Gaming @4K@60hz (Upgrading from 980ti.....)

[Type_R]

So this is where I am currently:

i7-4770K @4.6 Ghz
Gigabyte Z170X Gaming 7
16 Gb DDR4 3200
Samsung 970 Evo NVME
Zotec 980ti
BenQ 32' 3201PT

Looking to upgrade to a card that can handle 4k @60hz.

The games I play:
Forza 7
Project Cars 2
Railway Empire
Hitman 2
F1 2019 - latest game I have (everything maxed I get ~40 fps)

So the options as I see it:

1. Buy another 980ti and SLI (previous experiences of two cards has not been that positive)
2. Sell the 980ti (or probably keep it for 1080p gaming on the other machine) and buy something else.

If one goes for option 2....what does one buy?

I'll also be upgrading to a 3900x soon...not that I think that makes much difference to the choice.

Any thoughts much appreciated.

 

[VincentHanna]

Skip the CPU upgrade, sell your 980Ti and buy a 2080 Super or 2080Ti

They are the only viable 4k/60hz cards really.

 

[AMDPower]

Depends on how badly you want 4k gaming and if you can wait and how long you usually keep you computer?

The problem is that a 2080Ti is the fastest card there is and its just about does 4k@60 with some gfx setting compromises on some AAA titles, this time next year it might not be able to play new titles at 4k@60 consistently. If you want a card that does 4k gaming consistently and want something you will keep for few years then
wait for 3080TI sometime next year.

if you cant wait then your only option is buy 2080TI now and sell next year and buy 3080TI, maybe AMD might have a good 4k card next year.

but 4@60fps 2080TI is your only option really.

 

[Quartz]

A 980 Ti should be fine for 4K gaming if you're prepared to drop the quality settings. I started gaming at 4k on a 780 Ti. Do you really need ultra quality? Drop AA, Hairworks, and the like for starters.

 

[4K8KW10]

A 980 Ti should be fine for 4K gaming if you're prepared to drop the quality settings. I started gaming at 4k on a 780 Ti. Do you really need ultra quality? Drop AA, Hairworks, and the like for starters.

Thing is GTX 980 Ti can give ONLY 39% of the framerates that RTX 2080 Ti can sustain https://www.techpowerup.com/review/nvidia-geforce-rtx-2080-ti-founders-edition/33.html
In other words, you get more than 100% performance uplift if upgrading.

 

[Quartz]

Thing is GTX 980 Ti can give ONLY 39% of the framerates that RTX 2080 Ti

And your point is? Drop the quality settings and the frame rate goes up. I have a 2080 Ti but my previous GPU was a Maxwell Titan X - a 980 Ti with extra VRAM - so I do have some experience here.

 

[4K8KW10]

And your point is? Drop the quality settings and the frame rate goes up. I have a 2080 Ti but my previous GPU was a Maxwell Titan X - a 980 Ti with extra VRAM - so I do have some experience here.

It may go up or might not go up because 6GB VRAM.

 

[Brazo]

I think it’s really game dependant at 4K. The games you list aren’t especially demanding and even a 2070 could just about do it, a 2080 comfortably so.

When it comes to other games though even a 2080ti can’t average 60fps!

 

[TNA]

And your point is? Drop the quality settings and the frame rate goes up. I have a 2080 Ti but my previous GPU was a Maxwell Titan X - a 980 Ti with extra VRAM - so I do have some experience here.

I agree with you. I have had an 4K monitor since 2014 and had cards with even less performance than a 980Ti running 4K. Just about adjusting settings.

I would go for a 2070S and just tweak settings a little. When I had my Titan X Pascal it run everything just fine.

 

[Type_R]

Thanks for all the input.

Good to see that nobody here thinks SLI is the way forward - which would have course be the cheapest solution.

£600 for a sub-best card seems like a lot of money for a GPU...might hold fire and wait for Microsoft Flight Simulator to come out next year before getting something seriously beefy.

 

[TNA]

Thanks for all the input.

Good to see that nobody here thinks SLI is the way forward - which would have course be the cheapest solution.

£600 for a sub-best card seems like a lot of money for a GPU...might hold fire and wait for Microsoft Flight Simulator to come out next year before getting something seriously beefy.

