Graphics Card.. Which is best for me?

[+jamesyfx Subscriber²]

Hi guys,

 

Long time no log-in. 

 

Basically I've just built a PC which I intend to use for Gaming.. It's been a long time since I last touched a Desktop, and I'm unfamiliar with the current range of cards. When I was last into all this I think the GeForce 200 series was the current stuff.

 

Anyway, I'd like your input on which graphics card would suit me the most. I know the main restriction is going to be my monitor which is 1080p. I don't plan on upgrading it to anything higher spec for a while either.

 

The system I built is relatively powerful (I think??)... I chose the parts based on recommendation, but there's so many graphics cards out there and the prices vary between models quite a lot, so it's a head scratcher for me.

 

It's an i7 7700K (with H80i Liquid Cooler... I factored in that I may wanna Overclock it eventually) with 16GB DDR4 (Says it's 3733MHz), M.2 WD Black SSD.  The case I've got should fit any card, and my PSU is a Corsair CX650M.

 

I'm currently leaning towards getting the GTX 1060... But discussing this with friends makes them give me funny looks. Also there seems to be 2 distinct version of the 1060.. which confuses me further.  Plus the pricing on all these cards seem to be all over the place.

 

 

I don't have a specific budget in mind, but I'd like to get the best 'bang for buck' where I can. 

 

 

What do you guys think??

 

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

 

[eddman]

You could go with a 1070 or a vega 56. Vegas seem to be overpriced right now. Among 1070s this one seems to be a good deal: https://www.newegg.com/global/uk/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127951

 

There is nothing wrong with getting a 1060 for 1080 res but a 1070 would offer better longevity. If you have the budget, get a 1070.

 

1060 is cheaper though and if you do decide to get one to save some money, make sure it's a 6 GB version (stay away from 3 GB). This maybe: https://www.newegg.com/global/uk/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487261

 

I have one and performs well but is quite loud under high loads. I suppose dual fan variants are quieter and cooler. Something like these:

 

https://www.newegg.com/global/uk/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487280

https://www.newegg.com/global/uk/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487275

 

EDIT: Those prices seem to be a direct conversion from their US prices. I don't know how they are priced in UK. Which e-tailer do you buy your parts from?

Edited October 2, 2017 by eddman

[Mindovermaster Moderator]

Yeah, there's a 3GB and 6GB GDDR5 versions. I'd get the 6GB one.

 

Edit: As eddman, says...

[Mando]

i was surprised to read 1060 level of card after reading the rest of the specs mate.

 

if you wanna game above 1080p any time soon, then its a 1070 upwards (id go 1080 minimum range, same with AMD models)

 

ive paired my 7700k with a 1080ti 4k 60fps all day long, but i intend to game with a similar rig as yours at 4k, if i was staying at 1080 gaming a good 1070 or the new ti if im honest.

 

 Also bare in mind the 1070ti is also on the horizon, this could be quite a card for less money than a 1080 series or equiv AMD GPU.

 

1080 Resolution Reccs

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ASUS-Strix-GeForce-GDDR5-Graphics/dp/B01HMDRY7E/ref=sr_1_9?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1506964312&sr=1-9&keywords=1070&th=1

https://www.amazon.co.uk/EVGA-GeForce-GAMING-Support-08G-P4-5173-KR/dp/B01HZQVSDO/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1506964408&sr=1-1&keywords=evga%2B1070&th=1

 

2k/4k Reccs

https://www.amazon.co.uk/EVGA-GeForce-Support-Graphics-08G-P4-6286-KR/dp/B01GAI64GO/ref=sr_1_2?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1506964470&sr=1-2&keywords=evga+1080

https://www.amazon.co.uk/EVGA-Optimized-Interlaced-Graphics-11G-P4-6393-KR/dp/B071XP4MBS/ref=sr_1_3?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1506964491&sr=1-3&keywords=evga+1080ti

 

money no object

https://www.amazon.co.uk/EVGA-GeForce-HYBRID-GAMING-Technology/dp/B074D7S8HR/ref=sr_1_5?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1506964491&sr=1-5&keywords=evga+1080ti

 

I plan to buy the evga mod for my EVGA 1080ti to make same as last link  when i need to boost it 40%

 

[LaP]

Gamers who spend that much money on a cpu to pair it with a 1060 puzzle me. If you can't afford a 1070 with a i7 then buy a i5 and a 1070.

