I feel like buying GPU's is a form of therapy for me... Anyone else?

[heatonpkmassive]

No job, Had a 6800XT and all for 1080p, best of the best though, creme de la creme. Poor purchase on many levels.

1080p? Wow. And as @CuriousTomCat said, I cannot imagine going into debt to buy a GPU. The day that happens to me is the day I should find another pastime.

Go into debt for a house, car, maybe even expensive home furnishings or white goods? Sure. A GPU? Not a prayer. I'm not getting sucked into the FOMO to that extent.

 

[Richdog]

1080p? Wow. And as @CuriousTomCat said, I cannot imagine going into debt to buy a GPU. The day that happens to me is the day I should find another pastime.

Go into debt for a house, car, maybe even expensive home furnishings or white goods? Sure. A GPU? Not a prayer. I'm not getting sucked into the FOMO to that extent.

Not all debt is the same; you know there is a dramatic difference in cost between a GPU, a car and a house... right (rhetorical question, of course)? I'm not saying "debt is good", but lets not pretend all debt has the same impact. Plenty of people get a GPU on low-interest finance (especially 0% finance, which almost always makes sense vs paying out in one lump) and if they can afford the payments then there is nothing tragically wrong with that.

Many people use a GPU every single day for their main hobby and pastime of PC benching and gaming and so it's arguably more important to them than many other mundane things they have, so they may stretch to get the gest they can afford.

 

[heatonpkmassive]

Not all debt is the same; you know there is a dramatic difference in cost between a GPU, a car and a house... right (rhetorical question, of course)? I'm not saying "debt is good", but lets not pretend all debt has the same impact. Plenty of people get a GPU on low-interest finance (especially 0% finance, which almost always makes sense vs paying out in one lump) and if they can afford the payments then there is nothing tragically wrong with that.

Many people use a GPU every single day for their main hobby and pastime of PC benching and gaming and so it's arguably more important to them than many other mundane things they have, so they may stretch to get the gest they can afford.

Point taken, but I wouldn't do it and would never advise anyone else to.

You are looking from the point of a gamer, whereas I'm looking at it from the point of what is worth putting myself in hock for.

And no graphics card is worth that, just my opinion.

 

[Woodsta888]

Absolutely you should buy an expensive item on a 0% credit card as the card comes with added consumer protection for online purchases. Pay off the balance instantly if you can/want. But all online purchases should be done on a credit card and using one properly will give you a better credit rating if you need it.

 

[AiiR]

Absolutely you should buy an expensive item on a 0% credit card as the card comes with added consumer protection for online purchases. Pay off the balance instantly if you can/want. But all online purchases should be done on a credit card and using one properly will give you a better credit rating if you need it.

Absolutely, not enough people do this. Technically paying on a 0% card and spreading the payments over the maximum interest free period is cheaper than paying in a lump sum, especially the way inflation is going.

 

[Richdog]

Point taken, but I wouldn't do it and would never advise anyone else to.

You are looking from the point of a gamer, whereas I'm looking at it from the point of what is worth putting myself in hock for.

And no graphics card is worth that, just my opinion.

No, I am looking at this discussion on debt from the point of view of someone who is reasonably finance savvy. You are using the word "debt" as one catch-all term, as though all debt is a bad idea and unmanageable, regardless of whether it is big or small or high interest or low or no interest. Debt, in this case getting things on credit, is often a better idea than paying all at once in a lump sum, although of course what you choose to do with your own money is your business.

 

[heatonpkmassive]

No, I am looking at this discussion on debt from the point of view of someone who is reasonably finance savvy. You are using the word "debt" as one catch-all term, as though all debt is a bad idea and unmanageable, regardless of whether it is big or small or high interest or low or no interest. Debt, in this case getting things on credit, is often a better idea than paying all at once in a lump sum, although of course what you choose to do with your own money is your business.

Right, well if you're finance savvy then anything I say may have no value. Look, no need to patronise me. I know debt is necessary and in some situations is a good thing. Business certainly can't survive without it. I'm using debt clearly in the context of buying a graphics card and in that context only, where else have I referred to any other form of debt in a negative light? I did say certain things were a sensible use if it, if you read what I was saying. So that point isn't really valid. I'm 52, been around a bit, seen a lot of financial situations, both in the country itself and personally.

I disagree with you on financing a graphics card, end of chat. You might think it's a great idea and if you do, I'll have some of what you've been smoking. If the OP pays it off, I'll be very happy for him because he'll not only have a nice graphics card, he'll have boosted his credit rating a good deal. However, if the OP is suddenly faced with an unexpected cost, it might turn out to be a totally different and not so pleasant scenario.

Differing opinions are all what you and I have. And I won't be changing mine.

 

[Ragnahex]

borrowing at 0% is fine if you have no problem paying off and can guarantee that you'll have zero problems paying it off for the entire length of the repayment schedule. It works out theoretically cheaper when taking inflation in to account though realistically that only works if you get pay rises which seem to be getting rarer. However everybody has different risk tolerances. Personally i've never borrowed money for anything except a house but that's just me

 

[Grim5]

So I've actually had 4 GPU's in 2 years. The list is follows:

6800 (Returned for 6800XT)
6800 XT (Sold and bought 3070 Ti plus a bit of change)
3070 Ti (Current GPU had since July 2021)
3080 12GB (Just bought and will sell 3070 Ti to recover some cost)

That means I've tried 4 different GPU's in one generation. To be fair I wanted a 3080 from the beginning but couldn't get hold of one. I'm fairly confident I'll be happy with the 3080 12GB Strix i just payed £1200 for a bit longer than the 3070 Ti ... Unless those 4080's are released end of the year are actually available and I get really jealous

Just getting that box with a new shiny GPU inside is the best feeling in the world...

