How much WILL you pay for a graphics card?

[Zarax]

I got impressed by my wife's 32" 1080p Samsung curved monitor that I got for her last year for about £150, despite the size I couldn't see noticeably the pixels.
They released a new model this year at 75hz and freesync so I decided to get it to replace my once top of the line Asus 24" 1080p 60hz.

The increase to 75hz may or may not be enough to make me decide towards upgrading my 3770k and RX 590, let's see if freesync will actually help.

 

[Grim5]

How much would you pay for the best gaming screen on earth

From hardware unboxed: "The LG C1 absolutely destroys LCD gaming monitors in performance, motion handling, latency, pixel transitions, overshoot, general image quality, HDR and contrast and It is the true and only gaming screen that has real 1ms latency, unlike the fake numbers LCD's use"

 

[Zarax]

My budget for most electronic devices is between 200 and 300€, PC is the only exception.

 

[robin66]

I say about £800 is my current limit.

But because of all of the circumstances, we find ourselves in with regards to availability and pricing. I paid £1690 for my new card.

I won't be doing that again I hope. Otherwise, it might be time to call PC gaming a day.

 

[RipGroove]

You can't be sitting at a normal distance from the screen then. I use an ikea desk which I would say is normal sized for an office type gaming desk. It's not very deep and my 32" is at the limit of what is actually usable. I actually struggled to convert from a 27" which was a surprise as the 27" felt a bit small but the 32" is really a bit too big. I'm using normal widescreen monitors though not ultrawide which has no purpose in the FPS twitch shooter world.

It would be impossible for a 42" to be usable at all. It would make me play worse. Pro gamers use 24" and 27" screens at LAN's for instance where money is no object. Your setup isn't a normal case usage or scenario. I will never go bigger than 32" and I'll never use ultra wide. Neither will work for me.

I played fine 2ft away from a 42" for years no problem. My 34" Ultrawide is a normal distance away but once you have a decent steering wheel setup at the edge of the desk you are pushed back quite far and suddenly the 34" feels tiny for sim racing.

 

[Princey]

I cap myself to £400 for a GPU and it has to double the performance of my existing card, its a shame that I can't do that with my VEGA 64 yet.

My GTX 980 doubled my Radeon 7950 and my VEGA 64 doubled the GTX 980.

 

[RipGroove]

no

Shame. Is Ultrawide streaming that much of a hassle then?

 

[Psycho Sonny]

I got impressed by my wife's 32" 1080p Samsung curved monitor that I got for her last year for about £150, despite the size I couldn't see noticeably the pixels.
They released a new model this year at 75hz and freesync so I decided to get it to replace my once top of the line Asus 24" 1080p 60hz.

The increase to 75hz may or may not be enough to make me decide towards upgrading my 3770k and RX 590, let's see if freesync will actually help.

The whole pixel thing is nonsense tbh. I've had 55" 1080p TV's and to be able to notice pixels you had to be so close the screen was unusable at that point.

Remember when we had 480p screens I can't remember anyone complaining about pixels back then either.

 

[Angilion]

The whole pixel thing is nonsense tbh. I've had 55" 1080p TV's and to be able to notice pixels you had to be so close the screen was unusable at that point.

I think that's a key point - while pixels are bigger on bigger screens (assuming the same resolution), it doesn't have a practical effect with anything like normal human visual acuity due to that combination of screen size and usable viewing distance.

Remember when we had 480p screens I can't remember anyone complaining about pixels back then either.

I can remember it being a genuine issue with the 256x192 resolution of my ZX Spectrum, ~40 years ago. But that was more a matter of the resolution than the display - pixels were noticeable on the ~10" TV I was using back then.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

It's why anyone complaining about GPU pricing should be using 1080P imo.

There is zero noticeable difference unless you really examined both side by side whilst staying still in game.

They proved this with dlss and upscaling. It was impossible to tell the difference between the two unless you stopped and examined key things and knew what to look for. Like reflections on certain objects or materials. Stuff you would never notice while running about in game.

If you don't want to spend £1200 on a gpu. Then get a decent 1080p monitor and a 1660 super or older gen cards will be fine like a 1070ti, 2060 super, etc.

 

[RipGroove]

Higher Res is about about seeing more detail at distance in games, some detail just can't be made by a small number of pixels. The game SQUAD for example, sometimes you are trying to spot and shoot enemies that are tiny on the screen, I saw a massive improvement in that area when I switched from 1080p to 1440p. It's not all just about whether you can see individual pixels on the screen.

