Which GTX 1000 Series card to buy?

[George3356]

Hi guys!

I currently have the R9 260 GPU and I want to make an upgrade (I'd like to play most games on the ultra settings etc., not to limit the quality when I have the time to play ).

I asked here a while ago and people recommended the GTX 1060 6GB X should be enough.

I checked the pricing and:
MSI GeForce GTX 1060 GAMING X 6G 400€
MSI GeForce GTX 1070 GAMING X 8G 640€
MSI GeForce GTX 1080 GAMING X 8G 708€

I want the GPU to last several years again before needing a replacement and I might even consider VR in the future.

Which of these cards would You recommend? Price-wise I would like to go for the 1060, however in case the more expensive ones are MUCH better, I would consider the higher price for 1070/1080.

Or should I wait a bit, are the prices expected to drop? (They already did by some 100€ since feb/march).

Thanks a lot for any comments, much appreciated!!
George

 

[Shektron]

I would recommend a GTX 1070, especially if you might go for VR. But waiting for the price drops is definitely a good idea right now. Ultra settings for several years is definitely possible with a GTX 1070, but with a GTX 1060 it might not last more than a year. But of course, it depends on the game, and you can always go one notch down to get 60 FPS - visual difference between high and ultra is hardly noticeable for most people.

 

[zoltan.boese]

The best you can afford. Otherwise for 60 frames per second and 1920x1080 resolution buy a gtx 1060 6GB, for higher resolution or more frames the 1070 or 1080. Read benchmarks about the VR applications you are willing to use.
In general waiting is always the good option. Both Nvidia and AMD are about to introduce new products this year. Prices, availability and performance compared to present generation are hard to predict.

 

[ARICH5]

ya we need more info about your resolution. 21" and 1080p?........or 27" and 1440p @ 144hz

 

[maxalge]

Hi guys!

I currently have the R9 260 GPU and I want to make an upgrade (I'd like to play most games on the ultra settings etc., not to limit the quality when I have the time to play ).

I asked here a while ago and people recommended the GTX 1060 6GB X should be enough.

I checked the pricing and:
MSI GeForce GTX 1060 GAMING X 6G 400€
MSI GeForce GTX 1070 GAMING X 8G 640€
MSI GeForce GTX 1080 GAMING X 8G 708€

I want the GPU to last several years again before needing a replacement and I might even consider VR in the future.

Which of these cards would You recommend? Price-wise I would like to go for the 1060, however in case the more expensive ones are MUCH better, I would consider the higher price for 1070/1080.

Or should I wait a bit, are the prices expected to drop? (They already did by some 100€ since feb/march).

Thanks a lot for any comments, much appreciated!!
George

before anyone can answer we need to have your complete specs

and the resolution you plan on playing at

 

[sizzling]

Agree, need full spec of pc and monitor.

 

[George3356]

Hi guys!

First of all, thanks everyone for the answers, I am always so surprised by the willingness to help other people here!

My specs are:
ASUS H81M-PLUS MOBO
Intel Core i5-4460 CPU
Kingston HyperX Fury 8GB (Kit 2x4GB) 1866MHz DDR3 CL10 Red S RAM
MSI AMD R9 270 GAMING 2G GPU

I used to play mostly on my 22" monitor @ 1920x1080
Lately I am mostly playing on my TV - 55" samsung @ 1920x1080 - higher res tends to be very choppy.

And it would be very nice to play in higher than 1920x1080
It doesn't necessarily need to be ultra, but higher settings.
For example AC Origins or now the upcoming total war Britannia.

Thanks a lot!
George

 

[sizzling]

I wouldn’t go over a 1060 6gb, your cpu will prevent you achieving a minimum of 60fps in some modern cpu heavy games.

 

[George3356]

So should I get a new CPU as well? Is it really pointless to get the 1070/1080 with my current rig?

 

[maxalge]

So should I get a new CPU as well? Is it really pointless to get the 1070/1080 with my current rig?

at 1080p yes pointless to get anything higher than a 1060 with your cpu

 

[George3356]

And if I wanted to go for a higher resolution on my TV? Will the 1060 do fine? or do I have to get a 1070/1080 + the CPU(and which would You recommend in that case?).
Thanks a lot!

 

[sizzling]

The next resolution up for TV’s is 4K which really needs a 1080Ti or at least a 1080.

Resolution doesn’t have much of an impact on the cpu work. In the latest cpu heavy games your cpu will not achieve a minimum of 60fps and may not even average 60fps. Resolution won’t have much impact on this but will have a significant impact on gpu required.

 

[maxalge]

And if I wanted to go for a higher resolution on my TV? Will the 1060 do fine? or do I have to get a 1070/1080 + the CPU(and which would You recommend in that case?).
Thanks a lot!

if you increase the resolution to 1440p then a gtx 1070 is a good choice


the best cpu your motherboard supports is the i7 4790(k), which would pair well with a gtx 1080

 

[sizzling]

1440p on a 4K TV isn’t going to scale well.