Not specifically GPUs

but I get super excited by designing and building a new system

 

[Richdog]

I disagree with you on financing a graphics card, end of chat. You might think it's a great idea and if you do, I'll have some of what you've been smoking.

When you add stuff like in bold, it just devalues everything else you say, because the reasons why it's good have been detailed in the thread. There is nothing wrong with 0% interest credit on a GPU, it's in fact almost always a good idea vs paying out all at once if you know you can afford the payment plan, end of story.

Your age means little considering you may have been struggling with your finances all your life for whatever reasons, which is probably why you have this hard-line view on credit.

Anyway yeah lets agree to disagree as it's a bit like arguing if the sun is hot or cold.

 

[q974739]

There is nothing wrong with 0% interest credit on a GPU, it's in fact almost always a good idea vs paying out all at once if you know you can afford the payment plan, end of story.

I'm not sure I agree with you here. Consider two scenarios. I buy a GPU for £500, on credit. I pay this off over 6 months. Total cost, £500 - inflation.

Alternative, I save for 6 months and buy the graphics card. Under normal market conditions (read, pre-covid) either:
-That same card is now cheaper
-A better card is available at that price point
-Additional benchmarking reveals it might not be the best card for your use case
-You find a sudden need to spend the money elsewhere
-Your entire computer is killed by lightning
-Inflation at 2-4%

So by my book, waiting does seem preferable. And I'm really not joking about the PC being fried by lightning.

 

[CuriousTomCat]

There is nothing wrong with 0% interest credit on a GPU, it's in fact almost always a good idea vs paying out all at once if you know you can afford the payment plan, end of story.

Everybody thinks they can afford their payment plan. Everybody with 0% thinks it's a good idea. Everybody feels secure in their job etc. Yet £982,000,000 gets written off each year because some of those people were lying to themselves.

It's their business if they borrow to buy a GPU. Yet if the debt is written off, that's all our business because the money has to come from somewhere. Increases in other areas.

 

[heatonpkmassive]

When you add stuff like in bold, it just devalues everything else you say, because the reasons why it's good have been detailed in the thread. There is nothing wrong with 0% interest credit on a GPU, it's in fact almost always a good idea vs paying out all at once if you know you can afford the payment plan, end of story.

Your age means little considering you may have been struggling with your finances all your life for whatever reasons, which is probably why you have this hard-line view on credit.

Anyway yeah lets agree to disagree as it's a bit like arguing if the sun is hot or cold.

Again more guff. And you added the bold in your quote! Maybe learn the difference between bold and italics?

I already said we'd agree to disagree, glad you now understand that.

 

[heatonpkmassive]

Everybody thinks they can afford their payment plan. Everybody with 0% thinks it's a good idea. Everybody feels secure in their job etc. Yet £982,000,000 gets written off each year because some of those people were lying to themselves.

It's their business if they borrow to buy a GPU. Yet if the debt is written off, that's all our business because the money has to come from somewhere. Increases in other areas.

Exactly. No point discussing with him, he's always right because he's' financially savvy'

 

[rare]

I’m comfortable financially and have purchased things like GPU’s on 0% finance. No different than any other large purchase. Never had a problem, it’s convenient and safe. It’s all down to personal situation, but by default buying something like an expensive GPU on 0% finance isn’t ‘a bad idea’.

 

[gpuerrilla]

Apparently the 10GB 3080 is a slide show in Far Cry 6, at 4k, with high texture pack & ray tracing, https://youtu.be/mMIue2mGKNI?t=21.

Unfortunately perhaps there isn't enough encouragement at times to say its ok to turn on dlss/fsr or lower settings to get a good experience with the card you have and some people are left feeling that they have got to future proof more via hardware rather than use software settings. Hence, Nvidia get away with charging so much extra for only 2GB more Vram

It was discussed to death. There was a difference between acknowledging a problem (hardware) and knowing if it was something that affects you down the road. The main problem when FC6 released months back was a couple of jokers kept denying it saying the game was broken and not running out of VRAM (then playing at 1440p).

Lower res displays it will not be a problem. However looking at the threads where people are getting a fresh chubber on for the new AW widescreen or the LG OLED panels, you will only see more of the weaknesses draw out.

 

[Richdog]

Everybody thinks they can afford their payment plan. Everybody with 0% thinks it's a good idea. Everybody feels secure in their job etc. Yet £982,000,000 gets written off each year because some of those people were lying to themselves.

It's their business if they borrow to buy a GPU. Yet if the debt is written off, that's all our business because the money has to come from somewhere. Increases in other areas.

Plenty of people with money and stable incomes use 0% finance to buy things, it's not a system reserved for, or only useful to, people with no money or have no stable income or live week to week on their savings.

Again more guff. And you added the bold in your quote! Maybe learn the difference between bold and italics?

I already said we'd agree to disagree, glad you now understand that.

Umm, what? I obviously bolded the text to highlight the part I was referring to.

Exactly. No point discussing with him, he's always right because he's' financially savvy'

*nods slowly*

And they say age brings wisdom...

 

[Ragnahex]

credit is like a knife. In the right hands it's an incredibly useful tool but in the wrong hands it's just dangerous

 

[heatonpkmassive]

*nods slowly*

 

[mingey]

What a scary thread, willing to go into debt for a GPU, boy have things changed again it's personal preference but never in a million years would I encourage or myself whack something on finance for a hobby, I've been gaming since my Vic 20/ C64 days and prefer to game than watch a movie, I guess it's a case of horse for courses.