I can't make up my mind

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CombatChrisNC

[H]ard|Gawd
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Apr 3, 2013
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As my inevitable purchase draws ever closer, I really, truly, cannot make up my mind. Choosing our last car was easier than this.

I'm considering going as low as a 1060 6GB, or an AMD 580. But not really... because what if I decide to get VR later on and I need the horsepower? And no, this is not a 'well then just buy what you need THEN'. Because no, it's not going to work that way. I went from an 8800 GT (512MB) which lasted for years, to my 6950 (@6970 spec) which has also lasted for years. I purchased that thing close to it's release date. This is going to be a card which I'll be rocking for likely 5 years.

I currently game on a 60" 1080P TV. I don't see myself moving to 4K in the next several years either.

1070? Well, at the stupid prices they still are, why not spring for a 1070 Ti? Hell, you can find 1080's right at $500 some times, which is an even smaller bump up.

Or Vega 56? I see it trades blows with the 1070. Win some, lose some. And it really wins big in a game I love to play, Total War Warhammer - but who wants to buy a card for ONE game? But no AIBs with better coolers, so it's going to be louder. It's drawing more power and dumping more heat. No, it's not a BIG deal but it is a consideration.

So yea, this is about as crazed as I've been when making a decision about a PC upgrade. I've got cash, and the budget slowly climbs up the more Windows licenses I sell (see FS thread). Honestly, if I could get the 1070 in the $350 range where they should be, I would be happy. If I see the 1080's coming down into the high $400's, I might spring for that. Maybe a 1070 Ti in the $430 range.

Ungh. I guess this is more of a rant than anything. Prices are whacked because of mining demand. Even if they're not still all going to those buyers, their impact on the market hasn't completely faded. And above all things, I like to know I'm getting a good value. That I guess is what's bugging me more than anything.

In other thoughts, I've rocked the 6950 this long, why not wait until the next generation and see how it shakes things up? I never for a moment had buyers remorse when I got it. But I just have have this feeling that no matter what I chose this time around I'm going to regret it for one reason or another.
 
Rumor is that Volta (NVidia 20xx series) is showing up next year. But who knows when?
If you want to stretch the 6950 out further, if it does what you need it to do, then go for it. Or buy something great now - 1070Ti seems a safe bet.

I built my current system when Kaby Lake was released, and bought the 1080 which had been out for a while at that point but with rumors that a 1080 Ti would be released shortly. I was tired of waiting so I got the 1080. Sure enough, the 1080Ti was released a month later. No regrets though, the 1080 is great and I got some good gaming on it that I wouldn't have done if I had waited. It's still superbly powerful for anything in the foreseeable future. Point of the anecdote - do right now what you need or want right now. If you need the upgrade, get the upgrade, and sounds like you're leaning to a good future proof card. If you don't need the upgrade, hold off until you do.
 
Prices are normal again, thankfully. I personally prefer AMD so I would suggest the Vega 64 and enjoy. However, if you want something from Nvidia that lasts and do not want to pay top dollar, than you are going to have to go with the 1080.
 
Black friday is around the corner.. generally disappointing but might be something.

Personally I'd do a 1070-1080 and you'd be set for a long time. You can use DSR if you have extra fps to burn (AMD has VSR which I guess works the same way).

1060 3GB has good prices as it's got the stigma as not perfect for mining. Can do 95% of 1080p games on ultra. A few you'd have to turn down the settings.
 
I think your better off getting the 1060 or 580, if you need more horsepower in a year or two then you can upgrade then. Both of those cards will be huge upgrades to a 6950
 
TrailRunner said:
Rumor is that Volta (NVidia 20xx series) is showing up next year. But who knows when?
If you want to stretch the 6950 out further, if it does what you need it to do, then go for it. Or buy something great now - 1070Ti seems a safe bet.
Click to expand...

The wife's happy enough with how it handles Dying Light, Skyrim, and Dragon Age: Inquisition. The next game she'll likely be playing will be Alien: Isolation. However, I've been playing Xcom 2 and Total War: Warhammer, and both of them are forcing the 6950 to show its age. Even with TW:WH at 720p... *shudder*. But the flip side to that is, I hardly have a chance to play any more anyways and I do have good wallet-discipline. Nothing's going to burn through my pocket.

