Question 2070, 2080, or 1080ti?

[EBarratt]

Hiya, I currently own a 1050ti which is quite out of date now and I would like something better.
I'm looking at secondhand graphics card and the three options I've decided on are the 2070, 2080 or the 1080Ti. I understand that the 20-cards are obviously newer but don't seem to be quite as good at the 1080ti.
I'm looking to spend a maximum of £220 on this, and all of the cards above fall within this range, with the 2070 and 1080ti being a similar price at approximately £190 and the 2080 from £210 upwards.

I have a Ryzen 5 2600 and 16GB RAM.
Any help would be appreciated, or if there's a different card I should look at. Thank you!

 

[Order 66]

This is interesting, because the 1080ti has more VRAM than the 2080, but the 2080 has support for mesh shaders meaning that Alan Wake 2 will perform a lot better on a 2080 than a 1080 ti.

 

[EBarratt]

This is interesting, because the 1080ti has more VRAM than the 2080, but the 2080 has support for mesh shaders meaning that Alan Wake 2 will perform a lot better on a 2080 than a 1080 ti.

This is where i’m not sure, or if I should go for a different card completely. The 20 series is obviously newer so has support for mesh shaders and ray tracing but looking at benchmarks the 1080ti seems overall better in terms of performance.

 

[geofelt]

Any of the three cards would be a good upgrade.
Two caveats:

1) What is the make/model of your psu? Is your psu up to the increased gpu power requirements?

2) What kinds of games do you play?
If you play fast action shooters, a better gpu is good.

If you play cpu centric games such as sims, strategy or mmo then your processor might be what limits you.
Run YOUR games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
This makes the graphics card loaf a bit.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.
If your FPS stays the same, you are likely more cpu limited.

 

[kira-faye]

The 2080, absolutely. Mesh shader support, DLSS, it can do raytracing well enough in older titles, and it's a newer architecture that will be supported longer.

 

[EBarratt]

Any of the three cards would be a good upgrade.
Two caveats:

1) What is the make/model of your psu? Is your psu up to the increased gpu power requirements?

2) What kinds of games do you play?
If you play fast action shooters, a better gpu is good.

If you play cpu centric games such as sims, strategy or mmo then your processor might be what limits you.
Run YOUR games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
This makes the graphics card loaf a bit.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.
If your FPS stays the same, you are likely more cpu limited.

1. The PSU is a 400W power supply so should have no issues there? Could be wrong.

2. I play a mix of strategy and shooters, but mainly the shooters which is the reason I would like a graphics card.

I don’t think it’s the CPU as I upgraded that most recently and I struggle the most with graphics rather than anything else.

 

[kira-faye]

1. The PSU is a 400W power supply so should have no issues there? Could be wrong.

2. I play a mix of strategy and shooters, but mainly the shooters which is the reason I would like a graphics card.

I don’t think it’s the CPU as I upgraded that most recently and I struggle the most with graphics rather than anything else.

I would not recommend running any of those cards with a 400w supply. A good quality 650w, minimum. 750w ideally.

Nvidia requires a 600w for the 1080ti, 650w for the 2080, and that's with the reference designs - if a board partner factory OCs the card the requirement will be higher still.

 

[geofelt]

What is the exact make/model of your psu?
A psu with wattage ending in 00(vs. 50) smacks of an older unit with much of the pattage going to 5.5v and not 12v where modern graphics cards need it.
Does it have the requisite aux power connectors that the gpu requires?
Adapters will not be effective nor safe.

 

[EBarratt]

What is the exact make/model of your psu?
A psu with wattage ending in 00(vs. 50) smacks of an older unit with much of the pattage going to 5.5v and not 12v where modern graphics cards need it.
Does it have the requisite aux power connectors that the gpu requires?
Adapters will not be effective nor safe.

I believe it's this one:

https://www.coolermaster.com/catalog/power-supplies/mwe-series/mwe-400/#specifications

 

[kira-faye]

I believe it's this one:

https://www.coolermaster.com/catalog/power-supplies/mwe-series/mwe-400/#specifications

Yeah, not even close to suitable. It would probably just go in to protection and turn off when you tried to play a game, but it also might fail and take everything else with it. Don't risk it.