This will probably be a really common question. I’ve decided to upgrade my PC with a new GPU for Shadowlands.
Currently my setup is:
i7-7700k
Sapphire Nitro+ RX580 8GB
NVMe SSD
32GB 3200mhz RAM
I’m currently using an old BENQ 27" 1080p 120hz monitor paired up with an ancient 14" (maybe? no idea tbh) 75hz monitor.
Nevertheless, I’m really tired of AMD drivers and stuff and I’m going back to nvidia GPU.
I’d like to buy a new GPU together with a new second monitor. Currently I’m looking at 27" 1080p 144hz freesync IPS monitors (specifically I found an LG that I like), but since I won’t be buying until black friday, I might as well find a cool 1440p deal, but I insist on high refresh rate, and since I barely play any FPS games, I’m good with IPS due to the better colors. My current BENQ is TN and even though I’m actually happy with it, I mostly play WoW and response time isn’t thaaaat big of a deal.
On to the GPU now. I was thinking about waiting until Nvidia’s 30 series release statement, because I was really confused on what should I buy, and so I did. Problem is, that happened, and now I’m even more confused. Should I buy a 3060? Should I buy a 3070? Should I try to find a 2070 Super bargain?
How cheap of a 2070 should I be looking at if it would be actually a good deal?
Should I invest 100 euros more into a 3070 instead of a 3060?
Money’s not the problem, but I wouldn’t want to be overbuying to be honest, considering the current world situation (and my girlfriend’s high pitched yelling voice).
I’d like my GPU to be relevant for at least some time (± 5 years), and I won’t change any of my other hardware any time soon unless it fails, since I bought it with the idea to use it for a long time.
TLDR: I’ll be buying a GPU and a new second monitor, and I’d like to save some cash, can you help me with a decision please?
For WoW ultrawide is really cool (and other games too). I use 3440x1440 at 75Hz (ultrawide 1440p). As for the GPU - RTX 2070 Super sales will be interesting. In theory RTX 3070 replaces it at this price point but very early on there will be a price disparity. If you want to play in DXR games more like Cyberpunk then bit extra for Ampere could really be justified. 3060 wasn’t announced and it will take some time before announcement and then release. IMHO not worth the wait and so on.
If you want to stay at 1080p or even 1440p without playing more demanding games then the GPU could also be tier lower if you really want to make the whole thing cheap.
I’m using a 750W Platinum PSU, and considering it currently manages my hungry RX580, I doubt a 3070 would be a problem. Sure, they haven’t announced 3060 yet, but we can be pretty sure now that it will be in the same price range as 2060 Super (~350$).
I am going to wait and see the price drops, but considering the huge buff on the 30 series, at what price point would a 20 super series card be worth it?
Also, after watching some videos about 30 series today, I realised that they’re actually comparing them to the 20 series, not 20 super. There’s about 20% difference between 20 and 20 super for each GPU, so in reality the 30 won’t be as high jump as they showed, it’s all just a marketing strategy. In reality we will get like maybe 25% more than the predecessor (20 super)?
Can’t wait to see those benchmarks.
Honestly if 3060 is going to be anything like 2080, I’m not sure if it’s not worth the wait, I guess I can live 1-2 more months with my RX580 until I can get my hands on a 3060. Honestly I’m really looking at something that will serve me for long time and is a great value for money. I’m not one of those people that upgrades every one or two years.
If you’re not considering a monitor change, my suggestion is go with an used 1070, or a new 2060. 2070 is already overkill.
Everything else to play @1080p is a waste of money in my opinion.
I got a 1060 and it works plenty fine, some compromises in details but solid quality and fps with no issue.
For me and if it’s seen to be correct once reviews come in the 3080 is enough of an upgrade from 2080ti which I have had since 2018, so still worth an upgrade there for me.
