Not necessarily if you shop around a bit you can get a powerful mid-range card for around £150. If you sacrifice a bit of performance you can still pick up some very good cards for around £100. I mean okay that's still quite a bundle of cash but still shouldn't take someone that long to save up for.
My latest card set me back £250. I suppose it wouldn't take all that long to save (if you could track one down on the cheap) but I like to buy the proper stuff to ensure full quality and performance.