Best Graphics Cards for the Money (Archive)

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blackmagnum

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May 14, 2012
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These prices are outrageous! Game with the on-board gpu or buy from the big box brands (Dell, Acer, HP...); I've heard the prices for the included gpu is at pre-mining level.
 

AndrewJacksonZA

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Hi Chris, thanks for the update. I actually browsed the old version of the article to refer it to a friend on Thursday and I wondered when the next update would be, seeing as it was a good, what? five months old.

I think that it would be fairer, given the large periods of time that have occurred between the last three or so updates, to show the "normal" pick that you would've made if prices and availability weren't insane, and the "pricing at time of going to print" pick. I think that this would help the article stay relevant for longer, especially when the prices start going down and availability increases. (Yes, I am an optimist, why do you ask? :)
 

cangelini

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Thanks for the note. Yeah, that last update was from November and was horribly out of date, given today's climate. And it's hard to make recommendations based on what all of these cards were launched at a year or two ago. So, I'll be keeping a close eye on any changes that happen moving forward, and should be much quicker to identify when availability improves or pricing falls back into line. Hopefully that helps keep the column more applicable to this "new reality" of gamers and miners sharing whatever AMD and Nvidia can deliver.
 

chalabam

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Sep 14, 2015
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This article is useless without the old list of cards grouped by comparative performance, because I have no idea on how obsolete, if obsolete is my GPU compared to the ones listed here.
 

chargerfan2

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Went to the local Fry's electronics by my house today and just out of curiosity I strolled by the video card isle and it was completely empty.
 

USAFRet

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Articles like this are often not good, simply due to market volatility.
GPU prices have doubled or tripled since late November, strictly due to the mining craze.

The GPU specs are still identical, but the prices are meaningless.
 

crenwelge

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Could you add another category for quietest air cooling? Noise is the biggest drawback to installing a graphics card.
 

AndrewJacksonZA

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That's quite true, actually. An example of which is BF1 (I always check BF1 on reviews first. AND NO I'M NOT ADDICTED! I CAN STOP PLAYING IT ANY TIME I WANT!!!):

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/nvidia-geforce-gt-1030-2gb,5110-4.html

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DbD2

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You've basically got to buy "founders editions" direct from Nvidia now (well click notify and then buy fast when you get the notification) - ironically after all the hatred over Nvidia screwing people with overpriced founders edition cards they are now the cheapest cards you can buy.
 
Basically for Nvidia anything above a GTX 1050, is sold out, and for AMD anything above RX 560 is sold out. I've never seen it so bad before I guess we have new crypto currencies popping up. I hear stories of guys selling off old cards at prices higher than they paid when new it is just nuts! I guess this is like the California Gold rush, but online. Personally I don't trust those currencies they seem easily manipulated by 3rd parties.
 

artk2219

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Welcome to a world with no market regulations! :bounce: Seriously it just goes to show why there are regulations and why traders aren't allowed to always run wild.
 

mapesdhs

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Chris, the 1080 Ti Amazon link seems to point to used offers.




Reminds me of this Frys tour I found recently (skip to about 3 minutes in):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSS3O9R19xY





On the contrary, this is how a free market is supposed to operate in large part, supply/demand variance; what's broken here is the nature of the supply due to the fickle source of the demand. In theory NVIDIA/AMD could solve the pricing issue by producing a lot more cards, but they're afraid of a used GPU dump when the mining scene shifts in some way, flooding the market and spoiling the demand for their newer products. It wouldn't be so bad if the two companies actually made [i/gaming[/i] cards, but they don't, right now they're making AI/compute cards the table scraps of which are spun off for gamers. The Good Old Gamer covered this nicely ages ago:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkeKx-L_E-o

NVIDIA/AMD could make a card for gaming, ie. an architecture which didn't depend on the sort of hw solution that naturally matches mining algorithms, but they won't do that because gaming is not where the big money increasingly lies. As long as these GPUs are designed primariy for compute (with fast RAM), it's extremely likely they'll continue to be attractive for mining. When was the last time a graphics card review article (GPU is the wrong name/abbreviation for them now IMO) actually talked mainly about new innovative features to improve 3D realism, new shader techniques, AA methods, voxels or basically anything related to 3D graphics? It's been ages.

