GPU upgrade decisions, decisions..

redarrow

redarrow

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So I'm looking to upgrade my GPU end of this month..

Currently I have a GTX650 and with the last steam sale I picked up "Rise of the Tomb Raider", even though it meets the minimum requirements it's only really playable at lowest settings, on medium I get crappy 10-15 FPS.. Played it like that for about 8 hours and felt kinda ill.. :sick: Anyway, I've been wanting to upgrade it for a while and now is seeming like a good time.

I haven't fully fixed my budget yet, but I'll definitely have at least R7k to throw at it, possibly I might be able to stretch a bit over R8k (currently selling some stuff on Bidorbuy which will be going towards this). If I can exceed R8k I think a GTX1070 would start to look real pretty.. :D

However assuming I can't manage that I gotta choose between a GTX1060 and a RX-480 which is driving me nuts. In the past I've pretty much always used Nvidia, chiefly because I know they work on Linux, while I primarily game on Windows (due lack of choice) I do also game on Linux when possible. I understand that AMD GPU's are much better supported on Linux these days though I have no personal experience, can anyone attest to that?

Another thing to consider is that my MB supports Crossfire, which could make the RX-480 a bit longer lasting (could buy another one in a year or two), however I have zero experience using dual GPU's though so I don't know how worth it this really is. I should probably also point out that my current display is 1080p, when I next replace it I will probably go for 1440p (or better) but I have no short term plan to do that, still pretty happy with 1080p.

And then yet another thing that matters a real lot to me is noise level, most reviews seem to focus on noise level while gaming but this is less important IMHO as I'm mostly wearing headphones when gaming anyway, so I really appreciate a GPU with a super quiet idle, in the past I once owned a GPU that was pretty noisy even when idling and it really irritated me.

Finally I'm still not entirely sure where I'm gonna buy the darn thing once I've actually decided on a GPU to get.. Any recommendations? I've been looking at Wootware as their prices seem really good but I've never used them before.
 
^, all I can really help you with is the Wootware point...they're excellent.

For the rest, RX 480 and GTX 1060 would both serve really well at 1080p...your money, your problem :o
 
Would you mind getting a 2nd GPU? If not, I would suggest that you take a look at Carbonite and maybe get yourself a 2nd hand card. Most dudes are selling off there last gen cards to fund their purchases for the newer gen cards so I figure you might be able to pick yourself up a decent card with that budget.
 
I'd go with the RX480 from wootware, I would wait for a couple of more after market cards that are being released within the next couple of weeks and choose from those.
 
a friend just bought a msi 1070 from landmark and he very happy
 
Thanks for the replies guys..
I think I'll use Wootware, can't really find anything negative on them so..

As to second hand, not totally against it, but pretty much all my GPU's in the past have been 2 or 3 generations behind, I think for once I wanna be ontop of things.. :p

I'm gonna see how the budget runs, perhaps I can scrape together enough bread for the GTX1070 and then not have to make this choice.

Does anyone have personal experience using both Shadowplay and whatever the AMD equivalent is? I used Shadowplay a lot back when I played WoW, was a feature I rather enjoyed.
 
redarrow said:
Thanks for the replies guys..
I think I'll use Wootware, can't really find anything negative on them so..

As to second hand, not totally against it, but pretty much all my GPU's in the past have been 2 or 3 generations behind, I think for once I wanna be ontop of things..

I'm gonna see how the budget runs, perhaps I can scrape together enough bread for the GTX1070 and then not have to make this choice.

Does anyone have personal experience using both Shadowplay and whatever the AMD equivalent is? I used Shadowplay a lot back when I played WoW, was a feature I rather enjoyed.
Click to expand...
The RX 480's are mental in Crossfire - when supported. It's also a decent single card. The idea is to get one now and then another one later when more funds become available. The GTX 1060 is a slightly better single card, but there's no option of SLI with it. A GTX 1070 on the other hand, is just an amazing card - think of the hype the 970 created and how it became most people's go to card for price/performance. And it can run faster than a Titan X if the stars align. It also costs a bit more, but what you want if you're thinking of 1440p on a single card. After much mulling, it's the card I'll be getting. Probably a Zotac, because who doesn't want a 5-year warranty?!
 
redarrow said:
I haven't fully fixed my budget yet, but I'll definitely have at least R7k to throw at it, possibly I might be able to stretch a bit over R8k (currently selling some stuff on Bidorbuy which will be going towards this). If I can exceed R8k I think a GTX1070 would start to look real pretty.. :D
Click to expand...

