graphics card

albionmoonlight · 09-04-2020, 10:20 AM

My 12-yr-old had a friend make him a PC.

He now would like to upgrade it over time.

He's very into graphics-intensive gaming, so he's looking for a high-end graphics card.

I know nothing about this world. And I want him to take ownership of this whole thing, but I also don't want him dropping a bunch of money on something that is shitty.

I figure I could google it and get info, but it also seems like something that folks here would know a lot about.

What's a high-quality graphics card for PC that will be worth the money he spends on it?

cartman · 09-04-2020, 10:22 AM

What is his budget? There is a plethora of options out there right now.

Edward64 · 09-04-2020, 10:23 AM

I generally go to Tom's Hardware to research all things PC. Here's their analysis of graphics cards.

Best Graphics Cards 2020 - Top Gaming GPUs for the Money | Tom's Hardware

weegeebored · 09-04-2020, 10:53 AM

I also use Tom's Hardware for reference and also anandtech.com occasionally. On a PC it's important to keep components in balance. No part should be overkill or underwhelming. With overkill, it doesn't hurt the performance just the wallet. Underwhelming parts will hurt the PC performance. Another thing to pay attention to is size. The best video cards are BIG; make sure there is enough room in the case / on the motherboard to install it. (Also make sure the card is compatible with the slot.) If you could post the PC specs it would help us make a recommendation.

cartman · 09-04-2020, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by weegeebored

I also use Tom's Hardware for reference and also anandtech.com occasionally. On a PC it's important to keep components in balance. No part should be overkill or underwhelming. With overkill, it doesn't hurt the performance just the wallet. Underwhelming parts will hurt the PC performance. Another thing to pay attention to is size. The best video cards are BIG; make sure there is enough room in the case / on the motherboard to install it. (Also make sure the card is compatible with the slot.) If you could post the PC specs it would help us make a recommendation.

Along with this you also have to make sure that the power supply can provide enough juice for some of the bigger cards.

weegeebored · 09-04-2020, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cartman

Along with this you also have to make sure that the power supply can provide enough juice for some of the bigger cards.

Great point; not only the wattage but compatible connectors as well.

Coffee Warlord · 09-04-2020, 11:19 AM

One thing I will say. Do not buy a card right now. Nvidia is releasing their 3000 series cards next month. This is the worst time to buy a card.

Edward64 · 09-04-2020, 11:23 AM

Thanks, I missed the below paragraph from Tom's. 2080Ti is top of the food chain right now at $1,140 but supposedly the 3070 is going to cost $350 or less? Seems unbelievable, can that be right?

Quote:

Looking forward, Nvidia has officially announced its GeForce RTX 3090, GeForce RTX 3080, and GeForce RTX 3070, with release dates of September 24, September 17, and October respectively—all using the new Ampere architecture. AMD's Big Navi and Intel's Xe HPG are also coming, though HPG won't be here until 2021. If you're looking to buy a new high performance GPU, obviously waiting for the new stuff to arrive makes sense, and we might see a few price drops on existing product lines.

Or perhaps not. Nvidia likes to discontinue rather than discount, and prices on many PC components are on the rise, likely related to COVID-19 shortages. Still, given the RTX 3070 is supposed to beat an RTX 2080 Ti in performance, and probably cost $350 or less, waiting for that card to launch rather than paying more today for hardware that's soon to be outdated makes sense.

albionmoonlight · 09-04-2020, 11:23 AM

Awesome insight, guys.

I know how much money he (doesn't) have right now, so I am expecting this to be something he gets with his Christmas money.

I'll bump this closer to the time with specs, etc.

dubb93 · 09-04-2020, 11:29 AM

Do not buy a card right now unless it’s a 3000 series. With the new console generation incoming I suspect most people are going to want to atleast the 3000 series within the next couple of years.

GrantDawg · 09-04-2020, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edward64

Thanks, I missed the below paragraph from Tom's. 2080Ti is top of the food chain right now at $1,140 but supposedly the 3070 is going to cost $350 or less? Seems unbelievable, can that be right?

I see the 3070 at $499, which is closer to $600 less. The 3080 is supposed to be $699. The 3090 is the big jump at $1499. It would have to do special favors at that price.

Edward64 · 09-04-2020, 07:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

I see the 3070 at $499, which is closer to $600 less. The 3080 is supposed to be $699. The 3090 is the big jump at $1499. It would have to do special favors at that price.

