The 970 is still a capable card? Heresy

You know that little screen / filter on the front of the enclosure? I once took it off to blow out some dust on the fan and dropped it on a nearby table. When I went to put it back - I discovered I needed a dustpan!

(we had just done some remodeling, and while I thought I had done a bang up job of dust mitigation - sheesh!) needless to say I went back and blew out the whole box thoroughly.

That was two years ago - I try to keep my computer clean - but they somehow find ways to get filthy. The thing is - those 970s are like the Energizer Bunny...


I once serviced a computer for a heavy smoker. The computer had an unfiltered front intake with a pretty powerful intake fan. It sat next to them on their desk for years. They would blow the smoke from their cigarettes into the front of the case to get it away from them.

The case interior, board, and GPU were covered in thick black and yellow tar. The CPU fan wouldn’t even spin. It was so disgusting that I made them throw it out.
 
While I'm hunting a 3060ti or 3070 that's very close to MSRP (original one) still, if that doesn't happen I can live with my 970 for now.
 

Interesting to see, that in SotR at least, the 970 at 1080p is getting approximately the same frames as the 3070 gets at 4k.
Similarly, at 1080p, the 970 runs HZD at just under 60 FPS, while at 4k the 3070 runs it just over 65 FPS.

The 30 and 60 series cards really do look like the 'door openers' for 4k. "Affordable" cards like the 3070 are getting acceptable framerates, while "Enthusiast" cards like the 3080 are still only hitting the mid-80s. This is an eye-opener for me, given that I thought the 20 series did that work. Apparently not.

I'd like a total upgrade on a monitor (32 inch 4k IPS at 120hz or better) -- and seeing these numbers explains why industry hasn't been making such monitors. In fact, we're not likely to see any until the middle of the year.*

They are gonna be bloody expensive, because they're clearly for 'early adopters' / 'Enthusiasts' / whales. Until/Unless the 30 / 60 series cards hit the consumer market in mass quantity, the real demand for quality 4k monitors just won't be there. Especially given that most console gamers play on TVs, and despite the fact that the new consoles offer 4k capability, the monitor segment is likely to lag for at least another year, if not longer.

Which is sad




*yeah, I know there's hope and speculation for Q1 on some models, but 2020 has taught me what to do with 'hope' in relation to tech items.
 
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