Which video card would you purchase?

noteworthy

Gawd
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Jun 6, 2004
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I'm looking at the $350-450 range.

1920 x 1080 - 120-144 hz

AAA titles

I have picked the following:
EVGA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER 8 GB SC BLACK GAMING Video Card

Would you recommend I try to push it for a hundred more for the 2070 super or am I spending too much on a 2060 super when a regular 2060 is fine. Then you have the 2060 OP refresh with the 2080 chip that is neutered. Double heat pads and an older cooler for a card that can get very hot with no overclock potential. Core power is locked and you can't raise it.

Any ideas?




Rest of the build:
Ryzen 5 3600X
B450 Tomahawk
16gb (2x8gb) DDR4 3600
850w psu - corsair (left over from current system)
 
Obviously the more you stretch your budget the better off you'll be. I'd suggest shooting for at least a RTX 2070 or 2070 Super if you plan on keeping the card for a couple years and want to be able to keep hitting that 120-144Hz refresh rate at 1080p.
 
I think there are some 2070 (non S) on sale for the same price or less than that 2060 super you posted. I would personally go for the 2070 but the difference may not be too big. Check which would do better in your games after a modest OC. 5700 XT is also an option but eh.. I'd go for a 2070.

The best overall answer would obviously be a used 1080Ti, it will destroy anything in your budget.. but then you have to think about the potential lack of warranty and lack of RTX. I don't really think RTX is much of a gain in the current gen, especially when we're talking 1080P, but YMMV on that.
 
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I think there are some 2070 (non S) on sale for the same price or less than that 2060 super you posted. I would personally go for the 2070 but the difference may not be too big. Check which would do better in your games after a modest OC. 5700 XT is also an option but eh.. I'd go for a 2070.

The best overall answer would obviously be a used 1080Ti, it will destroy anything in your list.. but then you have to think about the potential lack of warranty and lack of RTX. I don't really think RTX is much of a gain in the current gen, especially when we're talking 1080P, but YMMV on that.
Yes you can get a RTX 2070 for about $350 if you look for them. I got the one in my secondary rig from a sale on Newegg's eBay page for $325.

As for a 1080 Ti, they aren't aging as gracefully and at this point a RTX 2070 is about on par with it and the RTX 2070 Super is faster.
 
As for a 1080 Ti, they aren't aging as gracefully and at this point a RTX 2070 is about on par with it and the RTX 2070 Super is faster.

Wow, that's news to me. I need to catch up on my benchmarks ;)... I'm still stuck on PUBG anyway. I guess not too surprising at this point. I can't believe the 1080Ti is already a 3 year old beast on it's last legs.

This kind of further serves to prove you (OP) better look up your desired games and some benchmarks on them to decide the best bang for your buck, can never really predict the future.
 
Actually thinking about going with either EVGA 2060 Super XC Ultra Gaming (3 slots) or the 2070 of the same card. It's 80-100 more for the 2070 version of the card. Cooler temps, less noise.
 
Actually thinking about going with either EVGA 2060 Super XC Ultra Gaming (3 slots) or the 2070 of the same card. It's 80-100 more for the 2070 version of the card. Cooler temps, less noise.
MSI 2070, $385 with code and Rebate.
https://www.newegg.com/msi-geforce-rtx-2070-rtx-2070-ventus-gp/p/N82E16814137504?Description=rtx 2070

The 2070 has 2304 Cuda Cores while the 2060 Super has 2176 -> Also more RT/Tensor cores. While the performance is similar, the 2070 should be a little bit faster.

Then again consider as well what the 5700 XT offers and what it does not:

 
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noko , I just watched that video and even the RX 5700( $329 with Ghost Recon) could compete with the 2060 Super in games like Borderlands 3 and Ghost Recon .. as I play 1080p Badass settings in Borderlands 3 with my Ryzen 5 3600 which is higher then Steve's testing ..

