Very Torn Between GTX 1080 & 1070 - Please Advise.

[luci5r]

Guys,

I'm building an HTPC/Gaming Rig for my Home Theater, with the following parts:

- Intel i7-6800k Broadwell-E
- ASUS X99-A II Motherboard
- 16GB (2X8GB) DDR4 G.Skill Ripjaws
- Samsung EVO 250GB M.2 (Operating System)
- Assorted SATA3 6.0Gb/s Hard Drives (Total 10TB)
- Rosewill RSV-L4500 Server Chasis
- EVGA 1050-GS 1050W PSU
- ASUS Blu-ray USB 3.0 Blu-ray Writer/Player
- Corsair H80i v2 CPU Cooler
- Hauppauge Colossus TV Tuner/Capture Card

I'm ready to pull the trigger on a Pascal GTX video card, but I'm thoroughly torn between 1070 & 1080.

I do have $620 budgeted for the card, so it's not that kind of a Cost issue. The issue is, is the GTX 1080 worth $200 more? I can easily get the 1070 for $420. (I'm not looking at Founder's Edition because I have no plans to OC the card).

From everything I've heard, 1080 is only 20% - 25% more powerful then 1070. And that's my biggest question --- Is that 20% worth $200? Is there any area where I'm going to hit a snag with 1070?

Couple of things to consider:

- 4K: Although right now I have a 1080p Projector (Epson 5010), we're definitely picking up a 4K projector this year - so 4K will be involved, and there will be 4K gaming involved. Both 1070 & 1080 are capable of handling 4K gaming; I just don't know if there's a limit to 1070's capabilities in handling 4K.

- VR: We do plan to get Occulus Rift later this year. So VR is definitely going to be used.

- My last HTPC rig lasted 6 years. I have no plans to upgrade this rig for 5-6 years at least (Outside of storage). Will 1070 be good for maxing out most games for this foreseeable future.

My question isn't whether or not I "can" spend the extra $200 on 1080.
My question is: is it worth spending the extra $200 or should I pocket it?

Any advice or suggestions I can get are very helpful.

Thanks!

 

[engineer5261]

At 4K you will more than likely need it. It also has faster memory GDDR5X. Go for the 1080 or maybe even wait for the 1080ti if they plan on releasing it.

 

[king3pj]

Since you are planning on going 4K I think the 1080 is the right choice. There are quite a few games the 1080 can't max out at 4K with 60 FPS, although it averages 54 FPS at 4K in one of the reviews I looked at. With the right mix of settings 4K on a GTX 1080 is very do-able. It's also an option with a GTX 1070 but you are going to be turning down more settings to get that done unless you are okay with 30 FPS.

For 1440p or 1080p I think a 1070 is more than enough. The 1070 averages 77 FPS in PC Gamer's 1440p benchmark suite so I don't think the extra $200 for a GTX 1080 is a great investment at that resolution or lower.

 

[iamacow]

PC Gamer is a garbage site for legit benchmarks. But either way the 1070 is faster than a Titan X / 980 Ti and the 1080 is necessary for 4k gaming.

 

[luci5r]

Thank you all for sharing in your thoughts - I think I'm convinced! I've been reading similar notes just about everywhere. 1070 is great for 1080p, but 1080 is going to be worth the extra $200 for 4K. I won't debate this any further.

Thanks!!

 

[frank_hnd]

Thank you all for sharing in your thoughts - I think I'm convinced! I've been reading similar notes just about everywhere. 1070 is great for 1080p, but 1080 is going to be worth the extra $200 for 4K. I won't debate this any further.

Thanks!!

For what you are planning... 4K is still changing specially in the projector side of things. If you want your new rig to last 5-6 years a GTX1080 is also not enough of a solution.

I recommend sincerely waiting for a 1080Ti and also get the projector at the same time (you will have more and better options) remember this is an HTPC, not a regular gaming PC.