GPU Upgrade Advice Please

[RobG]

Hi,

I have just caused myself a (nice) problem of sorts. I speculatively listed my GPU (Maxwell Titan X) on eBay due to having an offer for £1 final selling fees, asking £525 + postage. I didn't think it would sell (at least not very quickly) but alas tonight it has gone.

I have the Titan under water in an EK block. I haven't included the block in the sale. I see my options as follows:

• Get a 1080 and put it on water
• Get a cheap 980Ti and re-use the block
• Get a cheap make-do card and wait for the 1080Ti

I game at 1440p mainly but have a quality 1080p projector so super sampling at 4k would be a nice option to have. I don't game regularly but like to have the pretties on when I do.

Given that I would put a 1080 on water, I would be keen to get a fairly low cost card (save paying for a cooler that I won't use). Is there a standout card at the low-end of the 1080 range? What is the consensus on the OcUK branded card with water-block pre-fitted?

Am I right to think that all cards will overclock somewhat and comfortably surpass the Titan X? This is the homework I was planning to do before teh card sold!

Cheers

Rob

 

[Nasher]

I wouldn't bother buying a 9 series now. Their DX12 performance is a bit shaky and that is what games will be using in the near future.

 

[orbitalwalsh]

thought about the 1070 ? just for the cost of a ref design and waterblock, even a uni block will justify the amount of gaming you do ?

 

[RobG]

Thanks for the input. Have decided to go for a 1080 (Palit Jetstream) with an EK block. Looking like a £140 upgrade cost but I will have the Titan X block still to sell.

 

[maonayze]

Personally I would have taken the two bottom choices you posted as they kind of marry up to each other.

A cheap 980Ti with your old block on it would tide you over until the 1080Ti appeared and you wouldnt be cursing yourself after the 1080Ti came out.

On the other hand I suppose £140 for that upgrade isnt too bad and as you say you can still get a good bit back for the old block.

Palit seems a good choice in light of all the EVGA VRMs fiasco going on right now.

 

[maonayze]

I wouldn't bother buying a 9 series now. Their DX12 performance is a bit shaky and that is what games will be using in the near future.

It's an interim card though so I suppose it wouldnt matter and you could also throw a DX12 shaky performance claim at the 10 series too looking at some of the DX12 results lately.

 

[RobG]

Thanks maonayze for your input. I think that the 980Ti is the sensible choice too but I'm just not sure when I will be able to grab one for a sensible price.

I'm also keen on minimal fuss and a 1080 does get me greater longevity I suppose.

I am so out of the loop on this stuff that the EVGA issue you mention is lost on me. I went Palit as it was the cheapest card I could find!

I will use this small upgrade as a chance to get back into PC gaming I think. I'm getting Gears 4 free with the card and plan to grab Battlefield or Titanfall to play alongside Hitman.

I will say that £675 for a card and heatsink is eye watering though. I could get a PS4 Pro and an Xbone S plus a few games for that. Gulp - having second thoughts already!

 

[Gabbatek]

You should keep your card and just say on ebay the card broke

then just wait for the 1080ti

 

[RobG]

You should keep your card and just say on ebay the card broke

then just wait for the 1080ti

It did cross my mind but I decided against it for 2 reasons:

1) I dread to think how much the 1080Ti will cost (£800+?).
2) I can (just about) stomach the upgrade cost.

 

[RobG]

Thought I'd give an update on this.

I bought the Palit Jetstream 1080 and an EK block. The block fitting went well (which was good considering I voided the warranty when I removed the stock cooler). I wrangled it back into the water cooling loop and refilled it without issue.

I haven't looked at clocking the card yet, I just installed the latest drivers and let Nvidia Experience suggest game settings (all max as it happens) and played Titanfall 2 and Hitman. Hitman is smoother than the Titan it replaced even with a small bump in graphics options (all at 1440p).

I'm going to have a look at overclocking the card this weekend. I typically like to run a 100% stable overclock that is 'set and forget' and just concentrate on enjoying the games. It would be nice to get some extra performanc for free.

I will be selling the old Titan X EK block in a few days to recover some of the upgrade cost and hope this whole experience will have cost me less than £100.