Thanks for the update, guess Tom's had it wrong or it was outdated intel. Still a pretty significant price drop for the supposed performance. Great for consumers.

Unfortunately $500 is still too much for me to spend. I have a 750ti (ancient by today's standard) and it still plays the games I want without much problem (other than late-game Civ 6).

I will be looking at a new GPU for around $150'ish during BF.

For those here that do buy for the higher end cards, do you really need the performance and how do you justify the cost?

Scoobz0202 · 09-04-2020, 08:15 PM

Video games are one of, if not my biggest, hobby so spending $500 on a GPU every couple of years isn't a big deal to me.

Need the performance? Nah. But if you want to play 1440p on a 144hz monitor and maintain high frames on modern games then yea, it's easy to justify it if you have the money.

Edward64 · 09-04-2020, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scoobz0202

Video games are one of, if not my biggest, hobby so spending $500 on a GPU every couple of years isn't a big deal to me.

Need the performance? Nah. But if you want to play 1440p on a 144hz monitor and maintain high frames on modern games then yea, it's easy to justify it if you have the money.

So when you replace the old card, I assume that old card is still pretty good (or at least by my 750ti standards). What do you do with it? Is there a trade-in program somewhere or do you sell it on eBay?

Scoobz0202 · 09-04-2020, 08:25 PM

Usually sell it. Maybe offer it to an online gamer friend for a discount.

Currently have a 2070. Bought it for $500 last April. Debating between the 3070 ($499) and the 3080 ($699). I could PROBABLY get $200 for my 2070? (TBH havent even looked). Helps subsidize the cost.

GrantDawg · 09-04-2020, 08:37 PM

Could you really, Scoobz? I never even thought of selling one. I know I would never trust a used one. I give to my son. I have a 2080, and if I could get that much for it, I would for sure get a 3000 series.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

Brian Swartz · 09-04-2020, 08:45 PM

May also want to look at what CPU he has. It can seem counterintuitive but these days most graphics bottlenecking is due to the CPU not keeping up with the GPU, rather than the other way around.

Scoobz0202 · 09-04-2020, 08:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

Could you really, Scoobz? I never even thought of selling one. I know I would never trust a used one. I give to my son. I have a 2080, and if I could get that much for it, I would for sure get a 3000 series.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[USA-IL][H] PNY GeForce RTX 2080 8GB XLR8 Gaming Overclocked Edition Graphics Card [W] PayPal : hardwareswap ($450)

[USA-PA] [H] RTX 2080, EVGA 2080 Super XC Ultra, Asus ROG Swift PG279Q Black 27" 165Hz 2k, Acer XF251Q, i5-8400, MSI MPG Z390 Gaming plus, PNY 500GB SSD, 40GB of DDR4 RAM [W] Paypal : hardwareswap (Scroll down to the bottom of the comments, the Founders Edition 2080 sold for $510)

[USA-CT] [H] Gigabyte Gaming OC 2080 White 8GB, Asus ROG Strix 1080 Ti [W] PayPal : hardwareswap (Trying to get $430)

Scoobz0202 · 09-04-2020, 08:57 PM

dola

That was a quick glance at Hardware swap on Reddit. Didn't do anything in depth. Check ebay recently ended listings. Your 2080 will definitely get more than what I thought about my 2070. The market for GPU is inflated and has been for awhile (as you know with what you paid for your 2080). The used market has been strong for sellers for awhile.

Now, keep in mind, the 3000 series may tank that a little. But if reports are correct stock on the 3000 series initially may be very bad.

Edit: and yea, I understand not wanting to buy used. I get it. I don't love it either. But there is a strong used market for PC hardware. Your reservations are definitely not shared by all.

GrantDawg · 09-05-2020, 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scoobz0202

dola

That was a quick glance at Hardware swap on Reddit. Didn't do anything in depth. Check ebay recently ended listings. Your 2080 will definitely get more than what I thought about my 2070. The market for GPU is inflated and has been for awhile (as you know with what you paid for your 2080). The used market has been strong for sellers for awhile.

Now, keep in mind, the 3000 series may tank that a little. But if reports are correct stock on the 3000 series initially may be very bad.

Edit: and yea, I understand not wanting to buy used. I get it. I don't love it either. But there is a strong used market for PC hardware. Your reservations are definitely not shared by all.

