Question What GPU to get in the $200 range? Should I buy used?

[Gorrillasnot]

The last decent GPU i had was a HD 6870 that I used until it died then I got a cheap GT 545 for low end gaming, then I took a break from gaming and still use the GT 545 just to have video out (cpu has no onboard), now I've got the itch to get back into gaming but I'm on a limited budget of $200 max which brings me to my question.

Buy a used 1070 for $170ish or buy something new? If new what could beat a 1070 in the $200 price range?

thanks

 

[SteveGrabowski]

GTX 1650 Super for $160 MSRP is a decent 1080p card which sits right between the GTX 970 and GTX 1070 in performance. If you want GTX 1070 performance in a new card you have to go with the GTX 1660 Super which is $229 MSRP. Or maybe AMD's RX 5600 non-XT could be decent in this segment when released, but it hasn't been officially announced yet (lots of rumors about a January release though). I'd personally steer clear of used gpus since they're expensive and the most important part of a gaming rig, so I want a warranty when I buy a gpu. Especially if looking at something like the 1070 which was an extremely popular mining card.

 

[lobz]

If you're content with the risks of buying a used card, then $170 for a 1070 is not bad. Otherwise a 1660S for ~230 would be the minimum. It's not as fast but it's new.
Nothing beats a 1070 at the $200 range right now.

 

[SteveGrabowski]

If you're content with the risks of buying a used card, then $170 for a 1070 is not bad. Otherwise a 1660S for ~230 would be the minimum. It's not as fast but it's new.
Nothing beats a 1070 at the $200 range right now.

Seems like 1070 and 1660 Super trade blows. Probably due to Nvidia not prioritizing drivers for Pascal any more though, since it seems it's mostly newer games where the 1660 Super outperforms the 1070. For instance, techpowerup has the 1660S ahead of the 1070 by about 6% in AC Odyssey at 1080p and 14% at 1440p. For Control the 1660S is 13% faster at 1080p and 14% at 1440p. Though Metro Exodus the 1070 wins by about 6% at 1080p and 4% at 1440p. On an old game like The Witcher 3 it's a 7% win for 1070 at 1080p and a 6% win at 1440p. In their overall testsuite of 22 games they have the 1660S and 1070 basically equal at 1080p and 1440p.

ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1660 Super AMP Review

ZOTAC brings us a practical GeForce GTX 1660 Super graphics card that comes with a factory overclock and just enough features to get your gaming rig up and going without it breaking the bank - the price increase over MSRP is $20.

www.techpowerup.com

 

[lobz]

Seems like 1070 and 1660 Super trade blows. Probably due to Nvidia not prioritizing drivers for Pascal any more though, since it seems it's mostly newer games where the 1660 Super outperforms the 1070. For instance, techpowerup has the 1660S ahead of the 1070 by about 6% in AC Odyssey at 1080p and 14% at 1440p. For Control the 1660S is 13% faster at 1080p and 14% at 1440p. Though Metro Exodus the 1070 wins by about 6% at 1080p and 4% at 1440p. On an old game like The Witcher 3 it's a 7% win for 1070 at 1080p and a 6% win at 1440p. In their overall testsuite of 22 games they have the 1660S and 1070 basically equal at 1080p and 1440p.

ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1660 Super AMP Review

ZOTAC brings us a practical GeForce GTX 1660 Super graphics card that comes with a factory overclock and just enough features to get your gaming rig up and going without it breaking the bank - the price increase over MSRP is $20.

www.techpowerup.com

Yes, but that's really stretching the $200 mark, as I wrote it

 

[SteveGrabowski]

Yes, but that's really stretching the $200 mark, as I wrote it

It's really really stretching it once you see most 1660 Super are $250 right now too. Though there are still a couple of models you can find for MSRP.

 

[mohit9206]

AMD has a card at $200, i believe its called the 5500XT and I've heard it also comes with free Monster Hunter World + Iceborne Expansion. You might want to click on that buy button.

 

[lobz]

AMD has a card at $200, i believe its called the 5500XT and I've heard it also comes with free Monster Hunter World + Iceborne Expansion. You might want to click on that buy button.

Unfortunately it doesn't come close to the 1070.

 

[Guru]

Basically the 1660 super or wait a month for AMD to release the RX 5600, it should be really powerful, hopefully at a good price as well.

With the same amount of shaders as the RX 5700, it should perform extremely good, especially if you overclock it it and reach 5700 core clocks.

 

[lobz]

Basically the 1660 super or wait a month for AMD to release the RX 5600, it should be really powerful, hopefully at a good price as well.

With the same amount of shaders as the RX 5700, it should perform extremely good, especially if you overclock it it and reach 5700 core clocks.

The 5600XT will be 1-2 price brackets higher thatn what he's looking for.

 

[mohit9206]

Unfortunately it doesn't come close to the 1070.

But 5500XT brand new shiny piece of hardware, with warranty and Monster Hunter game. AMD Navi based. 7nm. Gddr6.

 

[guachi]

If it were a game you were already going to buy it's not a bad card. I bought a low-rent 8350 a few years ago that came with a game I was going to buy (Total War: Warhammer). It basically made the CPU $50 less and it was only $120 or so to begin with.

I'm an AMD fan but I can't really see recommending the 5500XT 4GB version unless the extras are worth it to you.

 

[SteveGrabowski]

But 5500XT brand new shiny piece of hardware, with warranty and Monster Hunter game. AMD Navi based. 7nm. Gddr6.

Sadly also PCIE-3.0x8.

