Question video card upgrade suggestion

[mazarel]

Hello, I recently built a new computer for myself and plan to give my old one to my wife. I was thinking about upgrading the video card so she could use the system for a few more years. She’ll be using it for gaming, but not at 4K resolution, and I want to keep the upgrade reasonably affordable. Here are the system specs:

i7 8700k, 32 GB RAM, 1 TB M.2 SSD, 1080 Ti GPU, 650W PSU, GIGABYTE Z370 AORUS Gaming 7, What kind of upgrade would you recommend for her?

Thank you

 

[dingo07]

4070 or 4070 Super if you can get a deal

 

[MEMOFLEX]

Hello, I recently built a new computer for myself and plan to give my old one to my wife. I was thinking about upgrading the video card so she could use the system for a few more years. She’ll be using it for gaming, but not at 4K resolution, and I want to keep the upgrade reasonably affordable. Here are the system specs:

i7 8700k, 32 GB RAM, 1 TB M.2 SSD, 1080 Ti GPU, 650W PSU, GIGABYTE Z370 AORUS Gaming 7, What kind of upgrade would you recommend for her?

Thank you

What is the make, model and age of the psu out of interest?

What country are you in and what budget do you have?

 

[mazarel]

What is the make, model and age of the psu out of interest?

What country are you in and what budget do you have?

I'm from the US, and I don't remember the model of the PSU, but I think it's from 2017, so it might need an upgrade as well. I'm not sure about the budget, as the prices for graphic cards are kind of weird right now. I'd like to stay under $500-$600 if possible.

 

[LordVile]

Hello, I recently built a new computer for myself and plan to give my old one to my wife. I was thinking about upgrading the video card so she could use the system for a few more years. She’ll be using it for gaming, but not at 4K resolution, and I want to keep the upgrade reasonably affordable. Here are the system specs:

i7 8700k, 32 GB RAM, 1 TB M.2 SSD, 1080 Ti GPU, 650W PSU, GIGABYTE Z370 AORUS Gaming 7, What kind of upgrade would you recommend for her?

Thank you

Honestly there's not much you can do. You could put in a 4070 but you'll be severely limited by the CPU. ATM it's fairly well balanced and I wouldn't touch it unless you wanted a full rebuild.

 

[mazarel]

Honestly there's not much you can do. You could put in a 4070 but you'll be severely limited by the CPU. ATM it's fairly well balanced and I wouldn't touch it unless you wanted a full rebuild.

I thought so. A full rebuild isn't possible at the moment. I just built a new computer, and the budget is very limited. Well, thanks for the suggestions.

 

[punkncat]

What is the specific resolution and framerate capability of the monitor, and does it use any of the various sync types other than v sync?

If this system is plugged into a basic 1080/60 monitor, change nothing.

 

[MEMOFLEX]

Honestly there's not much you can do. You could put in a 4070 but you'll be severely limited by the CPU. ATM it's fairly well balanced and I wouldn't touch it unless you wanted a full rebuild.

I run a 4070 super with a 9900k which isn't a huge step up from a 8700k and it runs really well. There will be a limitation in some titles but it will depend on what games are being played I expect.

 

[MEMOFLEX]

I'm from the US, and I don't remember the model of the PSU, but I think it's from 2017, so it might need an upgrade as well. I'm not sure about the budget, as the prices for graphic cards are kind of weird right now. I'd like to stay under $500-$600 if possible.

What games does your partner play or is looking to play? Others have mentioned the resolution as well as that is important

 

[mazarel]

What is the specific resolution and framerate capability of the monitor, and does it use any of the various sync types other than v sync?

If this system is plugged into a basic 1080/60 monitor, change nothing.`

What games does your partner play or is looking to play? Others have mentioned the resolution as well as that is important

Sims mostly , GTA 5 . She is currently using a 1440p,165hz monitor.

 

[punkncat]

Sims mostly , GTA 5 . She is currently using a 1440p,165hz monitor.

There is room for significant improvement in relation to the 1080ti for that resolution. As mentioned above, if you go with something like the 40xx variants you will want to protect your investment with a good, new power supply.

 

[MEMOFLEX]

Sims mostly , GTA 5 . She is currently using a 1440p,165hz monitor.

For those games then a 1080ti is still a decent card and the system as a whole is more than sufficient.

Without knowing the exact make and model of the PSU then it is a bit iffy on recommending putting a new GPU in there.

At this stage then I would possibly not do anything to the computer and put the money aside for a future upgrade where you can swap the whole system for her should she require it.

 

[LordVile]

I run a 4070 super with a 9900k which isn't a huge step up from a 8700k and it runs really well. There will be a limitation in some titles but it will depend on what games are being played I expect.

But does it run significantly better than a 1080Ti and is the $500 upgrade worth it for a small performance uplift? You're giving up like half the performance with an older chip vs a newer one. You're losing 10-20% at least on a 4070 using a slower CPU. It's not good value to put a new GPU in it now when you can wait until the current one is not good enough at which point prices for 4070 like performance will have come down as will the cost of upgrading to a new platform.

 

[punkncat]

^ In relation to the above, I think there is something to be said in relation to the higher resolution. Even with that, there is no question that even with the 8th gen a 1080ti to 4070S jump is going to be very signifiicant in a lot of ways more relative than just rasterization.

