Best mid/upper range video card? 1080/1080Ti, confirmed.

[digi]

What is the go-to video card now around $300-$400? Nvidia chipset..

[SpAmRaY]

TP4 you should have posted by now...what the heck....

[tp4tissue]

no

if you're spending m0ar than $150  ,     get the 1080 (non-ti) for ~$450ish

don't buy anything in between, bad value


If you're spending $100-150,  get the 1050 Ti,   best card for general use, with 4k hevc hardware decoding support.



DO NOT buy the 1060 3GB, 

DO NOT buy the 1060 6GB,   

[SpAmRaY]

no

if you're spending m0ar than $150  ,     get the 1080 (non-ti) for ~$450ish

don't buy anything in between, bad value


If you're spending $100-150,  get the 1050 Ti,   best card for general use, with 4k hevc hardware decoding support.



DO NOT buy the 1060 3GB, 

DO NOT buy the 1060 6GB,   

What if you're spending $250?

[Auk]

What if you're spending $250?

1050 Ti + many vegetables

[SpAmRaY]

What if you're spending $250?

1050 Ti + many vegetables

That's a lot of potatoes.....

Wonder if I can offload my 1060 and get a 1050Ti and profit....

[tp4tissue]

What if you're spending $250?

The answer is,  Don't spend $250.. 


This isn't just about performance/ dollar  when you go over the $200 mark.


Because if you pay that amount,  you're not going to upgrade for a WHILE..


So, that card has to last much longer than a $100-150 card.

[Waateva]

1080 definitely, go big or go home.

Nvidia is lame tho

[digi]

GRACIAS

[tp4tissue]

What if you're spending $250?

1050 Ti + many vegetables

That's a lot of potatoes.....

Wonder if I can offload my 1060 and get a 1050Ti and profit....

it  makes sense to get the 1060 if it was months and months ago.

but not at this point..

especially now that we know vega is going to be fine-wine situation like the 290x.

[digi]

Which 1080 is "~$450"??

[tp4tissue]

Which 1080 is "~$450"??

you gotta do some camping at slickdeals.net  and setup a deal alert for 1080

just recently there was  1080 for $478

but the lowest in the past few month, we've seeeen $460 , maybe $450 as well,

https://slickdeals.net/f/10407968-gigabyte-geforce-gtx-1080-directx-12-gv-n1080wf3oc-8gd-8gb-newegg-ebay-apply-code-pcollege10-464-98?src=SiteSearch


https://slickdeals.net/f/10514016-msi-gtx-1080-armor-8g-oc-geforce-gtx-1080-graphic-card-1-66-ghz-core-1-80-ghz-boost-clock-8-gb-gddr5x-478-beach-camera-via-rakuten?src=SiteSearch

[digi]

What about a 1070?

[Waateva]

What about a 1070?

What kind of monitor(s) are you running?

[digi]

What about a 1070?

What kind of monitor(s) are you running?

Just a ****ty 24" Dell.

[Waateva]

What about a 1070?

What kind of monitor(s) are you running?

Just a ****ty 24" Dell.

If it's not 1440p or better, there is honestly no reason to spend $300-400 on a video card right now.  I've got a 290x and I've been contemplating upgrading, but for it to be worthwhile I'd need to upgrade at least one of my monitors to 1440p or better, and then I'd probably have to upgrade CPU, which then means I'd need to upgrade mobo and RAM, and now I'm spending $1000+ more than I thought I was going to.  1050ti is definitely the best bang-for-your-buck right now with mining inflating the prices on AMD cards like the RX 570 or 580, but frankly, right now is a bad time to upgrade GPUs.

