Age old debate, used Vs new

Telecaster · 7 Oct 2020 at 11:54

So for 1080p 60fps casual gaming, what is currently the best choice/VFM at about the £200-230 mark, a used 1070/1070ti or something brand new?

Just to add, either way I'd be looking at one of the more premium models with a decent cooler as I value low noise performance.

snips86x · 7 Oct 2020 at 11:56

Definitely used as you'll get more for your money. However, some new cards, like the 1660 super, are quite impressive at 1080p. Got one for my sister and its quiet something!

Telecaster · 7 Oct 2020 at 12:00

Yes that is exactly the new card I had eyed up, 1660 Super. I'm just a bit out of the loop and wasn't sure if they represented good value or not for their performance and didn't want to make an out-of-touch noob mistake.

BigBANGtheory · 7 Oct 2020 at 12:33

980Ti (same perf as 1070) would be plenty for 1080p 60fps probably a lot cheaper too

Telecaster · 7 Oct 2020 at 12:46

BigBANGtheory said:
980Ti (same perf as 1070) would be plenty for 1080p 60fps probably a lot cheaper too

Aren't they getting on a bit now, or are old GPUs not as risky a purchase as they used to be? Good shout though.

BigBANGtheory · 7 Oct 2020 at 12:51

Telecaster said:
Aren't they getting on a bit now, or are old GPUs not as risky a purchase as they used to be? Good shout though.

but they are fast, very fast for their time you could probably get a top end model for £150, less for a more standard spec

I've just replaced one on my system for the 3080 it kept me going through Pascal era and Turing.

pieman109 · 7 Oct 2020 at 13:45

Just make sure that whatever you buy it hasn't been used for mining and if it has, see if you can remove and refit the heatsink/fan assembly and have a look at the die BEFORE you buy it. I have a lovely pic of a gigabyte GTX 1070 that was used for mining and the centre fan failed. It doesn't look pretty at all.

Telecaster · 7 Oct 2020 at 13:52

pieman109 said:
Just make sure that whatever you buy it hasn't been used for mining and if it has, see if you can remove and refit the heatsink/fan assembly and have a look at the die BEFORE you buy it. I have a lovely pic of a gigabyte GTX 1070 that was used for mining and the centre fan failed. It doesn't look pretty at all.

There's little chance of inspecting anything before buying, it will be either ebay or here in the MM.

mikeo · 7 Oct 2020 at 14:21

Buy from the MM. If the seller has been a member for a while and already sold a fair bit of stuff, then you should be OK. I've sold a number of graphics cards on the MM over the years and never had anyone complain. Just check their trust and have a read of the comments.

pieman109 · 7 Oct 2020 at 14:41

Telecaster said:
There's little chance of inspecting anything before buying, it will be either ebay or here in the MM.

I was mainly thinking of places like F/B market, gumtree, etc. If you want I can post up the pic, but it'll put you off buying stuff for a bit

Also, theres been a few articles written and videos on Y/T etc, saying its ok to buy mining cards as its the fans that flat out and the gpus are set up to run undevolted/efficiently as possible, but, when a fan fails, if that fan isn't sorted quickly, the gpu can and will overheat with possible damage, even if the fan has been replaced, the damage could have already been done.
Really, I posted this as something to that prospective buyers can be aware of.

varkanoid · 7 Oct 2020 at 14:45

2nd hand prices are pretty stupid at the moment.

Gray2233 · 7 Oct 2020 at 14:45

Check the OCUK clearance/b stock, there's a few 5600XT's that have went for around £200 or less after negotiation.

If you see something you like the look of give OCUK a ring or contact them in the customer support section of the forum and see if they'll do a better price.

pieman109 · 7 Oct 2020 at 14:50

varkanoid said:
2nd hand prices are pretty stupid at the moment.

Totally agree there, some people seem to think that reducing the full retail price by 10%-20% for an item that could be 10-12 years old (Intel P67, Z67, Z77 motherboards 'frnstance, 4770k cpus going for £100 still etc)

Telecaster · 7 Oct 2020 at 14:56

Gray2233 said:
Check the OCUK clearance/b stock, there's a few 5600XT's that have went for around £200 or less after negotiation.

If you see something you like the look of give OCUK a ring or contact them in the customer support section of the forum and see if they'll do a better price.

What are they like noise wise?

Gray2233 · 7 Oct 2020 at 14:57

pieman109 said:
Totally agree there, some people seem to think that reducing the full retail price by 10%-20% for an item that could be 10-12 years old (Intel P67, Z67, Z77 motherboards 'frnstance, 4770k cpus going for £100 still etc)

I saw someone spend £300 + on a 5820K/X99/16GB RAM bundle the other day, boggled my mind as you could get a brand new Ryzen cpu/mobo/ram combo for the same or less.

Telecaster said:
What are they like noise wise?

Not terrible when talking about fan noise depending on the model, especially with a custom fan curve. I can't really speak to any coil whine though.

Akagi · 7 Oct 2020 at 14:58

I always go used and a gen or two behind.

I don't enjoy throwing money away on £600 things which will be worth £150 a couple of years later.

Telecaster · 7 Oct 2020 at 15:24

What's the views on VRAM amount these days?

pieman109 · 7 Oct 2020 at 19:22

Telecaster said:
What's the views on VRAM amount these days?

Depends on what game and resolution I suppose. You might have to turn down a few settings to ease Vram usage I suspect.

Gray2233 · 7 Oct 2020 at 19:27

For 1080P 6-8GB will be fine for 2-3 years at the bare minimum.

The Old School Gamer · 7 Oct 2020 at 22:49

I certainly don't mind having a punt on second hand parts.
But it can be like rolling dice when it comes to GPUs.
You really don't know if your buying someone else's problems.

Unfortunately some people are less than honest in their product descriptions.
Omitting small details like it randomly black screens, has heat damage or some other defect that comes to light under load.