People just don't get it. GPUs have grown in both importance and power in a gaming rig, and with every higher resolution monitor launch, it requires a more powerful GPU. In the old days, we'd just add a second card for SLI or Crossfire for that. But that ship sailed years ago. Everything now is a single GPU solution for game developers (you can thank consoles for that starting with the PS3 and XB), and if you want to play with the eye candy and high resolutions while hitting at least 60FPS - or the more recent trend of faster 120-240Hz monitors at lower resolutions matching that FPS - you'll have to pay. Prior to my $749 1080 Ti the most I ever paid was $539 for a 2GB 680. That 680 was a regrettable purchase with the longevity span of a gnat in computer relevance as I moved up to my first 2560x1440 monitor. My two 970s in SLI cost more than that 1080 Ti but didn't have the performance at higher resolutions where VRAM matters (and yes, I filed for and got the $30/per card refund from the Nvidia lawsuit).