[tp4tissue]

If it's not 1440p or better, there is honestly no reason to spend $300-400 on a video card right now.  I've got a 290x and I've been contemplating upgrading, but for it to be worthwhile I'd need to upgrade at least one of my monitors to 1440p or better, and then I'd probably have to upgrade CPU, which then means I'd need to upgrade mobo and RAM, and now I'm spending $1000+ more than I thought I was going to.  1050ti is definitely the best bang-for-your-buck right now with mining inflating the prices on AMD cards like the RX 570 or 580, but frankly, right now is a bad time to upgrade GPUs.

Depending on whether  digi is just watching nuddie flix in 4k,    or actually play games.


if he's just doing naughty internet things,  then 1050ti is the way to go.


but ANY game, 1080p or otherwise,  should  be paired with 1080gtx,   because pretty much all the games have high res shadow, lighting and ambient occlusion nowadays,    these features take alot to render even at 1080p...

[digi]

Hehe, i need it for both bad things and gaming. All things Cyber.

1070 is ~$450, good to go?

[tp4tissue]

Hehe, i need it for both bad things and gaming. All things Cyber.

1070 is ~$450, good to go?

just camp the month, and get 1080 @ ~450..


Good god man, you can hold off on your naughty stuff for a bit.. hahahaha

[digi]

Hehe, i need it for both bad things and gaming. All things Cyber.

1070 is ~$450, good to go?

just camp the month, and get 1080 @ ~450..


Good god man, you can hold off on your naughty stuff for a bit.. hahahaha

LOL

[nugglets]

Hehe, i need it for both bad things and gaming. All things Cyber.

1070 is ~$450, good to go?

The 1070 is ridiculously overpriced right now due to mining. Definitely do not buy one new.

And supposedly the prices on 1080s are going to go up this month as well. This really is a bad time to buy a video card.

I agree with waateva, get a 1050ti or even a used 970 for around $170 IMO. Yes, some of the newest games will need you to turn down shadows or HBAO+ to maintain buttery smooth fps but for the most part the 970 is still a very capable card at 1080p and it's cheap AF.

[tp4tissue]

Hehe, i need it for both bad things and gaming. All things Cyber.

1070 is ~$450, good to go?

The 1070 is ridiculously overpriced right now due to mining. Definitely do not buy one new.

And supposedly the prices on 1080s are going to go up this month as well. This really is a bad time to buy a video card.

I agree with waateva, get a 1050ti or even a used 970 for around $170 IMO. Yes, some of the newest games will need you to turn down shadows or HBAO+ to maintain buttery smooth fps but for the most part the 970 is still a very capable card at 1080p and it's cheap AF.

did they ever fix that memory problem on the 970 ?

But overall,  I don't recommend Any 9 series cards,   because they don't have the full hardware hevc 4k capability for the new uhd blurays..

That's a big issue.

[nugglets]

Hehe, i need it for both bad things and gaming. All things Cyber.

1070 is ~$450, good to go?

The 1070 is ridiculously overpriced right now due to mining. Definitely do not buy one new.

And supposedly the prices on 1080s are going to go up this month as well. This really is a bad time to buy a video card.

I agree with waateva, get a 1050ti or even a used 970 for around $170 IMO. Yes, some of the newest games will need you to turn down shadows or HBAO+ to maintain buttery smooth fps but for the most part the 970 is still a very capable card at 1080p and it's cheap AF.

did they ever fix that memory problem on the 970 ?

But overall,  I don't recommend Any 9 series cards,   because they don't have the full hardware hevc 4k capability for the new uhd blurays..

That's a big issue.

The memory "problem" was honestly overblown. Terrible marketing gimmick? Yes. Actual gameplay problem? Not really.

4k bluray compatibility is a problem for a very small number of people. If you want an easy, cheap upgrade right now it's the best option IMO. Definitely better than a 1050Ti if you're not afraid of used hardware.

As I said before, this is a really awful time to buy a video card.

[tp4tissue]

The memory "problem" was honestly overblown. Terrible marketing gimmick? Yes. Actual gameplay problem? Not really.

