Graphics Cards - where's the current sweet spot
Discussion
I think I'm overdue an upgrade on my graphics card. Currently I have a GeForce GTX 970 and I have a 4K 32" monitor.
The most graphics intensive game I play is Far Cry, and I will definitely be playing 7 when it eventually comes out.
I'm not keen on spending £900 on a graphics card, so where is the value at today? I'm not wedded to NVidia and will switch to AMD if it's the thing to do.
TIA
The most graphics intensive game I play is Far Cry, and I will definitely be playing 7 when it eventually comes out.
I'm not keen on spending £900 on a graphics card, so where is the value at today? I'm not wedded to NVidia and will switch to AMD if it's the thing to do.
TIA
You almost certainly need to replace the Mobo, and hence CPU and memory to fit a more modern graphics card. Also newer ones tend to require specific power supply connections, so may need to replace that too.
Even if it didn't, you'll likely find a new graphics card just moves the bottleneck to one of your other devices (ie. you won't get the best out if it).
Graphics card prices have gone up quite a lot recently thanks to AI, so the sweet spot is likely to be more constrained by your budget (especially taking into account the points above). Just avoid the top tier or two to get the most cost effective.
Even if it didn't, you'll likely find a new graphics card just moves the bottleneck to one of your other devices (ie. you won't get the best out if it).
Graphics card prices have gone up quite a lot recently thanks to AI, so the sweet spot is likely to be more constrained by your budget (especially taking into account the points above). Just avoid the top tier or two to get the most cost effective.
the AMD 9070xt seems the better value/performance ratio currently at around £500.
AMD seems a lot better software/driver wise than previous years. I replaced a 1080ti with it and havent had any issues and a big performance jump. unfortunately less than that the price performance drops quicker than the price across both amd/nvidia
AMD seems a lot better software/driver wise than previous years. I replaced a 1080ti with it and havent had any issues and a big performance jump. unfortunately less than that the price performance drops quicker than the price across both amd/nvidia
I watch this area pretty closely, imho 5070 or the 5070ti are the sweet spots for 4k gaming right now.
Myself I run a 5080, but if I needed to suddenly replace I'd probably settle on the 5070. A 5080 costs twice as much and the majority of the performance push comes from the crazy AI/RT/DLSS tech. This works great in most games, but throw a 120hz FPS like Far Cry into the frame and nothing will beat the raw horsepower of the top end cards.
We would need to know the full component breakdown to understand whats possible. Are you planning on changing the chip/mobo too? Some combinations will likely require new memory too.
Definitely don't discount the AMD offering if its raw hp you're after, e.g., 9070XT - practically the same for raw power compared with the 5070ti, yet can frequently be found for signifcantly less (like £100 less).
Other questions - Whats the HDD system? On an older system like that is it NVME or older SSD? New GPU might require new PSU, so all the fun of the park
Consider setting a max budget for a refresh and its probably easier to know the limitations you might have.
If you haven't tried already, definitely get on PCPartPicker.com to see how things fair.
Myself I run a 5080, but if I needed to suddenly replace I'd probably settle on the 5070. A 5080 costs twice as much and the majority of the performance push comes from the crazy AI/RT/DLSS tech. This works great in most games, but throw a 120hz FPS like Far Cry into the frame and nothing will beat the raw horsepower of the top end cards.
We would need to know the full component breakdown to understand whats possible. Are you planning on changing the chip/mobo too? Some combinations will likely require new memory too.
Definitely don't discount the AMD offering if its raw hp you're after, e.g., 9070XT - practically the same for raw power compared with the 5070ti, yet can frequently be found for signifcantly less (like £100 less).
Other questions - Whats the HDD system? On an older system like that is it NVME or older SSD? New GPU might require new PSU, so all the fun of the park
Consider setting a max budget for a refresh and its probably easier to know the limitations you might have.
If you haven't tried already, definitely get on PCPartPicker.com to see how things fair.
omniflow said:
Full(ish) specs incoming:
CPU - Core i7 8700K CPU - 3.7Ghz - 6 physical cores
MB - MSI Z370 Gaming Pro Carbon
I seem to recall that the GPU was a carry over from an earlier build - I upgraded the CPU and MB, but left the GPU.
Looks like the mobo is from 2017ish so on the whole the bits listed might drag it down a fair bit, albeit should work with a newer cardCPU - Core i7 8700K CPU - 3.7Ghz - 6 physical cores
MB - MSI Z370 Gaming Pro Carbon
I seem to recall that the GPU was a carry over from an earlier build - I upgraded the CPU and MB, but left the GPU.
For example that motherboard has PCIe 3, vs 5 on an MSI 5070 - so the speed the graphics card can talk to the rest of the machine is going to be slower than it can manage. But at least it has a PCIe slot! The power supply is still likely to be an issue. If it works, it'll play your current games, but I'd not be so sure about newer games, as it'll be held back.
