Upgrade from HD7870? 970/1060/1050?

[Cookeh]

Hi guys,

Looking to get an GPU upgrade, understandably the 7870 is starting to struggle - even in 3-4 year old games; on top of this I've put up with it sounding like a jet taking off for the last 6 years but I'm tiring of it now. I have a budget of around £150 (top), and I have no objections to buying used.

At the moment, I've been thinking of used 970s or used 1060s. I believe the 1060s are marginally faster and certainly have lower power consumption, with the added bonus of likely having some warranty remaining. What I'm wondering is whether or not the difference between 3GB and 6GB 1060s is worth the price difference and worth it for my usage, where the newest game I play is DOOM (I mostly play older racing games, Borderlands and Fallout 4) and considering I don't mind dropping visuals down (grown very used to low everything!). Also noticed 1050s are available new within budget, are they worth a consideration or? I dont mind AMD either, but know nothing at all about their recent lines and I'm half tempted to experience PhysX, as Ive heard it has quite an impact on Borderlands.

In case it matters, I have only a 530W BeQuiet PSU; it's paired with i5 3570K (currently not clocked but will be soon) and 8GB DDR3. Thanks!

-Cookeh

 

[imginy]

If you dont mind used I heard 7970 are around £50 I think they nearly twice as fast as your 7870.

IMO the only cheap brand new card worth getting is the 470 if you can find one in your budget

 

[Panos]

Hi guys,

Looking to get an GPU upgrade, understandably the 7870 is starting to struggle - even in 3-4 year old games; on top of this I've put up with it sounding like a jet taking off for the last 6 years but I'm tiring of it now. I have a budget of around £150 (top), and I have no objections to buying used.

At the moment, I've been thinking of used 970s or used 1060s. I believe the 1060s are marginally faster and certainly have lower power consumption, with the added bonus of likely having some warranty remaining. What I'm wondering is whether or not the difference between 3GB and 6GB 1060s is worth the price difference and worth it for my usage, where the newest game I play is DOOM (I mostly play older racing games, Borderlands and Fallout 4) and considering I don't mind dropping visuals down (grown very used to low everything!). Also noticed 1050s are available new within budget, are they worth a consideration or? I dont mind AMD either, but know nothing at all about their recent lines and I'm half tempted to experience PhysX, as Ive heard it has quite an impact on Borderlands.

In case it matters, I have only a 530W BeQuiet PSU; it's paired with i5 3570K (currently not clocked but will be soon) and 8GB DDR3. Thanks!

-Cookeh

You have quite a few options on your budget if you want to keep the card in long term, which means good DX12 support.
a) used 290X/390X (non reference models)
b) used RX480 8GB (non reference models) given than new ones have around £200
c) You might be able to get a new RX470 if you search, and especially the Devil one is great card and great overclocker.

 

[C64]

a 4gb 470 seems the best value at the right price of course if paying less or same as a 1050 ti.

 

[arc@css]

In your shoes, I'd try and bag something like a second-hand 290/X or 780Ti.

http://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/AMD-HD-7870-vs-AMD-R9-290/2161vs2171