Old and Uninformed: I need to replace an 8-year old GTX 680. What's the best $200-300 card?

wicked_chicken

Limp Gawd
Joined
Nov 30, 2009
Messages
316
As in title. My 680 is finally showing it's age 8 years later. I'd like to move to an RTX for RTX voice (professionally, that has a lot of use for me as I'm behind a microphone all day). That said, bang for the buck is really the higher priority.
I do game, but more often than not am running 2-3 monitors of light stuff.

Thanks, [H].
 
As rhansen said, that's the only currently available option for new cards. You might also be able to find a 2070 or 2070 Super used for that price.
 
wait a few month if you can, once nVidia's launch flub has passed and AMD has their cards out the 2000 series price should drop and you can snag something better than a 2060 that can hardly handle ray tracing.
 
3070 launching in a week or so - availability in 2021. AMD throwing in their glove into the ring in the next weeks as well.

Were I you - I'd get anything newer, but super cheap... Or just wait a bit and hope for sufficient stocks
 
I was going to suggest the used market - but scratch that! 2070 Supers going for $500+ and 2080 Tis still holding $1K+ (Founders Editions). It's definitely kind of a bad time to buy in the $200-$300 range. Things should be much clearer by November 1st with the 3070 releasing and AMD's big reveal.
 
I was going to suggest the used market - but scratch that! 2070 Supers going for $500+ and 2080 Tis still holding $1K+ (Founders Editions). It's definitely kind of a bad time to buy in the $200-$300 range. Things should be much clearer by November 1st with the 3070 releasing and AMD's big reveal.

I wouldn't count on the 3070 changing anything, nVidia's supply problems are the bigger issue and until there is stock on shelves the 2000 series will hold value.

AMD is the wild card, if they can deliver competition to the 3000 series and stock then old cards will drop in price.
 
I wouldn't count on the 3070 changing anything, nVidia's supply problems are the bigger issue and until there is stock on shelves the 2000 series will hold value.

AMD is the wild card, if they can deliver competition to the 3000 series and stock then old cards will drop in price.

Yes, you validated my statement when you combine them - as I did.
 
Yes, you validated my statement when you combine them - as I did.

No, the 3070 is moot.

Its moot because all indications, from pretty much every source, is the 3000 series won't be widely available till 2021.

The only factor is AMD at this point.
 
No, the 3070 is moot.

Its moot because all indications, from pretty much every source, is the 3000 series won't be widely available till 2021.

The only factor is AMD at this point.

3070 is moot because you assume no stock.

AMD is relevant because you assume there will be stock.

Meaning - both are factors - based on the unknown - which is stock.

What's wrong with just picking up a 2060? It'll be a monster compared to his old GPU and is much closer to his price range. Why is the 3070 even being discussed?

I brought it up because I was looking at used 2070 prices. If the 3070 releases and AMD releases and they trade blows competitively - prices go down and people buy new cards, selling old cards.
 
As in title. My 680 is finally showing it's age 8 years later. I'd like to move to an RTX for RTX voice (professionally, that has a lot of use for me as I'm behind a microphone all day). That said, bang for the buck is really the higher priority.
I do game, but more often than not am running 2-3 monitors of light stuff.

Thanks, [H].


Just now showing it's age? What are you playing? What CPU are you running?

The cheapest RTX available today is the 2060KO. Bang for the buck would be the 3070...if you can ever find one.
 
What's wrong with just picking up a 2060? It'll be a monster compared to his old GPU and is much closer to his price range. Why is the 3070 even being discussed?

Someone brought it up, my only thought was wait until AMD launches if he can, if AMD hits with stock it will drive the used price down and he could probably pick up a 2070 or 2070 super in his price range.
 
3070 is moot because you assume no stock.

AMD is relevant because you assume there will be stock.

Meaning - both are factors - based on the unknown - which is stock.



I brought it up because I was looking at used 2070 prices. If the 3070 releases and AMD releases and they trade blows competitively - prices go down and people buy new cards, selling old cards.

I assume that all the rumors, press from nVidia, AIBs and box stores say there will be little to no 3000 series stock until 2021 are largely correct. You want to assume different fine, but I doubt your knowledge is comparable.
 
Someone brought it up, my only thought was wait until AMD launches if he can, if AMD hits with stock it will drive the used price down and he could probably pick up a 2070 or 2070 super in his price range.
That's fair.
 
Check for the EVGA B stock cards. I just snagged a 2070 for $342.

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I certainly would not go any higher than a 2070 with that cpu and really even that will be significantly held back in some games.
I did not realize this would be an issue at all... maybe it's time for a more comprehensive upgrade...
 