Buy this then http://www.wootware.co.za/galax-70n...gb-gddr5-pci-e-3-0-desktop-graphics-card.html

Rather buy a single powerful gpu than two lower ones in sli/cf. sli/cf uses more power (requires a decent psu) and games don't always scale that well in sli/cf. The 1070 will serve you very well in in 1080 & 1440 resolutions.
 
redarrow said:
Thanks for the replies guys..
I think I'll use Wootware, can't really find anything negative on them so..

As to second hand, not totally against it, but pretty much all my GPU's in the past have been 2 or 3 generations behind, I think for once I wanna be ontop of things.. :p

I'm gonna see how the budget runs, perhaps I can scrape together enough bread for the GTX1070 and then not have to make this choice.

Does anyone have personal experience using both Shadowplay and whatever the AMD equivalent is? I used Shadowplay a lot back when I played WoW, was a feature I rather enjoyed.
Click to expand...

If you are willing to wait 2 weeks I will have stock of the ASUS TURBO-GTX1070-8G GeForce GTX 1070 8GB GDDR5 256-bit PCI-Express 3.0 Desktop Graphics Card for R7800 ,I can even take your old gtx 650 as trade-in and reduce the price a bit :p
 
redarrow said:
Thanks for the replies guys..
I think I'll use Wootware, can't really find anything negative on them so..

As to second hand, not totally against it, but pretty much all my GPU's in the past have been 2 or 3 generations behind, I think for once I wanna be ontop of things.. :p

I'm gonna see how the budget runs, perhaps I can scrape together enough bread for the GTX1070 and then not have to make this choice.

Does anyone have personal experience using both Shadowplay and whatever the AMD equivalent is? I used Shadowplay a lot back when I played WoW, was a feature I rather enjoyed.
Click to expand...
Check GTX GAMING for great deals as well.

Good service to :)
 
ponder said:
Buy this then http://www.wootware.co.za/galax-70n...gb-gddr5-pci-e-3-0-desktop-graphics-card.html
Click to expand...
Saw that one .. How is Galax though? Have honestly never heard of the brand.

Gtx Gaming said:
If you are willing to wait 2 weeks I will have stock of the ASUS TURBO-GTX1070-8G GeForce GTX 1070 8GB GDDR5 256-bit PCI-Express 3.0 Desktop Graphics Card for R7800 ,I can even take your old gtx 650 as trade-in and reduce the price a bit :p
Click to expand...
Well I like the sound of that price, but two weeks is like 14 days man :eek: .. Also I'm not super fond of Asus but I can't remember why. :p

I'm gonna have my budget properly fixed by tomorrow, will check my options then.
 
redarrow said:
Saw that one .. How is Galax though? Have honestly never heard of the brand.


Well I like the sound of that price, but two weeks is like 14 days man :eek: .. Also I'm not super fond of Asus but I can't remember why. :p

I'm gonna have my budget properly fixed by tomorrow, will check my options then.
Click to expand...
Asus is amazing
 
djbrendan said:
Asus is amazing
Click to expand...
Don't worry, I'm sure my reasoning is flawed.. Now that I think of it, I owned an Asus Transformer Tf101 and was happy with it for many years, perhaps I'm confusing Asus and Acer now.. :o

Always been kinda partial to MSI and Gigabyte, but I do try avoid getting too attached to brand names.
 
djbrendan said:
Asus is amazing
Click to expand...

Asus make very good products but they're pricey comparatively (note, I attach no value to aesthetics when it comes to things I'm not looking at all the time or handling i.e. I would pay more, relatively-speaking, for a well-designed mouse than I would for a graphics card with colours and an attractive shroud and whatnot).

When it comes to graphics cards, if you're not into pushing the envelope, Powercolor, Galax, Sapphire make solid cards with solid pricing. It's when you decide you want a little more out of the card (overclocking) that you want to buy into better cards from them or an Asus, Gigabyte etc. More power phases, better cooling solutions, better VRM's can all add to the overclocking headroom but you have to pay for that. If you're not going to overclock aggressively, there's no real need to overspend (except for the e-peen, I guess).
 
