Minimum GPU for 4K

[Vertikull]

Hey everyone! As the title implies, I'm wanting to move to 4K. I currently have GTX 1060 3gb. I'm more familiar with Nvidia cards but I'm fine with AMD cards.

Please help.

[Not_Sean]

from what i've seen your only propper option is a 1080Ti if you want the FPS to be smooth, But lets wait for someone with a 4K screen  

[mthoward]

What games do you play?

 

[xg32]

1080 ti

[NinJake]

Depends... I snatched a 4k monitor during black friday from my local costco on black friday and my 980Ti runs just fine with it for most games that I play. However... If you're able to wait until the new lineup of nvidia graphics cards come out thats what I'm going for... skpping the 1080Ti and waiting for the 1180Ti. This will allow for much higher frame rates (hopefully) compared to my 980Ti and the 1080Ti however you can only hope sometimes.

 

It honestly depends on your budget... what is your budget by the way?

 

Also, what games are you hoping to play in 4k with 60+ fps?

[CostcoSamples]

Linus did a video about 4k on mid level hardware a couple years ago.  Basically you can run it on a GTX 970 and it does OK.  Obviously you have to turn down settings, but depending on the game, your 1060 3GB can run it.  3GB is not great for 4k though - generally you want more video memory for higher resolution.  

[MegaDave91]

5 minutes ago, mthoward said:

What games do you play?

 

^

This

 

It's entirely game dependent. Some games may run fluent with a 1060 and some may not.

[Froody129]

43 minutes ago, CostcoSamples said:

Linus did a video about 4k on mid level hardware a couple years ago.  Basically you can run it on a GTX 970 and it does OK.  Obviously you have to turn down settings, but depending on the game, your 1060 3GB can run it.  3GB is not great for 4k though - generally you want more video memory for higher resolution.  

You can run it, you just have to turn down settings so far that it's not worth playing in 4k anymore

 

You could pull it off with a 1070 but I'd go 1080 preferably and 1080ti if you want the "full" 4k experience

[CostcoSamples]

2 minutes ago, Froody129 said:

You can run it, you just have to turn down settings so far that it's not worth playing in 4k anymore

Everybody has their own definition of what is 'worth it'.  We are not talking about Intel graphics, we are talking about a GTX 1060.  It will run OK, and check youtube videos for what to expect.  lots of examples available.

[Froody129]

Just now, CostcoSamples said:

Everybody has their own definition of what is 'worth it'.  We are not talking about Intel graphics, we are talking about a GTX 1060.  It will run OK, and check youtube videos for what to expect.  lots of examples available.

I have a GTX 1060. I run it at 1440p and this is pushing the card as far as it can go before it's not enjoyable anymore. I wouldn't bother with a 1060 at 4k. Even a 1070 is going to struggle

[Balrog0fMorgoth]

I've got a 165hz 1440p monitor and a GTX 1070, in most "Modern" games I get between 80-100 fps on high settings. But games vary quite a lot, for instance in Middle of Earth Shadow of War I consistently get 100+ on a mix of high and ultra settings at 1440p, Wolfenstein 2 I need to lower things down to medium to get frame rates like that. I personally am going to wait for Nvidia's next gen of cards so I can utilize the high refresh rate of my monitor. But for 4k you could probably get away with a 1070 if your goal was a solid 60 and you didn't care about having your games on high settings. 

[Jurrunio]

It's very uaer dependent. With the steep pricing on graphics cards though, consider the graphics card upgrade later, when pricing is more normal

[Vertikull]

my current main games are

- PUBG
- Super Meat Boy

- CS:GO

- Rise of the Tomb Raider (I know my 1060 isn't enough)

- AC Black Flag

- Gonna get a new FPS game soon

[Zodiark1593]

I can run Valkyria Chronicles in 4k 60 fps on my GTX 960 2 GB.

 

You can run 4k on lots of things if you're willing to turn down settings or play less demanding/older games. If you want maximum settings and 4k on current demanding games, that is going to be beyond even 1080TI territory to do so reliably.

[MegaDave91]

30 minutes ago, Vertikull said:

my current main games are

- PUBG
- Super Meat Boy

- CS:GO

- Rise of the Tomb Raider (I know my 1060 isn't enough)

- AC Black Flag

- Gonna get a new FPS game soon

Right off the bat I can say you'll need a 1080ti for PUBG at 4K. What is your ideal framerate?

[Vertikull]

4 minutes ago, MegaDave91 said:

Right off the bat I can say you'll need a 1080ti for PUBG at 4K. What is your ideal framerate?

I don't mind playing on Low/Mid Settings. Here is my rule of thumb:
20fps - Playable but not a lot of fun

30fps - Playable and enjoyable

60fps - Goal

[AugOwnz]

You can get away with a 1080 if you want to lower down some settings (source: it's what I use). PUBG is not that much gpu reliant cause it's not optimised at all (1080 with 4670k 30fps, 1080 with r7 1700x 60/70 despite both having similar IPC).