 

[George3356]

Hey guys, thanks a lot for the answers so far but I am not still sure what to do :-(
Based on Your feedback I re-defined what I am looking for.
I will appreciate any help but will also understand if no one wanted to help me anymore :-D I know I am very difficult

My primary goals/assumptions are:
1) I don't want to buy a new card again in a year or two (+I don't want to play the upcoming games at medium-low settings within the next ~2years).
2) I might want to go for VR in ~2 years (Fallout 4 for example) - not really 100% sure if this will happen.
3) Per Your comments my CPU is getting old so I might have to replace it in the future as well so I don't want the current CPU to be a limiting factor in choosing the new GPU.
4) It would be nice to play games at the 4K resolution on my 55" TV (even if that meant lowering the graphic settings - currently I play at 1920*1080 - when I switched Batman Arkham Knight to 4K, it looked awesome ).


So now I thought I could buy the GTX 1060 6Gb and maybe add another one in SLI in the future but it seems it isn't supported with this card, so this is a no go so I think I have 3 options:

1) Buy the 1070/1080 for 615€/680€(very expensive) now which would be more than I need at this moment due to the slower CPU, but I would have it in reserve and could upgrade the CPU in the future (350€ for the recommended i7 4790) - this would last several years + VR possible?
2) Buy the 1060 for 385€ (quite expensive but a good upgrade?) which would get me to high-ultra settings in current games(?) at 1920*1080 for at least the 2 coming years(?) and maybe later sell it and upgrade for a 1070/1080 once the new GPUs come out and prices drop?
3) Wait it out a bit until the new GPUs are released (autumn 2018?) and buy a new series GPU?

Thanks a lot for any opinions!
Regards,
George

 

[Shektron]

A GTX 1060 for VR might not be a good idea, but it will be very much dependent on the game - remember that if you get choppy performance in VR, you could get nauseous very quickly. That's why it's better to get one step over what is recommended for the resolution(1080p in this case).

I would suggest you to buy a GTX 1070 today, and upgrade to a current generation CPU at the earliest possible. But then, there's also the fact that prices of GPU's are high right now, while CPU's are priced well enough. So you could go about it the other way around too. Either way, I feel like going from an i5 4460 to an i7 4790 isn't much of an upgrade.

 

[George3356]

A GTX 1060 for VR might not be a good idea, but it will be very much dependent on the game - remember that if you get choppy performance in VR, you could get nauseous very quickly. That's why it's better to get one step over what is recommended for the resolution(1080p in this case).

I would suggest you to buy a GTX 1070 today, and upgrade to a current generation CPU at the earliest possible. But then, there's also the fact that prices of GPU's are high right now, while CPU's are priced well enough. So you could go about it the other way around too. Either way, I feel like going from an i5 4460 to an i7 4790 isn't much of an upgrade.

Hi Shektron! Thx for the reply. The 1080 is priced 80USD above the 1070 (which I dont perceive as too high) - 1060 is 400USD, 1070 is 640 USD and 1080 is 720 USD.

Wouldn't it be more reasonable to get the 1080 if I am already investing so much?

Thanks a lot!

 

[Shektron]

A GTX 1060 for VR might not be a good idea, but it will be very much dependent on the game - remember that if you get choppy performance in VR, you could get nauseous very quickly. That's why it's better to get one step over what is recommended for the resolution(1080p in this case).

I would suggest you to buy a GTX 1070 today, and upgrade to a current generation CPU at the earliest possible. But then, there's also the fact that prices of GPU's are high right now, while CPU's are priced well enough. So you could go about it the other way around too. Either way, I feel like going from an i5 4460 to an i7 4790 isn't much of an upgrade.

Hi Shektron! Thx for the reply. The 1080 is priced 80USD above the 1070 (which I dont perceive as too high) - 1060 is 400USD, 1070 is 640 USD and 1080 is 720 USD.

Wouldn't it be more reasonable to get the 1080 if I am already investing so much?

Thanks a lot!

Maybe. Only if you aren't giving up too much to push to the 1080, then you can go for it, even though 720 USD is still absolutely ridiculous for a GTX 1080. You can find a GTX 1080 for 585 USD on newegg, and it's a good card too. What model are you buying? $720 is extremely overpriced...

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127950&cm_re=gtx_1080-_-14-127-950-_-Product

 

[George3356]

A GTX 1060 for VR might not be a good idea, but it will be very much dependent on the game - remember that if you get choppy performance in VR, you could get nauseous very quickly. That's why it's better to get one step over what is recommended for the resolution(1080p in this case).

I would suggest you to buy a GTX 1070 today, and upgrade to a current generation CPU at the earliest possible. But then, there's also the fact that prices of GPU's are high right now, while CPU's are priced well enough. So you could go about it the other way around too. Either way, I feel like going from an i5 4460 to an i7 4790 isn't much of an upgrade.

