Worth??? - $510 gtx 1080

[JWolfCrafter]

Uh, okay, so I just found this $510 1080. A little rare, I think. Especially now. Most are like $800+ right now? For whatever reason? Why is this so cheap?

 

https://www.amazon.com/MSI-GTX-1080-ARMOR-8G/dp/B01GXOWUDQ/ref=sr_1_19?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1515721643&sr=1-19&keywords=1080+ti

 

Also, since it is this cheap, is it worth it to pick one up to upgrade from my gtx 970?

 

My current build here: 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/mfGwRB

 

I know that there's the high probability of my cpu throttling the 1080 in at least some way, and that my monitor is only 1080p, but I still feel like this price is just a little... awesome?

 

Suggestions?

[Anghammarad]

First the question that I usually ask everytime... 

 

Do you need more performance? If yes is the current system so slow that it is unbearable?

If not... why spent the money on the upgrade.

 

To the point of throttling/bottlenecking... well the good thing about PCs, you can move hardware over to a new build =) 

[JWolfCrafter]

Just now, Anghammarad said:

First the question that I usually ask everytime... 

 

Do you need more performance? If yes is the current system so slow that it is unbearable?

If not... why spent the money on the upgrade.

 

To the point of throttling/bottlenecking... well the good thing about PCs, you can move hardware over to a new build =) 

To answer the questions: No, and no. I'm only inclined to spend the money because it's a $510 1080 and atm I feel like that's extremely rare. And it's not like I need the performance, but bumping my settings from high to ultra would be cool. Really here i'm just asking if the $510 is like insane enough for me to just immediately buy it. Of course, I could wait until the 20xx series comes out, but that doesn't even have a release date so I don't exactly know how hopeful to be there.

 

And yea, I thought that having an awesome gpu now and later when I get some money being able to up the motherboard/cpu would be worth it, even if I have to deal with throttling for a few months.

[Anghammarad]

If you got the money to spare and it's directly from MSI over Amazon... go for it.

 

Depending on how fast the crypto bubble will burst, there may be quite some time before there is an offer like that again.

[JWolfCrafter]

3 minutes ago, valdyrgramr said:

I mean it's not going to be a massive bottleneck.  But, at the same time there is going to be one depending on what they use it for.  Personally, I wouldn't touch that MSI GPU because 1) I've had heat issues with that particular cooler on an RX 480.  2) MSI generally has bad customer service and doesn't try to honor rebates until you harass them.  

Well, no mail-in on this one. What heat problems were you having exactly? Like, overheating under no load or noise to performance ratio or extremely high temps under high load?

[JWolfCrafter]

Just now, valdyrgramr said:

Well, say I was playing the Witcher 3 at 1080p or Doom, even on normals it turned the computer into a space heater in an in win case with good airflow.  And, my temps were going through the roof.  As for customer service they have one of the worst, so if you have to RMA good luck have fun there.

Understandable. How about this $540 evga card?

 

https://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-Support-Graphics-08G-P4-6181-KR/dp/B01GE9RFNK/ref=sr_1_22?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1515723010&sr=1-22&keywords=gtx+1080

 

I've had very good experience with them in the past. Not customer service wise, but my card right now is an evga and it works like a dream.

[i_build_nanosuits]

5 minutes ago, JWolfCrafter said:

Well, no mail-in on this one. What heat problems were you having exactly? Like, overheating under no load or noise to performance ratio or extremely high temps under high load?

it's a very basic model...it doesnt have a backplate and the heatsink is very very thin and the cards with this cooler on tend to run pretty hot under load indeed...i would pass personally

your 970 should perform well enough at 1080p for now...i would wait till nvidia release next series of cards it's very likely to happen in may which is not too far off.

in the meantime if i was you since you have a 16gb kit of ram i would try to upgrade the CPU to a 4c/8 thread chip like an i7-4770/4771/4790 or xeon e3-1230V3 or E3-1231V3 and i would sell the i5 online...that way you'd be set for a couple of years and your platform will not hinder the performance of a new GPU.

[i_build_nanosuits]

Just now, JWolfCrafter said:

Understandable. How about this $540 evga card?

 

https://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-Support-Graphics-08G-P4-6181-KR/dp/B01GE9RFNK/ref=sr_1_22?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1515723010&sr=1-22&keywords=gtx+1080

 

I've had very good experience with them in the past. Not customer service wise, but my card right now is an evga and it works like a dream.

this one is a lot better

[JWolfCrafter]

Just now, i_build_nanosuits said:

this one is a lot better

 

Just now, valdyrgramr said:

EVGA has one of the best customer services on the market, and their coolers are generally good imo.

So... worth it, then? I'm trying to view this in like an upgrade pattern where I get this for as cheap as it'll get, then upgrade the motherboard/cpu to newer things, then upgrade the monitor to 1440p/4k/something better than 1080p. Not that I have a billion dollars to spare, but I think it's a decent idea? 

[i_build_nanosuits]

Just now, JWolfCrafter said:

 

So... worth it, then? I'm trying to view this in like an upgrade pattern where I get this for as cheap as it'll get, then upgrade the motherboard/cpu to newer things, then upgrade the monitor to 1440p/4k/something better than 1080p. Not that I have a billion dollars to spare, but I think it's a decent idea? 

read my previous post to this one, just above.

[i_build_nanosuits]

Just now, valdyrgramr said:

I think their concern more is about the GPU price jump that is going to be happening this year.  It's actually better to get one now than wait until they get a 4k monitor.

personally i don't think it's gonna be much worse than it is right now...this bitcoin thing will probably crash soon and even if it does not when nvidia release the new cards the price will go down especially on 10 series cards....and a 4K monitor is pointless to have for gaming especially in the 40'' or less it's simply too much pixels to push for the resluts you get...IMHO a 1440p monitor is a much better option.

[i_build_nanosuits]

2 minutes ago, valdyrgramr said:

I mean a zotac amp I bought went from 530 to 900, so ya.  It's like really bipolar right now.  And, Volta consumer cards aren't going to be announced until at least this summer with as rumor being no launch until 2019 because Nvidia is making too much of Pascal.  And, a 40 inch monitor isn't really budget friendly for 4k.  Personally, I run a 28 inch for 4k and 1080p 144hz for competitive.  I mean it's really up to the OP and what they wanna do, but if they want that 1080 I'd sugges doing it now before they could get stuck at near 900.  If they can wait until next year then ya wait for volta and whatever AMD is doing at that point.  Vega is good on paper, but for the current prices, the 64 just isn't worth it when a 1080 costs less.

you can have a amp! for 560$ on amazon...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GCAVRSU/?tag=pcpapi-20