280gtx overkill for 720p gaming ? Why ?

[turdhat]

That is what res I run in because I prefer to PC game from my couch using my 50" 720p DLP and 7.1 Onkyo system. In other words I have a high spec HTPC.

I see it this way and please tell me if I am wrong.

If I have the fastest card you can get and run at what some call low res (looks awesome to me) then I have more headroom right ?

I can run high lvls of AA even supersampling up to 16xs (availble in Nnancer only and very costly in perf if you run above 720p even on the 280 overclocked) in almost every game I have tried and still have great framerates. Way faster so far than my 8800GTX under the same circumstances.

My goal in most games is Max Settings and as close to 60fps as possible with at least 4xaa using transparency AA to kill the alpha texture shimmering. Doesnt it seem that running a 280gtx would make sense if these were your goals ?

Ok I know it becomes CPU limited at some point however I am running a Quad q6600 at 3.65 mem at 1125 cas4 so....

Is there something I am missing out on here ? I took my comp to a friends with a brand new bad ass DLP that is 1080p and fired up Conan, Mass Effect and Grid. The difference was not what I expected at all. I expected a huge jump in image quality but it was only minor and lower FPS as a result of the higher res.. I think the way that DLP sets work just gives the illusion that you are running higher than 720p because I still own a CRT that does 2048x1536 and I have to say I will take 720p at 50 inches with high aa over 2048x1536 at 22 inches with less AA any day of the week as the difference in image qualtiy is so small. The diff between 720p and 1080p wasnt anything to write home about to my suprise.

My have perfect vision in case you are wondering because this whole thing came as shock to me as well. In the past when I had only the CRT it was push the res and AA up as far as possible and now with the DLP it seems that for now 720p is ok.

I just have zero interest in gaming at a desk. Pc gaming from the couch is heavenly. Keyboard in lap, mouse works perfect on couch cushion to my right, sound pumping out my Onkyo system in 7.1.. Maybe I have answered my own question here but I would like some other opinions.

Thanks and sorry for any spelling/grammar errors. I am from kentucky ok and we do's what we cans ok ? No really I just dont care..

[Lfctony]

There's no such thing as overkill for hardware. Eventually there will be a time when a game will make your card crawl at your selected resolution... Extra horsepower is used as more demanding games come out...

[Yaboze]

Nothing wrong with it, just crank up the details and AA.

[Heinz68]

I say it's about time to get 1080p and the problem with over-kill is solved.