Question Help with upgrade please

[lofthouse1982]

Hi, I currently have a 1660 super graphics card and would like to upgrade. Which of these cards would give me the best upgrade in performance and graphics quality?

I currently have
GeForce 1660 super
32gb ram @3300 speed
Windows 11
Ryzen 7 2700x overclocked to 4.3ghz
1tb nvme
Steel legend B450 edition motherboard

https://ibb.co/2KWmcH5

Many thanks

 

[Nighthawk117]

The link doesn't work. What budget do you have and what's the reason for upgrading the 1660 Super?

 

[lofthouse1982]

Basically would like better graphics, at moment everything can be put on ultra settings. Looking at around £700 max.

https://ibb.co/2KWmcH5

 

[Karadjgne]

In any given pc, there's 3 primary limiting factors. The cpu, the gpu, the monitor.

The cpu is responsible for fps. It makes every frame. The gpu is responsible for taking the frame data from the cpu and rendering a picture, the monitor is responsible for refreshing all the frames sent by the gpu.

So let's say the cpu can put out 200fps in a game, and the gpu can put out 150fps to the monitor at ultra and you have a 60Hz refresh. You get a visible 60Hz period. You could upgrade the gpu to a 4090 and a possible 500fps output, but are still stuck at 60Hz. A gpu upgrade there will not increase any performance graphically or visibly.

So let's say the cpu can only put out 50fps in a game, the gpu capable of 200fps, the monitor at 60Hz. Change the gpu, you get no bonus. Change the monitor, no bonus. Wasted money on both accounts as the cpu is the major limiting factor.

So let's say the cpu can put out 400fps, the gpu 50fps at ultra and a 60Hz monitor. Gpu upgrade will work best as now it's the major limiting factor, so an upgrade to a gpu that put out more than 60fps at ultra will be visible.

Gpu upgrade only is of any benefit when it's the major limiting factor. If it can already put more frames out to the monitor at ultra than the monitor can show, the upgrade is pointless. This is the reason many will use a higher refresh monitor, just so the monitor isn't a limiting factor in such a big way. It's also the reason to use a bigger/faster cpu, so that it is not the limiting factor in fps production.

Play your hardest graphical game at ultra. What's the fps. Now change that to medium. If you see a big jump in fps, that's a gpu limitation. If fps barely changes at all, that's a cpu limitation. If either is over the refresh of the monitor, that's a monitor limitation and cpu/gpu upgrades won't change how you see the picture.

A gpu upgrade makes sense if you can't play at ultra without a sizable drop in fps. How much of a gpu upgrade is determined by 3 factors. Budget, need and psu.

 

[lofthouse1982]

Would having Rtx be an improvement compared to what I have now?

 

[Nighthawk117]

Basically would like better graphics, at moment everything can be put on ultra settings. Looking at around £700 max.

I don't understand, if everything can be put on ultra graphics with the 1660 Super then what are you aiming to achieve?

 

[Nighthawk117]

Would having Rtx be an improvement compared to what I have now?

Yes but the RTX implementation in most games is unimpressive, it's a very small number of titles where it's really worth it. Cyberpunk is probably the most impressive.

 

[lofthouse1982]

Okay, I thought I would have greater improvement by having rtx or newer graphics card. I have noticed when using reshade on games it can struggle at times, so an upgrade to gpu wouldn’t improve things?

 

[Nighthawk117]

Okay, I thought I would have greater improvement by having rtx or newer graphics card. I have noticed when using reshade on games it can struggle at times, so an upgrade to gpu wouldn’t improve things?

A more powerful graphics card will help with Reshade performance. I don't use Reshade but as I understand it, it will not take advantage of the dedicated ray tracing hardware on Nvidia RTX cards. Only on titles that support RTX will you be able to use the latter. I've played a handful of games with ray tracing, Cyberpunk is very impressive with it on particularly at night in the city when it's raining. Control is pretty good and Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition makes pretty good use of it.

So yes you will certainly benefit from a new GPU, but you won't get the benefits of RTX unless you play titles like the above. In terms of what GPU I would recommend though, if it were me I would buy at least double what I already had to make it worth my while. On that basis I would recommend a 3070 Ti or 3080. The 3070 Ti is roughly twice as fast as a 1660 Super, obviously other factors come in to play when determining overall system performance.

If an upgrade is not urgent you could also wait for the 4060 to be released.

 

[lofthouse1982]

Thanks for all the replies, please could you tell me which 3070 is best to buy? Few versions on Ccl website.

Cheers

 

[lofthouse1982]

Also would this 3060 card be okay? It’s a bit cheaper

ASUS GeForce RTX 3060 Dual OC 12GB Graphics Card

 

[Nighthawk117]

Thanks for all the replies, please could you tell me which 3070 is best to buy? Few versions on Ccl website.

Cheers

I would probably go with the Gigabyte for the 3 fans:

Clearance Graphics Cards | Open Box GPU Deals | CCL

Clearance Graphics Cards available from CCL Computers. Find your perfect Desktop PC, Laptop, Monitor, Computer Part or Peripheral with CCL Computers. Shop online today!

www.cclonline.com

Before you buy though you should check you have a suitable PSU as these cards use more power than your current 1660S and they are prone to momentary spikes of high power use which can upset lower end PSU's.

