GFX Card Purchase: Now or Later?

The Fourth Horseman

I currently have a GTX 260 and was thinking of upgrading to a new card. It seems the highest I can go with my current power supply is a GTX 570, which is within my price range. My 260 plays most of my current games pretty well (medium to high), but I'd like to kick my current games up to ultra and be ready for future games (Battlefield 3 mostly).

So, my question is: can I buy a 570 now and expect it to last for several months, or should I wait until BF3 comes out and buy a newer card + power supply at the same time?

Thanks for the help!

TychoCelchuuu

What games do you play where a GTX 260 is only getting you medium to high? I have an 8800 GTX and crank pretty much everything up to high. Maybe your CPU needs the loving?

The Fourth Horseman

What games do you play where a GTX 260 is only getting you medium to high? I have an 8800 GTX and crank pretty much everything up to high. Maybe your CPU needs the loving?

I have a Core i5 750. Is that holding me back? I play some of my games like Starcraft 2 and Portal 2 at max setting no problem. Some of my games like Napoleon Total War can run on high, but will start slowing down when things get crazy so I just keep it at medium all the time. Another thing is that I have to run everything at 1920x1080 otherwise it looks like crap on my monitor. I used to get some big performance boosts on my old monitor by just lowering the resolution (I was fond of 1440 x 900).

Dehumanized

Your processor is fine. The thing which is slowing you down is your resolution -- tis a sad truth that the larger and awesomer your monitor is, the quicker you'll have to start turning down the graphics as new games come around. The 570 is a beast of a card, but I'd say if you're waiting on a specific game to get a new card for, then wait until a couple weeks before the game comes out and then assess the market. It's hard to tell when new graphics cards will come out, but basically if something new and beefy comes out you'll see price drops on the more affordable stuff -- and if something new and affordable comes out it'll probably be better than the current new and affordable cards.

I wouldn't worry about buying a new power supply -- just get the best card that your current one can support.

a5ehren

If it works for everything you have now, just wait for BF3. Even if there isn't anything new out by then, the current stuff will still be cheaper. It'll also let you wait and see what the best card is for that specific game.