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Your current GPU buying strategy
- Thread starter Troezar
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Soldato
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I think this question boils down on what you already have. So if you have a fancy display and you need to feed it, then get the best matched GPU you can afford that comfortably deals with it. If you plan on buying the GPU and then start realising the display or then the cpu is holding you back then you should have thought about the wider picture before spending all the budget on one component.
As all of the above can be quite expensive now, reacting after a major upgrade could be too late and going for balance makes the most sense.
As all of the above can be quite expensive now, reacting after a major upgrade could be too late and going for balance makes the most sense.
I spent a small fortune upgrading my entire computer to the tune of just over £2k and was waiting on a graphics card from nvidia or amd but not paying these stupid prices any more so I have bought a Mac studio instead of spending near 2k on a gpu and will sell the new build as I’m done with pc gaming it’s just got ridiculous
Associate
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I redid my pc about just over 2 years ago, went for a 3080 and was lucky to get an msrp one. I've never been a compulsive upgrader, generally getting something once I couldn't get performance I wanted. The plan was to not upgrade this generation, and after seeing what has been released, I'm DEFINITELY not going to for now.
4090 is too damn expensive, and there are compromises everywhere (case, psu, questionable frame rare/latency figures, house might burn down... ). AMD equivalent is more of an appealing option to me, but there is nothing like the performance increase I'd expect. £650 A LOT for me to spend on a gpu, and there's no way I'm spending more right now - even after selling my gpu, realistically it'll cost 400 for what isn't a huge increase at all.
At the moment, performance for me is absolutely fine too - I'll be surprised if I'm looking to upgrade in the following gen, but I'll have more of an open mind on that. Cost and power are key drivers.
4090 is too damn expensive, and there are compromises everywhere (case, psu, questionable frame rare/latency figures, house might burn down... ). AMD equivalent is more of an appealing option to me, but there is nothing like the performance increase I'd expect. £650 A LOT for me to spend on a gpu, and there's no way I'm spending more right now - even after selling my gpu, realistically it'll cost 400 for what isn't a huge increase at all.
At the moment, performance for me is absolutely fine too - I'll be surprised if I'm looking to upgrade in the following gen, but I'll have more of an open mind on that. Cost and power are key drivers.
Soldato
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Yeah the AMD cards although nice are not a large enough leap so far to justify dipping into Bill. Prices later next year and the refreshes might change that. Even nvidia's offerings below the 4090 wont offer much of an improvement considering how much they want for them.
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It's a level of madness - I have a 144hz screen, so could push it harder and therefore have scope for an upgrade, but it's not as if the 3000/6000 series suddenly became bad.
It's a concerning thing to say/think, but this is likely to be my last high end PC if component prices stay the way they are. I'm just a sucker for frame rates, which is the whole reason I restarted PC gaming in the first place, but as things stand the cost of entry is ridiculous - It's starting to make my guitar habit look cheap!
Mid range moving forward looks to be more expensive than historic high end prices, which is almost the opposite of progress.
It's a concerning thing to say/think, but this is likely to be my last high end PC if component prices stay the way they are. I'm just a sucker for frame rates, which is the whole reason I restarted PC gaming in the first place, but as things stand the cost of entry is ridiculous - It's starting to make my guitar habit look cheap!
Mid range moving forward looks to be more expensive than historic high end prices, which is almost the opposite of progress.
Soldato
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Well we were water tortured that all you have to do is turn down a setting and they run everything just fine. So would think this advise still applies? After all these cards we have are the ones that keep on giving.
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Oh, I'll turn them down if necessary, no problem. Turn down settings or spend a grand is a relatively easy decision!
Soldato
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Pretty much in the same boat as you - 3060ti is serving me well and I have no desire to drop a grand on an upgrade.
Might be tempted by the mid range AMD offerings but otherwise happy to wait until the next (or later) gen....or something 3080 or above once the second hand value falls more (<£300)
Might be tempted by the mid range AMD offerings but otherwise happy to wait until the next (or later) gen....or something 3080 or above once the second hand value falls more (<£300)
I use a simple formula for GPU's
The new GPU I buy has to be at least 50% faster than my current one, for the same price I paid. Until a card comes around that does that. I don't buy.
Nowadays, with the stagnation or even regression in price to performance it just means longer and longer between upgrades. Which suits me as I don't have to allocate as much disposable income to my PC savings pot, as I won't be privy to the new trend of paying more.
