upgrading

Status
Not open for further replies.

jondo

Solid State Member
Messages
8
First of all, hi!

Right, what i'm really here about....

I'm thinking of upgrading both my processor and graphics card at some point in the near-mid future. However, I am aware that in a year or so several new technologies, replacing years-old techology, will be released. For example in your opinion, should I get a P4 x64 or wait till dual core processors come out to see what's happening? Also, directx 10 or directx next, is that avalon? A lot of different news sites are telling a different story... Anyway, with new directx, comes new graphics cards with new capabilities, so I think I am gonna have to wait for that to come out seeing as I am wanting to get the best ATI card out at the time of purchase. I've also heard that avalon is going to get released independently of longhorn, however so I don't know if i'm going to have to wait till longhorn has been released to buy a new graphics card.

I know that was a total ramble, but try and pick out the main points and any replies with some relevant info in I will be very grateful for, cheers.
 
jondo said:
First of all, hi!

... However, I am aware that in a year or so several new technologies, replacing years-old techology, will be released....

I don't know of a time in the history of the PC when one could not make this very same statement. The problem with the latest technology is that it is expensive. If your computer doesn't meet specs for your applications, there is no time like the present for an upgrade.
 
to be honest, all I wanted was a new graphics card, but this would have needed a new motherboard with a PCI-E x16 slot, and new RAM. I am then left with the choice of buying all that and spending £200 more than I wanted to, and then having to buy a new motherboard and 64 bit processor in a year or so or getting a new motherboard, RAM and cpu in a few months, then a new graphics card either as soon as I could afford it, or with a wait if I knew there was something new going to be released in the next few months.

^^ thats my problem.

oh yeah, and the techologies I was referring to were DX hardware level and cpu data bus width, and its been years since they were updated.
 
If you need a PCI-E x16 slot to upgrade your graphics, you probably don't need to upgrade your graphics! What is in your current setup and why do you "need" an upgrade?

DirectX is an API that allows developers to bypass windows and directly access hardware capabilities. While the MS releases "versions", it doesn't necessarily mean there will be any significant hardware advances. There will certainly be some marketing hype but it's just hype. So, I certainly wouldn't base a purchasing decision on the release of yet another MS API or OS.

I like to wait until a new product hits the market and buy the old product because the price drops like a rock. It works just fine and a save a bundle.
 
I don't "need" to upgrade my graphics, however I want to very much :)
was just about to buy a Radeon x850 xt pe when I realised it would need a new mobo + RAM

gsbtech, its been years since DX9 was released, and when it was, it allowed graphics cards to do new things. you really don't think when the next DX is out they will add some new capabilities? if they were just going to optimize what is already there wouldn't they just release DX9.0d or something?

Also something big has to happen in graphics in the next year or so, due to the next gen consoles coming out, apparently developers are shooting for over 30,000 polys on character models (at least the ps3, however I read it might be like a year after they are released that devs can use the full capabilities of the hardware), I doubt ATI and NVIDIA would let consoles just run away with the market, they will have to do something to seriously up the spec of their cards, and when they do, I don't want to have just spent £350 on a card that can handle 1/7th as much data!
 
I seeÂ… you want the hottest new toy and thatÂ’s cool. If you just needed a graphics upgrade, IÂ’m sure there are possibilities for your current system so I approached it from that perspective assuming that economics was a factor.

I'm not sure that computer video card will ever keep up with a console given the dramatic difference in resolution. ItÂ’s a different market. Nobody wants to play games on their PC at TV resolutions. Today's consoles are a couple of years behind computer graphics cards so a simple upgrade to current computer technology will give a huge boost in performance. ItÂ’s basically all of the same companies and all of the same technologies applied to two different applications.

Perhaps the new IBM Cell processor is likely to shake things up a bit. I'm anxious to see if the product is worth the hype.

No matter when you buy, you'll be disappointed in a few months when a new card appears. I've been hearing this same story for 20 years it's beginning to sound like a broken record.

ItÂ’s likely that graphics card manufactures are already capable of implementing new functionality of DirectX 10.0. There are a lot of back door dealings and sharing of information. MS is a shrewd marketer and puts their API plans in the right places so they will stay ahead of the game.
 
Form MS

http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/highlights/multicore.mspx

"Dual-core processors will be introduced into the market by Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Intel Corp. in 2005, with expectations that this technology will become mainstream in 2006. "

When it becomes "mainstream" it will focuse on expensive server solutions and since these projections are always overly optomistic, I would hold my breath for dual-core in the consumer PC until 2007. I don't think I'd wait on this technology (or for Longhorn).
 
cool, I think I'm gonna get a P4 x64 when they come out as well as new mobo and RAM, then get a graphics card whenever I can afford it next. thanks for sharing your opinion, later.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom