Upgrade or wait: mid 2022 edition

[Sir Beregond]

It's a rich man's game if pursuing the best of the best performance at 4k. That can't really be said for 1080p gameplay, it's really not that hard or expensive to drive that which let's be real, is what the majority of people are on and those folks aren't on tech enthusiast or overclocking forums.

 

[StoleMyOwnCar]

Exactly with an asterix, because PC gaming became so much not a rich people/rich country hobby in the last 30 year's we are not talking only old games, some of the most popular new games does not require much. PUBG battleground/fornight/Diablo 4 type.

The keeping up playing the latest at extreme setting on the more extreme monitors (VR or trying 4K high enough FPS) is a different hobby than PC Gaming and I feel quite different (in the sense I am not sure most that do that play that much versus the regular 2013 PS4 players, the hardware being in large part the points, I am like that anyway, do not play much since turning 18-19 but still care about hardware and still launch title from vast Steam collection with many never even installed).

Right now the collection of games playable on a simple 5600G or 12100K with the cheapest you can find GPU, because PC gaming go so stable over time win32-64/age of the oldest DirectX still supported on new card, sound, etc... (was there ever an era that you could be confident that a 15 year's old game would launch without any issue? Not needing an virtual machine/emulator), could make right now inflation adjusted on the cheaper side of things, PC gaming wise of the last 40 year's. On the other way around, because pro-regular line merging, it open the door to I imagine some of the most expensive system has well.

I don't think it's reasonable to make the point of comparison to be "games you can play on a simple 5600G", though. Games get more modern, people get more used to modern battle systems and interfaces, and graphics standards. And also your friends are more likely to be playing them. Like yeah if you wanted to just know what you could play on the PC with even integrated graphics, the list is quite long. That's certainly a strength of PC gaming. But I think reasonably most people that aren't in countries with bad economies (ie that generally have a choice) would like to at least be able to play the most modern title. Definitely not on max graphics. Maybe medium. 1080p is probably quite fine. If we put the bar there, I guess the game to focus on would be Cyberpunk, much like Crysis was years ago. What would you need, expenditure wise, to at least play Cyberpunk decently? How much would you have needed for Crysis years back?

Honestly it might not even be that different. It might even be less when accounting for inflation.

 

[LukeTbk]

What would you need, expenditure wise, to at least play Cyberpunk decently? How much would you have needed for Crysis years back?

That all fair, specially on an HardForum when it is what people are likely to have in mind when they speak of the price of playing PC game. But when we look at the list of the 10 most played games right now, is it unfair to speculate that they are playable with a 1050gt +12100K or a 5600G ? And that company with global aim seem aware that if you want to run on 80% of the world gaming PC you need to be able to scale to quite low power affair (I would imagine that something like World of Warcraft can still be run on lower machine, despite being on the upper class on serious gamer that would pay a monthly fee for a game).

It was more the pure statement, PC gaming in 2022 on planet earth is a rich person hobby, that I feel is completely false.

One easy to think about it, imagine a world were in the current next months you become rich, do you think in the next 10 years you would spend more time in front of screen playing game on a PC or less time because of that change ? In another world, a series of bad social/economical/health luck, in the next 10 years do you spend more time in front of a pc screen or less ?

It is certainly not a poor (when speak poor for a human right now, with little electricity available), but I would not say a particularly rich, specially in the western world.

One other variable is frequency of upgrade, the 5 year's ago very nice computer say a 7700K+1080 will run Cyberpunk decently, the very nice computer of 2003 (pentium overclocked a bit above 3.0 or athlon equivalent, 1 gig of ram + radeon 9700 pro) did not run Crysis decently (well at 800x600 at low quality you could reach 40 fps). Crysis is an unfair example too, Cyberpunk was a mass release with mainstream aim working on 2013 consoles, when Crysis was a tech demo to push an engine, COD 4 modern warfare could be a better example but still work, the 9700 pro being under even the minimum requirement for that game.

 

[BassTek]

I ran half my time with Cyberpunk on a 2060 laptop at 1080p Medium and it played fine. That was in the launch month. The other half was on a 3080 and yes it looked a lot better but I was hooked on the game and still enjoyed it at 1080p medium.

I think if you set your expectations properly you can play PC games on cheaper hardware fine, it’s only the 4K 120 FPS and Ray Tracing titles that push it to a high budget hobby.

As others have stated most of the popular titles run well on anything, perhaps Warzone being the most demanding.

