Looking for a budget GPU for 1080p gaming. 4gb or 8gb?

ED209 · 30 Jul 2019 at 08:51

I would not get a 4gb card. I game at 1080p still and games like the division 2 use 6gb of video ram (I have a 390 8gb) so to future proof a bit I would get 8gb. I know your kids are not going to play div2 but it’s just something to keep in mind for when they get older as games can use over 4gb easily at 1080p

Terrorfirmer · 30 Jul 2019 at 10:41

~>Dg<~ said:
watch you can see that 7950 can often out perform a few of the cards. over all in the tests its faster than the new amds cards and the 1050 not the ti. in some games in can be faster in odd games but not worth 100 quid upgrade.

Mate, what are you talking about? You said the 1050Ti outperforms the 570, then link to a video about the RX560?

There is no debate to be had. The RX570 is leagues ahead of the 1050Ti, they are not remotely close.

The RX570 is also a major upgrade on the 7950. Where are you pulling this 10fps figure from?

Please stop posting crap when you clearly haven't a clue what you're talking about.

HD7950 3GB -> RX570 8GB is a major upgrade. (so is the 4GB model, but might as well get 8GB)

Armageus · 30 Jul 2019 at 11:03

2 Tiers on Logical Increments guide for 7950->570. Worth it imo.

Even excluding the fps increase, which is unlikely to be "only 10fps" (especially in newer games that use >3GB VRAM) then it's a newer, less power hungry card, with lots of newer tech (e.g. Freesync support), and is a brand new card with warranty (which given the age of 7950's now is very relevant)

~>Dg<~ said:
570 is basically identical performance to a 7950. so basically a 570x a 1050 are identical in performance. a 1050 ti is sometimes a couple of fps higher. id try and find something 2nd hand. 970s are like 50-60 quid. 1060s start about 80-90. a 7950 will still play most things at 1080 still. its probably one of the best value cards ever made. to think 7 years on its the same as a amd 570 is amazing.

So much rubbish in this post it's unreal.
- A 570x is not identical in performance to a 1050 (especially given they have 2GB VRAM)
- 970's second hand are not 50-60. Even here on the MM where traditionally everything is cheap, then they are £70+
- 1060 at £80? must be a 3GB version that everyone slagged off on release

Don't get me wrong the 7950/7970/280/280X was a great card, but they are now beginning to show their age

233 · 30 Jul 2019 at 11:10

get yourself into the MM and get something from a decent member that will help out with the warranty side if the worst happens

same budget your pushing into a decent vega 56 and change or if your lucky a 64

Armageus · 30 Jul 2019 at 11:20

ANDREW GREEN said:
This isn't true, this is a comparison of a 470 compared to a 7950 and a 570 is 10% quicker, now with better driver optimisation

~>Dg<~ said:
10 percent. so you going to pay £100 quid for 5-10 fps?

It's almost like you're living in an alternate reality - From that Video:

Doom 7950 - 73 fps
Doom RX470 - 111.5 fps

GTA V 7950 - 61.5 fps
GTA V RX470 - 69 fps

Forza Apex 7950 - 55.4 fps
Forza Apex RX470 - 92 fps

Rot Tomb Raider 7950 - 36.5 fps
Rot Tomb Raider RX470 - 64 fps

Hitman 7950 - 38.5 fps
Hitman RX470 -59.1 fps

The only game they are close in is GTA V which is fairly CPU limited - RX470 is almost double the speed of a 7950 in these games, RX570 is another 10% faster...

Darujhistan · 30 Jul 2019 at 12:00

Buying a 4GB today must only be a last resort.

willhub · 30 Jul 2019 at 14:18

7950 if it's anything like the 7970 is a super power hungry hot head and quite slow by todays standards.

sastusbulbas · 30 Jul 2019 at 14:30

The oldest lad is 15, his pc is my ancient gaming system, 8gb DDR2, Q9550, Asus Maximus Gene 2. 600 odd watt BeQuiet psu, and BeQuiet psu cooler, within Silverstone TJ08B case.

At some point he will have the system in my sig.

Loath to spend too much as both lads need failing HD7950's replaced, and new OS's as I want them on W10 home.

Would like to get them new keyboards and mice too.

Tempted with the 8gb 570 to be honest.

Did manage to clean out one of the old 7950's and ran a few hours in desktop via vga with no issue, but there were glitches on the display when the pc started.

ANDREW GREEN · 30 Jul 2019 at 20:02

~>Dg<~ said:
10 percent. so you going to pay £100 quid for 5-10 fps?

there are numerous videos showing 7950 is literally the same even faster sometimes than a 570x and a 1050 non ti card. driver optimization yeah i can see a little more performance coming from that but paying £100 to come from a 7950 to that basically nothing performance. nah. not worth it..might aswell get a 970 gtx for £60.