 
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LOL @ the people in this thread saying the 1080Ti is on its last leg and washed up,

lmao.

beast of a card, still is and will be for a long time. Get one used and call it a day. It’ll maxout anything just fine for the next couple years
 
LOL @ the people in this thread saying the 1080Ti is on its last leg and washed up,

lmao.

beast of a card, still is and will be for a long time. Get one used and call it a day. It’ll maxout anything just fine for the next couple years

1080 Ti's still go for a lot used. Heck, even a 5700 XT is practically the same performance but cheaper (although worse drivers). You'd be better off finding a 2070 for a little less, only a tad slower, but it would be able to take advantage of RTX, DLSS 2.0 and the new DirectX.
 
My system being so similiar to yours OP, I'd go with the 2070/2070 Super.

I'm already thinking about upgrading my GTX 1080.... (I game on a 25" 1080p 120hz G-sync monitor)
 
LOL @ the people in this thread saying the 1080Ti is on its last leg and washed up,

lmao.

beast of a card, still is and will be for a long time. Get one used and call it a day. It’ll maxout anything just fine for the next couple years


DX11 titles, its a monster. Vulkan and DX 12 is another story.
 
DX11 titles, its a monster. Vulkan and DX 12 is another story.


How so?????

Your telling me its weaker? DX12 and vulkan mean nothing to gamers. If it runs, it runs. DX12 and vulkan arent going to render a 1080Ti useless, ever.


Hell i have a 2080Super too and i turn off raytracing.
 
How so?????

Your telling me its weaker? DX12 and vulkan mean nothing to gamers. If it runs, it runs. DX12 and vulkan arent going to render a 1080Ti useless, ever.


Hell i have a 2080Super too and i turn off raytracing.


DX12 and Vulkan were not excellent performers on Pascal. Turing is where they fixed the deficits. Go check some reviews on recent games. I wouldn't touch a 1080ti. I bought 3 of them in the past 4 months and 2 of them had huge amounts of dust inside, thermal pads dried up, thermal paste dried up, corrosion on the heatsink. I had to replace thermal pads, paste and worn out fans because the cards are just getting old. If you are buying a 1080ti that has been used for 3 years, I guarantee you will be replacing hardened thermal paste at this point. Its getting too old to recommend in my opinion.

I'd go with an RTX card. Turing will keep improving with game releases/driver releases. Its a matter of time where Pascal will be where Kepler ended up and no amount of VRAM buffer will save it.
 
DX12 and Vulkan were not excellent performers on Pascal. Turing is where they fixed the deficits. Go check some reviews on recent games. I wouldn't touch a 1080ti. I bought 3 of them in the past 4 months and 2 of them had huge amounts of dust inside, thermal pads dried up, thermal paste dried up, corrosion on the heatsink. I had to replace thermal pads, paste and worn out fans because the cards are just getting old. If you are buying a 1080ti that has been used for 3 years, I guarantee you will be replacing hardened thermal paste at this point. Its getting too old to recommend in my opinion.

I'd go with an RTX card. Turing will keep improving with game releases/driver releases. Its a matter of time where Pascal will be where Kepler ended up and no amount of VRAM buffer will save it.
i agree with this 100%. 1080ti had a GREAT run, but its run is over. Sad how people seem to still think they can fetch 450$ for that card.. SMH! RTX series (turing I should say) are great silicon and something id buy over a 1080ti anyday of the week, but please dont forget the 5700XT. I bought mine at MC for 319$ a little bit ago, and can see sales on them in the 350$ range every now and then if you look good enough.
 
DX12 and Vulkan were not excellent performers on Pascal. Turing is where they fixed the deficits. Go check some reviews on recent games. I wouldn't touch a 1080ti. I bought 3 of them in the past 4 months and 2 of them had huge amounts of dust inside, thermal pads dried up, thermal paste dried up, corrosion on the heatsink. I had to replace thermal pads, paste and worn out fans because the cards are just getting old. If you are buying a 1080ti that has been used for 3 years, I guarantee you will be replacing hardened thermal paste at this point. Its getting too old to recommend in my opinion.