 

If you play at 1080p all current mid range cpus including all Ryzen 5 and up and all new core i5 and up will do the job perfectly fine and will continue to do so for the next 10 years probably. My 10 years old core i5 750 gives me around 40fps at 1080 with medium to high settings in pretty much all new games (coupled with a 970 which is pretty much as good as a 1060). If you decide to upgrade your monitor to a 2k or 4k one next year because you got a deal you can't refuse then a 1060 will give you headaches sooner than later. At 4k you will have to replace this card as soon as you make the switch. At 2k soon enough probably if the One X is a success and multiplatform games are made with it in mind. The i7 versus a i5 or Ryzen 5 wont make much of a difference at 4k or even 2k for the next 5 or 6 years as the gpu will be a bottleneck at those resolution. At 1080p60 they are all good enough.

 

 

http://www.trustedreviews.com/reviews/amd-ryzen-5-1600x-and-1500x

 

If you can afford both the i7 and 1070 then go with it. If not then spend less on the cpu and more on the gpu. Even if you are not playing at 2k or 4k today the minute you'll decide to spend money on a 2k or 4k monitor that gpu will be struggling. I would even say if you can get a 1080 it would be the best.

 

I would not buy anything under 1070 or Vega 56 if i was building a computer today with a core i7 or ryzen 7 (or even a 6 cores i5 or Ryzen 5).

 

 

Edited October 2, 2017 by LaP

[The Evil Overlord]

1 minute ago, LaP said:

Gamers who spend that much money on a cpu to pair it with a 1060 puzzle me. If you can't afford a 1070 with a i7 then buy a i5 and a 1070.

In fairness, most home built rigs, the graphics card usually gets sacrificed for a model that'll suffice, (if I dont get x card, I can afford that ssd or a higher spec component, and I'll get the x card later whenI can afford it..)

That's how I built mine, it still rocks a gtx760, but I don't game as much on the pc as I had intended.

[+jamesyfx Subscriber²]

Thanks for the replies. 

 

I purchased the parts piecemeal from various sources.. Overclockers, Scan, Maplin etc. I'm sad and wanted colours to match. 

 

Going off the information you guys have provided,  thinking about a 1060 is unwise. 

 

I could afford The EVGA 1080 at that price on Amazon. Seeing one at around the £550 mark seems incredibly cheap. It doesn't seem right to go for a 1070 if you can get a 1080 for just under £100 more. My main concern was that my Power Supply couldn't handle a 1080.. but things have changed a lot since I was last into building PC's. Power consumption has gone way down!

 

Also, I was actually considering to build a Ryzen 5 system originally, but I was put off when I was browsing Scan's website and they stated that none of the motherboards would work with them without a BIOS update (? Sounds weird).. But I decided to throw more at this and go for the Intel. 

 

I'm 90% sure I'll go for a 1080. 

 

 

[LaP]

24 minutes ago, The Evil Overlord said:

In fairness, most home built rigs, the graphics card usually gets sacrificed for a model that'll suffice, (if I dont get x card, I can afford that ssd or a higher spec component, and I'll get the x card later whenI can afford it..)

That's how I built mine, it still rocks a gtx760, but I don't game as much on the pc as I had intended.

I still rock a core i5 750 (overclocked) i bought 10 years ago. It performs way way better in games than as a workstation and it's not even close. I'll upgrade it soon not because it can't run new games with my 970 but because i'm about to lose all my hairs compiling and rendering on this god **** slow cpu. It can run Witcher 3 and Rise of the Tomb Raider at 1080p40 with medium to high settings just fine. It looks as good as the Xbox One version of those games .

 

If you intend to work with the computer a lot (like me) then yeah spend on the cpu it is worth it. For gaming a mid range cpu will do the job for a long time. Many people are still gaming on a i5 2500 (released in 2011 almost 7 years ago). Coupled with a newer gpu like the 1070 the i5 2500 more than likely gives better result than a just released i7 coupled with a 7 years old gpu like the 570 unless you game at low resolution.