4k bluray compatibility is a problem for a very small number of people. If you want an easy, cheap upgrade right now it's the best option IMO. Definitely better than a 1050Ti if you're not afraid of used hardware.

As I said before, this is a really awful time to buy a video card.

the 4gb thing is not to be taken lightly,  because it's a hardware design flaw which conflicted with many game engines.


When it was exposed, they knew that it was unfixable from the hardware/firmware side,   So the speculative remedy of the time was through software..

Now,  there are numerous problems to this,  because software has ever changing upkeep..    Ontop of this ever persistent flaw,  is the ever persistent Latency in response from Nvidia to tailor a fix for any new conflicting software or game.


So... in conclusion.. if you don't want to put up with a potential problem that simply CAN NOT BE FIXED...   do not buy the 970..


The 3.5gb problem is known to introduce severe microstuttering and dpi-latency in many games, as the engine has problem addressing that phantom memory segment.

[nugglets]

The memory "problem" was honestly overblown. Terrible marketing gimmick? Yes. Actual gameplay problem? Not really.

4k bluray compatibility is a problem for a very small number of people. If you want an easy, cheap upgrade right now it's the best option IMO. Definitely better than a 1050Ti if you're not afraid of used hardware.

As I said before, this is a really awful time to buy a video card.

the 4gb thing is not to be taken lightly,  because it's a hardware design flaw which conflicted with many game engines.


When it was exposed, they knew that it was unfixable from the hardware/firmware side,   So the speculative remedy of the time was through software..

Now,  there are numerous problems to this,  because software has ever changing upkeep..    Ontop of this ever persistent flaw,  is the ever persistent Latency in response from Nvidia to tailor a fix for any new conflicting software or game.


So... in conclusion.. if you don't want to put up with a potential problem that simply CAN NOT BE FIXED...   do not buy the 970..


The 3.5gb problem is known to introduce severe microstuttering and dpi-latency in many games, as the engine has problem addressing that phantom memory segment.

Typical tp4, spent a few minutes googling and is now an expert. 

This "problem" has been covered to death. Look it up yourself if you're really interested, OP, but I absolutely wouldn't hesitate to pick one up if it were an upgrade to my current card.

But I don't have time to argue a two year old issue with someone. =)

[tp4tissue]

The memory "problem" was honestly overblown. Terrible marketing gimmick? Yes. Actual gameplay problem? Not really.

4k bluray compatibility is a problem for a very small number of people. If you want an easy, cheap upgrade right now it's the best option IMO. Definitely better than a 1050Ti if you're not afraid of used hardware.

As I said before, this is a really awful time to buy a video card.

the 4gb thing is not to be taken lightly,  because it's a hardware design flaw which conflicted with many game engines.


When it was exposed, they knew that it was unfixable from the hardware/firmware side,   So the speculative remedy of the time was through software..

Now,  there are numerous problems to this,  because software has ever changing upkeep..    Ontop of this ever persistent flaw,  is the ever persistent Latency in response from Nvidia to tailor a fix for any new conflicting software or game.


So... in conclusion.. if you don't want to put up with a potential problem that simply CAN NOT BE FIXED...   do not buy the 970..


The 3.5gb problem is known to introduce severe microstuttering and dpi-latency in many games, as the engine has problem addressing that phantom memory segment.

Typical tp4, spent a few minutes googling and is now an expert. 

This "problem" has been covered to death. Look it up yourself if you're really interested, OP, but I absolutely wouldn't hesitate to pick one up if it were an upgrade to my current card.

But I don't have time to argue a two year old issue with someone. =)

I know everything .. didn't even haz to google..

[digi]

Meh, Google is overrated. I prefer the TP4 Search Engine..

"OK TP4, how much cholesterol is...."

[tp4tissue]

Meh, Google is overrated. I prefer the TP4 Search Engine..

"OK TP4, how much cholesterol is...."

Total Cholesterol below 130 will guarantee you nearly 0% risk of heart disease.


