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Nvidia or AMD for lower end upgrade?

MatteRB26

MatteRB26

MatteRB26

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With Christmas (and potentially new GPU launches) around the corner, I'm considering looking at finally upgrading my trusty 970. Got a new 4k monitor from work and using it on my PC makes gaming far worse as playing at 1080p is so pixelated...

I've been watching the RTX 3060 prices, but I'm wondering if it's worth going an AMD route around a similar price point? I know FSR is coming off the ground, is FSR Vs DLSS something to consider? I'd imagine I'd be looking at around £250-300ish mark.

Should I even keep an eye on the used markets..? I was originally waiting for a friend to upgrade his 1080 so I can take that, but if I could go a little in cost to get a substantial upgrade...?

The 4k screen is only 60hz anyway so I don't need a powerhouse, just something that is possibly a decent 1440p card as it's not quite as bad as 1080p.
 
DLSS is the better option if you want to upscale to 4K. FSR isn't bad, but DLSS is more consistent and more advanced.
 
I noticed the RX6700 cards on OCUK are at quite an attractive price point right now. I think my money would go there rather than the equivalent price point for Nvidia. However DLSS is a great feature that balances the performance books. I have no experience with FSR unfortunately.
 
4k at 60hz can be a challenge for the top end cards, so whichever you go for will have its hands full - DLSS/FSR will help in your case a lot though.

Now FSR 2 is starting to take off you probably can't go wrong with either brand, but if you were buying right now, I'd suggest DLSS as slightly more mature at this stage.

If 6700 is the right price for you, go for it.
 
Thanks for the input. I don't want to game at native 4k, it's nowhere near my budget, it's just having gotten a 4k monitor from work, I launched CSGO on it and it was so *blocky* at 1080p.

If DLSS will help with this in gaming then I'll probably look to get a 3000 card if possible. I'd seen that FSR is taking off but still quite a way behind DLSS?
 
MatteRB26 said:
Thanks for the input. I don't want to game at native 4k, it's nowhere near my budget, it's just having gotten a 4k monitor from work, I launched CSGO on it and it was so *blocky* at 1080p.

If DLSS will help with this in gaming then I'll probably look to get a 3000 card if possible. I'd seen that FSR is taking off but still quite a way behind DLSS?
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If you're playing stuff like CS:GO then I wouldn't worry about it, because even a 6700 (if that's what you have your eye on) can play native 4K in old shooters like this.
 
I do play more than games like wow and CSGO, part of the reason I don't play then more often is the 970 can chug in latest releases. Valheim is another example - having to lower it to around 1080p but it looks so blocky it gives 1994 DOOM vibes :cry: Ready or Not is another title the 970 isn't too happy with over 1080p low too. I'm lucky to get 60ish FPS at 1080p.

Friend has also suggested taking a look at the 2080Ti as I don't have an interest in ray tracing performance, and it has the extra vram that'll help at the higher resolutions, not sure if I'd still be better going for the DLSS route though?
 
MatteRB26 said:
I do play more than games like wow and CSGO, part of the reason I don't play then more often is the 970 can chug in latest releases. Valheim is another example - having to lower it to around 1080p but it looks so blocky it gives 1994 DOOM vibes :cry: Ready or Not is another title the 970 isn't too happy with over 1080p low too. I'm lucky to get 60ish FPS at 1080p.

Friend has also suggested taking a look at the 2080Ti as I don't have an interest in ray tracing performance, and it has the extra vram that'll help at the higher resolutions, not sure if I'd still be better going for the DLSS route though?
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FWIW, I still have my 970 and use it on an old plasma TV for playing PC and retro games. As you know, it's fine for 1080p.

I have a 1440p monitor and a 1080Ti, and that's great in all games, certainly for 60fps+ at reasonable settings. From what I can see in benchmarks, you'd need a 3060/3060Ti to match it natively. Obviously those cards support DLSS, but I find most newer titles support FSR, or more usually have their own inbuilt scaler, so it's not a feature I crave. For £200-300 I think you are looking at 3060 or 6600.

I'm personally in the same position as you - looking to upgrade the 970 and hitting a 4k screen with probably a 1440p card. I'm going to wait now and see what the next gen brings, as I think there really isn't a "great" 1440p/4k-ish card available right now.
 
JediFragger said:
In a year it'll be well into the lead as it's just had a big quality bump with 2.1 and can be used with all cards even those from years ago. Look ahead and not back :)
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Easy on the trigger, they spent all that time trying to make parity with DLSS.
 
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nomadd said:
FWIW, I still have my 970 and use it on an old plasma TV for playing PC and retro games. As you know, it's fine for 1080p.

I have a 1440p monitor and a 1080Ti, and that's great in all games, certainly for 60fps+ at reasonable settings. From what I can see in benchmarks, you'd need a 3060/3060Ti to match it natively. Obviously those cards support DLSS, but I find most newer titles support FSR, or more usually have their own inbuilt scaler, so it's not a feature I crave. For £200-300 I think you are looking at 3060 or 6600.

I'm personally in the same position as you - looking to upgrade the 970 and hitting a 4k screen with probably a 1440p card. I'm going to wait now and see what the next gen brings, as I think there really isn't a "great" 1440p/4k-ish card available right now.
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It's for sure a great 1080p card, until I got the work monitor upgrade I had far less desire to upgrade it. If DLSS isn't such a huge factor then I may well consider the AMD route if I can stretch to a 6800 (used of course). I'm hoping that come 2023 prices will have dropped and there'll be a dumping ground of used GPUs from the next gen releases
 
JediFragger said:
You come across as a faiiiiirly heavy Nvidia fanboi so not sure your opinion is fair or balanced dude ;)
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Why would I be seen as a fanboy when it was the truth? FSR was behind...

It seems a projection from you in all honesty. Especially since you seem to think emotionally about how FSR is going to be oh so much better with no evidence of such, maybe you are right though, none of us know.
 
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why do you need 4k, just get a 34" ultra wide monitor at 3440x1440 they are a huge step up from a 1080 and you don't need a 3080+ to power them

if a 3060 is struggling now at 4k just think where it will be in 1-2 years, you will be at 30fps or something with low/med settings
 
arknor said:
why do you need 4k, just get a 34" ultra wide monitor at 3440x1440 they are a huge step up from a 1080 and you don't need a 3080+ to power them

if a 3060 is struggling now at 4k just think where it will be in 1-2 years, you will be at 30fps or something with low/med settings
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Because 34" would be way too big, already got a second ultrawide work monitor that I'll be using vertically. I prefer the screen estate of 4k over 3440x1440 for work and it's a work monitor. I'm not looking for something capable of blasting through 4k, even 1440p looks alright on the monitor, but 1080 is just extremely blocky in some games when using my PC on it and even 1440p is too much for the 970 in a fair number of titles these days.
 
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