Question Is this a good time to get a good price on a Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1060 Windforce3?

[pstepanas]

A sudden increase in mid-game crashes means I have to upgrade my PC in the next week or so. Unfortunately, I'm no longer following the PC Hardware scene, so I could really use some help. I am also on a budget, and always try to hit the value sweet spot between price and performance -- after all, the technology moves so quickly.

The best prices in my area are from umart.com.au. They have recommended a Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1060 Windforce3 OC 6GB for A$329. In the past, I have usually bought video cards in the sweet-spot range of A$200-$250 -- with a new card every 2-4 years -- so this is a bit more than I meant to spend.
https://www.umart.com.au/Gigabyte-GeForce-GTX-1060-Windforce3-OC-6GB-Graphics-Card_49660G.html

My current video card is a GTX 750 Ti. Assuming it is not the cause of my crashes, this card has been sufficient until now. However, it is not coping so well with my new 2K monitor: I'm having to turn down some of the graphics settings.

My dilemma is, do I stick with the GTX 750 Ti for a few months, or do I buy a new video card (possibly the 1060) now, with the rest of the new system?

I don't know where we are in the GPU release cycle, and don't want to spend extra money just because of bad timing. For example, I'm saving A$60 on the CPU (see below) just because a new generation is about to be released. If I can save a similar amount on the GPU just by waiting a month or two, I will do it.

I'm also not certain that the video card I've been suggested is the right one for me. I believe it was recommended primarily because 6GB is now considered the minimum for gaming. So I'm certainly open to other options, in addition to waiting a bit.

System Details
I am running two displays: the primary is 2560x1440 at 75Hz; the secondary is 1920x1080. Neither has FreeSync. I'm likely to use these for as much as 10 more years.

The new system looks like it's going to be an AMD Ryzen 7 2700 (mainly because of Intel's current security issues), with 16GB DDR4 3200MHz Kingston HyperX Predator RAM, on a Gigabyte B450 Aorus Elite AM4 motherboard.

Usage Details
I've been using Windows 7 x64, but intend to immediately put Windows 10 x64 Pro on the new system (despite some awful GUI choices from Microsoft).

My only activity that really pushes the graphics subsystem is gaming. Currently, that means Diablo III and Gems of War. Neither is especially current. In fact, because of the awful state of the gaming market at the moment, it's quite likely that the next new games I play will be Skyrim HD and Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order. Whether I buy now or later, my aim is that this card will be perfectly capable for SW Jedi Fallen Order.

Most of the time I'm on the computer, I'm running Word, Excel, YouTube on Firefox, Steam, Discord, and occasionally Paint.NET (a free equivalent to PhotoShop) -- usually all at the same time, and simultaneous to playing a game. I Alt-Tab between the windows frequently (often, I'm collecting data on various features from the game, eg: Guild Stats for the week).

My guess is that none of the latter depends significantly on the graphics card, though I am considering upping my RAM to 24GB.

Any advice on the timing of my graphics card upgrade, which card to buy, or any poor choices in the rest of the system upgrade would be hugely appreciated.

Thank you, in advance.

 

[iMatty]

What is your power supply? modal and brand?
You could go for an RX570 or 580, yes 1060 has a little bit of better performance but still, the RX580 you could find it for around 200$ or something.
The Ryzen 7 is a good choice to be honest, but just wait for the new ryzen release so prices drop on the older chips.

 

[pstepanas]

Thanks for responding, iMatty.

Current power supply is a Master 800 WT 800W -- probably the reason why I'm having problems, buying no-brand.

For the new system, the recommendation is a SilverStone ET750-G 750W Gold 80Plus Essential (guess they didn't know when to stop adding designations!).

I'll have a look at the RX models, but I'm a bit leery of AMD/ATI GPUs (the days of the ATI Graphics Pro Turbo are long gone). I had issues with their drivers and supporting software back in 2004.

Nice to hear that the Ryzen 7 is a good option. Unfortunately, I can't wait on that one, but I seem to have hit a post-announcement low on the price that is already back on the way up.

Back to the video card, a bit of reading suggests that a 1660 would be a better option than a 1060 for 2K gaming. But that pushes it out of my price range entirely. I'm feeling a bit better about the extra cost of the 1060, especially since I'm hardly on the cutting edge of gaming.

Any other thoughts?

 

[iMatty]

Problem is you don't really want to pair a 1060 with an R7, it will bottleneck you in some GPU intensive games.
If you could go for a 1070 is possible? should be a good pair until you can save up and get an rtx 2060 or something.

 

[pstepanas]

Thanks, iMatty,

I'm afraid a 1070 is completely out of the question: more than double the price, and no longer available. I don't necessarily mind a GPU bottleneck now, since I'm only likely to have it for 3-4 years, while I'm likely to have the CPU for 8-10 years.

I have a new question, based on new information, but will post it as a separate thread.