[SOLVED] Upgrading from i7 4820k system - what would be the right gpu for me?

[MC_Yachtmeister]

Hey everyone,

My GTX 780ti I currently use on my i7 4820k system (8gb of DD3 1666 RAM) is running out of steam on current games so I am considering an upgrade.
Now that the Nvidia Super cards are out I am a bit confused here. My interest is 1080p gaming, I don't have a 1440p panel and won't be buying one in the near future.
I basically want a gpu with which I can comfortably get another 2-3 years of quality HD gaming out of my rig till I have to completely replace it which seems inevitable at some point due to old CPU and mainboard.
So here are my thoughts:

• GTX 1660ti: Might be sufficient now but I've seen benchmarks from very demanding games where the FPS on ultra settings on HD already went below 60 fps with a better CPU than mine.
• GTX 2060 Super: Probably the right balance of cost and power? I'd really like to have the 8gb VRAM. Suggestions on good aftermarket choices?
• GTX 2070 Super: I kind of want to get this one since my concept is buy once, cry once and then be happy. Then again probably vastly overpowered for what I want to do with it and not quite enough for serious 4K if I get to that point eventually. Maybe good for 1440p gaming though if you were to make that switch at some point? Would the rest of my system even hold up for that?

Any advice is really appreciated, thanks everyone!

 

[Phaaze88]

A 4820k with only 8GBs of ram???
Is that just 1 or 2 sticks?

 

[Kkkk1]

I'd go 2070Super with 1440p, not really a 4K card, perhaps with medium settings it would be OK. Also 8gb main ram is just not enough, 16gb now.

 

[MC_Yachtmeister]

Thanks a lot for your replies! Actually one of my 8gb RAM sticks recently died and I have not really bothered replacing it since. Checked it with cpu-z and it is a single channel 8gb stick with 800mhz frequency 🙈. I will order a new set of 16gb dual channel 2400mhz ddr3 RAM, that is the fastest my mainboard supports.
I am however still torn between the 2070s and 1660ti since replacing motherboard and cpu will certainly have to happen at some point and if I should aim for a 4k system then, the gpu would need to be replaced again anyway...

 

[Phaaze88]

You intend to jump to 4k from 1080p...
Well... a 2070 Super can do SOME 4k... the experience isn't likely to be satisfactory though.

I'd say if you really want to play at 4k THAT badly, save up some more. If you get a card now, and later get the 4k monitor, then you have to go and buy ANOTHER card.
That's a waste.
If you can't be bothered to save up, then get the 2070 Super and move to 1440p instead - the card is a perfect match for that resolution.

 

[SgtScream]

If I were you:
I'd get your current platform back onto dual channel or better yet quad channel by adding memory and just do a graphics card and monitor upgrade now. Going with a 1440p or higher resolution monitor on that system will cause the system to be mostly gpu bound. Then in 1-3 years do a platform upgrade when your system no longer meets minimum system requirements for games. That way by the time you're ready for the platform upgrade you'll already have a great monitor and graphics card to pair with it.

 

[MC_Yachtmeister]

I just wanted to thank everybody for the advice! I settled with a Gigabyte RTX 2070s since that card seemed to provide a nice balance of cooling, performance and warranty in relation to its price. Pretty happy so far though I did not really test it to its maximum potential playing on a 1080p screen and mostly rocking Borderlands 3 atm. I will definitely get a WQHD screen next.

I also had pretty good results OCing my i4820k to 4,4 Ghz and using 16 GB 2133 RAM in contrast to the 8 GB 1600 Mhz I had before (can't get the RAM to run on 2400 Mhz though). This made BL3 finally playable for me with most settings on high, I think I got an average of 10-15 fps more out of it.