Man, they really need to hurry up and announce some prices already that's the thing that keeps me waiting. I want to know if I should go with a GTX 260 Core 216. Or wait for the new revised 55n version of the GTX 260. I don't to wait until januari 8 and find out I could have gotten my 260 all along. But I would feel so stupid I were to get the 260 now, only to find out that the GTX 280 prices have dropped significantly or the new 55n cards have the same prices and are faster. sjeez what a dilemma.
I did a bit of research and discovered that even at 1920x1200 the GTX260 offers little advantage over my current 9800GTX superclock (eVGA) in my current games: Left4Dead, Fallout3, QuakeLive. Quakelive isn't a huge surprise (considering what its based on) and Left4Dead isn't shocking (Source engine looks great in it but isn't pushing any real boundaries), but it was a bit of a disappointment to discover that Fallout3 wouldn't really benefit. A 9fps average increase for the cost & power consumption of the current card is definitely not worth it, been hoping a die shrunk GTX260 would at least save on the power bill but I may hold out longer still. Far Cry 2 already does 2xAA 1920x1200 just fine here too, so...
You could get an eVGA brand GTX 260 216 and then use the step-up if the performance increase is there when the new cards hit. It's what I was considering doing. $247 is damn tempting: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130398 However I have seen the GTX 260 standard for $199. Though I would pay $50 more for the 216.
Could you step up from a 65nm GTX 260 to a 55nm GTX 260 ? I thought EVGA was pretty restictive on what you can/can't step up too ? I'm also condsidering an EVGA GTX 260 216 atm, sold my 9800gx2 early in anticipaton of the new 55nm cards.
There are no restrictions... Of course you can step up from a 260 to a 55nm 265/270 whatever they call it. The only restriction is you can't get SSC versions of any of the cards. However you can get any card available that isn't an SSC version.
The step up program is to much of a hassle for me seeing I'm going to buy my parts at a retailer, not online. After I get my computer I want it to be done and I mean done I don't want to send my card wait a week or 2 just to get a new card again. So, I'm guessing I'll be waiting until they announce these things officially and then make my decision.
