Which of these GTX 1070 cards should I buy?

[Abe_R]

Budget of roughly £350 for the card

 

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/ph38TW/evga-geforce-gtx-1070-8gb-sc-gaming-video-card-08g-p4-5173-kr

 

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/jygPxr/asus-geforce-gtx-1070-8gb-video-card-turbo-gtx1070-8g

[TheScorpio]

1 hour ago, Abe_R said:

Budget of roughly £350 for the card

 

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/ph38TW/evga-geforce-gtx-1070-8gb-sc-gaming-video-card-08g-p4-5173-kr

 

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/jygPxr/asus-geforce-gtx-1070-8gb-video-card-turbo-gtx1070-8g

I'd choose the EVGA, First its Superclocked with a decent cooler (ACX 3.0)

And i'd really avoid the ASUS one, First, it wont boost as fast as the EVGA SC, and I'd really avoid this specific one because its a blower fan design, which are generally speaking, are bad coolers unless you have a specific use case for them (a very small form factor HTPC)

But if you're using a modern case, then definitely the EVGA one

[rn8686]

Depends on the case, but if in a mid tower the EVGA SC will be better. 

[Ordinarily_Greater]

I am choosing EVGA SC because ACX 3.0 is on par with the strix three fans cooler

[Princess Luna]

Just leaving one more vote for the EVGASC.

[Techicolors]

the EVGA SC. tho make sure it has the thermal pads.. well the incident is far past now, but doesn't hurt to make sure

 

3 hours ago, Ordinarily_Greater said:

I am choosing EVGA SC because ACX 3.0 is on par with the strix three fans cooler

it isn't. the strix runs several degrees cooler = more gpu boost 3.0 headroom. plus it has a custom PCB, the SC is mostly reference

[Ordinarily_Greater]

Just now, Technicolors said:

It isn't. the strix runs several degrees cooler = more gpu boost 3.0 headroom. plus it has a custom PCB, the SC is mostly reference

I knew it i should have put "almost par" and i meant FTW for closer comparison

[i_build_nanosuits]

sorry to be the bearer of bad news but they are likely all sold out on every retailers, both models.

RX 470/480/570/580 GTX 1060/1070 are impossible to find online right now...and when they are in stock they are like 500$+

 

 

[Abe_R]

1 minute ago, Technicolors said:

the EVGA SC. tho make sure it has the thermal pads.. well the incident is far past now, but doesn't hurt to make sure

 

it isn't. the strix runs several degrees cooler = more gpu boost 3.0 headroom. plus it has a custom PCB, the SC is mostly reference

I'm not really up to date on all these kind of things but I've heard some people saying there were some thermals problems. What was all that about?

[i_build_nanosuits]

Just now, Abe_R said:

I'm not really up to date on all these kind of things but I've heard some people saying there were some thermals problems. What was all that about?

it was the early revisions of these cards missing thermals pads on core components such as VRM mosfets and memory chips...it's all fixed now, but like i said, the cards are all out of stock or grossly overpriced everywhere right now.

[Abe_R]

3 minutes ago, i_build_nanosuits said:

sorry to be the bearer of bad news but they are likely all sold out on every retailers, both models.

RX 470/480/570/580 GTX 1060/1070 are impossible to find online right now...

As far as I can tell on the EVGA on Amazon it says there are some in stock but they'd be dispatched within 2-3 weeks but I don't mind that if it means I get a decent price on a more powerful card than the 1060 I was originally going to get.

[i_build_nanosuits]

Just now, Abe_R said:

As far as I can tell on the EVGA on Amazon it says there are some in stock but they'd be dispatched within 2-3 weeks but I don't mind that if it means I get a decent price on a more powerful card than the 1060 I was originally going to get.

yeah they say 2-3 weeks....how long you'll officialy have to wait though is unknown..

[Abe_R]

Just now, i_build_nanosuits said:

yeah they say 2-3 weeks....how long you'll officialy have to wait though is unknown..

Really? That sucks. Is it generally a lot more or can it vary dramatically? 

[i_build_nanosuits]

Just now, Abe_R said:

Really? That sucks. Is it generally a lot more or can it vary dramatically? 

unknown, means...unknown...so long as the miners are clicking on every fucking refresh buttons on every retailers websites desperately looking to buy all of them available cards everywhere...you know...it sucks

[stealth80]

I think you will be lucky to get one at all, nevermind for £350, I don't think 1070's were ever  that low in the UK, and now due to mining, theres like a few retailers with 1 or 2 cards in at £450

[Abe_R]

2 minutes ago, stealth80 said:

I think you will be lucky to get one at all, nevermind for £350, I don't think 1070's were ever  that low in the UK, and now due to mining, theres like a few retailers with 1 or 2 cards in at £450

So at £350 is it worth the wait? I have a dogshit 1GB vram Radeon from 2012 thats unopened so I could use that until the 1070 is dispatched if it's worth it.

[stealth80]

2 minutes ago, Abe_R said:

So at £350 is it worth the wait? I have a dogshit 1GB vram Radeon from 2012 thats unopened so I could use that until the 1070 is dispatched if it's worth it.