I have to agree with a lot of people concerning the video card situation. I deem myself luckier everyday that at the beginning of October I was searching Amazon for RTX 2070 Super stock and actually found they were getting another shipment of them from eVGA so I grabbed one. I want to say a truth about that though I may not shared yet: when I was looking at RTX 2070 Supers on Amazon I wasn't intending to buy anything...at least at first. I was only looking to see what stock and prices were like post-RTX 3080. When I saw they were getting more and at MSRP and realizing I could get an eVGA branded card then and Step-up to an RTX 3080 quickly after that's when I went for it. For wicked_chicken's machine, a 2070 Super is the minimum he should be getting, no disagreement there. But he is also rocking an i7-3820. Not a bad chip (because hey...it is an i7), but it's an older i7. I'd advise him (especially if he is even starting to think of a more comprehensive upgrade than just the video card) if he could just wait until the middle of November when AMD Ryzen Zen 3 is released and hopefully available, he could then maybe snag a Zen 3 CPU with a B550/X570 motherboard and DDR4 memory (I think I heard the sweet spot for Zen 3 is DDR4-4000) along with a new video card and then have something really special. Or, if he cannot afford Zen 3, Zen 2 should still be available and on the cheap at that point at retail and go the AMD route that way and still get something quality knowing as long as he has a B550/X570 motherboard he can upgrade to Zen 3 in the future with the newest BIOS on his motherboard. There's my thoughts to it. Out!
 
What's wrong with just picking up a 2060? It'll be a monster compared to his old GPU and is much closer to his price range. Why is the 3070 even being discussed?

Yeah I would expect that if someone said they had a VooDoo2 and wanted an 'upgrade' they would be told to get get a 3080! People love spending other people's money.
 
I'm going to second get whatever the lowest priced 2060 you can find. The upgrade is going to be monumental and takes care of the other basic needs.
 
Yeah I would expect that if someone said they had a VooDoo2 and wanted an 'upgrade' they would be told to get get a 3080! People love spending other people's money.
It was brought up because it's a relevant factor for the marketplace. Right now, used GPUs are high priced and new GPUs are either hard to get or over a year old. The 3070 coming out at the end of the month aligns with AMD releasing their new GPUs - NVIDIA and AMD have been jockeying for the various price tiers and once AMD announces their stuff everything should shake out and a lot more folks with be making their moves for new GPUs which will lead to more affordable 2070s - which is probably a better option than a 2060.
 
So it's been a couple of weeks since I posted this, but I figured I'd update.

Firstly, my LGA2011 build is dead. It randomly crashed the other day and would not turn on. As it turns out, the Corsair H80 had sprung a leak flooding the CPU socket and essentially running, well, everywhere. It looks like I'm in the market for a core upgrade now.

Secondly, I continue to feel the GPU market timing is horrendous with AMD's launch mid-next week. On one hand, I'm hoping they have sufficient stock as I'd likely spring for their new "low" end GPU if I could pair it with a Zen 3. Unfortunately, it's a stock waiting game. While I could go Intel, it also seems less than optimal if the initial Zen 3 reviews are to be believed.
 
Seems to be a great position, IMO! Go Zen 3...all signs point to greatness. I'm a diehard Intel guy but I think it's time for me to make my next build AMD, too. Just too many pluses on their side.

By the time you get a Zen 3 CPU you will have probably found the GPU in your price range that you want. Both AMD's and NVIDIA's hands are on the table...
 
If coming from LGA2011 (intel HEDT) to Zen3, it splits the difference wrt consumer vs HEDT. It’s still 2 channel 4 DIMMs on most boards (vs 8 DIMMS 4ch) and 20 + 4 lanes of PCIe 4.0 to divvy up vs 44 + 4 of PCIe 3.0. Not sure if you utilized all that on your 2011 mobo but something to consider.
Regarding GPU neither team has released midrange GPUs so you could sit out the waiting game and get a 1660 or used 1070 and just wait it out - should be fast enough for now until stock is well established and even then it’s good to have a backup or 2nd card.
 
If coming from LGA2011 (intel HEDT) to Zen3, it splits the difference wrt consumer vs HEDT. It’s still 2 channel 4 DIMMs on most boards (vs 8 DIMMS 4ch) and 20 + 4 lanes of PCIe 4.0 to divvy up vs 44 + 4 of PCIe 3.0. Not sure if you utilized all that on your 2011 mobo but something to consider.
Regarding GPU neither team has released midrange GPUs so you could sit out the waiting game and get a 1660 or used 1070 and just wait it out - should be fast enough for now until stock is well established and even then it’s good to have a backup or 2nd card.
My LGA build was severely underutilized from a hardware perspective. To be frank, the motherboard (Asus Rampage IV Formula) was probably wasted on me, and I'll probably never buy a motherboard of that tier again. The 5970 GPU also put a sour taste in my mouth when it came to SLI/Crossfire, further reducing the need/utility of so many PCIe lanes. My goal back then was to game in Eyefinity across three monitors. Unfortunately, one of those has since died and has not been replaced, so multimonitor gaming really isn't ia priority now either especially with the advent of some of the super-widescreen monitors that are out there. When my trusty NEC IPS monitors finally die, I'll probably move laterally to widescreen and save some desk space.

