future upgrades?

[Wavid]

After the launch of the GTX 460, and hex-core processors, I've been wondering what some good upgrades I can get would be. My machine still supplies more than enough muscle for my purposes, but with the new graphics engines (Metro 2033, anyone?) being released, i can't help but think of upgrading. So what would your opinion on upgrading my rig:

Phenom II X4 955 (stock), cooled with Xigmatek's Dark Knight.
ASUS M4A79XTD EVO
These two won't be changed anytime soon. I just don't see a big enough performance increase from 790X to an 8-series chipset. I don't need SATA 3, etc.

But...mainstream GPU's are usually cheap enough that I can finance them pretty much anytime.(~200 bucks max.) So where to go from a
Sapphire Radeon 4850, with the newer dual-slot cooler? My games aren't too cutting-edge (MW2 and Borderlands at the moment are the most played)
with OCZ's ModXStream 500w PSU powering it all.

Storage is a single 500GB WD Caviar Green. Optical drive is standard fare, no big news there.

Cases are in the equation, so what is a good choice from a Lexa S? Thermaltake's A90 is tempting, but I'm considering a more mobile choice, like a Vulcan. My budget for single parts usually never goes about $200.

Thanks for your suggestions!

[Sttm]

Hmm ~$200 and less upgrades id consider if I was you.

$159.99 Mushkin Enhanced Callisto Deluxe 60gb SSD
$199.99 Nvidia GtX 460 768mb

[Wavid]

thanks, but i don't think i'll be investing in SSD's anytime soon..but the GTX 460 is a viable option.

[skier]

i would pick up a GTX 460 1GB ver.

your 4850 is about comparable to a 5670 or *maybe* a 5750, but for Metro anything below a 5830 or 460 is worthless (having a 260-216 Black ed. or a 5770 mix crossfire options myself)

(4890=260 BE=5770)
(4870=5750=GTS 250 OC'd) - little more vague than the 4890/5770 comparison
(4850=5670)

[Wavid]

yes, but i don't think i'll be playing metro 2033 yet..i'm not a survival-horror/post-apocalyptic guy. but would a 5770 be able to run most games at 1680x1050, (most games i'll be playing will probably still be DX10), and would a 460 be overkill? I guess my rig would be more future-resistant with the GeForce though..

[skier]

i havnt seen any performance comparisons with a 460 768mb and a 5770 so i couldnt say if the price is really worth it(tho i expect the 460 is) but either way it's down to the money, and you said it yourself $200 is doable so why not

but yes a 5770 can handle any game, just not metro at high settings

[Sttm]

I definitely get a 460 over 5770, for the cost difference of 1 game, you get a good performance boost; and a future physX accelerator when you upgrade again.

[Major_A]

Sorry but I used to think the same way Wavid. Unfortunately there is no such thing as future proof. As soon as you buy something the next bigger/better thing is right around the corner. With the success of the GF104 (GTX 460 GPU) they'll likely use it to create cheaper alternatives/variants that will perform just fine at your monitor's resolution (1680x1050? Correct?). If your current video card is handling the games you are playing now then I see the upgrade as a waste.

I'll give you my example:
I bought my Geforce Ti 4400 so I could play MoH:AA.
The card died and PNY replaced it with a FX 5600 Ultra. I sold that and bought a Radeon 9800 Pro.
Doom 3 came out and the 9800 Pro wasn't cutting it so I bought a 6800nu.
Forget which game came out that the 6800nu was struggling with so I bought a 7600 GT.
When Bioshock came out the 7600 GT wasn't cutting it so I bought a 8800 GTS.
Bought a new monitor 1680x1050, up from a 1280x1024, and the 8800 GTS was struggling with games so I bought the GTX 260. Every game I play works fine on the GTX 260 @ 1680 so I don't see the need to upgrade. Sure there are DX11 games that I can't fully experience but it isn't bothering me. If you have the disposable income or you spend enough time on those games then upgrade but don't do it just for the sake of buying a new card. My $.02.

[Wavid]

That's a good point, Major. I'll see what I can make this summer, and plan out an upgrade path from there.