Thanks. Making me think about it.

frnk55 · 09-05-2020, 12:00 PM

Hey guys I'm still running my 970 card for years now but I gotta get a new one.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Super 8GB GDDR6 PCI Express 3.0 is what I want.

Question is will it fit my motherboard? I gotta Sabertooth Z97 Mark 2.
I don't want to buy a 500$ card and have to send it back cause it won't fit.
I also have a 1000 power supply and my pc is i7-4790 CPU @ 4.00Ghz 4 cores 8 logical processors.
Someone please just give me a yes or no? I'd really appreciate it.

MizzouRah · 09-05-2020, 08:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frnk55

Hey guys I'm still running my 970 card for years now but I gotta get a new one.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Super 8GB GDDR6 PCI Express 3.0 is what I want.

Question is will it fit my motherboard? I gotta Sabertooth Z97 Mark 2.
I don't want to buy a 500$ card and have to send it back cause it won't fit.
I also have a 1000 power supply and my pc is i7-4790 CPU @ 4.00Ghz 4 cores 8 logical processors.
Someone please just give me a yes or no? I'd really appreciate it.

YES

Expansion Slots
2 x PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16 (Single at x16, dual at x8/x8)
1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (max at x4 mode, black)
3 x PCIe x1

Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 GPU Compatible PC Motherboards

frnk55 · 09-06-2020, 01:34 PM

Thanks! Nice link also! Now I can get my pc running better.

albionmoonlight · 10-27-2020, 09:46 AM

This question has changed a bit. He'd like to get some stuff to upgrade over Christmas. I know nothing about this world.

I asked him for the specs of what he has. This is what it is:

Code:

Processor: AMD Ryzen 3 1200 Quad Core Processor 3.10 GH (Not overclocked)

8 GB of RAM

Graphics Card: Gtx 980

From what I can tell, the problem isn't his graphics card. He seems to definitely need a RAM upgrade to 16 GB.

How is his processor? It seems pretty low end from what Google tells me. But is that even replaceable?

He basically wants to be able to run graphics intense games.

How best (and most affordably) to get him there?

Edward64 · 10-27-2020, 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

This question has changed a bit. He'd like to get some stuff to upgrade over Christmas. I know nothing about this world.

I asked him for the specs of what he has. This is what it is:

Code:

Processor: AMD Ryzen 3 1200 Quad Core Processor 3.10 GH (Not overclocked)

8 GB of RAM

Graphics Card: Gtx 980

From what I can tell, the problem isn't his graphics card. He seems to definitely need a RAM upgrade to 16 GB.

How is his processor? It seems pretty low end from what Google tells me. But is that even replaceable?

He basically wants to be able to run graphics intense games.

How best (and most affordably) to get him there?

Upgrading to 16GB RAM is good but the biggest bang for the buck is upgrading the HD. If its a mechanical, non-SSD then he should upgrade to SSD first.

I compared the Ryzen to my current desktop i7-6700.

https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compar...200/3515vs3931

It says my 4-core score is +11%, overall +25% but take these with a grain of salt.

I have a 750ti GPU and his GTX 980 beats me handily.

Not sure what your budget is but it may be better to wait for BF and help chip in to get him a Dell for around $500-$600 and transfer over his GTX 980.

weegeebored · 10-27-2020, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

This question has changed a bit. He'd like to get some stuff to upgrade over Christmas. I know nothing about this world.

I asked him for the specs of what he has. This is what it is:

Code:

Processor: AMD Ryzen 3 1200 Quad Core Processor 3.10 GH (Not overclocked)

8 GB of RAM

Graphics Card: Gtx 980

From what I can tell, the problem isn't his graphics card. He seems to definitely need a RAM upgrade to 16 GB.

How is his processor? It seems pretty low end from what Google tells me. But is that even replaceable?

He basically wants to be able to run graphics intense games.

How best (and most affordably) to get him there?

At some point, upgrading becomes a waste of money. If by "graphics intensive" he means AAA games at highest graphics settings, his current box ain't going to cut it even with an upgrade. That said, the 980 is a good card, but it's 6 years old. The CPU is 3rd from the bottom on Tom's Hardware CPU hierarchy list. 16 GB of RAM will help, as would swapping out the CPU for the fastest the motherboard and chipset will allow. Adding an SSD to decrease loading times is always a nice upgrade. We're still talking hundreds of dollars here depending on the CPU upgrade. And I don't know how much faster things will be for games as the video card is not being upgraded. A little faster, sure, but maybe not as much as he wants.