 

[harmattan]

Now that the 7000-series and 4000-serues are rumored to launch in July-August, I'm leaning towards liquidating my 3080 ti. Much like I did with last gen, I can stand just playing on my 2080 laptop for a few months while I wait.

I figure if I net $1000 for the 3080 ti, this would set me up nicely for a 4080 or 7900 (or whatever their designations may be).

 

[Arkanian]

3090 ti keeps dropping which is very tempting but I think I am going to hold off until 4090. Worst case 3090 ti will be cheaper when that comes out in the event 4090 is hard to get.

 

[Deleted member 289973]

I suppose I could sell my 3060 and get a MB that supports integrated graphics and pick up one of the new gen cards or a higher current gen once the prices drop. CPU currently supports integrated graphics but the MB doesn't. 3060s are still going for $360-420 on eBay but a few are hitting $500.

 

[harmattan]

I suppose I could sell my 3060 and get a MB that supports integrated graphics and pick up one of the new gen cards or a higher current gen once the prices drop. CPU currently supports integrated graphics but the MB doesn't. 3060s are still going for $360-420 on eBay but a few are hitting $500.

Why replace your entire mobo when you can get a super base GPU that will outclass integrated graphics and likely still be cheaper?

 

[Deleted member 289973]

Why replace your entire mobo when you can get a super base GPU that will outclass integrated graphics and likely still be cheaper?

What do you have in mind? I could easily get a MB for around $100 that would be perfectly adequate in my current system.

 

[GregTombstone]

We are in the start of a major recession and inflation is going to stay high for a long time. You cant print money both sides of he Atlantic for 10 years and not expect to have to pay for doing same. Interest rates are going to keep going up and will probably end up above 5% long term, in the last century the average was 8-10%. I personally think the whole bit coin thing will die as it is really only a big Ponzi scheme and now that people are getting poorer they wont have spare cash to speculate with. So what does this mean for GPU cards.
I see a glut coming soon and a big price drop across the board, in fact I reckon in a few months they may even be below mrsp. New cards coming will be lucky to sell at mrsp as there are currently plenty of high preforming cards about in this generation. Remember most people game at 1080p so they don't need 500 watt monsters. I've survived with a RX480 8gb for the last couple of years as I wont spend the equivalent of the cost of the rest of my rig for a few fps. I will move to 2k in the near future for the eye candy and buy a monitor and gpu combo for the move. One is no good with out the other. So my advice is hang on until he end of the summer if you can and you will see real value.

 

[Varmint]

What do you have in mind? I could easily get a MB for around $100 that would be perfectly adequate in my current system.

I doubt the 3060 will lose $100 in the next few months. Unless you can really get $500 for that (sucker!). Ebay robs you of 15% so that's really $425.

 

[harmattan]

What do you have in mind? I could easily get a MB for around $100 that would be perfectly adequate in my current system.

Get something like a 980 ti that can still handle 1080p, use it for a few months while you're waiting. Why would you replace your mobo when the one you have is perfectly good -- upgrading it, unless it's offering features you'll use or a new cpu path, is a zero sum game.

We are in the start of a major recession and inflation is going to stay high for a long time. You cant print money both sides of he Atlantic for 10 years and not expect to have to pay for doing same. Interest rates are going to keep going up and will probably end up above 5% long term, in the last century the average was 8-10%. I personally think the whole bit coin thing will die as it is really only a big Ponzi scheme and now that people are getting poorer they wont have spare cash to speculate with. So what does this mean for GPU cards.
I see a glut coming soon and a big price drop across the board, in fact I reckon in a few months they may even be below mrsp. New cards coming will be lucky to sell at mrsp as there are currently plenty of high preforming cards about in this generation. Remember most people game at 1080p so they don't need 500 watt monsters. I've survived with a RX480 8gb for the last couple of years as I wont spend the equivalent of the cost of the rest of my rig for a few fps. I will move to 2k in the near future for the eye candy and buy a monitor and gpu combo for the move. One is no good with out the other. So my advice is hang on until he end of the summer if you can and you will see real value.

I agree with you on the macro economics and bitcoin, but I don't see msrp dropping next gen -- just the opposite. The demand has swelled over the past two years in both the consumer space and several others, and fab capacity really isn't growing. Also, and importantly, nV and AMD (and Intel) know the genie is out of the bottle on the geral consumer consciousness adjusting to higher prices. There's unfortunately no going back on prices.