ManofGod said:
Prices are normal again, thankfully. I personally prefer AMD so I would suggest the Vega 64 and enjoy. However, if you want something from Nvidia that lasts and do not want to pay top dollar, than you are going to have to go with the 1080.
Click to expand...

I've got to say, the Vega 64 at ~$480 did catch my eye.

Dayaks said:
Black friday is around the corner.. generally disappointing but might be something.

Personally I'd do a 1070-1080 and you'd be set for a long time. You can use DSR if you have extra fps to burn (AMD has VSR which I guess works the same way).

1060 3GB has good prices as it's got the stigma as not perfect for mining. Can do 95% of 1080p games on ultra. A few you'd have to turn down the settings.
Click to expand...

I dunno about Ultra... 1060 6GB I think is the lowest I would go and while yes, it's certainly a lot faster than my 6950, will it have the same longevity? I don't think so. And no, I'm not going to buy on a 2 year cycle. More like a 4-5 year. It's not justifiable otherwise in my household.

ssnyder28 said:
I think your better off getting the 1060 or 580, if you need more horsepower in a year or two then you can upgrade then. Both of those cards will be huge upgrades to a 6950
Click to expand...

Oh, I hear you. And I get it. But it's just not going to fly in this house. It's not, "Oh, I've got $400, let me spend 200 now and have 200 more for another card 2 years from now." Not going to work. If you've got the budget, spend the budget. Or it'll be gone.
 
CombatChrisNC said:
The wife's happy enough with how it handles Dying Light, Skyrim, and Dragon Age: Inquisition. The next game she'll likely be playing will be Alien: Isolation. However, I've been playing Xcom 2 and Total War: Warhammer, and both of them are forcing the 6950 to show its age. Even with TW:WH at 720p... *shudder*. But the flip side to that is, I hardly have a chance to play any more anyways and I do have good wallet-discipline. Nothing's going to burn through my pocket.



I've got to say, the Vega 64 at ~$480 did catch my eye.



I dunno about Ultra... 1060 6GB I think is the lowest I would go and while yes, it's certainly a lot faster than my 6950, will it have the same longevity? I don't think so. And no, I'm not going to buy on a 2 year cycle. More like a 4-5 year. It's not justifiable otherwise in my household.



Oh, I hear you. And I get it. But it's just not going to fly in this house. It's not, "Oh, I've got $400, let me spend 200 now and have 200 more for another card 2 years from now." Not going to work. If you've got the budget, spend the budget. Or it'll be gone.
Click to expand...

4-5 years... since you choice range is so broad it might be worth waiting for black friday.

I would personally be looking at least at Vega 56 vs 1070 kinda range.
 
Pre-Vega VR performance per [H]'s own reviews indicate that if you have any interest in VR you pretty much should avoid RTG.
 
I know you say "I don't want to upgrade in two years", however, it's hard to recommend buying more than you need. Reasoning?

Well, if you can 'get along' with an HD6950 (which I owned two of, three upgrades ago), then just about anything is going to be 'fast'. However, the problem with VR is that literally nothing out today is going to be 'fast enough'. The current headsets themselves are just on the bottom end of acceptable in terms of resolution and framerate, and the games that will take advantage of their replacements aren't going to get any easier to drive- so you'll need even more than you can reasonably buy today.

So buy what you need. At 1080p60, you're set with an RX580 or GTX1060, easily, and that's playing currently releasing headline games.
 
Last good deal was newegg selling Sapphire Fury cards for $269 .. I would suggest you buy a RX570 or 580 and keep it below $250 until we get gpu's that really offer something new and not just clock to hell Ti's or half baked tech. last ground breaking card was the 290x as it even offered DX 12 /VR/4K 60Hz via Club 3D.. freesync and eyefinitiy 2.0 back then .
 
There's a Vive/GTX1070 combo for like $800 dlls, If you are planning to go VR this might be your ticket.
 
Get a 1080. Once Volta comes out next year, sell the 1080 and upgrade the Volta. Or get a used 980ti.
 
I think a 1070 Ti would be good, but the 1080 is only a bit more, might be worth splurging.
 
Used 980ti, close to 1070 performace at the $350ish price you wish 1070s were at.
 
Friend just got a strixx 1080 for $510 after rebate including destiny 2 and new assassin's creed.

