Building A New Gaming PC But No Idea Where To Go To Meet My Needs With The Current Insane GPU Pricing - Need Your Advice and Expertise

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SlapShot

Limp Gawd
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As the title says, I will be building a new gaming pc soon. Everything else is nailed down, and I am basing it around an Intel i7 3700k.
My problem is the ludicrous prices that GPU's are selling for. I would really like to stay within a budget of an absolute maximum of, $750.00 for one, and don't think that will get me what I need?

The new pc will be used for some Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 2, and some Red, Dead 2. However, it will mostly be focused on playing next June's, upcoming Diablo 4 at the best settings possible in 4k.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. If it's absolutely necessary, I can build the pc and utilize a lesser GPU, and buy one in the April, May timeframe, if you expect things will improve/

Thanks for any assistance
 
GPU prices are really really good son, looks like you've been under a rock since Covid hit. Unless you want a 4090 or 7900xtx, you can have any gpu you want for a great price. You're not gonna get a 4k machine for 750 all in but Walmart regularly has a refurbished HP for 360 : Restored HP TG01-2003W Pavilion Ryzen 5 5600G 3.9GHz AMD Radeon RX 5500 4GB 8GB RAM 256GB SSD Win 10 Home Black (Refurbished) https://www.walmart.com/ip/222988103 , stick another 8 gb ram, a 512 gb ssd and a 6600-6700 xt (or a used 3070 from the forums here) and you'll get close to a 4k capable rig for 750 ish esp after you sell the 5500 it comes with for $75-ish.GL.
 
You can pick up RX 6900XT ive seen them on Hforums for $535-$550, you can also find RTX 3080 10gb for around $500-$525. you can find good priced gpu and save some cash. I bought Evga RTX 3080 10gb XC2 /w 2 warranty $525 shipped on forums here.

you could pick up Asus Tuf Wifi + i5 12600k for $325-$350 or Asus Tuf wifi + i7 12700k for around $385-$400 or so.

I would look in for sale thread on forums here.
 
For someone that would bought its stuff before 2017, any price at any moment since then could look like crazy pricing, I remember when I bought a 1060 post crypto was a thing and it was quite the shock.
SlapShot said:
upcoming Diablo 4 at the best settings possible in 4k.
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If you plan to play at 4k and play some Red Dead 2 you probably want to go for something quite strong depending on how much upscaling and lower setting the best setting possible you have in mind, if by best setting you mean max that could rough, 6650xt/6700xt maybe, they sometime have an interesting deal (6650xt got too $270 on newegg), 6700xt currently at $370, I would look at the used market if you are ok with the idea first.

If you are ready to go a little bit above $750 (depending on how tax work where you are), there new 6900xt that can be purchassed for $720+tax:
https://www.newegg.com/asrock-radeo...&ranSiteID=8BacdVP0GFs-4.pDE5cJcQiiAosxnmJYLA

They can go for $570-$870 on ebay.

Obviously not sure for Diablo, but pricing performance seem to advantage AMD right now specially in Call of Duty by a good amount and were good Read Dead card has well, if you plan to go native 4k high end Ampere tended to lose less speed because of the memory bandwith.
 
Let me explain things again. My budget of $750 is just for the GPU. Also, I will not buy used, because there is no way to tell whether the card has been used for mining endlessly. Also, I need a FPU that is quiet
 
SlapShot said:
Only as far as games using it
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Based on games you will play and Ray Tracing is not top of your list, rx 6800xt / 6900xt will be enough for 4K.
or you can wait a bit, "maybe" 7900xt price will go down come january (big IF)
 
SlapShot said:
Let me explain things again. My budget of $750 is just for the GPU. Also, I will not buy used, because there is no way to tell whether the card has been used for mining endlessly. Also, I need a FPU that is quiet
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I will sell you my 3080 FTW3 that I guarantee wasn't mined with. It was an RMA replacement for a loose fan after I got out of mining.
 
SlapShot said:
Let me explain things again. My budget of $750 is just for the GPU. Also, I will not buy used, because there is no way to tell whether the card has been used for mining endlessly. Also, I need a FPU that is quiet
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You can get a 3080 for around $500 now and it is pretty easy to ask questions and get a feel for the card. There ARE honest people selling them out there.
 
If not going used, AMD all the way. Their cards at retail are really the only ones with good discounts. If used then either. I've seen $500 3080s. I've seen $400 or so 6800xts....