 

[Deleted member 289973]

I doubt the 3060 will lose $100 in the next few months. Unless you can really get $500 for that (sucker!). Ebay robs you of 15% so that's really $425.

True. Is it 15% now? Used to be 10% a few years back. Oh well, still at least 300 or so in my pocket. Plus the GPUs on eBay seem to go very quick.

Get something like a 980 ti that can still handle 1080p, use it for a few months while you're waiting.

This looks like a good option. 980 Ti back in the day was a boss. I had a 970 in my first build and it handled 1080p perfectly fine. I wonder if getting a 970 or non-Ti 980 would be worth saving the 50-70 bucks I'd pay extra for the 980 Ti. Especially if I'm going to keep the card for only a few months.

Why would you replace your mobo when the one you have is perfectly good -- upgrading it, unless it's offering features you'll use or a new cpu path, is a zero sum game.

This is a fair point. In my case the new board actually would have new features and a much better BIOS. The board I'm currently using is out of an HP prebuilt, and the BIOS is trash. Also it doesn't support integrated graphics but my CPU does, and I thought if I could run my secondary display off of that then the card can handle just the primary screen I use for gaming.

 

[Varmint]

True. Is it 15% now? Used to be 10% a few years back. Oh well, still at least 300 or so in my pocket. Plus the GPUs on eBay seem to go very quick.

Ebay charges sellers 12.9%, but they charge you on the shipping and the tax which you don't even get! So you're really paying more like 15+%.

Sucks but I still use it - don't know any good alternative. Facebook marketplace sucks. Forum classifieds people are too smart to pay a lot, lol.

 

[GregTombstone]

Get something like a 980 ti that can still handle 1080p, use it for a few months while you're waiting. Why would you replace your mobo when the one you have is perfectly good -- upgrading it, unless it's offering features you'll use or a new cpu path, is a zero sum game.

I agree with you on the macro economics and bitcoin, but I don't see msrp dropping next gen -- just the opposite. The demand has swelled over the past two years in both the consumer space and several others, and fab capacity really isn't growing. Also, and importantly, nV and AMD (and Intel) know the genie is out of the bottle on the geral consumer consciousness adjusting to higher prices. There's unfortunately no going back on prices.

On the demand side Harmatten we don't have most of the western population stuck home in lockdown, I think this will effect demand to some extent, although if I was always right with my crystal ball I would be a billionaire LOL. It the unknown unknowns that trip you up.

 

[TheSlySyl]

My 3080 12GB arrived today.

I knew it was gonna be a beefy cooler, but its even bigger than I was expecting. Even coming from an Arctic Accelero 3 on my old 1080Ti.

Also it uses 3x8pin for power. Which is ridiculous. At stock I was hitting 430+watt power draw.

Immediate thoughts are that this was a pretty damn substantial upgrade, need more time to mess with it, but more than double framerates in quite a few games that I play and the ability to hit a rock solid 4k60 in others. Cyberpunk runs smooth for the first time in its life, even with the added RTX stuff.

I've done a little tinkering with undervolting just to keep power usage down. Temps are way, way better than on the 10 series so I'm mostly concerned about using too many watts for my 850w power supply. I've seen it hit over 700 watts while at load and that's a bit concerning. I've managed to knock 100watts off of max power draw for about 5% less performance. I'm sure that I can do better but that's with maybe 30 minutes of tinkering.

I'm pretty happy with it. Now watch the 4000 series be available and cheaper. 😂

 

[harmattan]

... Now watch the 4000 series be available and cheaper. 😂

Narrator, later this year: They weren't and they weren't

Nice grab on that 3080. Should keep you happy for a long time, and a significant upgrade from your 1080 ti. I had that same Accelero on my 1080 ti and forgot how much bigger the 3080 is.

 

[GregTombstone]

My 3080 12GB arrived today.

View attachment 476766View attachment 476767View attachment 476768
I knew it was gonna be a beefy cooler, but its even bigger than I was expecting. Even coming from an Arctic Accelero 3 on my old 1080Ti.

Also it uses 3x8pin for power. Which is ridiculous. At stock I was hitting 430+watt power draw.

Immediate thoughts are that this was a pretty damn substantial upgrade, need more time to mess with it, but more than double framerates in quite a few games that I play and the ability to hit a rock solid 4k60 in others. Cyberpunk runs smooth for the first time in its life, even with the added RTX stuff.