I'd go 1080 or vega 56. I have a 64 and I would not buy one again, I'd go 56 and flash to 64 and save the power. 56 has a massive amount of headroom.

I think the general consensus is that the 56 is as fast as or faster than the 1070 and is ever so slightly slower than the 1070ti. Vega 64 and 56 perform identically at the same clocks, and it has been looking like vega does very well in newer games (Wolfenstein, destiny 2, and lotr).
 
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CombatChrisNC said:
As my inevitable purchase draws ever closer, I really, truly, cannot make up my mind. Choosing our last car was easier than this.

I'm considering going as low as a 1060 6GB, or an AMD 580. But not really... because what if I decide to get VR later on and I need the horsepower? And no, this is not a 'well then just buy what you need THEN'. Because no, it's not going to work that way. I went from an 8800 GT (512MB) which lasted for years, to my 6950 (@6970 spec) which has also lasted for years. I purchased that thing close to it's release date. This is going to be a card which I'll be rocking for likely 5 years.

I currently game on a 60" 1080P TV. I don't see myself moving to 4K in the next several years either.

1070? Well, at the stupid prices they still are, why not spring for a 1070 Ti? Hell, you can find 1080's right at $500 some times, which is an even smaller bump up.

Or Vega 56? I see it trades blows with the 1070. Win some, lose some. And it really wins big in a game I love to play, Total War Warhammer - but who wants to buy a card for ONE game? But no AIBs with better coolers, so it's going to be louder. It's drawing more power and dumping more heat. No, it's not a BIG deal but it is a consideration.

So yea, this is about as crazed as I've been when making a decision about a PC upgrade. I've got cash, and the budget slowly climbs up the more Windows licenses I sell (see FS thread). Honestly, if I could get the 1070 in the $350 range where they should be, I would be happy. If I see the 1080's coming down into the high $400's, I might spring for that. Maybe a 1070 Ti in the $430 range.

Ungh. I guess this is more of a rant than anything. Prices are whacked because of mining demand. Even if they're not still all going to those buyers, their impact on the market hasn't completely faded. And above all things, I like to know I'm getting a good value. That I guess is what's bugging me more than anything.

In other thoughts, I've rocked the 6950 this long, why not wait until the next generation and see how it shakes things up? I never for a moment had buyers remorse when I got it. But I just have have this feeling that no matter what I chose this time around I'm going to regret it for one reason or another.
Click to expand...

I have a 1060 6gb and it works fine in VR (Oculus). It's also fine at 1080p (I run an Optoma projector at 135"). You can't max everything out, but pretty high with AA and still very fluid.

If that's not enough for you, I think sweet spot price/performance is a Vega 56 at $399 and overclock it. They seem to easily hit stock Vega 64/1080 levels of performance and then some when overclocked. The Nvidia cards and Vega 64 are overpriced, imo. 1070 is slower for the same price, 1070ti is faster in dx11 (which, at 1080p 60hz in dx11 won't really be noticeable) and the same speed in dx12/Vulcan for $50 more. Then Vega 64 and 1080 are another $50 for a small bump over that.
 
Algrim said:
Pre-Vega VR performance per [H]'s own reviews indicate that if you have any interest in VR you pretty much should avoid RTG.
Click to expand...

That was over a year ago now, they really need to do a new one...
 
Cheap option: Used 980Ti
V56
Or get a Vega 64 on sale (few around 500USD).
 
If you cr later you'll be thankful you went with a 1080! Will handle it all with ease.

You will thank me if you do go lower and find the need to upgrade the card again after spending all that money on vr!
 
Since you typically go for longer stints between GPU upgrades, then get the most horsepower that you can possibly buy at the very top of your budget...1080 or V64, imo.


If nVidia had adjusted their pricing matrix for the lower and mid tier offerings like so:
1060 3GB - $200
1060 6GB - $250
1070 8GB - $350
1070Ti 8GB - $400
1080 8GB - $500
1080Ti 8GB - $700

...then I'd say 1070Ti would be an absolutely awesome bang for the buck choice all day long right now.
The 1070Ti is nice, but it needs to be heavily OC'd to reach 1080 performance (which, imo, makes it a bit pointless at current prices): "shit, I really want a 1080 and I have already saved up $450, but I just can't see myself being able to save up another $50-60 for that 1080. better drink my own piss and go with a 1070Ti, instead."
 