Neoprod said:
Asus make very good products but they're pricey comparatively (note, I attach no value to aesthetics when it comes to things I'm not looking at all the time or handling i.e. I would pay more, relatively-speaking, for a well-designed mouse than I would for a graphics card with colours and an attractive shroud and whatnot).

When it comes to graphics cards, if you're not into pushing the envelope, Powercolor, Galax, Sapphire make solid cards with solid pricing. It's when you decide you want a little more out of the card (overclocking) that you want to buy into better cards from them or an Asus, Gigabyte etc. More power phases, better cooling solutions, better VRM's can all add to the overclocking headroom but you have to pay for that. If you're not going to overclock aggressively, there's no real need to overspend (except for the e-peen, I guess).
Click to expand...
Well got a Gigabyte g1 gaming gtx 1070 for R8300 so just had to grab the opportunity as the galax cars go for R8200
 
Right, got my figures all er, figured. I have a budget of R9k, plus I can stretch a reasonable amount over that as I'll be able to recover some by selling off my GTX650 - I reckon safely R500 (I've seen them sell for more that on Bidorbuy).

So, R9.5k. Definitely a GTX1070, my budget is not scraping so I have no need to be frivolous.. :p

Only question left is which 1070.. more decisions. :p

I'm liking this one a lot: http://www.wootware.co.za/msi-geforce-gtx-1070-gaming-x-8gb-gddr5-256bit-pci-e-3-0-rgb-desktop-graphics-card.html. I like that it doesn't need the fans when under light load.

Any better recommendations? :D
 
redarrow said:
Right, got my figures all er, figured. I have a budget of R9k, plus I can stretch a reasonable amount over that as I'll be able to recover some by selling off my GTX650 - I reckon safely R500 (I've seen them sell for more that on Bidorbuy).

So, R9.5k. Definitely a GTX1070, my budget is not scraping so I have no need to be frivolous..

Only question left is which 1070.. more decisions.

I'm liking this one a lot: http://www.wootware.co.za/msi-geforce-gtx-1070-gaming-x-8gb-gddr5-256bit-pci-e-3-0-rgb-desktop-graphics-card.html. I like that it doesn't need the fans when under light load.

Any better recommendations? :D
Click to expand...
All the reviews have been good. But that's because MSI sent boosted cards to reviewers. Haven't seen one done with an "off the shelf" card though, so can't really tell what the actual performance is. Note that the boost is a feature in the MSI software, so one could also just enable it. Apparently ASUS also send out boosted cards.

The EVGA GTX 1070 SC also limits fans, and is physically smaller than the MSI - not much higher than than your case's cut out. Performance wise it's not much quicker than the FE, but does come with a much better cooler and is much quieter. Also, EVGA don't send out boosted cards. Locally it's the same price as the MSI, and I prefer the look of it, too (never been a fan of the black and red that all manufacturers seem to favour these days).
 
The Voice said:
All the reviews have been good. But that's because MSI sent boosted cards to reviewers. Haven't seen one done with an "off the shelf" card though, so can't really tell what the actual performance is. Note that the boost is a feature in the MSI software, so one could also just enable it. Apparently ASUS also send out boosted cards.

The EVGA GTX 1070 SC also limits fans, and is physically smaller than the MSI - not much higher than than your case's cut out. Performance wise it's not much quicker than the FE, but does come with a much better cooler and is much quieter. Also, EVGA don't send out boosted cards. Locally it's the same price as the MSI, and I prefer the look of it, too (never been a fan of the black and red that all manufacturers seem to favour these days).
Click to expand...
So this one eh? http://www.wootware.co.za/evga-08g-p4-6173-kr-sc-gaming-acx-3-0-geforce-gtx-1070-8gb-gddr5-256-bit-pci-e-3-0-desktop-graphics-card.html Seems to be same price on Wootware as well.. hmm.

Just realised I need some kinda 8 pin PCIE power cable, my PSU just has the 6 pin so gonna need something here too. It's got "modular" cables though so perhaps I can find a 8 pin thingy for it..
 
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