Don't let people talk you into buying their used card if you really don't want to. New retail does have it's merits. This is coming from a guy who used to exclusively buy used cards since my 560ti lol.
 
NightReaver said:
If not going used, AMD all the way. Their cards at retail are really the only ones with good discounts. If used then either. I've seen $500 3080s. I've seen $400 or so 6800xts....

Don't let people talk you into buying their used card if you really don't want to. New retail does have it's merits. This is coming from a guy who used to exclusively buy used cards since my 560ti lol.
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Ya but there are also very appealing deals to be had. I got a 3070 LHR for 325 three months ago. For a little over 3 bills it'll hold me over for a pretty long while.
 
I would probably choose a new 6950 XT at that budget. This ASRock card looks pretty nice and comes bundled with 2 games.

I wouldn't even be concerned with ray tracing at that budget. Even though I like the tech a lot, the bang for your buck with it in terms of performance for your dollar is just not there yet. As far as noise goes, I have found GPU's I've owned over the years to be basically hit and miss. At least buying new you have a warranty with that kind of thing though if it becomes bothersome.
 
t1k said:
I would probably choose a new 6950 XT at that budget. This ASRock card looks pretty nice and comes bundled with 2 games.

I wouldn't even be concerned with ray tracing at that budget. Even though I like the tech a lot, the bang for your buck with it in terms of performance for your dollar is just not there yet. As far as noise goes, I have found GPU's I've owned over the years to be basically hit and miss. At least buying new you have a warranty with that kind of thing though if it becomes bothersome.
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Couldn't agree more.

This particular card has that performance / price (it's hard to beat that $699 new) with solid build and one of the best thermal / sound out there:
https://www.techpowerup.com/review/asrock-radeon-rx-6950-xt-oc-formula/34.html

AMD's offer of 2 free games still intact too (Callisto Protocol & Dead Island 2).
 
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Enjoy the new system, whatever you decide to do. Always fun to build a new rig (y).
 
If you aren't in a big hurry, I would wait a couple of more months before purchasing your system. There might be some price drops coming as the economy and sales in turn continue to decline.

I'd have a hard time buying a new last generation card for $750 when you might be able to get the latest generation that performs better for the same price.
 
DooKey said:
If you aren't in a big hurry, I would wait a couple of more months before purchasing your system. There might be some price drops coming as the economy and sales in turn continue to decline.

I'd have a hard time buying a new last generation card for $750 when you might be able to get the latest generation that performs better for the same price.
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Maybe? I just don't see a considerable price drop coming until we get a refresh of the 4000 series (probably in the fall)
 
I'm still in a holding pattern as there is so much uncertainty and massive overpricing is still often in place. What has also not helped are the consistent string of very poor reviews for newer nVidia GPU's which are not outperforming previous cards, and cost substantially more. I had hopes for the 4070ti, but it has been trashed insofar as performance and value. I can hang ona while yet, but the biggest issue is that I cannot even put together a design for my new pc until a video card/GPU solution is available. making a decision at this moment in time, on a processor etc, makes no sense, as the situation/pricing may have changed in 2-3-4-5 months when a truly logical and optimal choice for at least a semi-reasonably priced GPU appears.
 
The best deals are always going to be right after the return window closes. Split the difference and make a choice. Otherwise get a console and stop worrying.
 
Try this: $799 ASUS 4070 Ti.
https://www.newegg.com/asus-geforce...4070 ti-_-14-126-607-_-Product&quicklink=true

Based on everything you've said, your reluctance to buy used, and it seems like a preference for Nvidia which I certainly don't blame you...

This isn't a bad deal for you at $799.

Yes, the reviewers are absolutely correct that it's a "bad value proposition" compared to what has been released in the past. But we have to look at the current NORMAL. This card is effectively at 3080 Ti performance levels worst case, 10-20% faster in some games best case, and has the latest generational features. You can't buy a 3080 Ti anymore for less than $1200 so that's obviously out. And the 4080 for $1200 is the next step up and that's $400 more than this.

At $800, you aren't really giving up much to anything AMD is offering. They win a little in raw perf, but not by much with the 7900XT.

You're going to be happy with this for a while, and your budget isn't going to sustain a 4080 or 4090. So just get this and be very happy for a few years.