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CombatChrisNC said:
In other thoughts, I've rocked the 6950 this long, why not wait until the next generation and see how it shakes things up? I never for a moment had buyers remorse when I got it. But I just have have this feeling that no matter what I chose this time around I'm going to regret it for one reason or another.
Click to expand...


If I was you I would wait. Vega is ok but not the greatest, will probably improve with time though. The 1080/1070s are good but are they 5 years good? The only card I would consider now, if I was keeping it for 5+ years would be the 1080ti, especially if I wanted to future proof for VR.

But, I would wait. Volta is coming in March next year. Vega AIB cards should be out by then too and you will have a better idea of where exactly Vega's performance is.

It's all up in the air at the moment. Wait and make a better choice in March.
 
I'm in the same boat as the OP but have decided to just hold off on upgrading all together. I was going to pick up a $329 GTX 1070 before the mining crazy. Now the GTX 1070, 1070ti, and 1080 are all in spitting distance price wise and I would just end up with a 1080. I considered Vega 56 as well but again it's too close in price to all the others to bother with.

That said my good old 290x plays everything fine at 1440p so I just threw my hands up and and said screw it. I'm clearly getting old and oft.
 
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Kardonxt said:
I'm in the same boat as the OP but have decided to just hold off on upgrading all together. I was going to pick up a $329 GTX 1070 before the mining crazy. Now the GTX 1070, 1070ti, and 1080 are all in spitting distance price wise and I would just end up with a 1080. I considered Vega 56 as well but again it's too close in price to all the others to bother with.

That said my good old 290x plays everything fine at 1440p so I just threw my hands up and and said screw it. I'm clearly getting old and oft.
Click to expand...

Man.. life is short. Grab a 1080/1080ti and just sell and upgrade either when the next thing hits or the ti version.
 
DejaWiz said:
Since you typically go for longer stints between GPU upgrades, then get the most horsepower that you can possibly buy at the very top of your budget...1080 or V64, imo.


If nVidia had adjusted their pricing matrix for the lower and mid tier offerings like so:
1060 3GB - $200
1060 6GB - $250
1070 8GB - $350
1070Ti 8GB - $400
1080 8GB - $500
1080Ti 8GB - $700

...then I'd say 1070Ti would be an absolutely awesome bang for the buck choice all day long right now.
The 1070Ti is nice, but it needs to be heavily OC'd to reach 1080 performance (which, imo, makes it a bit pointless at current prices): "shit, I really want a 1080 and I have already saved up $450, but I just can't see myself being able to save up another $50-60 for that 1080. better drink my own piss and go with a 1070Ti, instead."
Click to expand...

Ive got a evga classified 1080 that will do 2164mhz on air without limits ever spiking and will benxh at 2190mhz on air but will dance all day long at 2190mhz on water.. a true golden silicon lottery winning chip thst I should of listed a week ago but dragging my but as I'm building a new pc case. Also have already cleaned the ek 780 classified nickle platted clear block for it.. id possanly let it go for $5 bills not including wb.
 
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reaper12 said:
If I was you I would wait. Vega is ok but not the greatest, will probably improve with time though. The 1080/1070s are good but are they 5 years good? The only card I would consider now, if I was keeping it for 5+ years would be the 1080ti, especially if I wanted to future proof for VR.

But, I would wait. Volta is coming in March next year. Vega AIB cards should be out by then too and you will have a better idea of where exactly Vega's performance is.

It's all up in the air at the moment. Wait and make a better choice in March.
Click to expand...

Two things: we know where Vega's performance ceiling is, because we have closed-loop versions already. The AIB cards will possibly hit the performance of those, but not likely more, and will still likely be a hair hotter and louder.

And we've shown elsewhere that AMD's 'fine wine' designation is rather undeserved. Don't expect Vega to age any better than Pascal, and don't plan your purchase around hoping for improvements years down the road. AMD, Nvidia, and the game development community will have moved on.
 
eclypse said:
Man.. life is short. Grab a 1080/1080ti and just sell and upgrade either when the next thing hits or the ti version.
Click to expand...
Yeah. I think holding a card for 5 years is kind of pushing it.

