GPU advice

[ray007]

bought 4070S last week and now there is a 7900xt selling for similar price. I have been quite happy with my 4070S so far coming from a 6700. Now the pros and cons: I never really liked the image quality of FSR and DLSS is just better. Looking at the benchmarks 7900xt is like 20fps better on average and around +-10fps slower when RT is on, but RT is of little interest to me and from what I have experienced its not worth the performance loss, plus RT/PT @1440p high/ultra I keep running out of VRAM in games like Rachet, Cyberpunk, Alan Wake2. Right now 7900xt seems like a good deal cause of higher raster performance but since i plan to keep my GPU for at least 2/3 years, upscaling techniques like FSR/DLSS might come into action and this is where nvidia shines but AMD might have caught up by then...So here I am wondering should I switch or not

 

[Tetras]

I keep running out of VRAM in games like Rachet, Cyberpunk, Alan Wake2.

So here I am wondering should I switch or not

What is the compromise you're making to stay under the VRAM limit? Personally, I would have thought that when you're running out of VRAM your card is near the limit of what it can achieve anyway.

Since you're generally content with the 4070 Super, I'd just keep it for the 2-3 years you plan for, since it should give decent 1440p performance for that time period.

 

[ray007]

What is the compromise you're making to stay under the VRAM limit? Personally, I would have thought that when you're running out of VRAM your card is near the limit of what it can achieve anyway.

Its only when I enable Ray/Path tracing i have VRAM issues, apart from that no issues what so ever. Also Ray/Path tracing seems like a no go for both cards anyways so I am only looking at pure Raster/upscaling performance/quality

 

[Tetras]

Its only when I enable Ray/Path tracing i have VRAM issues, apart from that no issues what so ever. Also Ray/Path tracing seems like a no go for both cards anyways so I am only looking at pure Raster/upscaling performance/quality

It sounds like you don't really have the performance to use the settings that you're running out of VRAM with anyway? If that's the case, I'd just keep your current card, since RDNA3's performance is not great with heavy RT/PT * see here.

If you want the looks in something like Cyberpunk, you might be interested in this video where he attempts to simulate the visual style on major lower-end hardware:

"Photorealistic" Cyberpunk but I don’t have a 4090…

We've all seen those real-life Cyberpunk 2077 video showcases right? The ones that show off high resolution visuals and effects, often on an RTX 4090 powered...

www.youtube.com

 

[humbug]

bought 4070S last week and now there is a 7900xt selling for similar price. I have been quite happy with my 4070S so far coming from a 6700. Now the pros and cons: I never really liked the image quality of FSR and DLSS is just better. Looking at the benchmarks 7900xt is like 20fps better on average and around +-10fps slower when RT is on, but RT is of little interest to me and from what I have experienced its not worth the performance loss, plus RT/PT @1440p high/ultra I keep running out of VRAM in games like Rachet, Cyberpunk, Alan Wake2. Right now 7900xt seems like a good deal cause of higher raster performance but since i plan to keep my GPU for at least 2/3 years, upscaling techniques like FSR/DLSS might come into action and this is where nvidia shines but AMD might have caught up by then...So here I am wondering should I switch or not

What you've done there is sacrifice raw power to generate frames and substitute it for DLSS, and you running out of VRam will only get worse over the next 2 to 3 years.

It's why i switched from an 8 year run with Nvidia to AMD, you can improve inferior software, inferior hardware is permanent, nothing you can do about it.

 

[ray007]

What you've done there is sacrifice raw power to generate frames and substitute it for DLSS, and you running out of VRam will only get worse over the next 2 to 3 years.

Well, 7900xt wasnt an option for me at that point, and like i mentioned a few times, VRAM issues is only when playing with RT/PT otherwise it barely goes over 8GB @ 1440p hight/ultra.

update* since i made this post, 4070S has gone down even more in price and now there is a £50 price difference between the two. bear in mind I am only talking about Tri fan cards as I am not interested in anything else.

 

[ray007]

If you want the looks in something like Cyberpunk, you might be interested in this video where he attempts to simulate the visual style on major lower-end hardware:

"Photorealistic" Cyberpunk but I don’t have a 4090…

We've all seen those real-life Cyberpunk 2077 video showcases right? The ones that show off high resolution visuals and effects, often on an RTX 4090 powered...

www.youtube.com

This looks interesting, hopefully there will be similar solution for GTA6 in a few years when most modern cards from today will start to struggle

 

[Gray2233]

Are you sure you're not confusing the 7900XT with the 7900GRE?

If you've spent 7900XT money on a 4070S you've massively overspent, possibly on a "premium" card that offers little to nothing over cheaper variants. You can get a 4070TI Super for around what you'd pay for a 7900XT.

 

[ray007]

Are you sure you're not confusing the 7900XT with the 7900GRE?

If you've spent 7900XT money on a 4070S you've massively overspent, possibly on a "premium" card that offers little to nothing over cheaper variants. You can get a 4070TI Super for around what you'd pay for a 7900XT.

there have been deals on both cards with massive discounts. also since i made this post, 4070S has gone down even more in price and now there is a £50 price difference between the two. If i end up getting the difference refunded, i will happily keep the 4070S.

 

[Gray2233]

update* since i made this post, 4070S has gone down even more in price and now there is a £50 price difference between the two. bear in mind I am only talking about Tri fan cards as I am not interested in anything else. I would post prices but not sure if it is allowed

You can post prices, just not where they're from.

 

[ray007]

You can post prices, just not where they're from.

4070S £580 tri fan - 7900xt 630 tri fan. i can get 4070S for around 535 but they are only 2 fan designs.