Is there a solid tool that helps compare GPUs? GPUboss used to be awesome but it seems a lot of cards are absent?
 
Anandtech bench is a good general performance index for gpus in some games at 1080p, 1440p and 4k. Honestly bang for the buck the r5 3600 at $180 is really hard to beat and you can just throw it in a b450 board, note if you were wanting zen 3 jan 21 is when bios updates for 400 series are said to be ready and may be when you can get stock for Zen 3 chips. So the Rtx 2060 is about on par with 1660ti / super, gtx 1070 /1080 and the AMD 5700 if you were looking for non rtx. I think the 6700 series or 3060 cards will be a nice gaming 1080p 144hz cards / $$$ but they are not out yet.
 
As in title. My 680 is finally showing it's age 8 years later. I'd like to move to an RTX for RTX voice (professionally, that has a lot of use for me as I'm behind a microphone all day). That said, bang for the buck is really the higher priority.
I do game, but more often than not am running 2-3 monitors of light stuff.

Thanks, [H].
I have an RTX 2060 and it is a solid card. For current games, 1080p ultra or 1440p with mixed settings. For a little less money, the 5600 XT lacks RTX. But its otherwise the same general performance. I would look at used prices on both of those. Or just pickup the cheapest RX580 you can find, until its possible to buy the card you really want.

*new 5600xt do come with Godfall and the new WoW expansion
 
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Would you consider buying a 5600XT or even a 1660 Ti a bad purchase right now? Are we expecting these cards to further drop in value once 3070/6800 are in stock?
 
Would you consider buying a 5600XT or even a 1660 Ti a bad purchase right now? Are we expecting these cards to further drop in value once 3070/6800 are in stock?

Depends on how long you want to wait. 3070 / 6800 stock are unlikely to affect them at all as they are much higher end cards. You would have to wait for 6600xt or 3060s to hit the market before reasonably expecting the 5600xt or 1660ti to drop in price.
 
Exactly, not to sure how a $499 retail card will effect something in the $199-230 range. I mean the Rx500 serries has been around for ever and they are still in the $160 range. Also it looks like Nvidia did a good job again clearing the rx 2000 series out of the channel to have surplus dumpster sales on old parts.
 
Would you consider buying a 5600XT or even a 1660 Ti a bad purchase right now? Are we expecting these cards to further drop in value once 3070/6800 are in stock?
I don't think either card is a bad purchase. But I also don't think people need to be playing at 4K and/or spending $800 on GPUs.

5600xt gets you a fair bit more performance for similar/same money. And is probably the correct choice.

1660ti actually has the same NVENC encoder chips as its big brothers. So even though the performance is not as good as a 5600xt, NVENC can be useful if you stream a lot from a single PC setup. But, that's if.

If you don't stream at all, then get a 5600 XT.

If you have an Intel CPU which is Kaby Lake or newer: Quicksync is very decent quality now. Its not as good as NVENC. But its adequate for game streaming.


either way, it will be interesting to see if there are any meaningful holiday deals on these two cards, in a couple of weeks. And with that said----the RTX 2060 could also get into the mix. If the deals are good.
 
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If it’s for work get a 2060 super now, write it off as a gear expense.
Game as needed until nvidia updates rtx cores that would deliver more Voice functionality.

I don’t know why an AMD gpu even entered the discussion given rtx Voice + professional use case.
 
That's like recommending an ARM Mac knowing there's compiling issues with ARM specifically with the APIs and build tools you use everyday to make a living.

OP cited rtx Voice for professional use.
I upped 1 sku to accommodate gaming.
 
That's like recommending an ARM Mac knowing there's compiling issues with ARM specifically with the APIs and build tools you use everyday to make a living.

OP cited rtx Voice for professional use.
I upped 1 sku to accommodate gaming.
You don't seem to understand market dynamics. AMD was releasing new GPUs to compete with what NVIDIA has. This would mean new GPUs are out for both. This leads to lower prices.

There were some other dialogue between other users about AMD. The earlier mentions of AMD were because of competition, product lines, and things like how the 3060 are not out, yet.
 
People have already given you some choices, but i'll throw out the 1660 Super if you're looking to save money over the 2060. They can be found on discount now in the sub $200 range, and are more than enough for 1080p gaming these days.
 
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