Reccomendations on a graphics card.

[Sorlance]

Hi, LTT. 

 

I am building a computer for a friend for video editing/light gaming (csgo, Fortnite, etc). He has a 4k monitor and wants to game/work at native resolution. I am wondering whether a 1080 ti would be necessary if all he is doing is light gaming and editing some 4k footage every once-in-a-while. I also suggested that he not go for 32gb of ram right away as the prices are through the roof right now. I'll link the pc part picker list below. Thanks for any recommendations.

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/eman596/saved/HDdqkL 

 

 

[Guest]

Well light gaming could be done at 4k with a 1060, but i think a 1080ti is a good choice, because if he wants to try harder games he can.

[Queen Chrysalis]

1080ti is a waste for Fortnite.  Your processor is far more important for video editing.  I wouldn't splurge too hard.  An RX580 would be a better value for a video editing card.

 

Go with something like this:

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/spitty84/saved/#view=PbJd6h

[Pink Duck]

Yeah that looks good, the gtx 1080 ti is overkill for games like CS and Fortnite even at 4K so you could get away with a gtx 1080. Does your friend makes money with video editing or is it a side project? If it is a side project just get a gtx 1080 and save money. Also, can your friend wait for a few months? If he can he can get the new generation of Nvidia cards coming Q3 and so he would save some money.

[Sorlance]

1 minute ago, Queen Chrysalis said:

1080ti is a waste for Fortnite.  Your processor is far more important for video editing.  I wouldn't splurge too hard.  An RX580 would be a better value for a video editing card.

 

Go with something like this:

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/spitty84/saved/#view=PbJd6h

I wanted to future proof it, also as "Some Random Member" said a 1080 would give him wiggle room for more intensive games. RX580 really isn't a 4k gaming card. 

[Sorlance]

Just now, Pink Duck said:

Yeah that looks good, the gtx 1080 ti is overkill for games like CS and Fortnite even at 4K so you could get away with a gtx 1080. Does your friend makes money with video editing or is it a side project? If it is a side project just get a gtx 1080 and save money. Also, can your friend wait for a few months? If he can he can get the new generation of Nvidia cards coming Q3 and so he would save some money.

Well based on the other comments what I could do is get a cheap card to begin with and then sell it and upgrade his PC to a 1180 or whatever comes out. Though my only concern is the founders edition will be the only card available for the first few weeks. And q3 would assumingly be a release in september/october

[Queen Chrysalis]

2 minutes ago, Sorlance said:

I wanted to future proof it, also as "Some Random Member" said a 1080 would give him wiggle room for more intensive games. RX580 really isn't a 4k gaming card. 

Future proofing is not a good idea.  Its better to pay for what you need now, and upgrade later when its not enough.  PC parts are super resellable, and higher end parts will be cheaper later on.

[Pink Duck]

 

1 minute ago, Sorlance said:

Well based on the other comments what I could do is get a cheap card to begin with and then sell it and upgrade his PC to a 1180 or whatever comes out. Though my only concern is the founders edition will be the only card available for the first few weeks. And q3 would assumingly be a release in september/october

No because of GPP I am pretty confident that the gtx 1180 will launch with custom cards

[Guest]

A 1080ti isn't always necessary for 4k. I think too many people have this thought that you need at least a 1080 to play at 4k, I know someone who uses a 1070. You might even be able to use a 1060 for lighter games. A 1070ti or 1080 could definitely do 4k. If you plan on playing titles like Fortnite, CSGO, Overwatch, stuff like that, you can definitely get away with a 1070ti or 1080. Most people lower settings on those titles to maximize performance and minimize frame drops anyway.

 

 

[Guest]

6 minutes ago, Sorlance said:

I wanted to future proof it, also as "Some Random Member" said a 1080 would give him wiggle room for more intensive games. RX580 really isn't a 4k gaming card. 

Well i played pretty good with a rx 480 at 4k, but for example gta 5 was low/medium for 60fps,  but tf2 and all the other low end games played 4k max graphics 60fps.

The graphics card doesnt help with video editing too much anyways.

 

[Sorlance]

Alrighty, I think based off all the recommendations I'll get a 1080 for him and then resell it if he the new cards are worth the investment.  

[Sorlance]

Updated Part List

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/

[TripleOG]

Its Empty. So ou not Gonna buy anything now??

 

[Sorlance]

10 minutes ago, TripleOG said:

Its Empty. So ou not Gonna buy anything now??

 

Lol whoops https://pcpartpicker.com/list/VYmf9J

[Jingyuan]

a 1070 or 1070ti would be good for what you're doing. (It would be a bit overkill in fact)

[KarathKasun]

2 hours ago, Queen Chrysalis said:

Future proofing is not a good idea.  Its better to pay for what you need now, and upgrade later when its not enough.  PC parts are super resellable, and higher end parts will be cheaper later on.

RX 580 isnt enough for what the OP is talking about now, let alone in the future.

 

GTX 1080 is suitable for "non intensive" 4k gaming, it can usually get away with medium-ish settings at 3840x2160.  GTX 1070/Ti would also work but may need a bit lower settings.

[Queen Chrysalis]

59 minutes ago, KarathKasun said:

RX 580 isnt enough for what the OP is talking about now, let alone in the future.

 

GTX 1080 is suitable for "non intensive" 4k gaming, it can usually get away with medium-ish settings at 3840x2160.  GTX 1070/Ti would also work but may need a bit lower settings.

For most games no, but csgo and fortnite are very lightweight.  For video editing, AMD gpus tend to have more raw computational power per dollar so the 580 made sense, since the price difference between it and the 1080 could go toward a better cpu or video editing software.

[KarathKasun]

8 minutes ago, Queen Chrysalis said:

For most games no, but csgo and fortnite are very lightweight.  For video editing, AMD gpus tend to have more raw computational power per dollar so the 580 made sense, since the price difference between it and the 1080 could go toward a better cpu or video editing software.

RX 580 gets more compute/$ but is still slower and only borderline acceptable for the other use case for the PC.  A heavily overclocked RX 470 is only marginally capable of 2560x1440 and the RX 580 is not much faster.  You have to look at the whole package.

[Queen Chrysalis]

45 minutes ago, KarathKasun said:

RX 580 gets more compute/$ but is still slower and only borderline acceptable for the other use case for the PC.  A heavily overclocked RX 470 is only marginally capable of 2560x1440 and the RX 580 is not much faster.  You have to look at the whole package.

Right.  What threw me off is that OP said occasional 4K, so I wasn't really sure.  If 4K is only occasionally being edited, 1080p gear will do fine (its not like you'll get an error message redirecting you to newegg.com).  If 4K is the main type of editing being done, then its worth it to get 4K gear like you had mentioned.

[Queen Chrysalis]

Also worth noting that 32gb of ram is a very poor decision if you're not a full time editor.  Videos will render very well with 16gb, and no games currently use more than that.

[Queen Chrysalis]

Don't mean to necro, but here is good thought process for this build.

 

When budgeting for video editing:

CPU core count = CPU core clock > GPU VRAM > RAM clock > GPU clock > Amount of RAM

 

When budgeting for gaming:

GPU clock > GPU VRAM > CPU core clock >~ CPU core count > RAM clock > Amount of RAM 

[Sorlance]

Thanks for all the replies guys. I think I will stick with the 1080 since he says he wants to play higher end games in 4k in the future.