Which should I upgrade first? GPU or Monitor?

[flier123]

So,

My current setup is
I5 4690k
GTX 980 SC
1080p 60Hz

In the next two months i am looking to upgrade my GPU to either a 1080 or 1070 as well as upgrade to 1440p 144hz. I know that whichever I biy i will be buying the other at the end of next month (Financial constraints of being a student). Which one would you guys recommend upgrading before the other while bearing in mind it will only be 30~ days before I buy the other.

 

[King_V]

I'd say the monitor - right now your video card is more than enough to handle 1080p @ 60 Hz

 

[photonboy]

I agree. The monitor.

Also, are you getting a GSYNC monitor? If so, then the GTX980 would still do quite well, especially considering many games have diminishing VISUAL benefits for ULTRA vs HIGH.

If you are NOT getting a GSYNC monitor then remember VSYNC will be problematic for gaming so plan carefully. You do NOT want to enable VSYNC if you can't maintain 144FPS.

SCREEN TEAR (why you use VSYNC) is usually less of an issue with a high refresh rate monitor though, so the TWO main methods I'd use (depending on game) are:

1) VSYNC OFF
- just tweak to the FPS average you think best such as 60FPS or so for slower games, maybe 100FPS+ for faster
(if GSYNC do the same thing, you'll just have no screen tear at all)

2) Adaptive VSYNC (Half Refresh)
- this should cap to 72FPS which is much easier to hit. Very useful for slower-paced games where screen tear is annoying
- to use:
a) start then exit the game
b) NCP-> manage 3d settings-> .. add game-> adaptive vsync (half refresh) -> save
c) TWEAK settings so you maintain 72FPS most of the time (drops below 72FPS just turn VSYNC OFF thus some screen tear but not added stutter)

 

[trampus123]

get the monitor now and save and hold out for the next gen cards.
the 1080 and 1070 are nice but the card you have now is good as well.
nvidia volta is coming soon

 

[flier123]

Thanks for the suggestion. I will go for the monitor. ( no gsync i dont think the price is justified having seen gsync in person before ). When is the next nvidia series expected to drop btw? If it is within a year maybe I should buy a used 980 for SLI rather than going for a 1080.

 

[photonboy]

Thanks for the suggestion. I will go for the monitor. ( no gsync i dont think the price is justified having seen gsync in person before ). When is the next nvidia series expected to drop btw? If it is within a year maybe I should buy a used 980 for SLI rather than going for a 1080.

I would not go with multi-GPU.

As for desktop, gaming VOLTA? Nobody knows. I'd say at least six months.

NVidia already said they are not in any rush. There are several reasons:

a) cryptomining creating uncertainty, then market will get flooded with used cards when it crashes (date unknown)
b) Pascal selling well
c) NVidia has top-end of market now (GTX1080Ti)
d) VRAM prices are high
e) die-shrink and fab process.. how are YIELDS?

NVidia needs to drag things out until it makes financial sense for them to release a new product.

It's possible that with VEGA not doing as well as many hoped that NVidia no longer feels the need to accelerate Volta like they MAY have planned to do before.

https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/08/11/dont-expect-nvidia-corporation-volta-gaming-gpus-t.aspx

 

[photonboy]

I also don't recommend going for VOLTA until:

1) a good after-market card like the Asus Strix exists

2) Buy a card better than a GTX1080Ti

3) wait for a few months after initial launch for DRIVERS to mature (always some issues with other programs and games to iron out)

Keep in mind that "big-Volta" is unlikely to launch at first either. We'll probably get a card that's maybe 25% faster than a GTX1080Ti, then cards BELOW that, then after many months we'll get the full VOLTA card.