Edited by phil4 on Tuesday 7th April 14:50
I built up an older Gaming PC for my Son. It was my old work PC with an older Intel i7, 32GB ram, 1TB M2 SSD.
I bought a 2nd hand 2080ti from CEX for <£300. Still a massively powerful graphics card for the money even if really old now, but works fine for older PC's. Most games we have tried seem to run very well.
I bought a 2nd hand 2080ti from CEX for <£300. Still a massively powerful graphics card for the money even if really old now, but works fine for older PC's. Most games we have tried seem to run very well.
That is another option to take is the 2nd hand route. Its a bit of a risk but if your not looking for super latest top of the range the value might be better.
i bought my 1080ti from ebay for about £400 back in the day and ran it for about 8 years.
last i saw was 3080's on ebay for around £300, wasnt too long ago people were talking about how this card was the massive jump for 4k etc
i bought my 1080ti from ebay for about £400 back in the day and ran it for about 8 years.
last i saw was 3080's on ebay for around £300, wasnt too long ago people were talking about how this card was the massive jump for 4k etc
As above, the sweet spot is a 5070ti or 9070xt, the Nvidia card being slightly more powerful but proportionately more expensive. Software wise Nvidia still has an advantage with DLSS over AMD’ FSR 4.1 plus a better supporting software stack.
To cut costs but still get a warranty you could look at clearance items at Overclockers.
Personally, with your existing hardware I’d look at an AMD 9070xt and stick Bazzite on it.
To cut costs but still get a warranty you could look at clearance items at Overclockers.
Personally, with your existing hardware I’d look at an AMD 9070xt and stick Bazzite on it.
5070ti is £800 ish, so pretty much not what the OP wants, or arguably needs.
I’d be going 5060Ti which is near a 3090 RTX performance but only £450 -£500 ish.
With all the DLSS and frame interpolation it’ll do 4k fine at 60hz I’d say.
4k at 60hz should be possible in all the games you play.
I’d be going 5060Ti which is near a 3090 RTX performance but only £450 -£500 ish.
With all the DLSS and frame interpolation it’ll do 4k fine at 60hz I’d say.
4k at 60hz should be possible in all the games you play.
phil4 said:
omniflow said:
Full(ish) specs incoming:
CPU - Core i7 8700K CPU - 3.7Ghz - 6 physical cores
MB - MSI Z370 Gaming Pro Carbon
I seem to recall that the GPU was a carry over from an earlier build - I upgraded the CPU and MB, but left the GPU.
Looks like the mobo is from 2017ish so on the whole the bits listed might drag it down a fair bit, albeit should work with a newer cardCPU - Core i7 8700K CPU - 3.7Ghz - 6 physical cores
MB - MSI Z370 Gaming Pro Carbon
I seem to recall that the GPU was a carry over from an earlier build - I upgraded the CPU and MB, but left the GPU.
For example that motherboard has PCIe 3, vs 5 on an MSI 5070 - so the speed the graphics card can talk to the rest of the machine is going to be slower than it can manage. But at least it has a PCIe slot! The power supply is still likely to be an issue. If it works, it'll play your current games, but I'd not be so sure about newer games, as it'll be held back.
Edited by phil4 on Tuesday 7th April 14:50
It's time for a re-think. Are Scan and Overclockers still the go-to places for components?
omniflow said:
Wow - time sure does fly doesn't it. If pushed, I'd have said the MB and CPU were 4 or 5 years old, not NINE.
It's time for a re-think. Are Scan and Overclockers still the go-to places for components?
Still good places to go but it’s best to use pcpartpicker and find out where’s cheapest, I used a mix of that, google, and Amazon when building mine.It's time for a re-think. Are Scan and Overclockers still the go-to places for components?
PaulWoof said:
the AMD 9070xt seems the better value/performance ratio currently at around £500.
AMD seems a lot better software/driver wise than previous years. I replaced a 1080ti with it and havent had any issues and a big performance jump. unfortunately less than that the price performance drops quicker than the price across both amd/nvidia
I bought the 9070xt a couple of months back - it just made so much sense financially over Nvidia. Its a beast of a card and runs near silent most of the time (Sapphire pulse is the card I have).AMD seems a lot better software/driver wise than previous years. I replaced a 1080ti with it and havent had any issues and a big performance jump. unfortunately less than that the price performance drops quicker than the price across both amd/nvidia
Only real gotcha is their version of DLSS is not so well supported in a lot of games - FSR - so I often use the game's in built optimisation instead. Other than that, its brilliant.
Gassing Station | Computers, Gadgets & Stuff | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff