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How often do you upgrade your vid card for games?

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How often do you upgrade your vid card for games?

  • Every year

    Votes: 129 26.8%
  • Every 2-3 years

    Votes: 254 52.7%
  • Every 3-5 years

    Votes: 99 20.5%
  • Less than $200

    Votes: 68 14.1%
  • Between $200-$300

    Votes: 120 24.9%
  • Between $300-$400

    Votes: 43 8.9%
  • Over $400

    Votes: 40 8.3%

  • Total voters
    482
I wait until I my current card struggles to play games then I'll wait to buy a new one until the card I want is less than $200. I'm a big gamer, but I care about gameplay not graphics so I'm not too motivated to buy one unless my current one can't play the games I want to play.
 
I go for the best price/performance available once my current card starts showing it's age in newer titles I want to play. That works itself out to spending about $200.00 every two years or so. The max that I'll ever spend is $300.00, and it's got to have the stats and the need from software to back it up.
 
I try to skip a generation and get it (or them) when the series has been around a while.

Last go-round i got a pair of HD 3870's for less than $400.
 
Hurray for voting in both of the lowest results hah...

3-5 years and $300-400

My last upgrade was about 2 years ago maybe slightly more and I got a 8800GT that was mid $300s at the time. Still working like a champ, no need to upgrade for at least another couple years.
 
3-5 for me too...Same computer started with ati 9700pro then upgraded to x800 pro and now 3850. It basicly was the as a new game came out I liked and wanted to play I bought the new card.
 
I put every 2-3 years and $200-$300. In the past I have capped myself at $200 for a video card but I had splurged on my GTX 260, which was around $250 I think, and a first over $200. It's always painful for me to run with a previous+ generation card, but when I finally do upgrade, it's like a whole new world. I want to install every game and just play it just to see how smooth and nice and it looks. :) I did it when I upgraded to a Ti4200 from a Geforce 2 MX400. I didn't do it so much from my twoo never-ran-right FX5900XTs to a 6800nu, or from my 6800nu to my 7900GS (which I splurged on because it was cheap at best buy), and definitely not from my 7900GS to my 7950GT.. I did however do it with my GTX 260 upgrading from my 7950GT. :)
 
I upgrade yearly. I usually don't buy top of the line but upper mid level cards.

My most recent cards:

2006 7800GS AGP
2007 8800GTS 320mb
2007 8800GT 512mb
2008 4870 1GB
2009 ?
 
It looks like I'm going to have 3 upgrades this year, if you count them all.

7600GT SLI to GTX 260 core 216
GTX 260 core 216 Step up to GTX 285
GTX 285 to GTX 285 SLI
 
usually every year or two.. it all depends.. i used to switch it up every 6 months or so untill i got my 88gtx a couple of years ago, and now im looking to replace it with something equally as great. lots of people bash the gtx 285, but i bought one anyways. but whatever, ill run it for a year or 2 and move on to the next :)

unless they start makeing dx11 cards soon :mad:
 
I ug whenever the competition gets too much of a lead in frames. As to how much well lets just say less than my 454 Casull:cool: so I didn't answer:beer:
 
whenever there's a high end card that comes out. -so last year, i bought 3 cards.

edit: i meant, 2 last year and 1 this quarter (gtx295)

longest one i had was the HD4870x2
 
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Every 2-3 years and less than $200.
I can't justify the $400 PCI-card. There nice but too much coin.
But, when you have a wife / 2 kids / dog / 2 rigs / 2 cars etc...
House and cottage as well!!!

I've bought a few used cards that worked too.
 
Every 2-3 years and less than $200.
I can't justify the $400 PCI-card. There nice but too much coin.
But, when you have a wife / 2 kids / dog / 2 rigs / 2 cars etc...
House and cottage as well!!!

I've bought a few used cards that worked too.

Amen to that!!!!!!
 
Once a year.
Spend about $300-$400.
Or when a card comes out that is 1.5x/2x faster than the previous top cards.

That's pretty much it. Going to wait for the 6 core i7s next, then I will likely upgrade my entire rig.
 
3-5 years
under $200

Guess I'm just cheep compared to the rest of ya. I usually just use the old one till I have to up grade to play a game or a older computer's one bits the dust ,and I get me a new one hand down my old one.
 
When I was younger I upgraded almost yearly. Now that i'm 32 I don't really care anymore. :D Although, if a game is coming down the pipe line that I really want to play, i'll upgrade as many parts as possible to play it. I'm more choosy now I guess.
 
I voted every year $300-$400. It's normally 2-3 times a year. I normally get a mid-high card when they first come out and then wait for the high ends to drop. Then I used the old card on one of the other computers floating around or sell it to a friend at a small loss.
 
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