 

[MEMOFLEX]

But does it run significantly better than a 1080Ti and is the $500 upgrade worth it for a small performance uplift? You're giving up like half the performance with an older chip vs a newer one. You're losing 10-20% at least on a 4070 using a slower CPU. It's not good value to put a new GPU in it now when you can wait until the current one is not good enough at which point prices for 4070 like performance will have come down as will the cost of upgrading to a new platform.

Yeah it's a tough one. If the games played were more taxing then at 1440p I would consider the upgrade with the caveat that a new PSU would be needed and a system overhaul would also be best in the near future. I still think the uplift would be noticeable though.

From a personal perspective then I am hitting what I want to hit on all the games I play with my 9900k and 4070S at 1440p. Currently playing Cyberpunk and it runs very well. Only real games where the cpu has shown its age is Space Marine 2 and Hogwarts Legacy if Ray tracing gets turned on.

I upgraded from a 2070S which is in the same ballpark as the 1080ti performance wise. My thinking is that I will upgrade the whole system later this year and I will get whatever gpu power left on the table back.

As mentioned though if I was playing the games the OP is looking at then I would likely stay put for now. Accumulate some cash if needed and do a full system upgrade down the line when and if it is required.

 

[MEMOFLEX]

I will add though that if I was adding a new gpu i wouldn't go under a 4070 or 7800xt level if coming from a 1080ti. Factor in a reputable psu and we are likely pushing the max budget available. These parts would still be taken to a system upgrade in the future as well so there are pros and cons.

Need and want really come into it in my opinion and with it being a gift it can slightly change the personal dynamic a bit.

 

[punkncat]

Yeah it's a tough one. If the games played were more taxing then at 1440p I would consider the upgrade with the caveat that a new PSU would be needed and a system overhaul would also be best in the near future. I still think the uplift would be noticeable though.

From a personal perspective then I am hitting what I want to hit on all the games I play with my 9900k and 4070S at 1440p. Currently playing Cyberpunk and it runs very well. Only real games where the cpu has shown its age is Space Marine 2 and Hogwarts Legacy if Ray tracing gets turned on.

I upgraded from a 2070S which is in the same ballpark as the 1080ti performance wise. My thinking is that I will upgrade the whole system later this year and I will get whatever gpu power left on the table back.

As mentioned though if I was playing the games the OP is looking at then I would likely stay put for now. Accumulate some cash if needed and do a full system upgrade down the line when and if it is required.

A half bit off topic to focus down a bit on this post...

Cyberpunk was an absolute wreck on launch. With the various updates and particularly FSR that game looks amazing on a wide variety of hardware now. Not just the high end stuff either. I think of all the games I have actively played from at or near launch to now that it is among the most well optimized game by way of updates that I can currently think of.

To be fair, when considering the whole system it all does need a refresh for the use case as OP is doing by handing it down (I hope that was this thread). At the same time, doing a tick-tock upgrade where you hit with a good value card like the 4070S or ti and a power supply with the next update planned within a year is a great way to spread out the hit.

 

[mazarel]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I think I'll just wait for now and keep an eye on prices for a 4070 and a new PSU.

 

[mazarel]

A half bit off topic to focus down a bit on this post...

Cyberpunk was an absolute wreck on launch. With the various updates and particularly FSR that game looks amazing on a wide variety of hardware now. Not just the high end stuff either. I think of all the games I have actively played from at or near launch to now that it is among the most well optimized game by way of updates that I can currently think of.

To be fair, when considering the whole system it all does need a refresh for the use case as OP is doing by handing it down (I hope that was this thread). At the same time, doing a tick-tock upgrade where you hit with a good value card like the 4070S or ti and a power supply with the next update planned within a year is a great way to spread out the hit.

Yes, this is my old PC. My wife will take over and use it. I built this PC in 2017, and I'm very fond of it. Maybe I'm a little subjective, but I still think it has some power left, especially for the games she'll play. I was thinking of an upgrade, but if it's too expensive, it might not be worth it. We might just have to wait and see.

 

[MEMOFLEX]

A half bit off topic to focus down a bit on this post...

Cyberpunk was an absolute wreck on launch. With the various updates and particularly FSR that game looks amazing on a wide variety of hardware now. Not just the high end stuff either. I think of all the games I have actively played from at or near launch to now that it is among the most well optimized game by way of updates that I can currently think of.

To be fair, when considering the whole system it all does need a refresh for the use case as OP is doing by handing it down (I hope that was this thread). At the same time, doing a tick-tock upgrade where you hit with a good value card like the 4070S or ti and a power supply with the next update planned within a year is a great way to spread out the hit.

I find that by adding a good gpu to an aging system you still get the boost but also get that second boost when the remainder of the system catches up. Double bubble.

What I was struggling regarding the OP's upgrade was purely based on the games mentioned would an upgrade feel as pronounced. Also I wasn't sure if for $600 you could get a 4070 level card and a good solid psu. I only had a quick look at newegg and struggled to make it work. I am in the UK where surprisingly for £600 you could probably pick up a 4070 and a decent 650w. I hear good things about microcentre in the US for deals but it is location dependent.

FSR is a good point you mentioned even outside of Cyberpunk as I feel it lends itself well to older cards across the range and being brand agnostic. If the OP had a 1080 regular then I feel I would be leaning more towards the upgrade but the 1080ti still has a lot going for it.

All in all an upgrade would not be as crippled by the 8700k as people may think but on the other side of the coin the use case at present may not necessarily warrant it.