Hi Shektron! Thx for the reply. The 1080 is priced 80USD above the 1070 (which I dont perceive as too high) - 1060 is 400USD, 1070 is 640 USD and 1080 is 720 USD.

Wouldn't it be more reasonable to get the 1080 if I am already investing so much?

Thanks a lot!

Maybe. Only if you aren't giving up too much to push to the 1080, then you can go for it, even though 720 USD is still absolutely ridiculous for a GTX 1080. You can find a GTX 1080 for 585 USD on newegg, and it's a good card too. What model are you buying? $720 is extremely overpriced...

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127950&cm_re=gtx_1080-_-14-127-950-_-Product

Hi Shektron,

unfortunately I am not in the US (Im in the Czech Republic and the GPU prices really are insane ).

Anyway I just found a MSI GTX 1070 TI variant priced at 560USD, which seems nice(?).
Do You think I should go for it instead of the other options? According to GPU benchmarks it should be on par with GTX 1080? (My goal is to invest in the GPU and don't have to replace it again within approx. 4 years...) - It is not like I wanted to spend bambillions in the GPU, but I finally earn some reasonable money and want to really enjoy the games when I have the time for it thats why I am willing to pay more to have the quality. + the 1070 TI supports SLI so in the future I could just buy another one?

Thanks A TON!
George

 

[Shektron]

The 1070 Ti is a good option, a little overclocking brings it quite close to the GTX 1080 in performance. I would say go for it, but you should probably not keep SLI as an option - SLI support is becoming more and more overlooked, and I'm pretty sure soon both SLI and CrossFireX would just be out of the market except for a few people who run the handful applications that can actually scale with SLI. For games, SLI is a bad idea - in a few rare cases, it actually DECREASES your performance.

I don't know about your 4 year condition, VR requirements shoot up at alarming rates...Still, a 1070 Ti for 1080p is quite future proof, I would say.

 

[George3356]

The 1070 Ti is a good option, a little overclocking brings it quite close to the GTX 1080 in performance. I would say go for it, but you should probably not keep SLI as an option - SLI support is becoming more and more overlooked, and I'm pretty sure soon both SLI and CrossFireX would just be out of the market except for a few people who run the handful applications that can actually scale with SLI. For games, SLI is a bad idea - in a few rare cases, it actually DECREASES your performance.

I don't know about your 4 year condition, VR requirements shoot up at alarming rates...Still, a 1070 Ti for 1080p is quite future proof, I would say.

Hi Shektron!
Thanks a lot, I took Your advice and I bought the 1070 Ti (It was priced at 535 USD while the 1070 Gaming X was priced at 615 - isn't it weird?). I probably don't want to OC it - but it is still a great option at this price, right?

Also thanks for the info about SLI, I thought it is easy - just plugging another card in, having double the performance? So I will discard this option for the future. Thanks!

BTW: "Still, a 1070 Ti for 1080p is quite future proof, I would say." - does that mean it won't handle higher resolutions than 1080p?

BTW2: I ran into problems with the new GPU - PSU doesnt have the 8pin plug, so in case You wanted to help with that as well, it is this thread http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-3713133/bought-1070-gpu-psu-handle.html

Thank You and have a great day !
George

 

[Shektron]

The 1070 Ti is a good option, a little overclocking brings it quite close to the GTX 1080 in performance. I would say go for it, but you should probably not keep SLI as an option - SLI support is becoming more and more overlooked, and I'm pretty sure soon both SLI and CrossFireX would just be out of the market except for a few people who run the handful applications that can actually scale with SLI. For games, SLI is a bad idea - in a few rare cases, it actually DECREASES your performance.

I don't know about your 4 year condition, VR requirements shoot up at alarming rates...Still, a 1070 Ti for 1080p is quite future proof, I would say.

Hi Shektron!
Thanks a lot, I took Your advice and I bought the 1070 Ti (It was priced at 535 USD while the 1070 Gaming X was priced at 615 - isn't it weird?). I probably don't want to OC it - but it is still a great option at this price, right?

Also thanks for the info about SLI, I thought it is easy - just plugging another card in, having double the performance? So I will discard this option for the future. Thanks!

BTW: "Still, a 1070 Ti for 1080p is quite future proof, I would say." - does that mean it won't handle higher resolutions than 1080p?

BTW2: I ran into problems with the new GPU - PSU doesnt have the 8pin plug, so in case You wanted to help with that as well, it is this thread http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-3713133/bought-1070-gpu-psu-handle.html

Thank You and have a great day !
George

Glad I could help you out .

A 1070 Ti will handle 1440p as well, but 4K gaming is pushing it. 1440p, you can get 60 FPS in almost every game at high-ultra settings.

P.S.: That other thread has pretty satisfactory answers as far as I can tell, don't feel the need to weigh in my opinion.