Well it would be worth it, if you got it by 3 weeks - it really depends how long you end up waiting

[Abe_R]

Just now, stealth80 said:

Well it would be worth it, if you got it by 3 weeks - it really depends how long you end up waiting

I could probably be willing to wait a month but any longer would be ridiculous. Surely they'd be ready to dispatch by then?

[stealth80]

28 minutes ago, Abe_R said:

I could probably be willing to wait a month but any longer would be ridiculous. Surely they'd be ready to dispatch by then?

my only concern is "are you getting your moneys worth" if you end waiting 6 or 7 weeks. Pascal has already been here a year, I'm actually shocked I've had my 1080 for coming up 9 months - my point being? Say you wait 7 weeks, that puts you in the middle of August when your shiny new 1070 arrives - So what? Vega will be here and Volta will be on it's way.

[Abe_R]

30 minutes ago, stealth80 said:

my only concern is "are you getting your moneys worth" if you end waiting 6 or 7 weeks. Pascal has already been here a year, I'm actually shocked I've had my 1080 for coming up 9 months - my point being? Say you wait 7 weeks, that puts you in the middle of August when your shiny new 1070 arrives - So what? Vega will be here and Volta will be on it's way.

Sorry about being so new and uninformed but can you explain Volta to me? I've heard a bit about Vega but haven't looked into Volta. Is it going to be a whole new range by Nvidia including cards that occupy the £250 and £350 price points or are they just high-end cards that are expected to lower the costs of current cards like a 1070 making them a better value option?

[stealth80]

26 minutes ago, Abe_R said:

Sorry about being so new and uninformed but can you explain Volta to me? I've heard a bit about Vega but haven't looked into Volta. Is it going to be a whole new range by Nvidia including cards that occupy the £250 and £350 price points or are they just high-end cards that are expected to lower the costs of current cards like a 1070 making them a better value option?

pretty much bang on, no release date known, but late 2017/early 2018

[stealth80]

36 minutes ago, Abe_R said:

Sorry about being so new and uninformed but can you explain Volta to me? I've heard a bit about Vega but haven't looked into Volta. Is it going to be a whole new range by Nvidia including cards that occupy the £250 and £350 price points or are they just high-end cards that are expected to lower the costs of current cards like a 1070 making them a better value option?

to elaborate a little more, previously it ran a little like (in terms of performance)

 

1070 replaced the 970 but performed ~ 980ti. However on release it was around £100 - £150 more than a 970, ....

the 1060 offered performance of a 980 at the price point of a 970

same happened with the 970, performance of a 780ti for much less (around £300 on release, changed some between £330 and £270)

 

So what do I mean?

 

Let's say Volta is given the 11 series

 

I would "expect" a new top dog in the 1180 (like the 1080 and 980 were) for around £600 ish

 

then the good stuff

 

1170 giving around 1080ti performance for £450 ish

 

1160 giving 1080/1070 ish performance for around £280 - £330

 

However, as you may be aware, there's generally a wait for the lower end cards, 1080 came closely followed by 1070 then a wait for the 1060 and again for 1050.

 

 

 

 

there's always benefits of waiting, but then we would always be waiting.  We also don't know how Vega will affect current pricing, if at all, as availability vs demand is controlling the prices at this time. 

 

I normally say don't wait, but you're going to have to wait to a point where waiting is the sensible option ..... fuck knows 

[Abe_R]

14 minutes ago, stealth80 said:

to elaborate a little more, previously it ran a little like (in terms of performance)

 

1070 replaced the 970 but performed ~ 980ti. However on release it was around £100 - £150 more than a 970, ....

the 1060 offered performance of a 980 at the price point of a 970

same happened with the 970, performance of a 780ti for much less (around £300 on release, changed some between £330 and £270)

 

So what do I mean?

 

Let's say Volta is given the 11 series

 

I would "expect" a new top dog in the 1180 (like the 1080 and 980 were) for around £600 ish

 

then the good stuff

 

1170 giving around 1080ti performance for £450 ish

 

1160 giving 1080/1070 ish performance for around £280 - £330

 

However, as you may be aware, there's generally a wait for the lower end cards, 1080 came closely followed by 1070 then a wait for the 1060 and again for 1050.

 

 

 

 

there's always benefits of waiting, but then we would always be waiting.  We also don't know how Vega will affect current pricing, if at all, as availability vs demand is controlling the prices at this time. 

 

I normally say don't wait, but you're going to have to wait to a point where waiting is the sensible option ..... fuck knows 

Thanks a lot for the reply, really informative and I think I understand the whole generations of cards aspect a lot better now! I'll obviously keep looking at both new and second hand cards for a reasonable deal since like you said, in this fast paced industry there's always something cool and tempting to wait for but if I don't find something that meets the requirements I want from my card and is a reasonable price for what it is then I'll have to wait it out with the hope that the market either normalises again or a better card comes out at the same price point that makes the increased cost justifiable.