What if you want to upgrade an existing gaming PC? What are the options, and do they make sense? The big problem is that current-gen AMD and Nvidia GPUs don't move the needle forward.
https://www.techspot.com/article/2707-upgrading-gaming-pc-bad/
Why Upgrading a Gaming PC Right Now is Almost Pointless
- Thread starter Steve
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UncleMikeRetro
Posts: 40 +57
return
Posts: 162 +208
Achaios
Posts: 661 +1,670
It is somewhat embarrassing to note that I did not even need to overclock my Palit GTX 1080 after all these years. I just undervolted the curve a bit more out of a hobby.
You can imagine that if I don't even need to OC my 1080 there is little incentive to even buy a new GPU.
Ofc not all gamers are like me.
You can imagine that if I don't even need to OC my 1080 there is little incentive to even buy a new GPU.
Ofc not all gamers are like me.
Really it’s just GPU upgrades that are pointless at the moment. I’m waiting to see if there are any Black Friday deals to go from my 1700 to a 5800X3D.
bluetooth fairy
Posts: 235 +166
Sold it prolly in the peak of the crypto boom, just to jump on 6600xt half a year later. Got nice 1.5x bump in performance.
Nobina
Posts: 4,643 +5,734
Games released over the past couple of years haven't been something you'd upgrade your rig for.
My buddy is still rocking his 1070ti and thrilled with it. nVidia knocked it out of the park with the 10 series, it's really disappointing to see how far they've fallen. The 20 series was "cool" but not impressive, the 30 series made raytracing feasible but it was almost completely unavailable and now we have the dumpster fire that is the 40 series
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I'm with a 3060ti and I'm fine with it. I think manufactures will try to make most cards unusable by stimulating new games to demand more RAM, so most 10- to 40- series will be very restricted, though the chip is still capable. I bet that the 50- series will only have 8 GB RAM on the 5050 versions and will come with 12-16 GB for all other mainstream versions with a minimum of 16 GB RAM for the 60- series. That way it's guaranteed that most 10- to 40- series owners will feel the need to change, even if the chip is not that good.
Loli Pop Carbon
Posts: 116 +134
Nice article. What about 1080 Ti user?
Upgrading to the same xx80 Ti class doesnt look good anymore since the price has almost doubled.
I missed Pascal era so much
Upgrading to the same xx80 Ti class doesnt look good anymore since the price has almost doubled.
I missed Pascal era so much
The 3060Ti was a real winner, I hope nVidia learned from the 40 series. I have reasons for not liking nVidia outside of gaming and if I was a windows user their cards, at least at the high end, are fantastic. They're just priced wrong.
Marco Mint
Posts: 117 +149
My 5700 XT is running quite happily alongside my 7950X cpu. Surprisingly well in fact on a 3440x1440 display.
I'm fortunate enough that I could buy any gpu on the market tomorrow without a second thought, but that doesn't mean I will. Having the money doesn't mean im stupid enough to pay for overpriced hardware.
At this stage though, I'm thinking of skipping this gen of gpu's (again) and waiting for the next ones to see what happens. I typically never upgrade until I get at least double the performance of my last gpu anyway. So if I have, let's say 100 fps in a benchmark now, the new gpu better do 200 fps before I'll even consider it.
I'm fortunate enough that I could buy any gpu on the market tomorrow without a second thought, but that doesn't mean I will. Having the money doesn't mean im stupid enough to pay for overpriced hardware.
At this stage though, I'm thinking of skipping this gen of gpu's (again) and waiting for the next ones to see what happens. I typically never upgrade until I get at least double the performance of my last gpu anyway. So if I have, let's say 100 fps in a benchmark now, the new gpu better do 200 fps before I'll even consider it.
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RudyBob
Posts: 2,034 +2,269
In audio they are called audiophiles perpetually in search of an unobtainable perfection. What is the name for folk that do the same with graphics cards? If you need to play Doom and I did you upgrade. If you don't need to play a game you don't.
How are the chances I shall embarrass myself like a clown again, waiting for the next gen? I know NVIDIA has failed us, especially for the anticipation of the 40 series not looking like what it is. Anyway, I am significantly considering the 3090 or 3080 Ti used, as I am still stuck on the 1070. Or maybe I will sell my current rig and build a new one when the time comes.
Everything depends on your needs and price found. If for your needs you really need one, check prices of that model or equivalent in the 40- series. I think you are better off with a good priced 3070, you'll get a good price and performance uplift
bluetooth fairy
Posts: 235 +166
Nice article. What about 1080 Ti user?
Upgrading to the same xx80 Ti class doesnt look good anymore since the price has almost doubled.
I missed Pascal era so much
6800XT price/perf looks pretty good now, expect sensible uplift from 1080Ti
That 1070 was an incredible value under $400 in 2017. Held mine for 5-1/2 years until I caught a 6800XT for under $400 on EBay this past November and tripled my performance. But if you're at 1440p or under, I'd imagine the 1070's keeping up just fine.
Nvidia keeps clowning their customers and their customers keeps buying them!
Mister_K
Posts: 2,259 +991
I feel the pain in MFS2020 at 3840x1600 (no surprise there) but all other games? Nope, runs everything fine.
Same here, held it for 5 years. 1070 had incredible value, still fine for 1080p. I got a new 6700XT for 450 euros at the end of last year, for 2k gaming, but I sort of regret it, because now, you can get a 3080 sh for that kind of money and I bet prices are going to drop even harder.
T
torchyear
It may not be a good time to upgrade a GPU, but it’s really good for anyone still rocking Gen 1/2 AM4 to step up their CPU - as well as filling up those DDR4 and m.2 slots. PCIE 4.0 SSDs are now less of a price premium over their predecessors.
It also seems that this article is written on the premise of someone upgrading a 12-month old PC. Most people however are coming from much older machines than that, so 2021/22-gen GPUs are a reasonable upgrade path from Polaris/Vega or Pascal etc. “Upgrade” in PC terms has generally referred to a minor component swap to extend service life, as opposed to a system replacement.
It also seems that this article is written on the premise of someone upgrading a 12-month old PC. Most people however are coming from much older machines than that, so 2021/22-gen GPUs are a reasonable upgrade path from Polaris/Vega or Pascal etc. “Upgrade” in PC terms has generally referred to a minor component swap to extend service life, as opposed to a system replacement.
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