Question Considering the prices, which one would you buy?

[Rhezuss]

Hey! My GTX 970 is showing it's age and i'm tired of playing in 1440p at Low setting with 30-45 FPS...

I could get my hands on a GTX 1660 Ti for 580CAD or a RX 6700 XT for 1030CAD...i'm leaning towards the 6700 XT since it's a new gen card and will last a lot longer than a 1660 Ti would...but goddammit those prices suck.

Which would be the less -redacted- buy?

Thanks!

Profanity is not allowed in the tech forums.

Daveybrat
AT Moderator

 

[MrTeal]

Can you camp AMD's site on a Thursday morning? Reference you can grab a 6800XT for ~CAD$900 tax in, which is certainly a better value than the 6700XT.

Either of those options is a really -redacted- buy, TBH. Not sure where you are, but where I am I see LHR 3060 Ti's listed for $850, which is certainly better than a $1030 6700XT.

Profanity in the tech forums is not allowed.

Daveybrat
AT Moderator

 

[Rhezuss]

What time is the best time to check on AMD's site? I can camp the site all morning long if need be.

 

[MrTeal]

Right around 10am Eastern or a little before each week. AMD has a queue system where you enter the queue before the sale starts, and then when it goes live you get a random place in line. Best to join a stock tracker discord, it's still a bit of a challenge to get one, but they'll have tips for having the most success and notifications for when it goes live.

 

[Rhezuss]

Thanks for the info, i'll look into that!

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Thanks for the info, i'll look into that!

- Don't depend on that though. AMD's site gets hammered at drop time and there are plenty of people that report issues like adding an item to their cart but running into issues actually checking out, or having items removed from their cart etc. Bots and scalpers tend to crush the site on a regular basis.

As far as your original question, you'd effectively be getting 2x performance for 2x the price with the 6700XT over the 1660Ti, with some additional features (RT support).

However, those prices are all kinds of bad regardless. I'm just continuing to sit on my 980Ti and retro gaming anywhere it makes sense....

 

[SteveGrabowski]

1660 Ti isn't a 1440p gpu so I'd scratch that for sure. I have the slightly weaker 1660 Super and it was just barely enough to do 1080p 60fps on Red Dead Redemption 2 using Hardware Unboxed's recommended settings for example, and still dropped into the mid to high 50s a lot (though was mostly in the 60-75 fps range).

 

[GodisanAtheist]

1660 Ti isn't a 1440p gpu so I'd scratch that for sure. I have the slightly weaker 1660 Super and it was just barely enough to do 1080p 60fps on Red Dead Redemption 2 using Hardware Unboxed's recommended settings for example, and still dropped into the mid to high 50s a lot (though was mostly in the 60-75 fps range).

-My 980ti, which is basically equivalent in performance to a 1660ti/S or 1070 is actually surprising me quite a bit at 1440/144hz.

Playing Dishonored 2 right now, which is supposed to be an absolute dog to run on all Ultra (no AA) but I'm netting about 55-65 FPS right now, extremely playable and a pleasant surprise.

1660Ti won't get you 1440p on all Ultra for the brand newest games, for sure, but like anything else you turn a few settings down and FPS shoots up.

Now granted, stepping up from a 970 to a 1660ti for $500+ is just nutty to me and makes 0 sense, you're getting about 40-50% more performance for a helluva lot of money and still a generation old, missing modern features, requiring you to turn down settings at your current resolution anyway.

 

[SteveGrabowski]

-My 980ti, which is basically equivalent in performance to a 1660ti/S or 1070 is actually surprising me quite a bit at 1440/144hz.

Playing Dishonored 2 right now, which is supposed to be an absolute dog to run on all Ultra (no AA) but I'm netting about 55-65 FPS right now, extremely playable and a pleasant surprise.

1660Ti won't get you 1440p on all Ultra for the brand newest games, for sure, but like anything else you turn a few settings down and FPS shoots up.

Now granted, stepping up from a 970 to a 1660ti for $500+ is just nutty to me and makes 0 sense, you're getting about 40-50% more performance for a helluva lot of money and still a generation old, missing modern features, requiring you to turn down settings at your current resolution anyway.

Dishonored 2 is a 5 year old game though. And that RDR2 result I'm posting about was at a mix of high, medium, and low settings in a 2 year old game. 1660 Ti isn't going to get the job done at 1440p without completely taking a hatchet to settings in RDR2 much less newer stuff like Cyberpunk. Considering we're just about to enter the second year of a new console generation it's pretty likely games are about to get quite a bit harder to run. The PS5 monsters a 1660 Ti much less the more powerful XBox Series X and those two systems are what AAA games are going to be targeting going forward. Don't think 1660 Ti makes any sense as anything other than a 1080p bridge gpu. At least with 6700XT you're getting something better than XBox Series X so it should have some real staying power at 1440p as long as you stay away from ultra settings.