 

[justin4pack]

I had this exact same question. Local 1070 for $180. Local 1070 to for $240. Local 1080 for $280. I'm trying to decide between the 1660 super at $230 or 1080 @ $280. I'm thinking the 1080, but not sure as I know these were used for mining.

 

[Shmee]

^ I would go with the 1070 for $180, or if you want more, the 1660 super. I feel a used 1080 at $280 is too close in price to a good deal on a 5700, which would be the next logical step up.

 

[happy medium]

Nvidia just announced that the rtx2060 will be dropping to $299 , that should bring the other cards down in price

The rx 5600xt will be dead in the water at $279.

 

[Dribble]

Nvidia just announced that the rtx2060 will be dropping to $299 , that should bring the other cards down in price

The rx 5600xt will be dead in the water at $279.

The cheapest one is $279 - it's out of stock and no idea if it will stay at that price.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Hardware Unboxed just did a video on this topic. The conclusion is that the sub $200 market has not been a good one for bang for buck improvements the last few years. If the used 1070 is from a reputable source/well rated, I would buy that before buying anything new in that price range.

 

[Mopetar]

But 5500XT brand new shiny piece of hardware, with warranty and Monster Hunter game. AMD Navi based. 7nm. Gddr6.

Isn't it only 6 GB of GDDR6 though? I think we're at the point where anything under 8 GB isn't going to age particularly well. It might be okay right now, but it sounds like the OP is the type of person who holds on to their cards for a while.

I don't think 1070's were widely used for mining either, so if you do pick up a used one, there isn't as much worry about it having been worked like a stolen mule.

 

[lobz]

Isn't it only 6 GB of GDDR6 though? I think we're at the point where anything under 8 GB isn't going to age particularly well. It might be okay right now, but it sounds like the OP is the type of person who holds on to their cards for a while.

I don't think 1070's were widely used for mining either, so if you do pick up a used one, there isn't as much worry about it having been worked like a stolen mule.

it's either 4 or 8 for a bit more cash

 

[SteveGrabowski]

Isn't it only 6 GB of GDDR6 though? I think we're at the point where anything under 8 GB isn't going to age particularly well. It might be okay right now, but it sounds like the OP is the type of person who holds on to their cards for a while.

I don't think 1070's were widely used for mining either, so if you do pick up a used one, there isn't as much worry about it having been worked like a stolen mule.

I mean is anything going to age well when the new baseline for games could end up 5700 XT + raytracing by November? Also I think 1070 was a hugely popular mining card.

 

[Mopetar]

I mean is anything going to age well when the new baseline for games could end up 5700 XT + raytracing by November? Also I think 1070 was a hugely popular mining card.

I don't think RT is going to be a baseline anytime soon considering the buy-in is still ~$400 just to have the possibility of crippling your performance completely for some small improvements in image quality that you might not notice as much at that resolution.

But when you look back at what's hurt cards the most, hitting the memory wall is what tends to do it, at least in a far more noticeable way. Today, 6 GB is going to be fine for most games as long as you aren't pushing the resolution or running some crazy texture pack mods. The real knock against NVidia is that they have a reputation for lackluster driver improvements for older generations of cards.

I know the 1060 was a really popular mining card, but I honestly wasn't paying much attention to it so you may be correct. The 1070 isn't that far behind the 5700XT that even if it were the new baseline you'd be hosed. You get better than 70% of the performance for less than half the price and it's hard to argue against that.

 

[SteveGrabowski]

I don't think RT is going to be a baseline anytime soon considering the buy-in is still ~$400 just to have the possibility of crippling your performance completely for some small improvements in image quality that you might not notice as much at that resolution.

But when you look back at what's hurt cards the most, hitting the memory wall is what tends to do it, at least in a far more noticeable way. Today, 6 GB is going to be fine for most games as long as you aren't pushing the resolution or running some crazy texture pack mods. The real knock against NVidia is that they have a reputation for lackluster driver improvements for older generations of cards.

I know the 1060 was a really popular mining card, but I honestly wasn't paying much attention to it so you may be correct. The 1070 isn't that far behind the 5700XT that even if it were the new baseline you'd be hosed. You get better than 70% of the performance for less than half the price and it's hard to argue against that.

That 43% higher performance for a 5700 XT over a GTX 1070 is pretty significant. That's the difference between a GTX 1070 and a GTX 980. Or an R9 290x vs a GTX 760. And those lackluster drivers you mention for previous gen cards will only expand that farther into the console generation. I still remember how horribly Kepler aged, and I wouldn't put it past Nvidia to leave Pascal out in the cold too this year when they're probably only going to be doing a Turing refresh for gaming cards. That's well below the rumored console baseline and you're stuck buying used which means tough **** if your card dies in a month since you have no warranty.

 

[Shmee]

I can confirm, GTX 1070s were actually very popular for mining.

 

[Mopetar]

That 43% higher performance for a 5700 XT over a GTX 1070 is pretty significant. That's the difference between a GTX 1070 and a GTX 980. Or an R9 290x vs a GTX 760. And those lackluster drivers you mention for previous gen cards will only expand that farther into the console generation. I still remember how horribly Kepler aged, and I wouldn't put it past Nvidia to leave Pascal out in the cold too this year when they're probably only going to be doing a Turing refresh for gaming cards. That's well below the rumored console baseline and you're stuck buying used which means tough **** if your card dies in a month since you have no warranty.

I'm not even sure why the 5700XT is in the discussion when the topic is about the $200 range. It doesn't really matter what you buy at that price point because it's going to be below the next generation consoles. Hell, the next Xbox is rumored to be more powerful than a 5700XT, so even that might be pushing the edge of what's acceptable in the future.