I just got a new graphics card, since the built-in graphics on my Fatal1ty F-I90HD isn't cutting it. This time around I decided to buy an ATI card to make things different. I got an ATI x1950XT 512mb card which was one of the fastest DX9 cards back in 2006 which rivaled the then uber card 7800GTX. Back then this card would've been somewhere north of 20,000PHP; today I got it for 9,470. Well i don't have that much money to blow on a graphics card now a days so I had to sell my old case: the Silverstone SG01 Evolution for 5,000 bucks... Hence my b0x is no longer a b0x.

I was originally planning on getting a higher end DX10 graphics card like an 8800GTS or a 2900XT, but after some reading I was really discouraged. First off there is a new revision to DirectX which is DX10.1; the current DX10 cards won't support the new features added to the DX10.1 patch. Aside from this there might be more revisions to DirectX 10 down the line. There is also the new PCI Express 2.0 slot coming out next year, and Nvidia will be releasing it's new G92 generation of cards by the end of the year; which will render the the G80 outdated. Not to mention the price tags of the current DX10 cards, for 14,000 bucks you'd expect something to last you sometime, and get the value for your money. But with the current pace of hardware development, It would be wise to wait and choose what it is you really want or need.

This will be my final major upgrade for my b0x for the coming years. I may get a new graphics card sometime late 2008 when Starcraft 2 is released but aside from that and a new affordable chassis, my upgrading days end this coming week. I have decided to pursue other hobbies which are far less volatile and expensive... I hope. On that note I'll be looking for a new chassis within the week and see how things turn out, so until then!