GTX 1080 (Which one) or wait for AMD to show?

TechMinerUK · 29 May 2016 at 09:12

Hi everyone, last year I was on the look for a new GPU to replace my R9 290X, well the 290X is gone now so I'm on the look again and at what seems like a good time now that GTX 1080 is launched. I'm planning on watercooling so the cooler on the card is not a big issue but I was hoping I could get some advice (No fan boy wars) over what would be the best option. Do I:

A- Get a GTX 1080 now
B- Wait for Polaris (Small) and decide then

Hopefully you will be able to help me in this as I'm stumped for the time being and with the cost I would prefer not to make the wrong decision

chaparral · 29 May 2016 at 09:15

TechMinerUK said:
A- Get a GTX 1080 now
B- Wait for Polaris (Small) and decide then

Hopefully you will be able to help me in this as I'm stumped for the time being and with the cost I would prefer not to make the wrong decision

It make s it much easier to decide on which GPU to buy if you already own a freesync or G-sync monitor..

nomadd · 29 May 2016 at 09:15

TechMinerUK said:
B- Wait for Polaris (Small) and decide then

AlamoX · 29 May 2016 at 09:16

doesnt hurt to wait, but if you are looking at 1080 level of performance that wont happen, polaris would be a side grade performance wise to you, if you pick polaris would be for features, TDP and price not perfs.

Zethor · 29 May 2016 at 09:28

I would wait. Nvidia are holding off the big guns(ti n titan) whilw they pushed their prices sky high. This is not an ideal time to buy if the price performance ratio matters to you.

andybird123 · 29 May 2016 at 09:32

If it were me and i was without a card, i would just get whatever is available now - its sounding like Polaris is going to be a 390X/Fury level of performance but cheaper, if you want all out performance and dont wait then the 1080 is looking like the best option between now and whenever the bigger chips come out

Simon Belmont · 29 May 2016 at 09:35

andybird123 said:
If it were me and i was without a card, i would just get whatever is available now - its sounding like Polaris is going to be a 390X/Fury level of performance but cheaper, if you want all out performance and dont wait then the 1080 is looking like the best option between now and whenever the bigger chips come out

This^

Grab something now. There is always something new coming.

TechMinerUK · 29 May 2016 at 09:36

Zethor said:
I would wait. Nvidia are holding off the big guns(ti n titan) whilw they pushed their prices sky high. This is not an ideal time to buy if the price performance ratio matters to you.

I understand this but I can't wait another year, I'll never buy anything if I wait for the next, next lot of cards

andybird123 said:
If it were me and i was without a card, i would just get whatever is available now - its sounding like Polaris is going to be a 390X/Fury level of performance but cheaper, if you want all out performance and dont wait then the 1080 is looking like the best option between now and whenever the bigger chips come out

This is what I'm thinking as if it is not a challenger to the 1080 it's going to be another kick in the teeth for me like last time

AlamoX said:
doesnt hurt to wait, but if you are looking at 1080 level of performance that wont happen, polaris would be a side grade performance wise to you, if you pick polaris would be for features, TDP and price not perfs.

So Polaris (Small) is not going for the 1080 as a rival?

Phixsator · 29 May 2016 at 09:41

Simon Belmont said:
This^

Grab something now. There is always something new coming.

While that is true, something new is always coming waiting a single month will not hurt you the slightest. Something a few May month 980ti buyers regret not listening to. Prices are insane atm, waiting that month worth of time will give you a much better list of cards to choose from and if you still want to go with nvidia im pretty sure you can find a cheaper offer than what is on the table right now with the FE edition.

GFX-Kid · 29 May 2016 at 09:47

Phixsator said:
While that is true, something new is always coming waiting a single month will not hurt you the slightest. Something a few May month 980ti buyers regret not listening to. Prices are insane atm, waiting that month worth of time will give you a much better list of cards to choose from and if you still want to go with nvidia im pretty sure you can find a cheaper offer than what is on the table right now with the FE edition.

This ^^

Waiting 3-4 more weeks is a win win situation.

