Another Graphics Card Thread
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omniflow

Original Poster:

3,855 posts

181 months

Tuesday 17th August 2021
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Apologies if this is covered anywhere else - I've looked and couldn't find anything.

What's the current status with graphics cards? I've just ordered a 4K monitor - to share between my work laptop which already has a 4K screen and my home PC for which I would like to buy a new graphics card.

I'm not in a desperate rush, but don't want to wait until 2022. The PC has an Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-8700K CPU @ 3.70GHz, 16Gb RAM and a Z370 Motherboard. If needed I'll upgrade the PSU.

Which graphics card do I need to be able to play SOME games at 4K? Games will be: Civ 6, WOT and Far Cry 6 when it finally comes out. I'm just after something half decent - I don't need the ultimate. I've looked on Scan and Overclockers, and most of the cards don't have prices - do I need to figure out what I want and pre-order, or do I wait until stock comes in and then decide what to buy based on pricing on the day?

Thanks for any replies

lizardbrain

3,820 posts

67 months

Tuesday 17th August 2021
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Demand is still high enough that pre orders at overclockers sell out mostly same day, and stock is very lumpy and sporadic.

Any cards that have current stock are probably about 25% - 30% more expensive than the pre order prices for an equivalent card.

If you are patient, I would decide on the card you want, sign up for a stock monitoring service, and then pre order the card when it pops up on OC etc. I would guess no longer than 2 months wait but who knows?

I ended up buying a 3060 TI for 600 quid, which is sporadically available for around 450. But it's a bit of a lottery and I was willing to pay. It's a sellers market! Not sure why overclockers don't price their lumpy stock high enough that it doesn't sell out right away. As they are still scalping with part of their stock. I guess it's a branding / marketing thing to offer at least some stock at close to RRP.

I can't help with what card you need. Perhaps work out what FPS / resolution you want and work back from there?

Baldchap

9,629 posts

122 months

Tuesday 17th August 2021
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Loads of 3070s and 3080s dropped today all over the place.

£900 upwards seems to be the average.

mmm-five

12,386 posts

314 months

Tuesday 17th August 2021
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What is your PSU and current GPU? Are you after an Nvidia or an AMD GPU...or are you not bothered?

There's an AMD 6800XT at Currys for £1040. There's also a 6900XT for £1570 if you're feeling flush.

You can pre-order a RTX3080 Suprim X from eBuyer for £1150, but remember most will be LHR (low hash rate) versions which won't appeal as much to bitcoin miners. There are also some on Overclockers.co.uk.

To put this in context, I was waiting for an RTX3080 for months, but settled on a 3070 for now. Then a 3080Ti FE came up on Scan and I bought it for £1050...and sold the 3070 at the RRP I'd paid 6 months earlier.

The AMD 6800XT requires about 300w, and the RTX3080 requires about 320w (Ti version about 350w). Both manufacturers recommends a 750W PSU, but for £10 extra I'd go for at least an 850W Gold one.

Edited by mmm-five on Tuesday 17th August 15:44

curlyks2

1,076 posts

176 months

Tuesday 17th August 2021
quotequote all
mmm-five said:
You can pre-order a RTX3080 Suprim X from eBuyer for £1150, but remember most will be LHR (low hash rate) versions which won't appeal as much to bitcoin miners.
Sadly for those looking for graphics cards for gaming, the mining algorithm developers have found a way to partly defeat the LHR restrictions, so it's possible that the high prices caused by high demand and low supply could remain/return. See this story at WCCF for more.

omniflow said:
Games will be: Civ 6, WOT and Far Cry 6 when it finally comes out.
Civilization 6 is a relatively old game now compared to current grahpics cards - AnandTech did a 4k test back in 2017 using a GTX 1080 and a RX 480 and both were getting 40+ FPS, so pretty much anything from current ranges should give you fine playability.

World of Tanks is similarly aged with similar graphics cards needs - Logical Increments at the time recommended a GTX 1080 Ti for 4k, so again pretty much anything from current ranges is likely to suffice.