Cholesterol at birth  and   of our wild monkey cousins closely resemble these levels.

[HotRoderX]

another vote for the GTX 1080... you will thank your self. I love mine special for 1080p gaming! There really no point to go bigger other then bragging rights. I got a Gigabyte GTX 1080 with GDDR5X and its simple a beast best bang for your buck! and I got mine at 600.

[digi]

another vote for the GTX 1080... you will thank your self. I love mine special for 1080p gaming! There really no point to go bigger other then bragging rights. I got a Gigabyte GTX 1080 with GDDR5X and its simple a beast best bang for your buck! and I got mine at 600.

Will it handle Diablo 3? I'm pretty serious about Diablo, I'm thinking about going pro..

[tp4tissue]

another vote for the GTX 1080... you will thank your self. I love mine special for 1080p gaming! There really no point to go bigger other then bragging rights. I got a Gigabyte GTX 1080 with GDDR5X and its simple a beast best bang for your buck! and I got mine at 600.

Will it handle Diablo 3? I'm pretty serious about Diablo, I'm thinking about going pro..

you need dual 1080 Ti for Diapr0

[noisyturtle]

Really if you have a GTX 780 or higher you can run any non-vr game out there just fine. There's really truly no need for the Pascal series in today's modern gaming climate except to support gimmicks like 4k.

[tp4tissue]

Really if you have a GTX 780 or higher you can run any non-vr game out there just fine. There's really truly no need for the Pascal series in today's modern gaming climate except to support gimmicks like 4k.

4k gaming is a gimmick..

4k Movies are not.

gtx 780 can't support 4k movies, it doesn't have full hardware acceleration of hevc.

[Waateva]

Really if you have a GTX 780 or higher you can run any non-vr game out there just fine. There's really truly no need for the Pascal series in today's modern gaming climate except to support gimmicks like 4k.

4k gaming is a gimmick..

4k Movies are not.

gtx 780 can't support 4k movies, it doesn't have full hardware acceleration of hevc.

Wtf you on about 4k for again?  digi said he's got a ****ty 24 inch Dell monitor which I guarantee isn't 4k, so why does he need a video card to support 4k?  Sure, he can buy a 1080 or even a 1080ti and not need to upgrade for awhile, but GPU prices are ****ing stupid right now, so giving yourself headroom at this point is a bad idea.  Go cheap to max or near-max 1080p, or if you must, go big and upgrade your GPU, monitor, and probably other things while spend 2-3X what you set out to spend.

[tp4tissue]

Wtf you on about 4k for again?  digi said he's got a ****ty 24 inch Dell monitor which I guarantee isn't 4k, so why does he need a video card to support 4k?  Sure, he can buy a 1080 or even a 1080ti and not need to upgrade for awhile, but GPU prices are ****ing stupid right now, so giving yourself headroom at this point is a bad idea.  Go cheap to max or near-max 1080p, or if you must, go big and upgrade your GPU, monitor, and probably other things while spend 2-3X what you set out to spend.

Hahahahahhaha

4K movies have 4:2:0 on the  chroma,  which means it's full 1080p chroma..

Which means UHD blurays downsampled will actually give you a Significantly more true to life 1080p experience vs standard 1080p blurays.

So the benefit is there, EVEN WITHOUT a 4K panel..


Now,, as for video settings..  if you buy something like a 1050Ti,  that's basically the same performance level as a 7970 released in  2011,  6 years ago..

This is a bad place to be, because it will not be enough for ANY of the latest games coming out,   it's outdated before you even buy it.

It can not support any of the latest competitive games at competitive framerates.


Now, you're gonna say something about 60hz and 60fps.

hahahaha

well, you're wrong again there,  because Nvidia now has something called Fast-Sync..   It uncaps the engine frame rate, and only pulls the lastest triple buffered frame to draw on screen.


