Aug 13 2007

The “high” cost of graphics

Posted by Rogue as Computers, Gaming, Hardware, PC

When the first video cards started appearing around the middle of the 90’s, I admit I was quite skeptical about the whole thing. Why the need to get separate hardware to handle graphics when the games I was playing then (Heretic, Doom 2, Command and Conquer, Quake 2, Diablo) didn’t really need it? I thought it was just a gimmick cooked up by hardware manufacturers to increase sales. I was smirking the whole time when Rob, a friend of mine, spent so much money on a Canopus 3D card. “What a lemming”, I thought to myself.

But a few months after I read an article on what video cards can do, and how it can actually help free up the processing power of the CPU by having a dedicated chip handle all of the graphics calculations. I got a little convinced about the need for a graphics card after reading it. But what really convinced me was when I saw my first graphics accelerated game. When I saw it, I knew that I wanted one then and there. Of course, it took me a couple more years before I actually bought a video card (as part of replacement computer).

I’ve been using video cards ever since but even though, I am an avid PC gamer, I have never gone overboard when it comes to my hardware. I also love the bells and whistles that the latest, fastest video cards offer but I am not insane enough to buy a card that is worth a low end desktop computer. I think it’s a waste of good money. Why? Well, because of depreciation. Take for instance the new GeForce 8800 GTX cards from Nvidia. This top of the line card costs about $570 right now. But you’d be lucky to even sell it for $450 a year from now. And the longer you keep it, the more it depreciates.

I’d rather buy a mid end card for my gaming needs. It costs less, gets sold much faster in the second hand market and I don’t have to throw away my hard earned money. The bottomline is, I’ll never be a lemming.

[tags]video card, Nvidia, 8800 GTX[/tags]

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2 Responses

Mr Butterscotch
13|Aug|2007

There’s a few different camps of gamers out there. Some will see kudos in having the latest graphics chipset. Others will, more sensibly I think, buy a mid-end card. For me, I’m exclusively a laptop user these days which I upgrade every three years or so. I tend to go for a pretty top spec machine so it will have a good graphics card. Unfortunately, due to the non-upgradeable nature of most laptops, I end up wanting a new one sooner rather than later!
Rogue
17|Aug|2007

The relatively fast rate of obsolescence is the biggest knock against PC gaming. Technology just moves too quickly in this segment. Just when you’ve finally taken the plunge and bought a great video card, you’d find out that your processor is not up to speed anymore — then vice versa. It’s a never ending cycle of upgrades.

Console gamers must be laughing at PC gamers, thinking “what a bunch of idiots!”

of course, I’ve got nothing against both camps. I’ve got consoles and a gaming PC at home.

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