What GPU should I get?

[Kaikidna]

I'm making a list for a first pc I want to build but I'm having trouble deciding on a graphics card I'm thinking Nvidia 3060 series or 3070 series that's under $550 USD msrp. Any recommendations?

[Kaikidna]

oh and the case I want to get supports up to 420mm for a gpu

[christoplayz]

9 minutes ago, Kaikidna said:

I'm making a list for a first pc I want to build but I'm having trouble deciding on a graphics card I'm thinking Nvidia 3060 series or 3070 series that's under $550 USD msrp. Any recommendations?

the 3070 its 500 bucks msrp its the best

[christoplayz]

9 minutes ago, Kaikidna said:

oh and the case I want to get supports up to 420mm for a gpu

the corsair icue 220t its good and its cheap if you want the more expensive it looks better its the rog strix helios gx601

[patiencehasleftthebuilding]

9 minutes ago, christoplayz said:

the 3070 its 500 bucks msrp its the best

where are you getting rtx3070 for 500 dollars? i just purchased a 3060 for almost 600 from newegg

[Uttamattamakin]

22 minutes ago, Kaikidna said:

I'm making a list for a first pc I want to build but I'm having trouble deciding on a graphics card I'm thinking Nvidia 3060 series or 3070 series that's under $550 USD msrp. Any recommendations?

If you want to build NOW then don't go for a dGPU unless you are willing to pay scalper prices.  If money is no object go ahead and get a 3080 if you can.    

 

Also do your homework on the various OEM's see who makes the most upgrade able pre-builts and consider buy a pre built desktop with room for a tripple slot card. They do exist.  This will get you a computer with a dgpu for the price you may pay a scalper for a 3080 or less.  

[derpkotacasper]

A lot of people are quick to write off the 20 Series GPUs because 30 series is out now. Obviously 30 is better, but my honest recommendation is that you will ultimately do well with anything within the RTX 20 or 30 series that you can find at or below MSRP, although as far as a 2060 goes, I'd probably try to stick to at least a 2060 Super. The 10 and 16 series cards aren't bad either, and a lot of people will (kinda justifiably so) tell you that ray tracing is a gimmick anyways. Ultimately, much of this boils down to what kind of games you want to play as well as HOW you want to play them.

Do you want to play games like Destiny 2 and aren't super competitive? Honestly, anything from a GTX 1050 and up will serve you fine, and I only say 1050 up is because I personally wish I could get a little more performance out of the card. That said, it does run pretty well for me still.

Are you wanting to play hyper competitively in games like Call of Duty? That's where you'll want a rig that absolutely performs - this is where I'd say an RTX 20 Series at a minimum is optimal, you'll want to run 1440p@144Hz. Nvidia's "frames win games" marketing campaign carries a lot of weight behind it.

Ultimately, if you are trying to build NOW, I'd say get what you can get a good deal on, try and stay at GTX 10 Series and above. I'm not a competitive gamer, but I do game a lot and I find that I am able to play what I want with my GTX 1050 Ti/R3 3100 combination, it just might not be at maxed out settings - and that's okay.

I promise, you don't need to max out settings in a game to have a good time, nor do you need some unholy machine of absolute and unbridled performance. It boils to down to what you play, how you play it and what your budget is. Sprinkle in a little luck with the current GPU market too.

[christoplayz]

18 minutes ago, patiencehasleftthebuilding said:

where are you getting rtx3070 for 500 dollars? i just purchased a 3060 for almost 600 from newegg

i know we should wait till the scalper spree ends

[Kaikidna]

Thanks everyone

[Kaikidna]

I think I'm gonna look for the RTX 3070 I'm gonna wait awhile before buying anything now but I'm hoping to be able to get it within the next year.

[Skiiwee29]

<-- Moved to Graphics Cards -->

[v0id]

Maxwell masterrace reporting.

