Card for my situation? / When will the big change occur?

[KnickNut3]

Hello. I'm a little more out of touch than I'd like to be with the video card market these days, but I need a new one. As I RMAd my Ti4200-8x that was going to hold me over until the summer, it was lost in shipment, so (hopefully) I'll get my money back and I need to buy a new one. My school year is finishing up, and I definitely would like a good card to catch up on long lost gaming time. I originally bought the Ti4200-8x in December and was going to wait until May or so, when the next generation cards and Doom 3 and HL2 were going to come out, so I could (a) wait until the prices on the current gen went down, and (b) find out if ATI or nVidia handled the new generation better.

Obviously, this situation becomes a little more difficult now. Do I buy another mid-level card like the one I lost, then give it to a family member when the new generation finally comes out and prices drop, or do I buy a new one now, and do we know yet what the best choice will be. My ultimate questions:

1. When are these next generation cards from ATI and nVidia really going to hit shelves?
2. Where will prices drop to as a result?
3. Do we know what card will better handle the new engines?
4. What card/plan of attack would you suggest at this point? I'd like to spend $150 max, so if the 9800 Pro 256MB can come done that much in a month or so, I'll wait. I mostly play sports games, FPS, and 3rd person shooters. I've kept my eyes peeled on Hot Deals and Fat Wallet, but haven't found anything suitable yet.

Thanks for the suggestions/knowledge.

[gambler2611]

Nvidias 6800 (next gen card) to hit shelves late april early may
ATIs X800 (next gen card) dont know when

Prices will probably drop pretty soon probably. You should be able to get that 9800 256mb for $150 when it comes out. Also at this present point in time we dont know which card will handle which engine better since ATIs X800 is previewing 2moro so we can compare them then.

Hope that was helpful

Andy

[KnickNut3]

Thanks. I'm more worried how the current cards will handle Doom3 and HL2 (sorry if my phrasing was awkward, it's just that when these cards came out, it was supposed to be for HL2 and D3, but obviously the games were delayed).

[KnickNut3]

Originally posted by ArticFox
I'd wait for the 9800 Pro's inevitable price drop. That's what I'm doing, as I also have a 128MB Ti 4200 (overclocked).

How long do you think this will be, though. I don't have long. I'd like to order a card (can be something to hold me over, but nevertheless...) by this Friday, and if not the Friday after. Do we expect any changes in the immediate future, or will the price drop in less than a month be so huge that it's worth getting a temporary card, then dumping it off in another in-house computer?

[gambler2611]

Dont expect any immediate changes (like tommorow or this friday or whatever) expect card prices to drop in the next month or two. If i were you i would get a card that does the job for the moment (el cheapo MX 440 or something) and then when the 9800 pros to drop in price get them.

Btw half life aint coming out till september (and i heard it was optimized for most cards - even geforce 256s and voodoos) but i expect doom3 would work pretty well on either card sets without you noticing much difference.

Anywho

Andy

[KnickNut3]

Yeah, I figure in the end they'll be similar.

I've got an MX440 now, and I'm suffering through playing old games. After busting my ass the last 9 months, I have 3 pretty much off (no internship this year or anything), so I'd like to take advantage of it--the 50 buck difference may be worth having the card an extra month and a half, but it's not worth 100, the price of a Ti4x00 or so that would hold me over...