 

If you have enough money for top cpu and top gpu then fine. If your current gpu is not too old and you plan to keep it and you'll have enough money to upgrade it soon then fine. But if you intend to buy a new gpu and keep it for 2 or 3 years and you just game with your computer then imo it is wiser to get a mid range cpu (core i5 or ryzen 5) and spend a little bit more on the gpu.

Edited October 2, 2017 by LaP

[Mockingbird]

Do yourself a favor.

 

Drop the Core i7-7700K and liquid cooler.

 

Buy a Ryzen 5 1600 and use a stock cooler.

 

Get DDR4-3000 instead of DDR4-3733.

 

Use the money you saved to get a Geforce GTX 1080.

[Jim K Global Moderator]

Do you need it now?  I would get either the 1070 or 1080 (which ever I could afford at the time...both are very good cards)...1080 would obviously handle 4k if that is what you're wanting.  If you can wait until the end of the month the 1070ti is rumored to be releasing. May drive the price of the 1070 down (or you could get the 1070ti).

[Circaflex]

23 minutes ago, Mockingbird said:

Do yourself a favor.

 

Drop the Core i7-7700K and liquid cooler.

 

Buy a Ryzen 5 1600 and use a stock cooler.

 

Get DDR4-3000 instead of DDR4-3733.

 

Use the money you saved to get a Geforce GTX 1080.

He's already purchased those parts, he is asking for GPU options not CPU recommendations.

[Mando]

3 hours ago, jamesyfx said:

Thanks for the replies. 

 

I purchased the parts piecemeal from various sources.. Overclockers, Scan, Maplin etc. I'm sad and wanted colours to match. 

 

Going off the information you guys have provided,  thinking about a 1060 is unwise. 

 

I could afford The EVGA 1080 at that price on Amazon. Seeing one at around the £550 mark seems incredibly cheap. It doesn't seem right to go for a 1070 if you can get a 1080 for just under £100 more. My main concern was that my Power Supply couldn't handle a 1080.. but things have changed a lot since I was last into building PC's. Power consumption has gone way down!

 

Also, I was actually considering to build a Ryzen 5 system originally, but I was put off when I was browsing Scan's website and they stated that none of the motherboards would work with them without a BIOS update (? Sounds weird).. But I decided to throw more at this and go for the Intel. 

 

I'm 90% sure I'll go for a 1080. 

 

 

you have to think hard at this point, do you intend to go 4k in the next 6-12 post HDR monitors and the like (Q1 2018)?

If the answer of "god yes please" then stretch a bit further to a ti, talking 15% more with same clockability for approx another £200, but only if your going 4k monitor, or intend to get a 4k HDR monitor early next year.

If up to 2k a 1080GTX will fly (and also supports HDR). Its not half bad at 4k mind you, but the extra ram, more shaders and memory speeds of the ti leap ahead at 4k@60fps with AA etc, only thing faster is the last Titan.

 

I mostly buy my gear via Amazon tbh 100% returns policy  but will use scan etc if they have the model i like. check the model against its brothers on EVGA sites, linked below buddy find best bang per buck on clock speeds nd cooling solution, their vapourchamber ICX are decent.as as the dual/tri fan setups more fans slower they rpm

 

https://eu.evga.com/products/productlist.aspx?type=0&family=GeForce+10+Series+Family&chipset=GTX+1080

 

I do like my EVGA kit im running a similar rig to yours but with 6 ssds in raid (4+2) vols, chip clocked to 4.6 on all cores, corsair 115i cooler and a 1080ti all happily running on a 650W GS EVGA PSU. I also bought their power link for the card, much better  means i use 2x8 pin instead of the cards 6 plus 8 with inline power filters  tidy cabling also. Mine > https://eu.evga.com/products/product.aspx?pn=11G-P4-6390-KR

 

Powerlink (moves power connectors to the front edge out of view)

https://eu.evga.com/products/product.aspx?pn=600-PL-2816-LR

 

The customer support is superb, just make sure you register all your evga kit  

 

[+jamesyfx Subscriber²]

I just have to go for one of those EVGA 1080 Cards.. 

 

Thanks all for your advice. 

[Mando]

6 minutes ago, jamesyfx said:

I just have to go for one of those EVGA 1080 Cards.. 

 

Thanks all for your advice. 

you wont regret it, their after sales support is first rate.

 

check to see if Aria stock them, you could literally nip across town to pick it up