Far Cry 6 is the unknown, with WCCF reporting that Ubisoft are working with AMD and the RX 6000 series cards. This might bias you in the AMD direction, in which case RX 6600 XT cards currently start at c. £430, going up to c. £2k for RX 6900 XT cards (current prices at Scan).

omniflow said:
I'm not in a desperate rush, but don't want to wait until 2022
Both AMD and NVidia are roadmapped to release their next generation cards next year, so the ranges that are currently listed (even if not available due to shortages) aren't going to change much aside from cooling designs from the various manufacturers, so with the above in mind I'd suggest deciding your budget point (including replacement PSU if needed) and timing, and pick the best you want to afford at that point.

omniflow

Original Poster:

3,855 posts

181 months

Wednesday 18th August 2021
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Thanks all - lots of useful information in there from everyone.

My gut feeling is that I want NVidia - I've been burned in the past with AMD (in a work context - DL385s were NOT a good purchase for an ESX cluster that needed more servers added 9 months later). I know I need to get over that - and I'm trying.

I am definitely not interested in "mining". My only interest here is the impact its having on pricing.

I get the fact that WOT and CIV6 aren't the issue - but I love the Far Cry series and I suspect that Far Cry 6 in 4K will be spectacular.

The thing I really can't my head around at the moment is the cost - £1K for a graphics card is just too much money - it's not a case of I can't afford it, it's more a case of I don't want to spend that much on something that shouldn't cost that much. I view the PSU as a completely separate purchase, but that doesn't really help.

I think I'll pick 2 * NVidia cards and 2 * AMD cards and subscribe to a stock monitoring service to keep an eye on pricing - I might even start a spreadsheet to track prices over time.

Steven_RW

1,766 posts

232 months

Wednesday 18th August 2021
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3070 is your lowest 4k card. 3080 ideal. Anything above that is extra.

Budget suggests 3070 at as close to RRP as possible.

Or find a nvidia founder 3080 (fe) for as close to retail as possible.

Anything else less than these will leave you short on your 4k desired experience.

mikef

6,158 posts

281 months

Thursday 19th August 2021
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Steven_RW said:
3070 is your lowest 4k card
RTX 3060Ti will reach 60fps 4K in most games if you don't turn everything up to Ultra

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/nvidia-geforc...

Source of info: I have both a 3070 and a 3060 Ti in different PCs with 4K screens

... and nVidia are saying that shortages will continue throughout 2022

Steven_RW

1,766 posts

232 months

Thursday 19th August 2021
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mikef said:
Steven_RW said:
3070 is your lowest 4k card
RTX 3060Ti will reach 60fps 4K in most games if you don't turn everything up to Ultra

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/nvidia-geforc...

Source of info: I have both a 3070 and a 3060 Ti in different PCs with 4K screens

... and nVidia are saying that shortages will continue throughout 2022
Good stuff. First hand real life experience is valuable for sure. I'd always try and stretch to the 3070 if I could to add future proofing but beggars can't always be choosers in the current market of course and if you have seen the 3060ti support 4k then great stuff.

I've looked into buying 4k monitors but always end up back at Ultrawide and am on 3840x1600 currently as i like lots of frames per second. Cheers




adaptive

842 posts

220 months

Friday 20th August 2021
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dont pay over the odds, just follow a couple of the stock trackers or look at second hand

https://www.ctrlaltstock.com/home

I followed these on twitter and discord and got a stock notification of founders edition 3080ti at Scan

Cards are becoming more available

Steven_RW

1,766 posts

232 months

Friday 20th August 2021
quotequote all
adaptive said:
dont pay over the odds, just follow a couple of the stock trackers or look at second hand

https://www.ctrlaltstock.com/home

I followed these on twitter and discord and got a stock notification of founders edition 3080ti at Scan

Cards are becoming more available
How many seconds/minutes after the alert did you secure the card?

A few months back you had to be faster than the speed of light to get a 3080 and just a little bit sub light speed for a 3090.

adaptive

842 posts

220 months

Saturday 21st August 2021
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Steven_RW said:
How many seconds/minutes after the alert did you secure the card?

A few months back you had to be faster than the speed of light to get a 3080 and just a little bit sub light speed for a 3090.
about 10 minutes but there was still stock available for about an hour