 

A 30 series card would be amazing of course, but as @derpkotacasperalluded to, you don't need the latest and greatest hardware to get the most out of your games, unless of course you're pushing something like Flight Simulator at 4K or something high end. And if that's the case disregard what I'm saying. But for the vast majority of games, playable framerates and decent graphics are achievable with older hardware. I mean my GPU is nearly six years old, three whole generations behind what's current, and I rock most of my games at 144Hz and 1440p. And since you're looking for something under $550, that's just about impossible with today's market if you're looking at 30 or even 20 series cards.

 

My point is if you stumble across older hardware, like even a 900 series card, don't be afraid to give it a serious look. My 980Ti will be with me till the day it dies because it powers through my games without issue. So just keep your eyes peeled, ya never know.

[derpkotacasper]

2 hours ago, v0id said:

Maxwell masterrace reporting.

 

A 30 series card would be amazing of course, but as @derpkotacasperalluded to, you don't need the latest and greatest hardware to get the most out of your games, unless of course you're pushing something like Flight Simulator at 4K or something high end. And if that's the case disregard what I'm saying. But for the vast majority of games, playable framerates and decent graphics are achievable with older hardware. I mean my GPU is nearly six years old, three whole generations behind what's current, and I rock most of my games at 144Hz and 1440p. And since you're looking for something under $550, that's just about impossible with today's market if you're looking at 30 or even 20 series cards.

 

My point is if you stumble across older hardware, like even a 900 series card, don't be afraid to give it a serious look. My 980Ti will be with me till the day it dies because it powers through my games without issue. So just keep your eyes peeled, ya never know.

There's a point to be made here about the fact that the x-80 Ti and Super variants of each cards tend to withstand the test of time. I'm pretty sure the 980 Ti is roughly a little better than the 1050 Ti, correct?

When Nvidia releases a top tier card, they don't let the entry level card of the next generation supersede it. For example, a 2080 Super will still outperform a 3060 Ti in almost every way, unless it involves a need for HDMI 2.1/DP 1.4. Even still, Thunderbolt can work around that. A 1080 Ti will outperform a 2060 Ti.... So on, so forth.

https://www.newegg.com/msi-geforce-gtx-1050-ti-gtx-1050-ti-gaming-x-4g/p/N82E16814137054

 

This is my card. It is not the top of the line, but will it run Cyberpunk? It'll absolutely run Cyberpunk. This guy's 980 Ti probably outperforms it - his was the top tier card in its generation, which was directly prior to mine. It does also meet your budget and it is in stock. I'll tell you it was purchased for less than 200 new years ago. I just asked my friend who actually bought it and I'll update that, but even Newegg, new and in stock is charging twice what they did when this PC was built YEARS ago. That several year old graphics card costs more than the 3rd gen Ryzen, 16 GB DDR4 and the B550 chipset board I JUST bought - combined.

That should tell you all you need to know about the market. If you still want to go ahead, I absolutely love to help someone get into computers, it's a wonderful hobby and you run into a lot of good people in the PC enthusiast community.

1. Be patient, and don't be afraid to buy used. Do your research and don't let the market take advantage of you.
2. Don't get caught up in envy at pictures of other dude's gaming rigs. They are flexing an epeen, and while it may be a glorious, beautiful and large epeen, they are flexing horsepower they probably don't really utilize to the fullest.
3. PC gaming has adjustable graphics for a reason. An old card isn't a bad card!
4. Don't forget, your system is only as strong as its weakest link. This graphics card of mine may be several years old, but I just put it in a new CPU, RAM and board combo today. What this means is the graphics card is being fully utilized for the first time since it was purchased years ago - it was limited by a CPU bottleneck.
5. Enter the Newegg shuffles.
6. If you have a Microcenter nearby, you might need to start figuring out when they restock and being in line. I wish I had one near me
7. If you DO manage to find an RTX 30 series card at MSRP, they are all insanely good bang for the buck. The performance value is there, they're just rare and scalped into oblivion right now.

I hope this helps!