[SOLVED] PC upgrade question fx8350 rx 580 or 1070

[rhazta]

i have A 8350 cpu m4a87td mb and looking to upgrade the graphics card first then save for a new high end build with a decent monitor etc...

should I get a new rx 580 for $300 aud

used 580 for $200

used 1070 $350 I know it will bottleneck that cpu but would u it still run better than 580? I mainly play overwatch and wish to play pubg smoothly on 1080

thanks

 

[King_V]

Well, the first thing to consider is: what are your goals?

A big part of that is going to be defined by what kind of monitor you're planning on getting? What resolution and refresh rate? You'll probably want to get a video card based on the performance you want on that future monitor, rather than on what you have now, at least if it's going to be any time in the relatively near future.

That said, there's an argument to be made for not upgrading your video card until you are upgrading the whole system. By then, the same amount of money can buy more GPU horsepower.

What video card do you have now, and what are the specs of your current monitor?

 

[rhazta]

My current card isnt working, the screen shuts down all of a sudden when I start to open a program. I need a graphics card for the time being. My goal is to play competitive gaming. so a 240hz 24” monitor? Or 144hz 27”? dont care about image quality

 

[cryoburner]

My current card isnt working, the screen shuts down all of a sudden when I start to open a program. I need a graphics card for the time being. My goal is to play competitive gaming. so a 240hz 24” monitor? Or 144hz 27”? dont care about image quality

For high refresh rate gaming, your current CPU would definitely limit your performance now. So I wouldn't bother with such a monitor upgrade until you upgrade the rest of your system.

should I get a new rx 580 for $300 aud

used 580 for $200

used 1070 $350 I know it will bottleneck that cpu but would u it still run better than 580? I mainly play overwatch and wish to play pubg smoothly on 1080

Considering you can get a brand new 1660 SUPER with a fresh warranty for under $400 AUD, $350 seems perhaps a bit much for a used 1070 with relatively similar performance and a lack of warranty coverage...

https://au.pcpartpicker.com/products/video-card/#c=450,438&sort=price

Of course, if your goal is competitive performance at 1080p, I suspect your FX 8350 will be limiting your frame rates more than anything, and you might not see much of a performance difference between either of those and something like an RX 580, at least until you have upgraded the rest of the system.

Another card that might be worth considering would be the 1650 SUPER, which tends to perform similar to an RX 580 in most games, but only comes in 4GB models, which could potentially limit performance compared to an 8GB RX 580 in some of the more demanding future titles down the line.

There's also the 1660 (non-SUPER, non-Ti), which performs roughly in-between a 1650 SUPER/RX 580 and a 1660 SUPER/1070, and should be priced roughly in-between those two levels of performance as well. In general, a 1070 can perform up to around 30% faster than an RX 580, but you are unlikely to see much of that difference if the per-core performance of your CPU is holding you back.

 

[King_V]

I wouldn't bother with 240Hz. Gimmick. There's no evidence that the human eye and brain can deal with anything that fast, nor the human body respond to it. Even 144Hz is a bit of overkill (my rough estimate is that the human limit is about 100fps, maybe a touch less), BUT, 144Hz monitors typically go for around the same price as their slower bretheren.

Even at 1080p, doing 144fps requires a pretty hefty graphics card.


Also, if it's shutting down when opening programs, are you sure it's the GPU that's going bad, and not the power supply? Does the screen just go blank, or does the system freeze, or shut down?

Just to be safe, what's the EXACT brand and model number of your PSU? Oh, and what is the model of the dying video card?

 

[GarrettL]

Yup, don't buy into the 240Hz hype.

 

[Phaaze88]

@King_V @GarrettL
You both reminded me of this headache: https://forums.tomshardware.com/thr...on-with-the-360hz-asus-rog-swift-360.3562120/
A certain group just wouldn't stahp...

 

[geofelt]

You can find a rough guide to gpu performance at ton's gpu hierarchy guide:
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gpu-hierarchy,4388.html
RX580 is rated at 57.9 and GTX1070 at 69.9
What is the make/model of your psu?
What was your graphics card that failed?
If it makes a difference, the rx580 needs a stronger psu.

While a FX-8350 has relatively slow cores, it still may be ok, depending on your games.
Try this test:
Run YOUR games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
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.

Since you need a replacement card anyway, go ahead and buy one now.
I have no problem with used so long as you can trust the seller.
I think you get fair value from a used card.
Ebay is ok and has sufficient buyer protection if you pay with paypal.
Some EVGA cards may come with a transferable warranty.

If your games are fast action shooters, buy the strongest graphics card you can afford.

If your competitive games are multiplayer, look for a cpu with many threads.

Try removing one of your current 8 threads and see if it impacts your games.

You can do this in the windows msconfig boot advanced options option.
You will need to reboot for the change to take effect. Set the number of threads to less than you have.
This will tell you how sensitive your games are to the benefits of many threads.
If you see little difference, your game does not need all the threads you have.

If your games are sims, mmo or strategy games, pay attention first to the single thread performance.

 

[King_V]

@King_V @GarrettL
You both reminded me of this headache: https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/when-240hz-just-isn’t-enough-hands-on-with-the-360hz-asus-rog-swift-360.3562120/
A certain group just wouldn't stahp...

You have to imagine me saying this in a voice that suggests something between exasperation and moderately hysterical panic:

"WHY THE HELL IS THAT CONVERSATION EVEN HAPPENING?!?!"

I had to refrain from adding to it and saying "By that logic, a human can see the difference between 1 million and 10 million frames/sec, because it's 10x the original value."

It's like human biology somehow is not part of the equation for the defenders....

DEAR GOD MAKE IT STAHP!!

Also, I technically blame you for making me aware of this - I had somehow missed it, and ignorance was bliss. But now?

"Now I'm gonna need a few drinks."
"But King_V, you don't drink."
"Yeah, WELL I'VE BEEN MEANING TO START!!"