I've done a little tinkering with undervolting just to keep power usage down. Temps are way, way better than on the 10 series so I'm mostly concerned about using too many watts for my 850w power supply. I've seen it hit over 700 watts while at load and that's a bit concerning. I've managed to knock 100watts off of max power draw for about 5% less performance. I'm sure that I can do better but that's with maybe 30 minutes of tinkering.

I'm pretty happy with it. Now watch the 4000 series be available and cheaper. 😂

Sweet

 

[Denpepe]

I finally got "lucky" on AMD's last drop and managed to snag a 6750XT to replace the 570 4GB card I had in my AMD machine, now to find some time to test it a bit, only got round to installing the card so far.

 

[Sir Beregond]

I'm pretty happy with it. Now watch the 4000 series be available and cheaper. 😂

See people say this, and I am in the same boat as I am only now getting the new rig up and running (yay first time trying hardline with my decade long water-cooling addiction). But I see it this way:

Now you are good until the 50-series at least.

 

[TheSlySyl]

I suspect this will actually be my last GPU upgrade for many years because of upcoming financial strains, but I also think I'll be fine with that.

I need to secure a 5950x before the end of the year as well and then I won't need to worry about anything computer upgrade related for hopefully 3+ years.

 

[Sir Beregond]

I suspect this will actually be my last GPU upgrade for many years because of upcoming financial strains, but I also think I'll be fine with that.

I need to secure a 5950x before the end of the year as well and then I won't need to worry about anything computer upgrade related for hopefully 3+ years.

Yeah same here. I will have other financial priorities and the cost of high-end these days does not lend itself to upgrading all the time, for me anyway.

Seeing 5950X locally around $550 now.

 

[Andrew_Carr]

Ebay charges sellers 12.9%, but they charge you on the shipping and the tax which you don't even get! So you're really paying more like 15+%.

Sucks but I still use it - don't know any good alternative. Facebook marketplace sucks. Forum classifieds people are too smart to pay a lot, lol.

I've had pretty good experiences selling on mercari. Slightly lower fees than ebay, much simpler interface. It feels like craigslist met ebay. Had my first buyer file a dispute today so I'll see how their support is I guess, but otherwise I haven't had any issues except the smaller market means lower sale prices than on ebay.

 

[Tactlesss]

I suspect this will actually be my last GPU upgrade for many years because of upcoming financial strains, but I also think I'll be fine with that.

I need to secure a 5950x before the end of the year as well and then I won't need to worry about anything computer upgrade related for hopefully 3+ years.

Oh why did you have to invoke the possibility of a 5950x
$550 is a good price.
I'm still recovering from my 12 gig 3080 purchase

 

[jlbenedict]

I finally got "lucky" on AMD's last drop and managed to snag a 6750XT to replace the 570 4GB card I had in my AMD machine, now to find some time to test it a bit, only got round to installing the card so far.

You're in for a nice treat... that is a huge upgrade

 

[T_A]

Unpopular opinion:
I`ve waited long enough to buy a new PC , too many reasons like waiting for 'the right time', not having available money when it was.
I haven't gamed on PC in years , got XSX which I barely even turn on.

When Zen 4 and 4000 series comes , I'll just pay whatever be settled for the next 2-3 years at least.

 

[Decko87]

Unpopular opinion:
I`ve waited long enough to buy a new PC , too many reasons like waiting for 'the right time', not having available money when it was.
I haven't gamed on PC in years , got XSX which I barely even turn on.

When Zen 4 and 4000 series comes , I'll just pay whatever be settled for the next 2-3 years at least.

Not an unpopular opinion, I think building one now and buying top end would be unpopular, mid range won't depreciate as much. But yeah I think I'd rather wait until I can get on AM 5 at this point at the very least, then you'll have cpu upgrade 2-3 years from now as well.

 

[Sir Beregond]

Unpopular opinion:
I`ve waited long enough to buy a new PC , too many reasons like waiting for 'the right time', not having available money when it was.
I haven't gamed on PC in years , got XSX which I barely even turn on.

When Zen 4 and 4000 series comes , I'll just pay whatever be settled for the next 2-3 years at least.

I ran my 4790k/980 for 7 years. There's always something new around the corner and once I hit a point where performance is lacking enough that I need to upgrade, several gens have come and gone, then I buy the best I can within my budget and then run that for as many years until I once again hit the point where performance is lacking enough to need to upgrade. Obviously this is a different strategy then if you are the type that always needs the newest.

