• Competitor rules

    Please remember that any mention of competitors, hinting at competitors or offering to provide details of competitors will result in an account suspension. The full rules can be found under the 'Terms and Rules' link in the bottom right corner of your screen. Just don't mention competitors in any way, shape or form and you'll be OK.

I want to upgrade, but I probably shouldn't...

Angilion

Angilion

Angilion

Man of Honour
Joined
5 Dec 2003
Posts
21,063
Location
Just to the left of my PC
I'm still using a Radeon 7950. It's got a good third party cooler on it, so the temps and noise are good. I've tweaked clocks and voltages to optimise performance about as far as I can (the card is power-throttled, so reducing voltages increases performance). I get 1026 on the Heaven benchmark with the settings in the thread in this forum (https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/threads/unigine-heaven-4-benchmarks.18487976/ )
which is very good for a 7950.

I game at 1080 so a 7950 is still not bad, but I'm mainly playing a heavily modified Fallout 4 and it's not really up to the job. It's fine for the game in general with suitable settings, but large, complex settlements with many objects with large textures result in a framerate I find irritatingly low.

So I want a new toy. Sensible budget is ~£200, although I could go higher if I had a good enough reason to and probably will. I want a big increase, not just 20% here and there, and I want something with a quiet and very effect cooler. So I'm thinking I'll probably need to increase my budget unless I can find something good second hand. I'm not entirely sure what, though. I haven't looked at graphics cards very much for the last few years.

My rational side is saying "It would be better to wait for Vega and see how that affects the market", but I also want a new toy now :)
 
I've used the ASUS Dual series 1070/60.... loud, 2.3 slot cooler which isn't stated and ram chips are left exposed with no sink. if your thinking ASUS just go for the Strix
 
Angilion said:
I'm still using a Radeon 7950. It's got a good third party cooler on it, so the temps and noise are good. I've tweaked clocks and voltages to optimise performance about as far as I can (the card is power-throttled, so reducing voltages increases performance). I get 1026 on the Heaven benchmark with the settings in the thread in this forum (https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/threads/unigine-heaven-4-benchmarks.18487976/ )
which is very good for a 7950.

I game at 1080 so a 7950 is still not bad, but I'm mainly playing a heavily modified Fallout 4 and it's not really up to the job. It's fine for the game in general with suitable settings, but large, complex settlements with many objects with large textures result in a framerate I find irritatingly low.

So I want a new toy. Sensible budget is ~£200, although I could go higher if I had a good enough reason to and probably will. I want a big increase, not just 20% here and there, and I want something with a quiet and very effect cooler. So I'm thinking I'll probably need to increase my budget unless I can find something good second hand. I'm not entirely sure what, though. I haven't looked at graphics cards very much for the last few years.

My rational side is saying "It would be better to wait for Vega and see how that affects the market", but I also want a new toy now :)
Click to expand...

I have a 7950 myself

Sensible way to go is a 480, VEGA will not be in the 200 pound range so I don't think it will effect that segment to much price wise
If you want to go 1440 in the future it makes sense to wait imo , but for solid 1080 performance you cannot go wrong with a 480 and I see no reason why you should hold out on buying now

Just my two cents
 
llamadal said:
used 980ti
Click to expand...

Now there's a good idea. I hadn't thought about that option. I think that would probably be the best price/performance ratio within the range of price and performance I'm after. Good call!

easyrider said:
Used 980ti when the 1080ti hits on the 10th March

MM will be flooded with them...
Click to expand...

Particularly because of that. There are bound to be people here who will do that upgrade. Probably not a flood, but probably enough.

Or maybe a nearly new 1070 from someone who gets a serious case of upgraditis and buys a 1080ti.
 
I made the jump from a 7950 to a 1070 and the difference is dramatic! If you can stretch your budget and can find a second hand one I'd highly recommend it, but as mentioned above, a 980ti will be a good shout if you can nab it for your budget as that will also be a massive jump, enough to give you that 'woah factor' :)
 
Angilion said:
Now there's a good idea. I hadn't thought about that option. I think that would probably be the best price/performance ratio within the range of price and performance I'm after. Good call!



Particularly because of that. There are bound to be people here who will do that upgrade. Probably not a flood, but probably enough.

Or maybe a nearly new 1070 from someone who gets a serious case of upgraditis and buys a 1080ti.
Click to expand...


Ohh I thought you wanted a New toy ....But yeah .. there is plenty of second hand stuff out there

Just be aware you are buying a previous generation GPU with the declining (driver) support that goes with it
 
to be honest, at this point in time I would not buy a second hand 980ti. While they are great cards which will serve anyone well for quite a while, I think there are much better deals to be had and if you can stretch the budget a bit, maybe aim for a second hand 1070 or even 1080. The timing for that is perfect with the 1080Ti launch. Yes, you could wait a bit more until this magical Vega finally appears although I very much doubt it will have an effect.
 
Griffildur said:
to be honest, at this point in time I would not buy a second hand 980ti. While they are great cards which will serve anyone well for quite a while, I think there are much better deals to be had and if you can stretch the budget a bit, maybe aim for a second hand 1070 or even 1080. The timing for that is perfect with the 1080Ti launch. Yes, you could wait a bit more until this magical Vega finally appears although I very much doubt it will have an effect.
Click to expand...
Isn't the 980ti pretty much 1070 performance?
 
Feoilban said:
Ohh I thought you wanted a New toy ....But yeah .. there is plenty of second hand stuff out there
Click to expand...

New to me, rather than new from the factory. I'm relatively poor, so if I want expensive bits I have to be looking at used bits.

Just be aware you are buying a previous generation GPU with the declining (driver) support that goes with it
Click to expand...

I am, and I've read that nvidia is particularly bad in that respect. But bear in mind that I'm currently using a card from the beginning of 2012. We must all cut our cloth to suit our purse and my purse is small. I'd prefer a 1070, but I need to take prices into account and consider the effective differences. A 1070 isn't all that much better than a 980ti - the performance now is pretty much the same and in a few years time (when I'll probably still be using the card), they'll both be a couple of generations old.

Part of that is being used to be poorer than I now am, though. I could spend £300 rather than £200 on an occasional purchase without it being a problem. But that caution with money is the main reason why I'm not as poor as I was, so I'm inclined to stick with it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom