Where's the GPU market at?

[Lima]

Hi peoples,

I haven't been able to follow the GPU market and wouldn't know where to start looking for info.

I am thinking of buying a new card and not sure who to invest in or if I should wait.

Do you guys know if any new worthwhile parts will be coming out soon and are worth waiting for, or is it safe to buy and not worry about missing out on anything?

[SugarJ]

Start with a budget and desired resolution, then we can give you advice.

[burebista]

And your CPU and PSU too.

[Lima]

PSU is a Silverstone 650 watt Olympia
CPU is a Q6600
resolution is 1680x1050 native
and I would say around the 300$ mark

What I really want to know is... Is it a good time to buy, or should I wait for new hardware that might be coming out soon.

If bigger and better is just around the corner, I would rather wait it out.

[SugarJ]

Bigger and better is always coming. The new GTX 270 / 290's are rumored to be coming soon, but I haven't heard any hard dates yet.

Anyways, if I was going to spend around $300 on a graphics card today, my choice would be a GTX260 core 216 or a HD4870. If you fold, Nvidia hands down. In fact, even if you don't, the stock clocked GTX260 beats the ATI card in almost every test while the OC versions add some decent FPS on top of stock.

Check SKYMTL's review here:
BFG GTX 260 OCX MAXCORE (216SP) 896MB Video Card Review

[Lima]

Just finished checking it out actually, was headed to check out the 4850 crossfire review now.

I also have 4850 crossfire ideas floating around in my head... would you consider that over those two? I' m actually off to go check out the review on that now.

[SugarJ]

Personally, I'd always chose a single card solution over a dual. That way, you can always add in a card later if you find your performance lacking. Although with a 22" monitor and either of the cards I mentioned, that won't happen for probably a year or two.

That said, I believe that crossfired 4850's will outperform the GTX260, although not by a large margin. And I've heard of lots of people having issues getting their CF systems to run properly.

What motherboard are you using?

[Lima]

I have a DFI X48 board.

I decided I'm going with a single card and, it's gonna be a GTX 260.

Thanks for the help SugarJ.

[SugarJ]

No worries. If I didn't have a 4870 already that would be my choice too.