 

[Nighthawk117]

Also would this 3060 card be okay? It’s a bit cheaper

ASUS GeForce RTX 3060 Dual OC 12GB Graphics Card

I like the 12GB of VRAM but the 3070 is more powerful, given the fact your 1660S is still fairly capable I would still opt for at least a 3070. Is there any particular reason for using CCL? There are some cheaper options at Ebuyer:
https://www.ebuyer.com/1126107-pali...ro-v1-ampere-graphics-card-ne63070019p2-1041a

I've been using the 3080 version of that for the last 2 years, the cooler is identical.

 

[lofthouse1982]

I tend to use Ccl but open to deals 👍 think I will go for the

Palit GeForce RTX 3070 8GB GamingPro V1 Ampere Graphics Card

thanks for all the help and to double check that this is the best option

 

[Nighthawk117]

I tend to use Ccl but open to deals 👍 think I will go for the

Palit GeForce RTX 3070 8GB GamingPro V1 Ampere Graphics Card

thanks for all the help and to double check that this is the best option

I've used Ebuyer many times, I would have no issues buying either of those cards. I just mention the Palit one because it's cheaper and I think it looks nicer than the Gigabyte. I think the Gigabyte has slightly quieter fans though.

 

[Karadjgne]

What monitor?

 

[Why_Me]

Hi, I currently have a 1660 super graphics card and would like to upgrade. Which of these cards would give me the best upgrade in performance and graphics quality?

I currently have
GeForce 1660 super
32gb ram @3300 speed
Windows 11
Ryzen 7 2700x overclocked to 4.3ghz
1tb nvme
Steel legend B450 edition motherboard

https://ibb.co/2KWmcH5

Many thanks

Need to know your monitor resolution and the make, model and age of your psu. With that said I would upgrade your cpu and look at the reviews and prices of the RTX 4070 (non Ti) and RTX 4060 when they are released this April.

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product...700x-34-ghz-8-core-processor-100-100000926wof
AMD Ryzen 7 5700X £178.18

 

[lofthouse1982]

X2 Acer RT270bmid 27 inch IPS Monitor - Full HD 1080p, 4ms, HDMI, DVI And I have 2 power supplies Aero Cool Integrator 700W Power Supply 80 Plus (PSU0676) GameMax RPG Rampage 850W Semi-Modular Power Supply 80 Plus Bronze

 

[John Chesterfield]

Both of these power supplies are terrible units, you also need to factor in costs for a decent one.

 

[lofthouse1982]

Which is the better psu? I currently use gamemax psu.

If I’m buying another psu, which is a good one to buy?
Thanks

 

[Karadjgne]

That Aerocool isn't 700w. It's physically closer to a 350w. While it says it has 56A (672w) on the 12v rail, it's a cheap Andyson group regulated Bronze platform on a basic design that's over 30 years old tech. I'd have Zero issues believing it'd smoke at anything over 50ish% on that rail and being group regulated isn't going to be all that healthy on a modern pc that runs almost entirely on the 12v rail.

4x 6+2pcie on a 850w unit isn't looking good. SoHoo Technologies isn't very forthcoming about who is the actual OEM of the psu, and they are primarily a very cheap mass market case manufacturer, GameMax is their House Brand psu.

4x 6+2 is 600w and supposedly there's 70A to play with, that's 840w, so it's at least a DC-DC not a group regulated design, which for modern tech is considerably better, but the GameMax psus have been around for years and Nobody reliable has done a teardown. As far as I can tell, it's a in-house OEM by SoHoo, not an outsourced to actual psu maker psu, so looks like GameMax is made by GameMax, which being a pc case manufacturer doesn't inspire me with any confidence.

Imho, doorstops, both of them. I'd not give them away to someone you actually disliked.

As for recommendations, that's upto the budget and location and whether you'd be getting local or online, but a excellent 550w/ decent 650w will be plenty of reliable power for a 3060, you'd be looking at the 650w for sure with a 3070. And I'd be looking at only 80+ Gold, there's no point in 80+ Bronze at those wattage levels.

 

[DSzymborski]

Imho, doorstops, both of them. I'd not give them away to someone you actually disliked.

Disagree strongly. You want doorstops to have some weight; these cheap garbage boxes are generally featherweights!

 

[Karadjgne]

Disagree strongly. You want doorstops to have some weight; these cheap garbage boxes are generally featherweights!

ROFL. 🤣

 

[Avro Arrow]

A good match for that CPU would be the RX 6600 or RX 6600 XT. Right now, Newegg has the MSi RX 6600 XT on sale for only $230. It's 12% faster than the RTX 3060 which costs $350. The MSi RX 6600 XT is normally $335 but has an $85-off promo code. At that price, it is the only card that anyone in your situation should be looking at right now.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

The other cards you can look at if looking at used, is the 5700xt. Picked one up recently for $140 US. About the same speed as a 6600xt. If you could score a deal like that you could likely grab a newer cpu and sell your old one to recoup part of the cost.