NobodyHere · 11-11-2020, 12:23 PM

Is this a good time to buy a new card yet? I was thinking about something in the $250 range.

Scoobz0202 · 11-11-2020, 10:08 PM

It's a pretty rough time to buy a graphics card, but if you were in a rush probably something like the 1660 Super. I'm assuming you are playing at 1080p.

Theoretically, the lesser 3000 series cards will drop such as the 3060, 3050, etc. But that may be 3..4...5 months away.

Edward64 · 11-11-2020, 10:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

Is this a good time to buy a new card yet? I was thinking about something in the $250 range.

Monitor or setup an alert at Hot Deals - Slickdeals.net

Lots of knowledgeable people there and they'll let you know if its a good deal. From my perspective, I'd wait just before BF through CM.

NobodyHere · 11-12-2020, 11:12 AM

I should back up a bit first.

Right now I have a GTX 1060. How much performance increase would I get with a $250ish card?

Scoobz0202 · 11-12-2020, 11:29 AM

Honestly, probably not much. If the lower end 3000 series cards offer the performance/price jump that the higher end ones do then it will be a different story. To be honest, if you are getting "enough" performance right now I would honestly wait until thing settle down even if that might be Q1 or even Q2 of 2021.

What CPU do you have? At 1080p the CPU plays a much bigger role than at higher resolutions as well.

NobodyHere · 11-12-2020, 04:55 PM

Right now I have an Intel i5-4690 @ 3.5 GHZ, but I also want to do higher than 1080p

09-04-2020, 10:22 AM	#2
cartman Death Herald Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Le stelle la notte sono grandi e luminose nel cuore profondo del Texas	What is his budget? There is a plethora of options out there right now. __________________ Thinkin' of a master plan 'Cuz ain't nuthin' but sweat inside my hand So I dig into my pocket, all my money is spent So I dig deeper but still comin' up with lint

09-04-2020, 08:15 PM	#13
Scoobz0202 Pro Rookie Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Dayton, Ohio	Video games are one of, if not my biggest, hobby so spending $500 on a GPU every couple of years isn't a big deal to me. Need the performance? Nah. But if you want to play 1440p on a 144hz monitor and maintain high frames on modern games then yea, it's easy to justify it if you have the money. Last edited by Scoobz0202 : 09-04-2020 at 08:15 PM.

09-04-2020, 08:57 PM	#19
Scoobz0202 Pro Rookie Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Dayton, Ohio	dola That was a quick glance at Hardware swap on Reddit. Didn't do anything in depth. Check ebay recently ended listings. Your 2080 will definitely get more than what I thought about my 2070. The market for GPU is inflated and has been for awhile (as you know with what you paid for your 2080). The used market has been strong for sellers for awhile. Now, keep in mind, the 3000 series may tank that a little. But if reports are correct stock on the 3000 series initially may be very bad. Edit: and yea, I understand not wanting to buy used. I get it. I don't love it either. But there is a strong used market for PC hardware. Your reservations are definitely not shared by all. Last edited by Scoobz0202 : 09-04-2020 at 08:58 PM.

09-06-2020, 01:34 PM	#23
frnk55 High School Varsity Join Date: Nov 2006	Thanks! Nice link also! Now I can get my pc running better. Last edited by frnk55 : 09-06-2020 at 01:36 PM.

10-27-2020, 09:46 AM	#24
albionmoonlight Head Coach Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: North Carolina	This question has changed a bit. He'd like to get some stuff to upgrade over Christmas. I know nothing about this world. I asked him for the specs of what he has. This is what it is: Code: Processor: AMD Ryzen 3 1200 Quad Core Processor 3.10 GH (Not overclocked) 8 GB of RAM Graphics Card: Gtx 980 From what I can tell, the problem isn't his graphics card. He seems to definitely need a RAM upgrade to 16 GB. How is his processor? It seems pretty low end from what Google tells me. But is that even replaceable? He basically wants to be able to run graphics intense games. How best (and most affordably) to get him there? Last edited by albionmoonlight : 10-27-2020 at 09:46 AM.