You're misunderstanding.

The 570 is 10% faster than a 470

A 570 is about twice as fast as a 7950 - maybe less but it's significantly better at 1080p in modern games

A 570 is nearly twice as fast as a 560 and 1050 give or take

Are you sure you haven't muddled the 570 with the 560?

ANDREW GREEN · 30 Jul 2019 at 20:05

Zernath said:
Exactly. I'm not sure why the 4GB models even exist, as they're not actually that much cheaper, and in some cases are nearly the same price.

I mean you go for 8gb where possible but as a 1080p card are you going to see frame drops because of 4gb anytime soon?

ANDREW GREEN · 30 Jul 2019 at 20:11

ED209 said:
I would not get a 4gb card. I game at 1080p still and games like the division 2 use 6gb of video ram (I have a 390 8gb) so to future proof a bit I would get 8gb. I know your kids are not going to play div2 but it’s just something to keep in mind for when they get older as games can use over 4gb easily at 1080p

A GPU taking 6gb doesn't mean it needs 6gb to avoid dropout though. Hardware unboxed did this video on the 1060 6gb vs 3gb a year ago and @1080p the 3gb is rarely seeing any dropout whatsoever

~>Dg<~ · 30 Jul 2019 at 21:37

yeah its like the 970 and the 3.5gb cry babies at the time very rarely did it make a issue in any real every day scenario. its still pretty strong card now playing most games at 1080 maxxed about 60 fps.

Fluke? · 30 Jul 2019 at 23:21

RX480 8GB? Second hand retailer selling for £120 with warranty so must be closer to 100 on ebay. Can be flashed to a 580ish apparently too.
I replaced my dead 7970 with one and it is a lot quicker.

thedandyp · 30 Jul 2019 at 23:34

~>Dg<~ said:
yeah its like the 970 and the 3.5gb cry babies at the time very rarely did it make a issue in any real every day scenario. its still pretty strong card now playing most games at 1080 maxxed about 60 fps.

A 970 is slightly inferior to a 4gb 570 though. By your own logic, a 570 should also be able to play 'most games at 1080 maxxed about 60 fps'.

~>Dg<~ · 31 Jul 2019 at 00:01

depends on what you play. 970 can be infront sometimes the 570x is infront. remember 970s go for about 50-60. a new 570x is 100-120. double price for next to no difference. apart from warranty.

Poneros · 31 Jul 2019 at 00:52

The 3GB issue is real. It's not going to be apparent in every game but when it is, it's such a shame - because the graphic power is there, it's just the vram that's missing. And all that for what? Saving £20? A joke.

greatash · 31 Jul 2019 at 04:00

~>Dg<~ said:
570 is basically identical performance to a 7950. so basically a 570x a 1050 are identical in performance. a 1050 ti is sometimes a couple of fps higher. id try and find something 2nd hand. 970s are like 50-60 quid. 1060s start about 80-90. a 7950 will still play most things at 1080 still. its probably one of the best value cards ever made. to think 7 years on its the same as a amd 570 is amazing.

In what world is an HD7950 equal to an RX570? I went from a 7950 to a GTX 980 (same as 570-580 perf) a couple years ago and it was double the framerate.
Also here is r9 380 which is 10-15% faster than the 7950 vs the 570: https://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/2304?vs=2499

On topic the RX 570 4gb is enough for 1080p, you just wont be able to use the highest texture quality setting in a handful of games like DOOM 2016. My brother uses my old GTX 980 4gb in games like BF1/BFV with no issues.

Liamz51 · 31 Jul 2019 at 07:54

sastusbulbas said:
......and new OS's as I want them on W10 home.

You don’t necessarily need to budget the £100 retail price for these.........

~>Dg<~ · 31 Jul 2019 at 13:05

win 10 you dont even need to buy many people dont know that.

sastusbulbas · 31 Jul 2019 at 14:21

Liamz51 said:
You don’t necessarily need to budget the £100 retail price for these.........

~>Dg<~ said:
win 10 you dont even need to buy many people dont know that.

Ages ago, when Microsoft offered the upgrade to W10, I attempted my lads pc. It had been running an OEM validated as genuine W7 ultimate for years. His 120gb ssd was a bit full, i did it through Microsoft after using their tools etc.

It failed, but for various reasons it got shelved due to real life.

This week he revisited, his oem W7 ultimate key will not activate W10 pro.

My daughters old oem W7 ultimate licence failed to activate her W10 install.

Two old oem fails.

My other lad and I are also on W7 ultimate but full retail and the signature gift pack.

So how do you qualify for W10 for free, genuine and fully validated?
Would prefer pro as i liked W7 ultimate for homegroup and remote access. But suppise home will do.