 

[humbug]

I absolutely get that as the dual fand cards from Nvidia are mostly not great, i found that when researching a card for my self, i'm not spending over £500 on a card that's hot a noisy when i can get a cool and quiet card that is also faster in raster for under £500.

 

[humbug]

Yes Nvidia have roughly comparable card's in a roughly similar price brackets, but are they really if they are of much poorer quality?

 

[Gray2233]

If your concern about the twin fan cards is anything other than aesthetic, I'd not worry about it. The 4070S doesn't run hot, I have a Zotac Twin Edge and it runs silently and very cool, I can't speak for products from the likes of Palit or Gainward however.

Otherwise, £630 for the XFX 7900XT isn't a bad deal assuming you can return your 4070S and put up with FSR. Personally speaking, DLSS is a big part of what pushed me into going Nvidia over a 7800XT/7900GRE.

 

[humbug]

That card runs 40 db at 75c. its £560

Now compare that to the Sapphire 7900 GRE Pulse, 70c, 26 db, that's a massive difference, my 7800 XT Pulse has the same noise levels but lower temps, it actually is silent, even when overclocked, £550.

ZOTAC GAMING GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER Twin Edge OC Card Review – An Excellent Graphics Card for SFF – SFF.Network

smallformfactor.net

Sapphire Radeon RX 7900 GRE Pulse Review

The Sapphire Radeon RX 7900 GRE Pulse emerges as the best GRE model released today, offering exceptional value at AMD's MSRP of $550. Outperforming the RX 4070 Super in raster, it operates whisper-quiet, catering to gamers and enthusiasts seeking top-tier performance without exceeding their budget.

www.techpowerup.com

 

[ray007]

Otherwise, £630 for the XFX 7900XT isn't a bad deal assuming you can return your 4070S and put up with FSR. Personally speaking, DLSS is a big part of what pushed me into going Nvidia over a 7800XT/7900GRE.

I am looking at it that way: GTA6 on 4070S 60fps and with DLSS maybe 75 - 7900xt 80fps and with FSR 100+ but mediocre image quality. Also you are right about DLSS part, after experiencing it first hand I just can imagine myself using FSR again, unless it improves dramatically in the future.

 

[Gray2233]

That card runs 40 db at 75c. its £560

Now compare that to the Sapphire 7900 GRE Pulse, 70c, 26 db, that's a massive difference, my 7800 XT Pulse has the same noise levels but lower temps, it actually is silent, even when overclocked, £550.

ZOTAC GAMING GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER Twin Edge OC Card Review – An Excellent Graphics Card for SFF – SFF.Network

smallformfactor.net

Sapphire Radeon RX 7900 GRE Pulse Review

The Sapphire Radeon RX 7900 GRE Pulse emerges as the best GRE model released today, offering exceptional value at AMD's MSRP of $550. Outperforming the RX 4070 Super in raster, it operates whisper-quiet, catering to gamers and enthusiasts seeking top-tier performance without exceeding their budget.

www.techpowerup.com

My card runs cooler than that in general gaming, while being imperceptible to my hearing at least.

Regardless, to quote the review:

51% – 40.0 dba RPM 1791 NOISE NORMALIZED AT 40dBA FAN NOISE (Audible but not loud in my perception.)

Personally speaking, an extra £100 + for a triple fan card isn't worth it. There's also a review of the Asus Dual fan on Techpowerup (I believe it's TPU anyyway) which measures the card at 33db. Twin fan cards are absolutely fine for the 4070-4070S unless you're unlucky enough to get an absolute lemon.

Edit: https://www.techpowerup.com/review/zotac-geforce-rtx-4070-super-trinity/38.html

It's a review for the trinity, but the thermal/acoustics page I've linked to compares to a bunch of other cards, including the Asus Dual, the Ghost is also a dual fan.

 

[humbug]

My card runs cooler than that in general gaming, while being imperceptible to my hearing at least.

Regardless, to quote the review:

51% – 40.0 dba RPM 1791 NOISE NORMALIZED AT 40dBA FAN NOISE (Audible but not loud in my perception.)

Personally speaking, an extra £100 + for a triple fan card isn't worth it. There's also a review of the Asus Dual fan on Techpowerup (I believe it's TPU anyyway) which measures the card at 33db. Twin fan cards are absolutely fine for the 4070-4070S unless you're unlucky enough to get an absolute lemon.

The key word there is "my perception" If i take my £480 Sapphire Pulse out and put that in my perception would be hair dryer.

 

[Gray2233]

The key word there is "my perception" If i take my £480 Sapphire Pulse out and put that in my perception would be hair dryer.

I have pretty good hearing, I've never seen my card go above 70C either tbh.

Everyone has different tolerances, but 40db is absolutely fine for most people I'd wager and as mentioned I'm confident mine runs more quietly unless I'm intentionally stress testing it.

It's also worth noting that I could easily undervolt and set a custom fan curve.

 

[humbug]

They are all stress tested, the 4070 FE is 32 db at 69c, that's not bad... and people do think of the FE as a quiet GPU, it is, but its not 26 db.

40 db is not "loud" per-say, but it is a noise that is there.

I think Sapphire make particularly good coolers, that's nothing new, they always have, remember the Vapour-X range? back in the day they were known to be particularly good coolers, desired for the quality of those coolers.

The whole card, despite its lowest price range in AMD's line up, other than one junk ASRock card to be avoided, is well made, it feels and looks in your hand a quality thing, even has an array of thermal pads between the back of the PCB and the backplate, that's quite rare even among the most expensive cards.

If AMD, Sapphire can make these very high quality cards for as little as they cost why can't Nvidia's partners? A clue might be in the fact that Nvidia have just a few days ago allowed their partners to jack the retail price of their card's up by 10%, Nvidia are overcharging AIB's for these things and not leaving them any margins, this is why EVGA left...