09-04-2020, 10:23 AM	#3
Edward64 Head Coach Join Date: Oct 2005	I generally go to Tom's Hardware to research all things PC. Here's their analysis of graphics cards. Best Graphics Cards 2020 - Top Gaming GPUs for the Money \| Tom's Hardware

09-04-2020, 10:53 AM	#4
weegeebored High School Varsity Join Date: Sep 2006	I also use Tom's Hardware for reference and also anandtech.com occasionally. On a PC it's important to keep components in balance. No part should be overkill or underwhelming. With overkill, it doesn't hurt the performance just the wallet. Underwhelming parts will hurt the PC performance. Another thing to pay attention to is size. The best video cards are BIG; make sure there is enough room in the case / on the motherboard to install it. (Also make sure the card is compatible with the slot.) If you could post the PC specs it would help us make a recommendation.

09-04-2020, 11:19 AM	#7
Coffee Warlord Head Coach Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Colorado Springs	One thing I will say. Do not buy a card right now. Nvidia is releasing their 3000 series cards next month. This is the worst time to buy a card.

09-04-2020, 11:23 AM	#9
albionmoonlight Head Coach Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: North Carolina	Awesome insight, guys. I know how much money he (doesn't) have right now, so I am expecting this to be something he gets with his Christmas money. I'll bump this closer to the time with specs, etc.

09-04-2020, 08:25 PM	#15
Scoobz0202 Pro Rookie Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Dayton, Ohio	Usually sell it. Maybe offer it to an online gamer friend for a discount. Currently have a 2070. Bought it for $500 last April. Debating between the 3070 ($499) and the 3080 ($699). I could PROBABLY get $200 for my 2070? (TBH havent even looked). Helps subsidize the cost.

09-04-2020, 08:37 PM	#16
GrantDawg World Champion Mis-speller Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Covington, Ga.	Could you really, Scoobz? I never even thought of selling one. I know I would never trust a used one. I give to my son. I have a 2080, and if I could get that much for it, I would for sure get a 3000 series. Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

09-04-2020, 08:45 PM	#17
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	May also want to look at what CPU he has. It can seem counterintuitive but these days most graphics bottlenecking is due to the CPU not keeping up with the GPU, rather than the other way around.

09-05-2020, 12:00 PM	#21
frnk55 High School Varsity Join Date: Nov 2006	Hey guys I'm still running my 970 card for years now but I gotta get a new one. NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Super 8GB GDDR6 PCI Express 3.0 is what I want. Question is will it fit my motherboard? I gotta Sabertooth Z97 Mark 2. I don't want to buy a 500$ card and have to send it back cause it won't fit. I also have a 1000 power supply and my pc is i7-4790 CPU @ 4.00Ghz 4 cores 8 logical processors. Someone please just give me a yes or no? I'd really appreciate it.

11-11-2020, 12:23 PM	#27
NobodyHere Grizzled Veteran Join Date: Nov 2013	Is this a good time to buy a new card yet? I was thinking about something in the $250 range. __________________ "I am God's prophet, and I need an attorney"

11-11-2020, 10:08 PM	#28
Scoobz0202 Pro Rookie Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Dayton, Ohio	It's a pretty rough time to buy a graphics card, but if you were in a rush probably something like the 1660 Super. I'm assuming you are playing at 1080p. Theoretically, the lesser 3000 series cards will drop such as the 3060, 3050, etc. But that may be 3..4...5 months away.

11-12-2020, 11:12 AM	#30
NobodyHere Grizzled Veteran Join Date: Nov 2013	I should back up a bit first. Right now I have a GTX 1060. How much performance increase would I get with a $250ish card? __________________ "I am God's prophet, and I need an attorney"

11-12-2020, 11:29 AM	#31
Scoobz0202 Pro Rookie Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Dayton, Ohio	Honestly, probably not much. If the lower end 3000 series cards offer the performance/price jump that the higher end ones do then it will be a different story. To be honest, if you are getting "enough" performance right now I would honestly wait until thing settle down even if that might be Q1 or even Q2 of 2021. What CPU do you have? At 1080p the CPU plays a much bigger role than at higher resolutions as well. Last edited by Scoobz0202 : 11-12-2020 at 11:29 AM.

11-12-2020, 04:55 PM	#32
NobodyHere Grizzled Veteran Join Date: Nov 2013	Right now I have an Intel i5-4690 @ 3.5 GHZ, but I also want to do higher than 1080p __________________ "I am God's prophet, and I need an attorney"

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