Lowest spec GPU to hit 144FPS at 1080p?

[Orcvader]

A 580 won't even give 60 FPS maxed out at 1080p in most newer games, don't know why it's being suggested. Freesync or not, especially over a GTX 970. It's just burning money.

Buy nothing unless you're able to get a Vega 56 cheap or 1070/Ti.

Still, OP's main issue he wants to fix is screen tearing and surely Freesync would fix that, and would still look smoother compared to using a GPU without Freesync even with higher FPS. The other alternative option is to maybe sell his current monitor and combine that with his current £350 budget and stretch to a G-sync monitor. Saying that, OcUK seems to have this on offer which is right in his budget (£349.99 as of this time), but then again, he hasn't mentioned what size his current monitor is .

But yes, I do agree if he has to upgrade the GPU, then Vega 56/1070Ti seems to be the sensible option.

 

[Danny75]

Have you tested windowed and windowed borderless, to see if it still screen tears?

 

[HummuH1]

Still, OP's main issue he wants to fix is screen tearing and surely Freesync would fix that, and would still look smoother compared to using a GPU without Freesync even with higher FPS. The other alternative option is to maybe sell his current monitor and combine that with his current £350 budget and stretch to a G-sync monitor. Saying that, OcUK seems to have this on offer which is right in his budget (£349.99 as of this time), but then again, he hasn't mentioned what size his current monitor is .

But yes, I do agree if he has to upgrade the GPU, then Vega 56/1070Ti seems to be the sensible option.

The screen tearing was fixed by using Adaptive Sync at 72 FPS, works fine, looks good without using Freesync.

Current monitor is 24" and also hooked up to a 55" C7 OLED. There's no point in changing monitors for me, if there was an easy/obvious plug and play GPU upgrade to boost to 144 FPS then it would be a no brainer but a new 1070/Ti is above budget, so not worthwhile as everything works fine at the moment. May see if a 2nd hand card comes up within budget as that would seem to be the most sensible option until new cards are out.

 

[HummuH1]

Have you tested windowed and windowed borderless, to see if it still screen tears?

As above, screen tearing is no longer an issue but I didn't test between the two, I didn't have to, simply turning on Adaptive Sync at 50% refresh instantly solved the issue in full screen.

 

[KungFuSpaghetti]

Cheers guys, looks like the usual "hold on for 6 months" and see what happens with pricing of current cards when new releases are out/imminent.

The Freesync thing is a bit of a red herring for me, I bought the monitor as it was a great price. I never really thought Freesync would be used but then again, I didn't realise how bad 80/90 FPS on a 144Hz monitor with no sync'ing could look.

What sort of issues are you meaning, as I'm running a 144hz screen with Freesync, but can't use the latter on my 1070ti. I mainly only play GTA, PUBE-G and Civ 6 all of which fluctuate in FPS, with pube being the worst, as it will go from the 90s to 160fps depending where I am on the map. When fps drops into the 90s though it doesn't look visually any different or worse?

 

[Danny75]

As above, screen tearing is no longer an issue but I didn't test between the two, I didn't have to, simply turning on Adaptive Sync at 50% refresh instantly solved the issue in full screen.

Yeah, was asking because if you tested and found no tearing then it would give you more confidence to buy a faster GPU and see all those frames without 50% Adaptive Sync.

 

[iB CoMpL3XiTy]

@HummuH1 I think you mean Adaptive V-Sync, not Adaptive Sync, definitely not the same thing.

Adaptive V-Sync has a fixed refresh cycle (either you monitors max refresh rate or half of it depending on the option you choose), Freesync would adapt your monitors refresh rate constantly to be inline with your framerate(within a certain range), Plus V-Sync introduces a higher amount of input lag compared to freesync(and g-sync).

You want higher frame rate gaming and no tearing with your freesync monitor, but don't have the budget for a card that can hit 144FPS all the time.
Sensible option is to get the fastest AMD GPU you can, you'll get more than 72FPS (which you're currently getting with 50% Adaptive V-Sync) and no tearing, you may not always get 144FPS but it'll still be a better experience than what you have now.