60+ fps gpu a waste if my monitor has 60hz refresh rate?

[SnowMare]

my monitor has a refresh rate of 60 hz, so will getting a gpu that gives over 60 fps be a waste?

 

[Haravikk]

Some games are more demanding than others so no GPU is really a "60+ fps GPU"; even within a single game you may be lucky not to see the occasional dips in frame-rate during particularly demanding battles etc.

Put another way; when you buy a powerful GPU, you're not doing so to get a frame-rate faster than the human eye can perceive, you're doing it to guarantee that you get a good frame-rate the entire time.

If a GPU can average 80 fps at a game, then you know you'll rarely (if ever) dip below 60, or you can use the extra headroom to enable fancier graphics settings, your preference. Many games are locked to avoid exceeding 60 fps now anyway, as extra frames don't really do anything except waste power and generate heat, so it's usually better to run the GPU a little less hard.

Short answer; no, it's not a waste 😉

 

[SnowMare]

Some games are more demanding than others so no GPU is really a "60+ fps GPU"; even within a single game you may be lucky not to see the occasional dips in frame-rate during particularly demanding battles etc.

Put another way; when you buy a powerful GPU, you're not doing so to get a frame-rate faster than the human eye can perceive, you're doing it to guarantee that you get a good frame-rate the entire time.

If a GPU can average 80 fps at a game, then you know you'll rarely (if ever) dip below 60, or you can use the extra headroom to enable fancier graphics settings, your preference. Many games are locked to avoid exceeding 60 fps now anyway, as extra frames don't really do anything except waste power and generate heat, so it's usually better to run the GPU a little less hard.

Short answer; no, it's not a waste 😉

I was planning to get a good gpu like a rx 470 (480 is too much atm) to run bf4.
another question, can my monitor do over 60 fps if my monitors refresh rate is 60hz?

 

[Haravikk]

can my monitor do over 60 fps if my monitors refresh rate is 60hz?

Sort of; fps is a measure of how many frames your GPU can render per second, while your monitor's refresh rate is a measure (mostly) of how quickly your monitor can update the entire screen. These don't always line up perfectly, so sometimes it is better for your GPU to render more frames, but in most cases you're not likely to notice a difference.

There are technologies these days (Freesync and gsync) that allow GPUs to match exactly with your monitor's refresh rate, but you have to buy a monitor with the necessary feature (Freesync for AMD). Many games support vsync which is similar though, but results from that can vary (usually you just leave it at default and see what happens).

In general you don't need to worry too much about this though; as long as you're happy with the quality of the monitor, you just need to buy the best GPU in your budget. A card that can deliver a higher frame-rate in a game means it's a more powerful card, which is always a good thing as it means you can play on higher settings, are less likely to experience slow-downs, and will be better equipped to run newer games now and in future (so can go longer without requiring an upgrade), you don't need to worry about a card being too powerful for the monitor as there's always a benefit to having a more powerful GPU.