I'd go with an RTX card. Turing will keep improving with game releases/driver releases. Its a matter of time where Pascal will be where Kepler ended up and no amount of VRAM buffer will save it.



Look, solid point on the actual age of the card. Cards get old. If you buy used from someone who has not taken care of their shit, you will have problems, period. Thats on you to figure that out. But to take away from the fact that this is an 11GB card that still kills almost everything out there at 1080p/1440p for $350 to $430 now a days??? Thats just dumb. Ive had 2 1080Ti's ive bought used, from miners. Both cards were in flawless shape when i bought them years ago. From when i purchased till this day, the cards run at 100% fan when it hits over 55c in my Corsair c70 mid tower thats 6 years old ( so thats whenever i launch pretty much any modern game ) and i have zero issues, sits pretty around 62-63c @100% fan. Never had a had to open and repaste, none of that. Maybe one day i will, but who wont? My 2080 Super is run the same way, at 100% once it hits 55c and im seeing 69c to 74c ( in a tad bit smaller case with great air flow )


Im not here saying the 1080Ti IS THE BESTEST CARDEST on the internetssss, its just an insane card that still does work. BIG TIME. There isnt enough ray tracing or any new tech from this RTX stuff that is worth hanging on to at the moment. RT might look cool for a minutes on COD MW but then your over it. My 2080 Super build, RT is off 100% of the time.



Anyhow, we can sit here and go back and forth all day, BOTH are amazing cards.


Both my builds, i game @ 1440p maxed out. Can i tell/feel the difference when gaming? Nope.
 
Look, solid point on the actual age of the card. Cards get old. If you buy used from someone who has not taken care of their shit, you will have problems, period. Thats on you to figure that out. But to take away from the fact that this is an 11GB card that still kills almost everything out there at 1080p/1440p for $350 to $430 now a days??? Thats just dumb. Ive had 2 1080Ti's ive bought used, from miners. Both cards were in flawless shape when i bought them years ago. From when i purchased till this day, the cards run at 100% fan when it hits over 55c in my Corsair c70 mid tower thats 6 years old ( so thats whenever i launch pretty much any modern game ) and i have zero issues, sits pretty around 62-63c @100% fan. Never had a had to open and repaste, none of that. Maybe one day i will, but who wont? My 2080 Super is run the same way, at 100% once it hits 55c and im seeing 69c to 74c ( in a tad bit smaller case with great air flow )


Im not here saying the 1080Ti IS THE BESTEST CARDEST on the internetssss, its just an insane card that still does work. BIG TIME. There isnt enough ray tracing or any new tech from this RTX stuff that is worth hanging on to at the moment. RT might look cool for a minutes on COD MW but then your over it. My 2080 Super build, RT is off 100% of the time.



Anyhow, we can sit here and go back and forth all day, BOTH are amazing cards.


Both my builds, i game @ 1440p maxed out. Can i tell/feel the difference when gaming? Nope.

Dude, don't go out and flaunt that you can easily buy perfect condition 1080ti's, that's just not true, especially mined on. Unless it is new, you should be replacing thermal pads and paste and cleaning the PCB and heatsink from dust and oily buildup from the thermal pads. Once the silicone pads dry up and you see that oil soaking in your graphics card then dust sticks on all of the components and will eventually cause failures, not to mention the thermal pads have probably already degraded to a hard crumbling plastic feel. I have refurbished about 100 graphics cards last year and I can tell you that I had some really bad ones that required a lot of repair beyond pads and paste. Recommending an 1080ti which the 2070 super eventually will comfortably outperform in modern games by next year due to changes in game engine, driver optimizations, and features.


1586912762001.png
 
Dude, don't go out and flaunt that you can easily buy perfect condition 1080ti's, that's just not true, especially mined on. Unless it is new, you should be replacing thermal pads and paste and cleaning the PCB and heatsink from dust and oily buildup from the thermal pads. Once the silicone pads dry up and you see that oil soaking in your graphics card then dust sticks on all of the components and will eventually cause failures, not to mention the thermal pads have probably already degraded to a hard crumbling plastic feel. I have refurbished about 100 graphics cards last year and I can tell you that I had some really bad ones that required a lot of repair beyond pads and paste. Recommending an 1080ti which the 2070 super eventually will comfortably outperform in modern games by next year due to changes in game engine, driver optimizations, and features.


