't even ended the use of it is obviously flawed on an accounting level and pointless at any other level unless you are trying to convince yourself that it's not as expensive as it actually was.

Why pointless? What are the determinants of something being expensive? Something that's expensive for me may not be for you. At a fundamental level If I buy something expensive and expect it to fulfill a certain level of performance, and then I get 2 months use out of it, then looking at the value I got out of my purchase It's not been a good purchasing decision, and I would think it expensive. If it was peanuts for something that was that disposable then the loss isn't so bad. Part of what I pay for is longevity.

If you buy a 3GB 1060 at a slightly over RRP £230 because you have a small monitor, play at 1080 and are only interested in minimally demanding games, and your tastes don't change and it lasts you 6 years or two full GPU generations, despite it seeming like you paid slightly over the odds it it's lasted you and you can make a case that whilst you could have paid less, it has been a good investment. However, if your tastes or setup changes and you need a better GPU within 8 months, and that superior 1070 costs you £429, then you've only had 8 months of joy from your expensive 1060 and in relative terms scored a much better deal on your next GPU (which hopefully will last you) that's a poor price. It makes sense to attribute value to things, but of course it's personal. If I could make my own GPU then buying one would likely be expensive at any price!

Looking at just the price tag in isolation isn't the sole determinant of value for money.

 

[Griffildur]

I’m sorry but you kinda reinforce the point of Nvidia ‘enthusiasts’ being sensitive wee souls.

If you’re prepared to take something said, partly in jest and be offended by it as if it was meant to be insulting, that’s not my issue.

There are those here that’ll find an angle to defend Nvidia no matter what. In this context, what is more insulting?

I find it hilarious how you insult someone, then you accuse them of being a NVidia defender ... here's a suggestion, admit you were rude, apologize and move on ... what people do with their money is their business and you have no business judging.

 

[Bluntwrapped]

I find it hilarious how you insult someone, then you accuse them of being a NVidia defender ... here's a suggestion, admit you were rude, apologize and move on ... what people do with their money is their business and you have no business judging.

That old chestnut eh?

If you’re going to choose a random comment, decide to apply it to yourself and be offended that’s not my issue. Perhaps a niggle of self doubt is more to do with it than anything else. If you’re going to spend a silly amount of money on something, maybe make sure you’re completely secure with the decision first?

We’ve all bought something and given it a second thought after. I don’t suppose expensive high end GPUs and gaming monitors are any different.

I bought a Gibson Les Paul studio a few years back for £800 and I’ve barely played it. If you want to call me mental I would agree. I’m not going to get upset or feel the need to defend myself - I couldn’t really care less what anyone else thinks.

Maybe it’s time to get a grip?

I own a GTX 1080 but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to criticise Nvidia for being the shower of ****’s they are. Dare I say it, it would be “mental” not to.

 

[Tatsuki]

GTX 660 purchased in Nov 2012 for £159, so its cost me about £2 a month (my entire build was £611 so it's cost me £9 a month so far), still can play GTA V on medium settings no problem, was going to upgrade last year but when prices went mad wasn't going to spend the money when my current card plays the games I play just fine. If I can ever get a 6gb GTX 1060 for £220ish I might get something.

 

[FoxEye]

I have to say that I completely disagree with this rationale. I wear glasses...without them I can't see much, certainly not enough to do without them. I could spend a pittance on a cheap pair, or, invest a little more into something that will protect my eyes from harmful things, enable me to see and perhaps make me look a little better. I'd be wearing them every day and they'd be having an impact on everything I do....therefore in my book they're worth something to me, especially as they may last 2 to 4 years.

Same goes for graphics cards...the initial outlay might be a fair amount but If I'm using it regularly, it enables me to do things I'd not be able to do so well without, and importantly doesn't make me feel like I've misjudged what I want then it's worth it. What else is a better use for your hard earned money than the things you enjoy outside of work. For me resale value is moot. Much like cars I use my PC until it meets it's maker.

Buyers remorse is where you end up buying something you don't think you need...perhaps in this instance it might be a Titan GPU in a 1080 machine that is only used for Minecraft or visual novels. Certainly I think few educated consumers (ergo not those on these boards) run into buyers remorse very often.

Do you pay for your glasses in monthly instalments, tho?

I quite happily spend £200 or so on my glasses, for the same reasons as you. But I don't start telling myself they were "only £17 a month", which would be bizarro. £200 is £200 is £200, which is what they cost. Not £17 a month.

I mean, if I buy them up front and you expect them to last 3 years, do I start telling myself they only cost £6 a month? That would be even weirder. They cost £200. That was how much I hand to hand to the shop-keeper to take them away with me Surely attempting to put a monthly cost on them is pointless/nonsense?

 

[FoxEye]

Going on to a PC gamers forum to call most of its members "mental" was not really called for.

I know you think we're all super rich here, but "most" OcUK PC gamers don't spend anywhere near £2k on their GPU.

You can't honestly believe that the majority of members here spent anywhere near that much on a GPU, surely?