I currently have a video card from 2008 that is having a rough time playing current games. My video card is a GeForce 8800 GTX. I will be able to play DmC, Dead Space 3, and Aliens Colonial Marines according to the currently released system requirements. Crysis 3 on the other hand is strictly directx 11. I will have to upgrade if I want to play Crysis 3 on my pc. I have a budget of $200 - $250 max. I have read that the Radeon 8000 series OEM card are supposed to release as early as the end of January. So, do I wait on the OEM cards to release that may or may not lower the price of the 7000 series cards or buy now? The true Radeon 8000 series cards are set to release in Q2 and offer a 25% increase over the 7000 series and are supposed to release at a lower price than the 7000 series when they 1st released.

The cards that I have been looking at:

EVGA 660 2GB $200-220

EVGA 660 Ti 2GB $239-309

XFX 7850 2GB $189-229

XFX 7870 2GB $209-269

I want a card that I can use for another 4 1/2 to 5 years without having to upgrade.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

another 4 1/2 to 5 years without having to upgrade.

What is the rest of your current rig like?

Also, if you want that then I would definitely suggest a pretty high-end card. Like... higher than what you have listed. GTX 680 high. That might be overshooting it, but five years is an eternity in computer years. That's almost an entire console cycle.

@believer258:

Core 2 Quad Q9300 @ 3.0 GHz

4GB OCZ DDR2 Memory

EVGA 680i SLI Motherboard

EVGA 8800 GTX 768MB

4 and a half years isn't realistic given that by the end of the year the next gen of consoles will have kicked off and a plethora of steambox type living room pc's will be available for cheaper than the average gaming build.

The longest thing that will last you that is available is a gtx 690 with the rest of the rig kitted for an option to put in a second. The graphics card alone is $1000, though its worth two of the next best thing. The 680 which are a bit over 500 each which is closer to your budget and pick up another one for sli when you need to upgrade, and then maybe another one after that for tri sli. That might keep you going for 2 years?

Otherwise if you are going lower i guess pick up anything you can sli at a later date if your mobo allows it.

@S0mewh4tD4m4ged said:

@believer258:

Core 2 Quad Q9300 @ 3.0 GHz

4GB OCZ DDR2 Memory

EVGA 680i SLI Motherboard

EVGA 8800 GTX 768MB

Good sir, you are going to need a new rig before five years are over. You may be able to drag five years out of a GTX 680 or 670, so I would suggest buying one of those now and then saving up for a whole new computer next year and putting the 680 in there.

Yeah 4 and a half years is not a realistic goal for any of those cards. I had an 8800GTX until about 2 years ago, and you've held on to that for far too long. I can't imagine it would run something like, say, borderlands 2 that well. I've been using the EVGA SC 660Ti since September (currently being RMA). It runs all modern games great, but it is still a mid range card. Next year the games won't run so well, and it goes on from there. Think of upgrading every 2 years, and you'll be fine. The 660Ti is a good card.

4 1/2 years may not be realistic for a mid-range card. I have had this 8800gtx since 2008 and it has played most games just fine. The forced direct x 11 is whats going to end this card. I have baked this card about 5x in the oven to bring it back to life so I think I have got my moneys worth out of it. I am primarily a console gamer. I am just looking for a card in the range of $200-$250 so I can play the PC exclusives or the games that aren't ports. I just don't know whether to buy a card now or wait for a deal. I am aiming for a 660 ti but if the Radeon 8870 is going to be 20-25% faster than the 7870 and be under $300, that may just be the card that I want.

in most cases, the 660 ti is closer to a 7950 in performance, so if it's between a 7870 and a 660 ti, I would spend the extra, but a 7850 is better than a 660 non ti. the main advantage of an AMD card is that it has a higher memory bandwidth, (256 bit vs 192 bit). I was in the exact same situation, and went with a 660 ti, and I am very happy with my choice so far.

In your range, the 7850 is probably the best bang for the buck. Who cares if a $1000 card is worth two of any other card, you still have to come up with $1000 for ONE piece of kit. Bad investment, IMO. Do what I do, continually upgrade pieces of your system ever couple years. Get a new vid card now, and upgrade other pieces as you need to. A little more RAM is dirt cheap and will probably help you.

But for your initial question, I say go with the 7850. Also, check out Tom's Hardware whenever you have questions like this.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107.html

If your going Nvidia go with the 660 ti, its basically a 670 but with a smaller memory bit. The regular 660 is inferior to it. And you can overclock the card further to almost the full performance of a 670.