TechMinerUK · 29 May 2016 at 09:51

Phixsator said:
While that is true, something new is always coming waiting a single month will not hurt you the slightest. Something a few May month 980ti buyers regret not listening to. Prices are insane atm, waiting that month worth of time will give you a much better list of cards to choose from and if you still want to go with nvidia im pretty sure you can find a cheaper offer than what is on the table right now with the FE edition.

To be honest FE cards never even crossed my mind as they are not priced for me, I was looking more at the KFA2 cards as they are cheap and the cooler is no issue as it is getting a waterblock. Ideally I want to get the card & block sub £600

Disco_P · 29 May 2016 at 09:54

Similar situation as you, looking to upgrade my watercooled titan. Heavily leaning on the MSI aero for £535 plus block as it looks like it already has a backplate and has a 3yr warranty that covers cooler removal.

RavenXXX2 · 29 May 2016 at 09:56

A as B will be a fail, guaranteed.

Or get an 1070, still a big upgrade over the 290x.

Toss3 · 29 May 2016 at 09:57

Would wait for no other reason than to avoid the price gouging that always happens when a new product is released. Polaris isn't going to be a direct competitor to the GTX 1080, so if you can afford one of those then by all means get one!

TechMinerUK · 29 May 2016 at 10:02

Disco_P said:
Similar situation as you, looking to upgrade my watercooled titan. Heavily leaning on the MSI aero for £535 plus block as it looks like it already has a backplate and has a 3yr warranty that covers cooler removal.

It is a tough one

RavenXXX2 said:
A as B will be a fail, guaranteed.
Or get an 1070, still a big upgrade over the 290x.

I can't see the 1070 being anything special though so I'd be better just getting a 1080

Toss3 said:
Would wait for no other reason than to avoid the price gouging that always happens when a new product is released. Polaris isn't going to be a direct competitor to the GTX 1080, so if you can afford one of those then by all means get one!

This is what I'm thinking but it depends how long it takes prices to go down

RavenXXX2 · 29 May 2016 at 10:07

TechMinerUK said:
It is a tough one

I can't see the 1070 being anything special though so I'd be better just getting a 1080

TX/980 ti performance and more for £300-350 blowing away your 290, yeah smart money is on the 500+ 1080, not.

Jono8 · 29 May 2016 at 10:13

I think the 1080 price is too rich for what it is. The 1070 is going to be £200 cheaper across the board and looks good for 1080p or 1440p.

I would be worried paying near £600 for a good custom 1080 as i strongly suspect the 1070 and 1080 prices will plummet once vega and gp102 come out. The 1070 will obviously take less of a painful hit.

TechMinerUK · 29 May 2016 at 10:17

Jono8 said:
I think the 1080 price is too rich for what it is. The 1070 is going to be £200 cheaper across the board and looks good for 1080p or 1440p.
I would be worried paying near £600 for a good custom 1080 as i strongly suspect the 1070 and 1080 prices will plummet once vega and gp102 come out. The 1070 will obviously take less of a painful hit.

True but that's one of the points I'll just have to stomach, it's the unfortunate cost of buying now (With the cost of buying the card

)

RavenXXX2 said:
TX/980 ti performance and more for £300-350 blowing away your 290, yeah smart money is on the 500+ 1080, not.

To be fair I could be the 1070 and then have the same price decrease as buying the 1080 so the extra cost just goes on having the edge (I've yet to own a top tier card and for now the 1080 is one)

GFX-Kid · 29 May 2016 at 10:22

Jono8 said:
I think the 1080 price is too rich for what it is. The 1070 is going to be £200 cheaper across the board and looks good for 1080p or 1440p.

I would be worried paying near £600 for a good custom 1080 as i strongly suspect the 1070 and 1080 prices will plummet once vega and gp102 come out. The 1070 will obviously take less of a painful hit.

Yep. Way I see it is, you can get the cheapest 1070 now, save yourself £300 or so over a 1080. Then sell the 1070 in 6-9 months time when vega/1080Ti is out netting a good £200 there. That makes £500 saved, add ~£200 and get a gpu offering a huge boost in performance.

1070 to 1080 gap is not that much in performance. Where as you can be sure there will be a big gap between a 1080 and 1080Ti/Vega.

14nm will shine once used on a big chip with hbm 2 and leave people drooling

Jono8 · 29 May 2016 at 10:24

^i think this is what i am going to do to be honest.