Either way, the last thing we need is more state interference in how or why a consumer wants to buy a product. I might not like it that someone's buying GPUs for mining, but it's not up to me or anyone else to tell them how they can use what they've paid for. People are calling for driver or firmware lockouts, all sorts of things, all of which would set a terrible precedent. The nature of this demand pressure is what should force either company (if they have half a clue), or some rival, to produce a card that's actually aimed at gamers. Perhaps it's time for a 3rd player to enter the market, because atm NVIDIA/AMD are hell bent on going after the AI/compute market before gaming even gets a nod (and why shouldn't they, lots more money to be made in the former sector).

IMO gamers are partly responsible for this though, as the focus on high-refresh and/or high-res/VR gaming has put pressure on game devs not to make new games too visually complicated, otherwise they just won't run that well (or be perceived to) by a rather vocal section of the market. Look at the way site reviews cover new CPUs, testing an 8700K at 1080p, referring to 100+ frame rates as normal. I can't remember the last time I saw gamers in forums talk about wanting new visual 3D features in their games, such as properly modelled fire, smoke, water, lava, mud, destructible environments, etc., the sort of thing which would be great for the interactive world mechanics of games like Tomb Raider. Instead, we just get annually updated tripple A shooter titles and all the other usual run of the mill stuff. There's little innovation these days in games realism. If anything, the hype around VR and high-res displays have moved the technical demands backwards, because all that's needed to satisfy such customers is greater fill rates, not new 3D features.

We'll see how much all those complaining about high prices remain true to their own standards; will they complain equally strongly when the mining craze eventually flips in some way and the market is flooded with cheap GPUs? I very much doubt it. What I definitely don't want to see is any govt. sticking its nose in, telling consumers what they can or can't use their purchases for, it's none of their business, especially not when we're talking about here is the beginning of a potentially fundamental shift in the way wealth is controlled at the level of the individual. In this respect, crypto currencies have great potential, but it's a young field with no doubt numerous further hurdles to overcome, including security issues and increasing state interference. Govts. are not going to stand idly by while a means of monetary exchange evolves that's outside their control, something they cannot devalue at will. Govts. love conventional money supply systems because it's an easy way to give out free stuff to keep voters happy, but it depends on having control over printing more paper.

The best thing one can do right now in response to this pricing spike is to simply not buy the product. Retailers will send feedback to AMD/NVIDIA, the pressure will do what it's supposed to do. People are complaining, but so what, try deferring gratification for a while, do something else, or buy a used older model. Both companies could make a proper gaming card if they wanted to; it's up to them whether the $3B/year market is worth bothering with. If not, that's a market opportunity for someone else. What's happening has had a profound effect on used pricing on ebay for normal auctions, I see GTX 980s going now for over 250 UKP, while 980 Tis are approaching 400, which isn't that far away from their original launch price.

Smaller high street retailers btw are a good place to check, they may have stock purchased earlier which remains unaffected by the new higher pricing. Maplin in the UK may have 1050 Ti cards at a decent (old) price, ditto 1060 3GB/6GB. Shop around. Or join the fight for the used cards on ebay or elsewhere (780 Ti is still a good choice). Anyone wanna buy a 970? :D

Ian.

 

Sam Hain

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Apr 21, 2013
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I'm half tempted to slap my two Gigabyte GTX 980 Ti Xtreme Gaming (WF's) back in my rig and sell my GTX 1080 Ti, for a decent profit... Then, keep that money for the next gen (or two) GPU that releases OR use the money for a next-gen CPU (and board) that is meltdown/spectre proof.
 

80-watt Hamster

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Oct 9, 2014
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Maybe, if it's cheap enough (i.e. less than a GTX 1030 or RX 550) and appreciably faster than your old card.

 

lar33mo

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Nov 26, 2017
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I have to wonder how long the bitcoin crypto-currency crazy is going to last. It's sad how Lemming like, Humans are. "Look over there.. Hey.. it's the latest "cool thing".. "You'll be RICH, without really trying!!" I saw a news report about some African guy with an entire bank of about 8 to 12 GTX cards connected to about the same number of "home made computers". Fortunately, I always "future proof" my rigs. I do spend a lot of money, but I don't get caught with my pants down. When various anomalies hit the computer parts market. I'm rebuilding a computer, and am just waiting for the EVGA X99 motherboard to be released. My GTX1080 Ti will do just fine, till it dies. ;-)
 
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