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I recently purchased a GTX 550 ti to upgrade from my old GPU from about 4 years ago. But since I have bought this, I've read several things that say this card might be on its way to be outdated also.

I'm going to start looking into building a new computer for gaming strictly (Trying to play many games such as Starcraft 2 and Skyrim on Ultra or above). I was wondering if it is worth it to build a new computer around this card, and possibly get another GTX 550 ti to run them together. Or if I should just start from scratch and get a card that is about 200-250$ or so.

My basic question would just be, for building a new computer would using one or two GTX 550 ti(s) be worth it over just getting a new higher rated graphics card?

Thank you for your help in advance.

I'm waiting for the Kepler reviews to come out.. (If you don't need the card, I'd return it to the store now). All rumors are pointing to a mid-March launch and the leaked benchmarks are looking pretty good...

Without knowing the exact Kepler models, I would think that the 550Ti is right on the cusp of being rebranded once Kepler comes out. Aka, the same card for the same price but named 650Ti. Take for example the AMD 5770 to 6770 rebrand off the top of my head. The 5770 was a very popular card in this price range and was rebranded as the 6770 when the 6 series AMD cards came out. I know Nvidia does this also, but I don't have any specific examples.

Granted with the new 28nm fab process, it seems that rebranding at the old 40nm process is only going to be happening in the low end cards this time around. If your card doesnt get rebranded I would expect its "comparable price" to drop into the $80 range when the new cards come out and the new-release prices settle down. As a general rule of thumb, I would say ~$200-$230 cards tend to hold their value the best through multiple generations. Also, your 550Ti isn't a speed demon even by current standards.

There are leaked benchmarks? Link please.

flip-mode wrote:

There are leaked benchmarks? Link please.

If that was directed toward me, I have none. It was just my speculation.

I think it was to me..

http://wccftech.com/nvidia-kepler-gk104-gaming-performance-figures-exposed-faster-gtx580-hd7900-series/

I'm pretty sure that with the new architecture, they won't rebrand any of the Fermi's to Kepler series chips

The 550Ti is a weak, overpriced card that I had the forture of acquiring, rather than purchasing.
It struggles in situations that my far older and cheaper GTX460 sails through, and it's utterly outmatched by the 6850 at the same price point, or the 560 for just a little bit more.

If you can return it for a refund still, do that. Otherwise ebay it and use the funds towards either a 7800-series radeon, or a Kepler when they come out. The reason I say this is bacause a 550Ti cannot run modern gamse like Skyrim or BF3 at utlra settings. Starcraft II will be fine (though it must be two years old, soon).

It's also worth mentioning that newer games are starting to need a decent CPU too. If you don't have at least a fast i3 or a Quad Phenom II, then you're probably going to want to look at a CPU upgrade, and Sandy Bridge now is good, otherwise Ivy Bridge will probably shake prices up a bit in the spring.

Thanks for the info guys... Made up my mind now

druidcent wrote:

I'm pretty sure that with the new architecture, they won't rebrand any of the Fermi's to Kepler series chips

Below is the reason I figured the lower end cards would be rebranded instead of moving to the new architecture. AMD is seemingly going to do it for their lower end stuff, I figured it natural for Nvidia to do it as well. The article states this for OEM cards, but they are the same model #'s as retail versions, not sure if its true or not or what that means for retail-version 7xxx series cards.
http://www.fudzilla.com/graphics/item/25453-rest-of-amds-oem-only-hd-7000-rebrands-detailed