The new GPU I buy has to be at least 50% faster than my current one, for the same price I paid. Until a card comes around that does that. I don't buy.
Nowadays, with the stagnation or even regression in price to performance it just means longer and longer between upgrades. Which suits me as I don't have to allocate as much disposable income to my PC savings pot, as I won't be privy to the new trend of paying more.
I wonder what will happen come black friday/cyber monday. Lets see if any tasty deals appear.
Nvidia? Not likely for the Rtx 40. Maybe some discount for the Rtx 30 to shift them
I've just realised I read your initial post wrong.
Same here Bill. Having said that, I could buy a 4090 fe and it would fit in my current case just fine (plenty of people with fractal meshify c posting photos on reddit and no issues with cable clearance either) and also my psu is also perfectly good to be powering it especially when you look at the actual power consumption in games, doesn't use that much more than a 3090ti but obviously is providing a considerable jump. I don't think there have been reports of the FE catching fire either? I wouldn't be paying any extra for AIB models.
However, no matter what, I am not paying £1+k for a gpu.
7900xtx is tempting me though as after selling 3080, it would cost £400/500 (assuming sell 3080 for £500-600 and can get 7900xts for 1k), which isn't too bad but as we both know, a 3080, 3090, 6800xt/6900xt are all still perfectly capable especially with dlss/fsr for now (and potentially FG from either amd or/and nvidia in the future)
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My last card was a 1660 Super and it was a great card. Served me well and it was only really PCVR that made me want to upgrade, although the 1660 still managed PCVR with medium settings. I got a 3060Ti FE for about £360 and it's a pretty big step up, so excellent value in my eyes. I then put the 1660 Super in my son's computer and he's happy as well!
Well said Bill. But do you think 10GB will suffice that long? Your best bud here has been arguing for two years now that it is not enough. If you don’t upgrade next gen either that’s 4 more years at 10GB!
Jokes aside I am with you. I will more than likely sticking with my 3080 Ti until next gen cards are out. Hopefully by then AMD or Nvidia will provide us with a meaningful upgrade in the £600-£700 range and also the pound improves. In the meantime I am sure my 3080 Ti will do just fine. I will only worry once we start getting Unreal Engine 5 games and I don’t think those are around the corner.
As for answering the OP. My strategy has historically been to sell just before new cards are out and add £100 or so to it and get what’s new. Also I have taken the opportunity handed to me by the market to sell cards went up in price after buying them. Did it with 3-4 cards now, but my most successful by far has been making over £1000 profit on my 3080 FE selling it to CEX (sold it for £1620) at the hight if mining. I then got a 3070 FE and sold that at around £90 loss after about a year and added an extra £185 to get a 3080 Ti for £575.
Some may say I gave Jensen a lot of money, but truth is it was the other way around
Soldato
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I have probably said this before but I am really torn at the moment.
I bought a 3840x1600 monitor a few years ago and while it is an amazing monitor, it relied on the purchase of a decent gpu. Course prices and availability went crazy after I bought the monitor so my plans collapsed. With the launch of the 4000 series I am torn between buying a 4090 and getting a new monitor (3440x1440 would increase performance by up to 25%). If I get the 4090, well that's it for a few years, but if I get the new monitor then I would still be in the market for a better gpu - just not a 4090. But at the moment the 4080 looks way underpowered. In general I am very unhappy with NVIDIA pricing. My overall feeling there is that none of them are good value. For the first time in a very long time, I am looking at amd's offerings with interest. The 7900xtx looks like it will beat the 4080 on everything including price. So, I don't know. What was supposed to be an easy decision this year is now very uncertain.
I bought a 3840x1600 monitor a few years ago and while it is an amazing monitor, it relied on the purchase of a decent gpu. Course prices and availability went crazy after I bought the monitor so my plans collapsed. With the launch of the 4000 series I am torn between buying a 4090 and getting a new monitor (3440x1440 would increase performance by up to 25%). If I get the 4090, well that's it for a few years, but if I get the new monitor then I would still be in the market for a better gpu - just not a 4090. But at the moment the 4080 looks way underpowered. In general I am very unhappy with NVIDIA pricing. My overall feeling there is that none of them are good value. For the first time in a very long time, I am looking at amd's offerings with interest. The 7900xtx looks like it will beat the 4080 on everything including price. So, I don't know. What was supposed to be an easy decision this year is now very uncertain.
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