My 950watt psu will do it no problem. I’ll just give my 2080ti to my friend for nothing, be a nice upgrade from the 1050 he has so that should make him happy.
don’t buy a 27" 1080p monitor, it doesn’t look good. get a VA or IPS panel, yeah.
if you only wanna play wow, even at 1440p 144/165, a 3070’s almost certainly overkill. but that kinda performance at $399 you’d be silly to buy anything else (other than 3080 and 3090, of course, but that’s even more overkill). someone would have to practically be giving away used 20 series cards it to be worth considering over a new graphics card that matches or beats the 2080 ti at $399.
-if 27", go for 1440P not 1080, else it will be blurry due to the low pixel density on the bigger screenspace
-go for 1440P 144Hz with a nano ips like the LG Ultragear e.g. (got the LG 27GL850-B and it’s awesome :D)
-get the 3070 if you got the money and don’t want to upgrade the next years, the value is insane and also think about the new features of the ampere series
Or an ultrawide. I have 3440x1440 at 75Hz and it rocks.
Shame that AMD marketing is lacking. They are launching “soon” yet we have zero knowledge what. When 3080 is so “cheap” there ought to be something spectacular…
After experiencing 144Hz, i could not play on a 75Hz anymore
I doubt AMD will have something insane like the 3090.
It is also their first gen raytracing GPUs, so we will see…
And don’t forget the advantages in AI and other exclusive software features Nvidia offers (also better drivers :p).
If AMD does not offer an equivalent to DLSS 2.0, then they are in big trouble no matter how good their navi2 is.
Non Factory Overclock versions of the cards are cheaper than Founders Edition from Nvidia. Factory Overclock cards are more expensive.
Seen 3080 priced at £600-650 for non-overclocked and £750-900 for overclocked version.
ASUS recommends replacing your PSU if it’s several years old as the power requirements are tight and needs a responsive PSU to give power when card needs it. Especially with the STRIX OC version that takes power from PCIE slot and 3x 8pin connectors for a total of 400watts.
Old PSU’s may work, may not. If not, expect stability issues such as blue screens and other effects of a card not getting enough power. May even shut a PC down if a PSU is unable to regulate the power properly.
Ways to check PSU:
How old is it? Older it is, the more likely you’re going to need to replace it for a new one.
Have you been stressing it. Any system that runs a PSU at 90% or more, you’re stressing it as there’s not much free leeway.
Running power hungry apps such as keeping a GPU crunching numbers for long periods such as bitcoin mining, data crunching for finding cures to diseases or SETI number crunching on radio waves. Even doing long CUDA jobs such as video converting can put strain on PSU.
The question is how long those long high power uses have been done and how old the PSU is. The 30x0 series cards use a lot of power and require a PSU to be in fit condition on the 12v rail.
So add that to any upgrade cost if you feel you may need to quickly get a PSU if your old one causes problems.
That’s if going for 3000 series, but even higher 2000 RTX cards are the same so make sure your PSU is up to the task.
There’s less risk of non-factory overclocked cards though so more leeway as less power is used.
With a RTX 3070, a PSU calculator recommends me have at least a 500W PSU. Mine’s less than 2 years old, it still has many many years of warranty. No way am I changing that before it dies and it’s out of warranty, it was expensive as hell (for my standards at least). Thing is, I don’t want to wait more to buy a new GPU, and I’ll probably just get a RTX3070 ASAP if I can get my hands on one (if there’s enough stock). I guess that a 3070 would serve me at least 1 expansion more than a 2060/3060 etc etc.
I’ve also decided on trying to get a good 1440p monitor. As I mentioned earlier, I was checking out those LG Ultragear ones.
I don’t like ultrawide, I’d rather be able to split into 2 screens and move my second screen freely.
VA is really, really, really bad! Please, don’t even consider one. I checked far too many of those and they all sucked big time.
I’m actually currently playing on a TN 27" 1080p monitor, and to be honest I’m really happy with it. I don’t see a reason changing it anytime soon. Pixel density is more than fine. I just need a second monitor, and I decided on getting something on the better side (IPS 144hz 1440p), since if I buy a 1080p and less hz that wouldn’t really be an upgrade from the one I currently have. I’ll just switch this one to the side as my second monitor. It’s a BENQ XL2720T, I think it was pretty much a high end monitor back in the days, considering it was always on pro’s desks on all CS tournaments.