View attachment 237975

Ok, you win lol. What can I say.
 
Have to agree that the 1080ti is a monster and still holds up incredibly well in today's titles. The issue is: A $400-450 used, last gen ,GPU that performs similarly today to a $400-450 brand new GPU is not worth consideration. A used card needs to be less than a similarly performing new card. Hands down. Its like a universal law for me.

I love used gear and buy and build a ton of new/used systems for what its worth.

If you had a 1080ti on launch even now only the 2080ti is really worth stepping up to IMO to get that nice big jump in performance. That is pretty amazing really.

Also everyone can go ahead and fire sale those 1080tis already..;)

2070 super 459.99 NewEgg Ebay store
 
As an eBay Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
I'm looking at buying a 2070 super with a thick heatsink to keep temps and fans down. My case is pretty small but will have plenty of air flow with pwm controlled fans. Thanks for all your input.

-OP
 
Actually thinking about going with either EVGA 2060 Super XC Ultra Gaming (3 slots) or the 2070 of the same card. It's 80-100 more for the 2070 version of the card. Cooler temps, less noise.

edit: disregard, missed the last post by op.

Is the 2070 version a 2070 Super? Given the same SKU, a 2070 is not worth much more than $10 over the 2060 Super as it is only about 5% faster.

As other have said, it is hard to recommend the 1080ti, even at the same price. The 2070/2060S have consistently been very close lately. Also, DLSS is finally starting to show some real use even though it took a few years.
 
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I have two 1080 Ti's, great shape, used for mining, about a years worth 24/7. Have not notice any degradation. Now they are used for VR, well mostly one of them. I usually keep video cards 5+ years (mostly in use). Then again filtered cases, A/C cooled rooms and work load spread out except for mining (which is now not worth it now). Anyways in VR, a 2080 Ti, 2080 Super would make a big zero difference in anything at this point in time. To switch from a 1080 Ti to a Turing at this point to me would be foolish. Still if I was going to buy a Turing card it would most likely be a 2070 Super, anything above that is just not worth the extra cost to me.
 
Dude, don't go out and flaunt that you can easily buy perfect condition 1080ti's, that's just not true, especially mined on. Unless it is new, you should be replacing thermal pads and paste and cleaning the PCB and heatsink from dust and oily buildup from the thermal pads. Once the silicone pads dry up and you see that oil soaking in your graphics card then dust sticks on all of the components and will eventually cause failures, not to mention the thermal pads have probably already degraded to a hard crumbling plastic feel. I have refurbished about 100 graphics cards last year and I can tell you that I had some really bad ones that required a lot of repair beyond pads and paste. Recommending an 1080ti which the 2070 super eventually will comfortably outperform in modern games by next year due to changes in game engine, driver optimizations, and features.


View attachment 237975
Because mostly Nvidia does not optimize newer games on their previous generations, you can tell by looking at the standings of Vega 56 to the 1080, Vega 64 to the 1080 Ti (way closer then when both generations came out on newer titles). Nvidia does not degrade performance on older games just newer games are not optimized. You can expect Turing to have the same outcome after a couple of years when Ampere is out. If you look at AMD over time, they will optimize for older games mainly because the basic architecture remained close enough. So yes, with Nvidia, when you are looking at two generations behind, which Pascal will be when Ampere is launched, they will not be worth to buy. Really a 2060 Super is almost as fast as a 1080 Ti?
 
lol this thread

the 1080ti is still a VERY VIABLE graphics card, overclocked will give 2070 super/2080 a run for its money. But I wouldn't pay over $300 for one when the 5700xt is its equal and can be had brand new for ~$360. They just command too much of a premium on the used market with the 5700xt available.

