Is a DirectX10 card really worth it?

[tophee]

Hi folks,

Is worth getting a DirectX10 (or 10.1) card for Vista at the moment?
I want to be upgrading my system completely sometime next year, however I want to upgrade the GPU sooner as the one currently in this rig is embarrassingly poor.

I believe that at the moment DX10 hammers the humble PC, even those DX10 uber-rigs. So is it too early try to have DX10 and should I stay with a DX9 card? With the 8800s and DX9 under XP nvidia beat ATI hands down, is this as true in vista? If I got a 8800gt for example I'd be forced to move over to DX10.

So as my current Vista rig is a lowly dual core Pentium D and I'm only running a resolution of 1440x900, should I stick with a reasonable DX9 card such as the ageing X1950 and wait for the next gen of cards or plump for a DX10 now?

If I decide to get a DX10 card the AMD/ATI 3870's are within budget and at a stretch I could get the 8800gt. However, at my resolution would the 3850's be a better? (Certainly cheaper.)

Any thoughts would be appreciated, corrections (as I'm not really up to date) or advice. Thanks in advance.

Regards Chris

 

[DreadNiK]

the 8 series are really dx10 capable mature dx9 cards...if you get one you dont have to use it for dx10...

 

[Teaf]

I would ignore "DirectX 10" feature on cards, and buy one for it's raw power rather than it's DirectX version. DirectX 10 gets you some nicer things, like better fog, but it's not worth basing a graphics card purchase on it.

 

[tophee]

Hi thanks for the prompt replies,

I thought though that with VISTA I didn't have a choice as such. If I get a DX10 card, Vista would use DX10 by default. Is this not the case?

Is DX9 not as fast on Vista as on XP - I only have Vista as an operating system - other than Linux and those boxes don't count!

 

[tophee]

Oh, and DredNik, are you saying that if I want a DX10 card... don't go for an Nvidia?

 

[manic111]

I think (not sure, I still have an X1950pro) that most games allow you to switch between DX9 and DX10.
At the moment DX10 is immature and the large majority of cards out there wont get high enough FPS to justify using it over DX9. If your DX9 card is still capable of doing what you want it to, I dont think that it is worth upgrading at the moment.

 

[Mattus]

I thought though that with VISTA I didn't have a choice as such. If I get a DX10 card, Vista would use DX10 by default. Is this not the case?

It's backwards-compatible. Games that were designed for DX9 will still run in DX9 mode under Vista, and games with DX10 capability can all run in DX9 mode too - there will be an option to run in DX9 mode even if your GPU is DX10 capable.

 

[tophee]

Unfortunately, an upgrade to my graphics card is almost a necessity at the moment. It is really quite bad.

However, being able to switch between DX9/10 is good news. I think I may go for a 512mb version of the 3850s.

Thanks for helping me make my mind up quickly.

 

[jigger]

Good question and one ive been thining about.

Iwould say that if 1440x900 is your screens native res then it's worth it but if you plan on getting a 20" or bigger then no DX10 card can run all games at setting to get the best out of DX10.
If the card you have a the monent can hold out i would upgrade the whole lot later in the year as the shortage of cards is looking sus to me and pushing prices over way over RRP.

 

[tophee]

Well, due to moving into a shell of a house some 4 months ago and it needing major renovation, I'll be sticking with my 1440x900 widescreen monitor for some time. A new graphics card in necessary at the moment. As a temporary fix I have a second hand X800gt card that was donated to me. I didn't even think they made them in PCIe variety!
It's rubbish. It struggles with almost everything.

 

[Mattus]

'Getting the best out of DX10' is really not meaning very much at present! Running Crysis at very high settings under DX10 (on my 8800GT) murders my FPS but I can barely tell the difference. In Bioshock I can't tell the difference between DX9 and DX10.

I think we have to wait for games to mature before we can really see the advantages of DX10. For now I think it's best to buy one of the new generation of cards which are very capable in DX9 and reasonable in DX10. If you're going for a 512mb 3850, though, I think you might as well wait for the 3870s to come back into stock unless you want to buy quickly.

 

[tophee]

I can resist clicking the 'buy button' a while longer. Perhaps I need to be finishing off network of the house.

 

[PermaChanged]

I'm currently using an X1900XT and I don't intend upgrading for at least another 4 months as the NVidia 9xxx series will have dropped a little in price by then, we'll have to see what ATI have up their sleeves too.

 

[DreadNiK]

if I were you I'd get the cheapest 8800GT you can. Are you running an x800 atm, I couldnt quite tell?

FYI I have a 7900gtx, just managed to get my order in for a £250 delivered 8800gtx today, but then I like to game at 1920x1080 and I'm not waiting any longer to play Crysis on a decent setting or finish Bioshock on max, and plus I like to have capableish second PC in the house so the 7900 can go in that, then when the 9 series comes out in feb (if) then I can cry, dig deeper into my wallet and the 8800gtx can be in the 2nd rig.

EDIT: to OP, not rusty_noob...who either games on a lower rez than me or has more sense and patience.

 

[helmutcheese]

You buy the cards as they are the best today, not because of DX10.

The point above is not true, the cards are true DX10 cards and DX is backwards compatable as always.

I doubt anyone with a clue bought a GTX at launch over 1 year ago for DX10 reasons, they got a card that has had a very long shelf life and good on them.

You going to buy a 7000 series card to avoid being DX10 and play DX9C games at low FPS as todays new games are stressfull.

 

[gareth170]

if u buy a good dx10 card e.g 8800xxx it'll run dx9 games perfectly well plus u could play games in dx10 e.g crysis, lost planet.. tbh theres not much different between dx9 and dx10 but the cards are great for dx9 gaming..