Otherwise, I'd get a 6700xt for less than half this much money:
https://www.newegg.com/msi-rx6700xt...=6700xt-_-14-137-640-_-Product&quicklink=true

It will still flirt with 4k, and is so inexpensive compared to the other options you could just swap it 1 year from now and not care if something more enticing comes out.
 
"Best setting possible with 4k" as you put it, truly only exists with the 4090. Everything else is a compromise of some kind. 4090s are $1650 today.

I play at 4k with a 3080 Ti and am completely satisfied for the moment.
 
SlapShot said:
I'm still in a holding pattern as there is so much uncertainty and massive overpricing is still often in place. What has also not helped are the consistent string of very poor reviews for newer nVidia GPU's which are not outperforming previous cards, and cost substantially more. I had hopes for the 4070ti, but it has been trashed insofar as performance and value. I can hang ona while yet, but the biggest issue is that I cannot even put together a design for my new pc until a video card/GPU solution is available. making a decision at this moment in time, on a processor etc, makes no sense, as the situation/pricing may have changed in 2-3-4-5 months when a truly logical and optimal choice for at least a semi-reasonably priced GPU appears.
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If you are buying right now, there are 3080Ti's for $550 on ebay, some less some more. Evga ftw3 3080ti for $624 (maybe worth it if it has the lifetime warranty).

If you are not going to buy for a few months, just wait to decide. As long as there isn't another crypto boom, you will probably find some better deals.
 
If it were me, id strongly consider a placeholder GPU until main stream 4000 / 7000 are available. I have left over 6600xts from mining and it blows my mind how good they are at their price point. Im getting 110fps in apex on 1440p monitor, settings maxed with one. Since i was getting roughly the same FPS with a 6900xt i assume my 3900x is choking my fps.
 
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buttons said:
If it were me, id strongly consider a placeholder GPU until main stream 4000 / 7000 are available. I have left over 6600xts from mining and it blows my mind how good they are at their price point. Im getting 110fps in apex on 1440p monitor, settings maxed with one. Since i was getting roughly the same FPS with a 6900xt i assume my 3900x is choking my fps.
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The more I look into this, the more a placeholder GPU, as you suggest seems like the only alternative. Now I just need to find a budget 6600XT, or something comparable.
 
Advil said:
6700xt $349.

https://www.newegg.com/msi-rx6700xt...=6700xt-_-14-137-640-_-Product&quicklink=true

It's going to do better than you think. I'll bet you keep it at least 2 years which should be enough time for the Nvidia/AMD/Intel graphics battle to gel out a little. Enough time for 4090s to have a "used" price too.
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Thanks very much for the recommendation. Great deal, and I would jump all over that card for the money. But, based on reviews, it appears to be unable to handle 4k duties, and I'll need that capability in June for Diablo 4.
 
You are waffling again. :)

You were just talking about getting a 6600XT...

AMD has FSR 2.0...

The dude 2 posts up is selling a virtually new 6800XT for $400. That's GOING to play a Diablo game at 4k either with FSR or slightly reduced settings, and I'd be surprised if you had to do both.
 
It is incredibly logical to just get a $400 RTX 2080 Ti or something newer, but of a lower tier but equal power.

There's really no reason you should think you actually have to buy things at these prices. Why would you do that?
Is this hobby really worth that sort of money, as if you're just being played with as a monkey who wants the shiniest thing for no other reason than it's placed on a pedestal and given a very big number?

Yes, a more expensive card will have more power, but that's still no reason to feel as if you must overpay.
 
A graphing calculator will probably play diablo 4 at 4k. Do you need a 4090 for cyberpunk? sure, but i cant imagine diablo being difficult for a mid range gpu.
 
Advil said:
6700xt $349.

https://www.newegg.com/msi-rx6700xt...=6700xt-_-14-137-640-_-Product&quicklink=true

It's going to do better than you think. I'll bet you keep it at least 2 years which should be enough time for the Nvidia/AMD/Intel graphics battle to gel out a little. Enough time for 4090s to have a "used" price too.
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Not a bad deal at all, considering I paid over $800 for one a few years back when all the stupid was going on. Paired with any recent gen cpu, 6700's will roll anything out there at 1440p and you will undoubtedly be able to run 4k on some titles as well (I do).
 
There is a 2 week old non-xt RX 6800 in the forums now for $400.


I know you said not used, but that is your 4k steal right there.
 
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