Waiting for next year is best I agree. Looking forward to Microsoft Flight Simulator myself. Looks miles ahead of X-Plane 11 visually.

If you cannot wait the next best option is the 2070S which is only around 30% slower than the 2080Ti and is £475 and after you sell the games it comes with maybe £450. Still not as cheap as it should be, but it is what it is.

 

[Tommy_Here]

Is the Ti overclocked? I loved my 980 Ti so much so I have had roughly 5 different versions of them! Get it clocked to 1450-1500mhz and 8ghz on the memory drop your settings to high and it should hold you out till next year

 

[VincentHanna]

£600 for a sub-best card seems like a lot of money for a GPU...might hold fire and wait for Microsoft Flight Simulator to come out next year before getting something seriously beefy.

And you are right, it is.

But you also mentioned you will be upgrading to a 3900x soon. That's £500 for a CPU that will do nothing for you at 4k.

And as if to prove this, I had a 2080Ti already and just this weekend upgraded my 5 year old, 6 core Intel 5930k (which ran at 4Ghz) for a 3900x and it made no difference to my 4k FPS (as expected) as you are entirely GPU limited)

Spoiler

5930k @ 2160p/60hz

3900x @ automatic boost

 

[DrCheese]

I have a 1070 (standard) at the mo that I've been using for 4k gaming and it's generally been ok but is starting to show it's weaknesses.

I bought a 2080 (standard) a few months ago for gaming at 4k but sent it back as I felt for the money I paid (£660) the performance uplift really wasn't worth it. At that kind of money you expect most games to run at 60fps all the time. But no matter how much I try I just can't justify the 2080ti at this stage - It still struggles with 60fps, has first gen tech, likely to be replaced within a year & has a stigma of failures which means ebaying it later would be difficult.

At this point I'm tempted to just get a 2070 super, sell my 1070 for around £200ish (which makes the 2070 around £300 ish) and be done with it for this generation - "Good enough" 4k performance (At high, not ultra) for the next year or so then see where the market lies when 7nm comes out.

 

[leon4112]

i went the sli route with the 980ti as it only cost me 150 quid and im happy with it so far after a few weeks maxed out bfv 3440x1440 100fps+ and other games i play work great ill get a 2080 another time when they are a bit cheaper

 

[arc@css]

I probably would buy a 2070 Super and overclock the plums off it, if possible. Or, I would reduce settings and hold fire for now.

Maybe keep an eye out for a used 1080Ti.

 

[3t3P]

Don't do SLI, not in the current climate, I used to be an advocate having had three SLI setups but no more.

Minimum for 4k i'd say is a 2070 Super/2080/2080S/1080TI/2080TI

This is why i'm not a fan of 4k 21:9 UW 3440x1440 being a nice sweet spot and some of the upcoming monitors with higher resolutions than that while still being less than 8MP.

 

[HRL]

And you are right, it is.

But you also mentioned you will be upgrading to a 3900x soon. That's £500 for a CPU that will do nothing for you at 4k.

And as if to prove this, I had a 2080Ti already and just this weekend upgraded my 5 year old, 6 core Intel 5930k (which ran at 4Ghz) for a 3900x and it made no difference to my 4k FPS (as expected) as you are entirely GPU limited)

Spoiler

5930k @ 2160p/60hz

3900x @ automatic boost

You don’t know how much I appreciate your post, and it wasn’t even aimed at me.

In fact you’ve just saved me £500+. Hadn’t quite decided and thought I’d at least see slightly better frame rates with a 3900X but evidently not at 4K.

Just hope your upgrade was for more than gaming.

 

[Type_R]

And you are right, it is.

But you also mentioned you will be upgrading to a 3900x soon. That's £500 for a CPU that will do nothing for you at 4k.

And as if to prove this, I had a 2080Ti already and just this weekend upgraded my 5 year old, 6 core Intel 5930k (which ran at 4Ghz) for a 3900x and it made no difference to my 4k FPS (as expected) as you are entirely GPU limited)

Thank you..very useful..I guess the 3900x is on hold then. Best start saving up for the next uber expensive GPU!

 

[Tommy_Here]

I don't think a cpu will matter in till we start hitting 144hz in 4k which is at least 2 gens away