 

[Alan McFall]

I'd pay MSRP for the 3060 Ti, 3070, 3070 Ti and 3080.
For AIB boards I would pay:
3060 Ti - £450
3070 - £550
3070 Ti - £650
3080 - £750

But I am confident of catching a 3080 FE drop so I am happy to wait.

Those prices I listed are unrealistic at the moment, but I am not desperate to get another card so I don't expect to entertain anything higher than those.

My sentiments exactly.

 

[McGraw]

The whole pixel thing is nonsense tbh. I've had 55" 1080p TV's and to be able to notice pixels you had to be so close the screen was unusable at that point.

Remember when we had 480p screens I can't remember anyone complaining about pixels back then either.

Nah, I sit close to a 40” 4K Panasonic screen as my main monitor. It’s glorious. I’ve tried a 43” 1080p SONY and it was awful.

 

[rumple9]

When I went from my 1080p 55 inch tv to 4k it was like I'd got a new gfx card, the gfx are amazing in 4k

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Nah, I sit close to a 40” 4K Panasonic screen as my main monitor. It’s glorious. I’ve tried a 43” 1080p SONY and it was awful.

The extra detail is great sure. But it's not worth the extra £2K on a GPU to power it.

1440P is best of both worlds. 1080P is fine for those on a budget.

It also depends on what you are playing. I only play CSGO and Apex Legends, both of which are better on high refresh. I play on a 240hz screen for that reason. I wouldn't swap to 4K until they have 240hz monitors and they are below £500 with at least HDR800

 

[TNA]

There is zero noticeable difference unless you really examined both side by side whilst staying still in game.

This nonsense again. Maybe you need to go specsavers or get lasik. Either that or you have your monitor 4 foot away. But do not act like everyone’s eyesight is like yours.

Resolution absolutely matters. Do you think I like torturing my wallet being stuck on 4K for the past 7 years or something? I tried going back to 1080p and 1440p multiple times. It just is not the same.

Obviously in a product like say the Steam Deck screen will be smaller, but we will also have it closer to our faces. I would have liked to have seen 1080p for the resolution but I get why they went lower. I will go in with an open mind, but right now it is one of the things that concern me and I am not alone.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

This nonsense again. Maybe you need to go specsavers or get lasik. Either that or you have your monitor 4 foot away. But do not act like everyone’s eyesight is like yours.

Resolution absolutely matters. Do you think I like torturing my wallet being stuck on 4K for the past 7 years or something? I tried going back to 1080p and 1440p multiple times. It just is not the same.

Obviously in a product like say the Steam Deck screen will be smaller, but we will also have it closer to our faces. I would have liked to have seen 1080p for the resolution but I get why they went lower. I will go in with an open mind, but right now it is one of the things that concern me and I am not alone.

My eyes are perfect in fact last eye test they said I'm above average and passed the test flawlessly.

If you are playing certain types of games where not so fast movement and standing still a lot, looking about then yeah it's noticeable. Basically I agree with you for slow paced games and single player games.

Most folk are playing Fortnite, cod, FIFA, etc. In these games there is zero noticeable difference whilst focusing on playing the actual game.

As in nobody playing those games whilst running about is thinking I wish the details were clearer. They are too busy getting on with the game as it's so fast paced you don't have time for details.

It depends a lot on the type of gaming you do. Why do pros play on 1080p screens and Res of 1280 X 960?

https://prosettings.net/counterstrike/s1mple/

He's not the only one they all do it. He's the best csgo player in the world fyi.

Why is he using a 1080p monitor and low Res? Why is his screen so small as well?

People massively overestimate the difference and it entirely depends on the type of gaming you do.

https://newzoo.com/insights/rankings/top-20-pc-games/

Here's a list of the most popular games. In these types of games it makes zero difference. Especially Minecraft for instance.

 

[TNA]

Basically I agree with you for slow paced games and single player games.

That is all I play

I noticed a huge difference in FIFA some years back between 1440p and 2160p though. Even my friend as I recall that came over back then was impressed with the difference and he is not even a gamer.

 

[feck199]

Far to much! I waited long enough, got a new job and stoped caring as such.

Now I have sometime, can’t be sure it was worth it but will see what happens in a year.

 

[newuser]

If you are playing certain types of games where not so fast movement and standing still a lot, looking about then yeah it's noticeable. Basically I agree with you for slow paced games and single player games.

I play open world type games almost exclusively and I find a large 4k monitor or TV the best way to enjoy them.

Back to the original question I thought my limit for a GPU was £900. That was the budget for my current PC. Ended up with a 3090FE.