@op I'g get a 2060 super (DLSS 2.0 looks REALLY interesting) or a 5700 non xt for $280-$300ish and flash. Also to everyone saying "dRiVeR iSSuEs", they've been all but remedied and if you get Nvidia you will likely experience the same degree of driver issues at this point.
 
Because mostly Nvidia does not optimize newer games on their previous generations, you can tell by looking at the standings of Vega 56 to the 1080, Vega 64 to the 1080 Ti (way closer then when both generations came out on newer titles). Nvidia does not degrade performance on older games just newer games are not optimized. You can expect Turing to have the same outcome after a couple of years when Ampere is out. If you look at AMD over time, they will optimize for older games mainly because the basic architecture remained close enough. So yes, with Nvidia, when you are looking at two generations behind, which Pascal will be when Ampere is launched, they will not be worth to buy. Really a 2060 Super is almost as fast as a 1080 Ti?


I am not saying Nvidia degrades the performance. They just no longer target optimizations for the specific architectures to bloat the drivers and cause potential issues. Also, Pascal is not a DX12 or Vulkan monster but Turing is, it will taper off eventually. I have seen too many 1080ti's in rough condition to recommend. If yours are fine, then great, but don't expect it to be the case for the others that are out there.
 
Dude, don't go out and flaunt that you can easily buy perfect condition 1080ti's, that's just not true, especially mined on. Unless it is new, you should be replacing thermal pads and paste and cleaning the PCB and heatsink from dust and oily buildup from the thermal pads. Once the silicone pads dry up and you see that oil soaking in your graphics card then dust sticks on all of the components and will eventually cause failures, not to mention the thermal pads have probably already degraded to a hard crumbling plastic feel. I have refurbished about 100 graphics cards last year and I can tell you that I had some really bad ones that required a lot of repair beyond pads and paste. Recommending an 1080ti which the 2070 super eventually will comfortably outperform in modern games by next year due to changes in game engine, driver optimizations, and features.
I'm curious - what all did you have to do besides pads and paste?
 
I'm curious - what all did you have to do besides pads and paste?


Replace worn fans, soak the heatsink from all the dust that was caked on, soak the PCB and scrub all the grime from the silicone grease and dust as well. After all said and done, the cards come out looking and running like new but I have had some really bad ones that had corrosion on the heatsinks and I/O plates that needed to be wire brushed. Depends on the use, and the humidity conditions the cards have been run on. I have seen cards that look like they are 10 years old and they are only a little over 2 years old. Sometimes the ebay sellers will take pictures of the best looking card of the bunch or of the card when it was new. Very deceptive sometimes and that's why I caution people with buying a 1080ti. A lot of members won't go through lengths to repair the cards.

That being said, if anyone here receives something in terrible condition and needs my help to refurbish. I would absolutely do them a favor here and clean their card up if the seller refuses to return or gives them a partial refund to fix the card.
 
I went a little crazy and spent more than I initially wanted but it will last me several years. Six years ago I purchased a 780ftw and still using it right now.

Anyway...

I purchased an EVGA 2070 Super XC Ultra Gaming Tri-Slot card. $530 new. It had good reviews and the cooler works well. I should have all my parts in a week and get to building.

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/kH...-gb-xc-ultra-gaming-video-card-08g-p4-3173-kr
 
I went a little crazy and spent more than I initially wanted but it will last me several years. Six years ago I purchased a 780ftw and still using it right now.

Anyway...

I purchased an EVGA 2070 Super XC Ultra Gaming Tri-Slot card. $530 new. It had good reviews and the cooler works well. I should have all my parts in a week and get to building.

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/kH...-gb-xc-ultra-gaming-video-card-08g-p4-3173-kr
Fantastic choice, that will pair really well with your Ryzen 3600X and make for a pretty balanced system. Now you have the performance you want with the latest features and support for ray tracing and maybe even more interestingly as of late DLSS 2.0 support.
 
Man, a bit off topic but everything in the US is so cheap...
$350 for 1080Ti, what the hell, lol.
I sold my 1080Ti for €500 which is about $550. I even discounted it for the guy since people sell them for €600.