Also yeah I went from a 970 to a 1660 Super, only because my 970 died and I thought $500 was a ripoff for the 2070 Super, and of course it was noticeable but not a mindblowing upgrade or anything.

 

[Rhezuss]

Thanks for all the input...the situation just sucks and doesn't seem to be getting better. Some talk about 2023 before things get back to a more normal and stable state.

Might have to wait for next gen and hope for the best.

 

[Rhezuss]

I guess i'll probably get the same answer...if 580CAD is too much for an outdated 1660 Ti, how about :

- 700CAD for a 2060 OC
- 860CAD for a 2060 Super
- 650CAD for a RX 6600

 

[Shmee]

I am in USA not Canada, so I usually think in USD and not CAD, but $650 CAD for an RX 6600 seems like the best deal you mentioned. Though I would try to get the 6800XT from AMD if you can.

 

[VirtualLarry]

650CAD for a RX 6600

That would clearly be your best bet, out of the choices presented.

 

[Rhezuss]

Yeah seeing the benchs, the 6600 is nice, but at 1440p it's starting rush a bit. I'll keep looking for a 6800 XT or at least a 6700 XT!

 

[moonbogg]

For that kind of money, your best bet is to look for a pre built. I simply wouldn't pay those prices for a GPU. A grand for a low-end card is pathetic.

 

[SteveGrabowski]

If it was me and I had to choose between all of those I'd just get the 6700XT still. RX 6600 is still a little weaker than RX 5700 at 1440p according to Techpowerup's review. Or you could wait until May 2022 and hope ether's move to proof of stake happens and hope that means miners will flood the used markets with gpus like we saw in the days of $200 R9 290s back when that was an RTX 3070 class of gpu.

 

[Rhezuss]

I found a 6600 XT for 775CAD before taxes and shipping...might go for that one since the 6600 non XT is not available for shipping.

 

[SteveGrabowski]

I found a 6600 XT for 775CAD before taxes and shipping...might go for that one since the 6600 non XT is not available for shipping...it effing sucks.

Do you have a PCIE-4.0 board? Because I think the 6600XT only uses 8 PCIE lanes, so might not be that great on a PCIE-3.0 board. I know PCIE-3.0x8 is usually enough but I think there were some significant outliers in Hardware Unboxed's tests if I remember right. Might want to go check their review, I think they tested PCIE-3.0 vs PCIE-4.0 with that card.

 

[Rhezuss]

Do you have a PCIE-4.0 board? Because I think the 6600XT only uses 8 PCIE lanes, so might not be that great on a PCIE-3.0 board. I know PCIE-3.0x8 is usually enough but I think there were some significant outliers in Hardware Unboxed's tests if I remember right. Might want to go check their review, I think they tested PCIE-3.0 vs PCIE-4.0 with that card.

Yes, the B550 Phantom Gaming 4 has one PCIE-4.0 slot.

 

[SteveGrabowski]

Yes, the B550 Phantom Gaming 4 has one PCIE-4.0 slot.

Oh ok, PCIE-4.0x8 shouldn't be any concern then.

 

[Rhezuss]

Well just pulled the trigger on the only card I found, the ASRock 6600 XT Challenger D OC. At least it's gonna be better than my GTX 970!

 

[SteveGrabowski]

Well just pulled the trigger on the only card I found, the ASRock 6600 XT Challenger D OC. At least it's gonna be better than my GTX 970!

That should be a little stronger than a PS5 which usually renders at 1440p or 1800p when not using RT, so I'd imagine that could last you some good years at 1440p, especially if playing on a FreeSync monitor where hitting 60 fps minimums isn't so important. I think it's definitely a better buy at 775 CAD than the 6600 at 650 CAD. Not quite a 1-to-1 gain in performance to price but you rarely get that going up a performance tier and it's not too far off from that ideal 1-to-1 gain.

 

[Rhezuss]

Nice to know! I also have a PS5 but I started playing New World and my 970 is not liking it, even though the game is not that good looking hahah.

It's not the card I wanted at that price, but it's the only one that offered shipping (instead of only offering in-store pickups).

 

[Thump553]

Nothing at all until the price bubble collapses. For all but the 0.001% personal funds are a finite quantity, you have to allocate towards what most fulfills YOUR needs and wants. It's all a matter of perspective. Until video cards especially and electronics in general substantially come down in price, I will spend elsewhere.

 

[SteveGrabowski]

Nothing at all until the price bubble collapses. For all but the 0.001% personal funds are a finite quantity, you have to allocate towards what most fulfills YOUR needs and wants. It's all a matter of perspective. Until video cards especially and electronics in general substantially come down in price, I will spend elsewhere.

I didn't even like gpu prices before the crypto bubble started inflating again last November. Ugh I miss the days of buying the second best gpu on the market for $330 (GTX 970) and having it crush games for years. 2014 sure doesn't feel that long ago but gpu prices started to suck with Pascal and then went to hell with Turing/Navi only to be a nightmare now.