they are hard to find unless you’re ready to pump out 1k for a new one.
I don’t like buying used/refurbished/certified computer parts. (electronics don’t tend to agree with me, so I don’t risk it)
I’d like to stay with the nvidia brand, they’ve always been good to me. what would be a comparable card that would work as well without breaking the bank? I’d like to spend no more than 500.00 for a graphics card (that’s half my budget)…
I’ve been reading that the 2060 is a good replacement, but… is it? it’s a little pricey.
edit to add I currently have the gtx 970 and I know it will work for shadowlands, but figured I’d take the opportunity (and excuse lol) of upgrading now.
As usual, system requirements are a bit arbitrary.
GPU’s that give similar performance to a GTX 1080:
Slightly slower:
RTX 2060
5600 XT
Vega 56
About equal:
Vega 64
RTX 2070
A bit faster:
RTX 2060 Super
RX 5700
Significantly Faster:
RX 5700 XT
RTX 2070 Super
Much faster:
RTX 2080
RTX 2080 ti
I would say that if you are satisfied with your performance on the 970 now, i don’t think SL is going to be that much more demanding. Give it a whirl, then decide if it’s not up to the task. And by then more stuff might be out.
Good upgrades from the 970 are the 5600 XT and the 1660 Super at present, assuming your CPU is appropriately matched to a GTX 970.
my cpu currently is the i5-4690k… but I’ll be upgrading it and the motherboard to a seven. my current motherboard only holds a chipset of 1150 soo, it’ll have to be upgraded as well.
I don’t recommend looking for a 1080 these days. I was lucky and snagged a new one before the bitcoin insanity took them over.
IIRC they don’t manufacture them anymore, so any new ones are going to be way overpriced, and most of the used ones you find are not going to last. 1080’s were frequently bought like crazy and overtaxed by the bitcoin miners, then sold off as bitcoin became less profitable. Most of the used ones you’ll find were basically run at full load all day every day for significant lengths of time.
If you’re looking to upgrade go with the RTX cards and find one for the price-point you can afford.
If it was me, I would upgrade the CPU/mobo first or everything all at once. The CPU will hold back something like the RTX 2060 super from it’s potential and if you delay in upgrading the CPU/mobo you may just end up with a gpu you never fully use.
The lovely thing about PC gaming is that you don’t have to upgrade everything all at once.
If you’re looking to overall upgrade and WoW is the only major game you’re playing, you can afford to stay with that 970 for awhile and just upgrade the motherboard and CPU.
Getting a good motherboard and CPU should take priority, and I would even go so far as to say that upgrading to M.2 memory and SSD’s will net you greater perceived performance than upping the video card will for quite some time.
Ultimately it depends on your overall budget… but if WoW is your only major gaming then you don’t need to upgrade the GPU right now and you can afford to put that money towards a better CPU/Motherboard, or upgrading other components, then save up for a much more improved GPU down the line.
the goal is to upgrade all at once. we got some unexpected funds, not a lot, but I’ve been told I can use x amt to upgrade parts… so I have a strict budget I am adhering too, but ya the idea is to do it all at once. i don’t need a new case (just painted mine, so it’s still good but there are a fair few parts that need some tlc. gpu and motherboard being the first things to be replaced. but the video card is by and large the most expensive part, so I’m trying to do my research.
I literally have exactly 1k lol… that’s it. things I need are definitely my processor, my motherboard, ssd (i have two and they are out of room was going to put everything blizzard on a new one) … and maybe a couple of new fans… then a video card and monitor… everything else is still good.
PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/4TbXTC
CPU: Intel Core i5-10400 2.9 GHz 6-Core Processor ($176.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Freezer 33 CPU Cooler ($24.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z490 UD ATX LGA1200 Motherboard ($126.99 @ B&H)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial P1 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($104.99 @ Adorama)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER 6 GB GAMING Video Card ($229.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12III 550 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ B&H)
Case Fan: Cooler Master 62 CFM 120 mm Fan ($7.99 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Cooler Master 62 CFM 120 mm Fan ($7.99 @ Amazon)
Monitor: ViewSonic XG2405 23.8" 1920x1080 144 Hz Monitor ($179.99 @ B&H)
Total: $999.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-08-31 12:20 EDT-0400
AMD/AMD:
PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/LD3twh
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Best Buy)
Motherboard: Gigabyte B550M DS3H Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($93.89 @ B&H)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory ($69.99 @ B&H)
Storage: Crucial P1 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($104.99 @ Adorama)
Video Card: XFX Radeon RX 5600 XT 6 GB THICC II Pro Video Card ($269.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12III 550 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ B&H)
Case Fan: Kingwin CF-012LB 40 CFM 120 mm Fan ($6.48 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Kingwin CF-012LB 40 CFM 120 mm Fan ($6.48 @ Amazon)
Monitor: ViewSonic XG2405 23.8" 1920x1080 144 Hz Monitor ($179.99 @ B&H)
Total: $996.79
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-08-31 12:28 EDT-0400
AMD system will game better most of the time due to the 5600 XT being more powerful than the 1660 Super, and have more upgrade path + PCIE4. But in CPU limited scenarios, it’s possible the 10400 (with included faster memory) will have better FPS minimums.
Obviously, some concessions on parts due to budget, but overall either will run fine. I presumed you needed 120mm fans.
AMD system has a “more” competent included cooler which won’t throttle, whereas the included Intel cooler is terrible and may throttle. Therefore I included a modest CPU cooler in that budget.
Does Akyda need a new PSU? His current one can power the GTX970 and that card would eat up to 170w+ gaming. Also the WD 550N 1TB is the same price as the Crucial P1 1TB but offers slightly better read speeds and much better write speeds ( I own both).
With the (over)price of the current market I would say go with it as long as it’s doing the job. The GTX 1660 uses 50w less then the GTX970 so it should not be an issue.
Also that Seasonic S12iii is extremely mediocre. It’s not made by Seasonic, it has no OCP protection, and even though it says Japanese caps on the box it’s actually teapo caps (taiwan) inside. Hence why its so cheap. The corsair CX is a newer topology and better series with better parts.
i don’t need a new case (just painted mine, so it’s still good but there are a fair few parts that need some tlc. gpu and motherboard being the first things to be replaced. but the video card is by and large the most expensive part, so I’m trying to do my research.