If you need something now, buy now. If you want to wait, then wait. Choice is yours.

 

[oldmanbal]

Waiting until September, spending a little extra on a higher end AMD board will probably give you several generations of upgrade paths to maneuver on your way to longevity. By then it's likely you'll know what videocard will be your target for next gen as well!

 

[TheSlySyl]

Following up on my 3080 12GB from a few weeks ago...

My 5950X and Arctic Liquid Freezer II 420 arrived a few days ago.

That's it. I'm officially done upgrading on AM4. From a launch 1700 to near EOL 5950X, 16GB RAM to 64GB RAM, a GTX 1060 to an RTX 3080 and more hard drives than I can possibly keep count of...
AM4 has been a very good socket to me.
I do need to downclock a little bit, my processor at full blast uses 225w (WTF)
My RTX 3080 uses 420w+ (Seriously, WTF)
When benchmarking a worst case scenario of both at full load, + my case fans and all my hard drives and everything else, I was pulling around 800watts from the wall. I only have a 850w power supply and that's close enough that I don't think i'm gonna attempt to stress it any harder than that.

 

[Arkanian]

There are some good deals on 3090 ti right now. Still holding out for 4090 but the prices are tempting when I know the 4090 will be more expensive. (There are some going around 1500 and the rumor is the 4090 will be around 1900-2000)

 

[Martha Stewart]

There are some good deals on 3090 ti right now. Still holding out for 4090 but the prices are tempting when I know the 4090 will be more expensive. (There are some going around 1500 and the rumor is the 4090 will be around 1900-2000)

you can find 3090 ti on StockX for $1100


tempted too, but might as well wait another few months

 

[ProfessorUtopia]

It was 'new build' time for me this past weekend, "on the horizon" be damned. My trusty 4790k & GTX 1080 was just not cutting it for VR.

Here's to no regrets... 🍻

 

[CruisD64]

It was 'new build' time for me this past weekend, "on the horizon" be damned. My trusty 4790k & GTX 1080 was just not cutting it for VR.

Here's to no regrets... 🍻
View attachment 487138

View attachment 487139

And regrets you shouldn't have. Hopefully cost was reasonable as this system is insanely powerful compared to your old one.

 

[CruisD64]

You can get this guy for 769 AR. 720 a couple of days ago. I have a 6900xt and a 3080ti. For this price, 6900xt no question... especially with FSR 2.0 coming out on so many games.

 

[Comixbooks]

I got the most use out of my 3070 sure if feels good dumping income on a card. Just hoping the 4000 series isn't in short supply for over a year. Looking for whats in stock on various sites was the worst. The only thing worse than that is Walmart.

 

[psychonautZERO]

It was 'new build' time for me this past weekend, "on the horizon" be damned. My trusty 4790k & GTX 1080 was just not cutting it for VR.

Here's to no regrets... 🍻
View attachment 487138

View attachment 487139

How much it all end up costing? I wanna upgrade my pc too, it has a gtx 970...

 

[maw]

• Finally, though a weaker (and more personal) point... what's all this horsepower going to? My 2080 RTX (not Super, not Ti) is doing fine in many games I've been playing at 3440x1440p, and the resolution feels just fine to me for immersion and fidelity. Supposedly a 3080 Ti or similar will be, what, twice as powerful? At that point, who needs even stronger? Just VR players?

I have a 2070 Super and have no problems playing games with it at 4K. Now I'm not a hard core FPS gamer, so that probably helps, but f or the games that I do play, the 2070 Super easily handles the task (Cities: Skylines, No Man;s Sky, Tabletop Simulator, Assetto Corsa, and Stellaris to name a few).

 

[ProfessorUtopia]

How much it all end up costing? I wanna upgrade my pc too, it has a gtx 970...

Some prices have come down since I pulled the trigger; the SSDs, RAM, and GPU are a bit cheaper, now. But the full build (excluding peripherals) ran me $2250.

 

[Sergius648]

Couldn't wait either after seeing a 6900 XT for $700 after Rebate. Ordered the following a few days back:

Gigabyte 6900 XT OC.
i5 12400F
MSI MAG B660M Bazooka DDR4
32 Gigs of DDR4-3200 by OLOy
2TB Teamgroup MP33 M.2-2280
Zalman S2 Case
EVGA SuperNova G6 850W 80+ Gold.

Was around $1500.

Currently running a Xeon E5-1680 v2 and GeForce 1060, so it was overdue.