Which GPU Upgrade?

[AfxTwn]

Hi, I am thinking of upgrading my GPU from my current AMD R9 290X but I'm not sure what to go for. I have around £200-400 budget and would want something that would be great for VR gaming on Vive and also standard desktop gaming. I can just about get by with my current setup but I don't always reach 90FPS in VR and sometimes can get a lot of stutter in games. Plus I can't do any supersampling whatsoever without a significant drop in frame rate and my current GPU doesn't have any asynchronous reprojection or motion smoothing. 

 

My other system specs are:

CPU - Intel i7 4790K (4.0GHz non-overclocked)

Windows Home 10 64 bit

16GB DDR3 Ram

1 x 250GB SSD

1 2TB HDD (for games)

 

I am hoping to avoid bottlenecks and I currently have a 2560x1440 monitor but want to get a 1080p monitor instead and I would prefer an Nvidia card this time round.

 

Thanks for any advice.

[BigRom]

Sapphire Nitro+ Vega64 

or 

Gigabyte Gaming OC Pro RTX 2060

 

I would personally go Vega64 as its better, but its up to you.

[MeatFeastMan]

This would be a decent option if you prefer Nvidia:

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/rMhKHx/zotac-geforce-rtx-2060-6-gb-gaming-video-card-zt-t20600f-10m
 

But...AMD is killing it with vega right now and it gives you a better overall package for the price. Vega 56 performs pretty much on par with the 2060, gives you 2gb more vram and it's cheaper:

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/cKhKHx/sapphire-radeon-rx-vega-56-2gb-pulse-video-card-11276-02-40g

 

And the Vega 64 mentioned in the above post is another good option too.

 

Whatever you choose though, just don't choose the 2070. It's awful for the price.

[GoldenLag]

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/MssmP6/sapphire-radeon-rx-vega-64-8gb-nitro-video-card-11275-03-40g

 

This is the fastest card you can get. And its coincidentally the best version of the card. An amazing model for the money

 

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/mCx2FT/evga-geforce-rtx-2060-6-gb-xc-black-gaming-video-card-06g-p4-2061-kr

 

Or the slower 2060. Your choice. 

[AfxTwn]

Thanks very much for the replies. I think I will have a look at the RTX 2060, that's a card I hadn't considered but will now. I know the Vega is faster but I used to have an Nvidia before my current AMD card and I prefer the software and level of support online for Nvidia cards. Every time I have had an issue with graphics in games, nearly all the help is always geared towards Nvidia cards. Plus the AMD runs very hot and is quite loud so I think I will return to Nvidia this time round.

[ch3w2oy]

2 hours ago, AfxTwn said:

Thanks very much for the replies. I think I will have a look at the RTX 2060, that's a card I hadn't considered but will now. I know the Vega is faster but I used to have an Nvidia before my current AMD card and I prefer the software and level of support online for Nvidia cards. Every time I have had an issue with graphics in games, nearly all the help is always geared towards Nvidia cards. Plus the AMD runs very hot and is quite loud so I think I will return to Nvidia this time round.

I ask you to at least look at the reviews on Newegg about the Nitro+.. Not many cards have over 60 reviews that are 90+% positive.. I assure you it's not because it's a loud, hot card.. Its not like the blower style.. 

[AfxTwn]

11 hours ago, ch3w2oy said:

I ask you to at least look at the reviews on Newegg about the Nitro+.. Not many cards have over 60 reviews that are 90+% positive.. I assure you it's not because it's a loud, hot card.. Its not like the blower style.. 

I will take a look at it but as I said, I've not been that impressed with AMD's Adrenalin software or Crimson before it. Half of the features tend to either not work or make little to no difference (particularly Enhanced Sync and the Frame Rate Target Control) or you are constantly bugged by notifications telling you that you need to upgrade the driver despite having the latest driver or it suggests turning on certain features such as Virtual Super Resolution.

 

I was considering getting an RTX 2070 but I am not sure if it being paired with my i7 4790K, the CPU will create a bottleneck.

[ch3w2oy]

18 minutes ago, AfxTwn said:

I will take a look at it but as I said, I've not been that impressed with AMD's Adrenalin software or Crimson before it. Half of the features tend to either not work or make little to no difference (particularly Enhanced Sync and the Frame Rate Target Control) or you are constantly bugged by notifications telling you that you need to upgrade the driver despite having the latest driver or it suggests turning on certain features such as Virtual Super Resolution.

 

I was considering getting an RTX 2070 but I am not sure if it being paired with my i7 4790K, the CPU will create a bottleneck.

I haven't had any problems with my Vega 56, 64 and Radeon VII.. frame limiter works, chill works, I get no notifications.. AMD has been doing nothing but improving their software.. Its actually a better experience than what Nvidia offers.. Out of those 3 cards and the gtx 1060, 1080 ti and rtx 2080 I've owned, I prefer the AMD cards.. 

 

As for the bottleneck, you can always update your CPU later.. I'm sure you'll still benefit from a good card (not that you need 2070 performance)..

[Stefan Payne]

16 hours ago, AfxTwn said:

I prefer the software and level of support online for Nvidia cards. Every time I have had an issue with graphics in games, nearly all the help is always geared towards Nvidia cards.

You know about Ghost Recon Wildlands?
I mention that because there was an issue with Turing based cards that caused the game to crash once you open the Inventory. It wasn't fixed for ~8 Months or rather just recently...

 

Its not the first time something like this happened. There was also an issue with TressFX in the Original Tomb Raider, wich also wasn't fixed for 6 Months...

 

You really should try the other side for once.

 

As you already noticed, you want to pay more for a worse card...

 

Quote

I prefer the software

You should look into the other side.

You get some amazing software.

For example this:

https://www.amd.com/en/technologies/radeon-software-amdlink

 

The Software also features setting for the GPU Power Level/Performance (aka Overclocking, Underclocking), an Overlay that shows you FPS and some stats from the GPU (Temperature, fan speed, clocks).

 

While the nVidia Software is more or less the same for around 25 Years...

[AfxTwn]

Just looking into my motherboard's specs and I think I will be limited to what I can get. I have an Asus H81-Gamer mobo (I know I have quite poor specs but I got this PC built by a rather incompetent individual a few years ago and he seemed to just go for cheap parts because he thought there was no need for high specs, idiot!) and unfortunately I can't go beyond my 4790K CPU anyway (https://www.asus.com/uk/Motherboards/H81GAMER/HelpDesk_CPU/) and I just went and did a quick check at https://pc-builds.com/calculator/ to see what bottlenecks I might find with various GPU's and it seems anything higher than an RTX 1660TI will cause a bottleneck.

 

Perhaps I should stick with an AMD but I'm not sure. I don't really use ReLive as I don't do streaming or video recording. I'm not bothered about overclocking so all of the WattMan stuff and monitoring stuff isn't needed and there are just as many examples of AMD drivers having issues with games as there are Nvidia ones.

 

Decisions, decisions.