In many of the latest competitive games,  Even on 60hz monitors there is a significant reduction in input latency and game response.     This gives anyone playing a Substantial competitive edge..

This latency benefit is especially pronounced at approximately 400-500 fps which is possible with 1080ti using medium-high settings..

because your input timing window is ~ 4 to 6x expanded vs someone on the 1050ti using the same settings.

[tp4tissue]

And on Price..


Nothing on the horizon is going to change the current price structure at least until middle of next year..



Vega is kind of slow (for now)

the Mining is irrelevant,  because even if everyone dumped their mining cards right now,  it's all rx 480 and 580

that won't change the price of  the gtx 1080 which is the best card to get..


It may affect the price of the 1050Ti,   but at the difference of $50,  does that matter ?  might as well buy it now if you're in for the 1050Ti.


But of course one shouldn't buy the 1050Ti  if any amount of gaming is to be done, as it is simply 6 years old performance.

[Waateva]

Wtf you on about 4k for again?  digi said he's got a ****ty 24 inch Dell monitor which I guarantee isn't 4k, so why does he need a video card to support 4k?  Sure, he can buy a 1080 or even a 1080ti and not need to upgrade for awhile, but GPU prices are ****ing stupid right now, so giving yourself headroom at this point is a bad idea.  Go cheap to max or near-max 1080p, or if you must, go big and upgrade your GPU, monitor, and probably other things while spend 2-3X what you set out to spend.

Hahahahahhaha

4K movies have 4:2:0 on the  chroma,  which means it's full 1080p chroma..

Which means UHD blurays downsampled will actually give you a Significantly more true to life 1080p experience vs standard 1080p blurays.

So the benefit is there, EVEN WITHOUT a 4K panel..


Now,, as for video settings..  if you buy something like a 1050Ti,  that's basically the same performance level as a 7970 released in  2011,  6 years ago..

This is a bad place to be, because it will not be enough for ANY of the latest games coming out,   it's outdated before you even buy it.

It can not support any of the latest competitive games at competitive framerates.


Now, you're gonna say something about 60hz and 60fps.

hahahaha

well, you're wrong again there,  because Nvidia now has something called Fast-Sync..   It uncaps the engine frame rate, and only pulls the lastest triple buffered frame to draw on screen.


In many of the latest competitive games,  Even on 60hz monitors there is a significant reduction in input latency and game response.     This gives anyone playing a Substantial competitive edge..

This latency benefit is especially pronounced at approximately 400-500 fps which is possible with 1080ti using medium-high settings..

because your input timing window is ~ 4 to 6x expanded vs someone on the 1050ti using the same settings.

I'll be honest, but I wasn't fully aware that 4k to 1080p downsampling was as good as what it seems to be.  TIL tp4!

That said, I think this is all going to boil down to what digi plans on doing now and in the future with this card.  Not everyone is trying to play the newest games on max settings, and definitely not everyone is trying to play the latest competitive games at competitive framerates.  If digi is just gonna be playing D3 and watching movies or various types ( ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ) I don't think he needs to spend $450+ on a 1080, but if he wants headroom and might want to be playing a lot of newer games at high settings, it might be worth it.  Personally, I think he's gonna have a helluva time finding a 1080 for $450 or even super close to that price, but GL with it! 

That said, I've found that EVGA b-stock cards can come in at a good price and they do allow you to auto-notify so try checking here https://www.evga.com/products/productlist.aspx?type=8 or reddit buildapcsales here https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapcsales/

[tp4tissue]

We have definitely seen gtx 1080 for ~$460 in only the last 2 months..  So.. it's out there on slickdeals.net..

even for $478 most recently..


For user -Digi-  in particular...  well , he might be just watching naughty movies and playing diablo,  or watching naughty movies WHILE watching his bot play diablo..  Don't know,   


But,  overall 1050Ti is just too far behind at this point.

[Waateva]

We have definitely seen gtx 1080 for ~$460 in only the last 2 months..  So.. it's out there on slickdeals.net..

even for $478 most recently..


