Should I upgrade my video card.?

I built this computer about 1.5 years ago. Its an i7-950 - 3.06 Ghz. It is currently not overclocked. I have 6 GB of DDR3 RAM. My video card is GTX 285. I have been able to run most every game at max but i'm starting to run into situations where I need to dial down the graphic settings. Any advice?

what games?

what games?

ionusX

Well, i'm not sure how this answer would affect your recommendation, but my screen resolution is 1920x1200 and the games that come to mind are Crysis, Metro 2033, and Mafia 2. They run fine, but require graphics turned down a bit. In Metro 2033 I had to actually turn down the screen resolution from my monitor's native.

[QUOTE="ionusX"]

what games?

mkaliaz

Well, i'm not sure how this answer would affect your recommendation, but my screen resolution is 1920x1200 and the games that come to mind are Crysis, Metro 2033, and Mafia 2. They run fine, but require graphics turned down a bit. In Metro 2033 I had to actually turn down the screen resolution from my monitor's native.

metro 2033 is very hard to run as is crysis at 1080p its especially tough

mafia II is a suprise by my understanding its actually pretty easy to run

Well if your running into games that you can't play at the setting you want to play them at, then yes it would be a good time to upgrade. IMO the card that gives you the most bang for your buck would be the HD 6950 1GB. But if your looking to spend more the GTX 570 is also a great card. Whats your budget?Croag821

Would like to spend no more than $200 (USD).

If you don't mind dealing with rebaits this is an awesome deal for $210 (Orginally $240 but has a $30 rebait). It may be a bit more than what you want to spend but the extra $10 is worth it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150523

All right. I appriciate the input so far. I will keep an eye on this thread if anyone else has anything else to add. Thanks!

Not worth it to play terrible games at high quality. I wouldn't upgrade until REAL AAA games come out that push your GPU.SinfulPotato

[QUOTE="SinfulPotato"]Not worth it to play terrible games at high quality. I wouldn't upgrade until REAL AAA games come out that push your GPU.Brean24

if you can sell your card on craigslist/kijiji for a decent amount, then you'll be able to add that to the $200 budget you have and get a decent card like a 6950 2gb.

[QUOTE="Brean24"][QUOTE="SinfulPotato"]Not worth it to play terrible games at high quality. I wouldn't upgrade until REAL AAA games come out that push your GPU.gmaster456

$149.99 5850 1gb

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=199805&CatId=3669

$149.99 5850 1gb

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=199805&CatId=3669

AznSouljaz

which would be equal to a gtx 285 w/ dx11 and a small core n memory overclock

this is a decent deal if you're canadianhttp://www.pcvonline.com/ProductDetails.aspx?prodID=10370

$150 for a 6850, no rebates or anything, just flat price of $150

this is a decent deal if you're canadianhttp://www.pcvonline.com/ProductDetails.aspx?prodID=10370

$150 for a 6850, no rebates or anything, just flat price of $150

blaznwiipspman1

worse than the 5850..

Really appriciate the feedback guys. I will wait until DX11 becomes more mainstream / utilized. Will also wait until I start running into more serious annoyances with my system. Also, I checked on the card I have and its 1 GB so it must still be pretty good. I paid $350 for it less than 2 years ago. I just had heard about the 400 series and now the 500 series and figured mine was only a 200 so it must be pretty much ancient by computer standards.

[QUOTE="SinfulPotato"]Not worth it to play terrible games at high quality. I wouldn't upgrade until REAL AAA games come out that push your GPU.Brean24

[QUOTE="Croag821"]Well if your running into games that you can't play at the setting you want to play them at, then yes it would be a good time to upgrade. IMO the card that gives you the most bang for your buck would be the HD 6950 1GB. But if your looking to spend more the GTX 570 is also a great card. Whats your budget?mkaliaz

Would like to spend no more than $200 (USD).

Wait for atleast another year.

Wait for atleast another year.

I'd say start taking off AA..... always take off AA before you make that decision. At your res it makes no real difference but the performance hit is quite large.

I'd say start taking off AA..... always take off AA before you make that decision. At your res it makes no real difference but the performance hit is quite large.

Espada12