I am NEVER EVER going to buy anything AMD anymore. Their drivers are the worst experience that I’ve had since Creative ones. Thank God this GPU was a gift from a friend’s mining rig. I really don’t care how more expensive are Intel/Nvidia, or how worse they are, their support is just flawless.
I just upgraded to 2080ti (yes, I know there’s the 30-series coming - but they look crap) I wanted to build a “Snow White” environment and so I went with 2080ti Strix White Edition. It works like a charm with my brand new Samsung Odyssey G9 screen. It’s simply INSANE - just waiting for Shadowlands to be launched!
your cpu and gpu are a good pair. if you bought a better gpu the cpu would bottleneck, especially since wow is very cpu dependant.
if you really wanan upgrade you should build a new pc.
the worst thing you can do is buy a new gpu and then see zero change in performance because the cpu is holding you back.
are you getting low fps or why do you want to upgrade?
What made you think that 30 series are bad? Even without any benchmarks yet, it’s really safe to say that 30 series are way way better than 20s. It’s not even a debate. Obviously next generation should be better than the previous, why would they do a new generation if not? My honest opinion (and I’m not trying to sound like a d*ck or something at all!) is that you’re just trying to make yourself feel better after a really bad purchase. Nevertheless, cudos for the clean build. I’m not a big fan of white and widescreen to be honest, but I really like your rig, especially that stool that you use to put your feet on
he did not mean that the new cards are bad. he meant that they look bad visually. he cares more about what a graphics card looks like than the performance so please just ignore him.
most people who play wow have no idea about hardware just like that guy.
the 30 series is the most amazing gpu release ever but i dont think your cpu could cope with them so unless you build a new pc i wouldnt bother, or do you just want to change your gpu to nvidia but the same performance?
100% DO NOT buy a 27" monitor at 1080p. The pixel density is horrible and it is going to be extremely blurry so definitely buy a 1440p monitor with high refresh rate.
Wait and buy the RTX 3070. I have looked at the prices and they are still not adjusted to reflect the new cards. Things are still too expensive so the best thing you can do to save money is to buy the RTX 3070. If you play on 1440p your CPU will not bottleneck since the GPU will get more use at higher resolution.
If you want a monitor recommendation you have to tell us what country you in live since it depends where you buy from.
and if you want a ultrawide monitor i would go for this one. if you buy a 3070 you will have more than enough performance to run wow in ultrawide so if you like how it looks and youre fine with the higher price this is a good choice.
Aside of the visual aspect there can be actual value/money. Right now used cards or clearance on existing Turing cards can create super value on some models. And there is the % faster paradox.
Say card A is 30% faster than card B. If you have card A and you are having problems with a game getting like 30 FPS and you want it to be more fluid then the card B will give you on average 39 FPS - that’s not really an “upgrade”. And videocardz did leak some benchmarks showing even like +25% for 3080 over 2080 Ti. So IMHO if someone got good price on 2080 Ti then the 3080 won’t be an actual upgrade. 3090 could be, 3080 Ti that “will” happen could be in specific scenarios, or premium priced high OC variant of the 3080 (there are around 3 bins of 3080 differing by frequency which is the result of silicon quality).
RTX 3080 is here to make GTX 1080Ti owners to upgrade and likely RTX 2070 S/non-S to upgrade to a higher performance tier alongside say, Cyberpunk release.
Reviewers got their 3080 already and it will be important to check the % for desired resolution and then games and make a decision. For short time Turing will be under-valued (and also Navi 2 will come along).
Or 1440p ultrawide (3440x1440) - this looks really nice. If someone isn’t into shooters and other games demanding very high refresh rates this is a good option to check (my LG can do 75Hz and isn’t the newest tool in the shed).
Some countries/region already have discounts but didn’t saw it in EU yet pretty much. On the second hand market however RTX 3070 non-S is even price like used RTX 2060
I wanted to build a “Snow White” environment and so I went with 2080ti Strix White Edition. It works like a charm with my brand new Samsung Odyssey G9 screen. It’s simply INSANE - just waiting for Shadowlands to be launched!