For user -Digi-  in particular...  well , he might be just watching naughty movies and playing diablo,  or watching naughty movies WHILE watching his bot play diablo..  Don't know,   


But,  overall 1050Ti is just too far behind at this point.

Correct, and there was even a b-stock 1080 for $399 just over 3 months ago, but now the cheapest model for even b-stock is $519.  Most of the super-cheap deals are sold out extremely quickly, so unless digi is sitting around and pounces on it right away, he's not gonna get it.  And if $460 was a low in the last 2 months, and $478 is a low in the last couple weeks, I doubt that number is going to get lower so just under $500 will probably be the "new" low.

And sure, the 1050ti is behind and it's not gonna last 3-4 years, but if he wants to get something to last 9-12 months while playing everything at high-ish settings @ 1080p until the GPU market calms down, it would work fine and he wouldn't have to spend $200+ to do it.  He could also sell the used 1050ti when done to at least make half of what he spent back, so the money still wouldn't be all lost.

[digi]

For user -Digi-  in particular...  well , he might be just watching naughty movies and playing diablo,  or watching naughty movies WHILE watching his bot play diablo..  Don't know,   

hahaha...fairly accurate description (for now). But I also play Street Fighter and want to be somewhat future-proof. Battlefield, etc.

[Waateva]

For user -Digi-  in particular...  well , he might be just watching naughty movies and playing diablo,  or watching naughty movies WHILE watching his bot play diablo..  Don't know,   

hahaha...fairly accurate description (for now). But I also play Street Fighter and want to be somewhat future-proof. Battlefield, etc.

Then you gotta nut up or shut up.  Prepare to spend more and get a 1080, or settle and get a 1050ti or equivalent.

[tp4tissue]

For user -Digi-  in particular...  well , he might be just watching naughty movies and playing diablo,  or watching naughty movies WHILE watching his bot play diablo..  Don't know,   

hahaha...fairly accurate description (for now). But I also play Street Fighter and want to be somewhat future-proof. Battlefield, etc.

Then you gotta nut up or shut up.  Prepare to spend more and get a 1080, or settle and get a 1050ti or equivalent.

IMHO street fighter really requires 1080Ti,  because the engine doesn't support MSAA..

So the only way to get good Antialiasing is through super sampling..

That requires major gpu ponies..

[ArchDill]

1070 Prices are insane right now because of mining

[Waateva]

1070 Prices are insane right now because of mining

A lot of mid-high end cards are insane right now because of mining, which is why it's such a **** time to upgrade.

[digi]

Sounds like I need a 1070..

[tp4tissue]

Sounds like I need a 1070..

1080 or 1080 Ti..

just eat rice and potatoes for a month... 

Save Bux...

[digi]

Sounds like I need a 1070..

1080 or 1080 Ti..

just eat rice and potatoes for a month... 

Save Bux...

Sounds like I need a 1080..

[digi]

Actually wait a minute, good thing I cross referenced Google against the TP4 Search Engine..

http://gpu.userbenchmark.com/

It has the 1070 listed #1, meta score.

[AuthenticDanger]

Actually wait a minute, good thing I cross referenced Google against the TP4 Search Engine..

http://gpu.userbenchmark.com/

It has the 1070 listed #1, meta score.

#4 for value vs 1080 being #1. 1080 is also #2 for speed. The only thing the 1070 wins out on is price (marketshare is a dumb thing to score with).

[digi]

Actually wait a minute, good thing I cross referenced Google against the TP4 Search Engine..

http://gpu.userbenchmark.com/

It has the 1070 listed #1, meta score.

#4 for value vs 1080 being #1. 1080 is also #2 for speed. The only thing the 1070 wins out on is price (marketshare is a dumb thing to score with).

Doh! Good point, Ok I see it now. 1080ti #1, 1080 #2 "effective 3d speed"