The way to do it is to buy the top end (not elite) card from last generation used (i.e. getting a 980 right when the 1080 comes out). Then when the 1180 (or whatever) releases, sell your 980 on ebay and buy a 1080 used.

I did this trick for a few generations, and I ended up having last-gen top tier performance for only a few hundred dollars every year or two.
 
If you are considering 1080 at $500 you’d better consider 1080ti at $650.

It’s 35% faster than 1080 at stock clocks and will easily last five years at 1080p and probably at 1440p

It’s the first card I’ve had, probably since 3DFX days that just seems like it lays waste to EVERY game out there. It’s a no compromise card for 1080p or 1440p

It’s $150 more for 35% more performance.

There’s a many ways to get one, even new, at $650.

Here’s one:
https://slickdeals.net/f/10806819-g...ft-card-for-50-and-more?src=SiteSearchV2Algo1


And you can justify it by cryptocurrency mining with it, which will pay you about 90 bucks a month at 65% power draw.

https://www.nicehash.com/profitability-calculator

A 1080ti that pays itself off outright in six months? Yes please.


I wouldn’t touch a Vega right now. Don’t even consider it IMO. I say this as both a 1080ti owner (eight 1080ti) and a Vega owner (had three, now just one Vega and it’s getting sold when it comes back from RMA).
Six months from now you can revisit the idea of Vega when their drivers are up to snuff.
 
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Well, I did it. Payment sent to SEALTeamSix here on the forum for one of his BNIB 1080's for $450, shipped.

I think I'm going to be real happy. And as long as I stay at 1080p, I'll be good for as many years as I've had the 6950.

So long ago I don't remember.... to Nvidia 8800 GT (512MB) to AMD 6950 (2GB) to Nvidia 1080 (8GB). So in ~2024, I'll be getting a new GPU with 32GB of RAM?
 
Grab a 2560x1440 monitor! Night and day from 1080!!! Haha you'll be gpu bottlenecked at 1080 screen res.
 
I could use my 75" Sony 4k flad ultra hd monitor but am i?? 82" dlp 1080p screen in the same room but do I have it hooked up to it?? Nope.

40" Samsung 4k monitor is what I'm currently playing with as it's a proper size pc monitor. Prior is a 27" 1440 165hz g-sync asus monitor which had been sitting idle for prob 6 months.. going to hooke my 8 year old up with it shortly.

What are we talking about here?? Haha. Oh yeah.. 1080 is so 2010 right?

1080 screen res.. just looking st it I always wanted to stretch the sides out a lot and the top and bottom.. always felt squished to me. Not enough realisate to game in.

Put that hardware to work and step up to 2k or 4k screens and have your jaw drop at the same time.
 
CombatChrisNC said:
Well, I did it. Payment sent to SEALTeamSix here on the forum for one of his BNIB 1080's for $450, shipped.

I think I'm going to be real happy. And as long as I stay at 1080p, I'll be good for as many years as I've had the 6950.

So long ago I don't remember.... to Nvidia 8800 GT (512MB) to AMD 6950 (2GB) to Nvidia 1080 (8GB). So in ~2024, I'll be getting a new GPU with 32GB of RAM?
Click to expand...

You'll be good at 4K too, just not at 60fps using the absolute max settings in all games. But it's still a very good experience, particularly since at 4K I don't think you don't need nearly as much antialiasing to get great image quality... I think you're going to be real happy :)
 
I have 1080s and they are not so impressive that i would want to use them for the next 5 years. With that said, I think an RX 580 8gb is a huge upgrade from a 6950 especially if you get it for $209 with that masterpass discount. I recently upgraded my brother in laws 6970 to a 380x last year and it was a huge upgrade in modern games (The Division was an absolute slideshow on low settings). Mind you a 380x is crap today. given the choice between an RX 580 for $230, 1080 for $500, or 1080 Ti for $650 -- id probably more often then not go for 580, 1080ti and the 1080 last. The 1080 is just expensive enough that you want it to do everything for years and i dont think it will. I am only getting 40-65fps in mechwarrior online 2560x1080. you need 90fps minimum for VR.

I think VR is well worth it too, so for the OP i vote 1080TI

edit: i see that i am too late. oh well $450 is a good deal for a 1080.
 
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