Honestly I don't know why people complain about 1080Ti being outdated.
It's a monster card still and it will stay that way through 2020. I never had issues running Index or games at 4k/120hz. Sure it didn't hit 120hz in many newer titles, but it performed like a boss and it never disappointed me.
Fucking best GPU buy since 2000 (when I started buuijg PCs in parts.
The only reason why I sold it is because I wanted to get the most money out of it before 3xxx series crashes 1xxx price.

And my MSI Gaming X was in pristine condition. Just a tiny bit of dust (about 2.5 years old).
Sure I put some money in my GPU and my sistem so I didn't cheap out on the case. There's basically no dust in it and I don't clean it at all.

I would've upgraded to 2080Ti but since 3080Ti is max 12 months away, probably 6-8, I'll just wait.
 
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Man, a bit off topic but everything in the US is so cheap...
$350 for 1080Ti, what the hell, lol.
I sold my 1080Ti for €500 which is about $550. I even discounted it for the guy since people sell them for €600.

Honestly I don't know why people complain about 1080Ti being outdated.
It's a monster card still and it will stay that way through 2020. I never had issues running Index or games at 4k/120hz. Sure it didn't hit 120hz in many newer titles, but it performed like a boss and it never disappointed me.
Fucking best GPU buy since 2000 (when I started buuijg PCs in parts.
The only reason why I sold it is because I wanted to get the most money out of it before 3xxx series crashes 1xxx price.

And my MSI Gaming X was in pristine condition. Just a tiny bit of dust (about 2.5 years old).
Sure I put some money in my GPU and my sistem so I didn't cheap out on the case. There's basically no dust in it and I don't clean it at all.

I would've upgraded to 2080Ti but since 3080Ti is max 12 months away, probably 6-8, I'll just wait.
No one is saying it isn't still a good GPU. I don't know where anyone is getting this from. But it's a 4 year old card at this point and it makes absolutely no sense to buy a older used GPU when you can have similar or better performance and have the newest features like ray tracing and DLSS on a similarly priced brand new GPU.
 


1080ti overall faster than 2070 Super by small margin, 11% faster than 5700xt.

I would buy 2070 Super new over 1080ti unless the Ti is like $350.
 
The 5700 (with BIOS flash to 5700 XT) or 5700 XT offer the superior bang for the buck in that price range. Ray tracing is still early on, and a 2060 Super or even 2070 Super isn't going to be playing AAA games with ray tracing and maxed out settings in the next few years. If you want to play Minecraft with RTX or some specific game right now, maybe a 2060 Super or 2070 Super would be the way to go over the 5700 / 5700 XT. I think Nvidia really only makes sense when looking at 2080 / 2080 Super / 2080 Ti as they are high performers and will have some more longevity on ray tracing. Or if you really want ray tracing on some specific game right now. 5700 XT easily beats out the 2060 Super and is about ~10% slower give or take compared to a 2070 Super.

Of course some people will mention the driver issues. I've had my 5700 for about a month now on triple monitors (1 x 1440P 144hz freesync, 1 x 1440P 60hz and 1 x old 1600 x 900) so I can't comment on the early drivers, but 20.2.2 and 20.4.1 have been absolutely flawless. No blackscreens or crashes like people mention (I won't count overclocking too far one time and a simple reboot fixed it and then backed down on clocks). Just like in the Hardware Unboxed videos Steve recommends the 5700 XT and has many for his family members PCs I would be in the same camp.

1080 Ti is a great card too but they are selling for a bit too high on eBay or the used market right now. If you can scoop up a good used one for around $300 - $350 instead of the trending ~$450+ price tag it would be a great option.
 
These days, I'd get an RTX card. 2060 Super minimum, if I planned to keep it for a while, it has forward looking, rich features set.

RDNA is pretty much dated already as it's too feature sparse. Lacks not only RT but other features of DX12 Ultimate (Like Variable Rate Shading).

AMD has to get RDNA 2 out to be competitive.
 
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