Random Hardware topics

[Colif]

Part of future goes dark

 

[neogunhero]

I really want to upgrade my GPU. Currently I have an RTX 2060 6GB that has served me well for the past 5 years. I’m not planning on going to 4K or even 1440p just yet, mainly because I want to budget. I’m giving myself around a $300 allowance to spend on a GPU, and hopefully I can get one by the end of the year.

I’ve always been an Nvidia guy, but I’m starting to lean towards AMD for my next card. Nvidia cards are great, but they have gotten too expensive, perhaps because they are going all in on AI and Ray Tracing components. I personally don’t care too much for processing AI workloads on my computer, and I sure as hell don’t give a crap about ray tracing. AMD cards tend to offer more powerful rasterization at better prices, but lag behinds on AI and RT.

So far my contenders are the RX 6750 XT and the RX 7700 XT. Current street prices for the 6750 XT are around $300, the 7700 XT is closer to $400, however there have been a few deals for the 7700 at around $350. The 7700 XT overall is stronger, but according to Toms Hardware, only averages around 15% performance increase average across 18 games tested at 1080p Ultra settings. But if I’m thinking of longevity, keeping this card for at least 2-3 years, that extra performance may be worth the money. Surely when the big end of the year sales come around, I could easily nab a 7700 XT for around $350.

So many decisions and things to think about! I just want to play my games without stuttering and ultra smooth FPS!

 

[Brian Boru]

5 years

Is the rest of your PC also 5y old? Might be no harm to make a thread with your PC specs so our experts can advise re any other potential issues, eg power supply.

 

[neogunhero]

Is the rest of your PC also 5y old? Might be no harm to make a thread with your PC specs so our experts can advise re any other potential issues, eg power supply.

Just about! RAM, Mobo, PSU, and one of my SSDs are all from the original build. I forgot what specific GPU I started with, but only a few months after finishing the build I picked up the RTX 2060. Only other changes besides new SSDs is going from the Ryzen 1600X to a Ryzen 5700X.

I’m going to hold off on starting a new thread until I consider upgrading more seriously. Right now I’m just dreaming essentially

 

[Colif]

But if I’m thinking of longevity, keeping this card for at least 2-3 years, that extra performance may be worth the money. Surely when the big end of the year sales come around, I could easily nab a 7700 XT for around $350.

which one for 2-3 years? the new one or the one you have now? It should easily last 3 years... most of mine last that long,

7700xt about 50% better than a 2060 and 40% better than a 2060 Super

AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT Specs

AMD Navi 32, 2544 MHz, 3456 Cores, 216 TMUs, 96 ROPs, 12288 MB GDDR6, 2250 MHz, 192 bit

www.techpowerup.com

ram difference is slightly more important these days, 6gb to 12gb. One won't run out of resources as fast.
7700XT uses more power but its price/performance rating is still higher than the 2060

RX 7700 XT vs RTX 2060 [6-Benchmark Showdown]

Comparing NVIDIA RTX 2060 with AMD RX 7700 XT: technical specs, games and benchmarks.

technical.city

this is 4k as no one tests in 1080 like this anymore

I went from a 2070 Super to a 7900XT, that was noticeable jump if only to allow GPU to exceed refresh rate of my monitor meaning I always get 144 unless its a hard to drive game or it had RT.
it was 131% faster than a 2070 Super though.


use this to show us what you have when you ready to post

Pick parts. Build your PC. Compare and share.

pcpartpicker.com

 

[neogunhero]

which one for 2-3 years? the new one or the one you have now? It should easily last 3 years... most of mine last that long,

The new card. I’ve had my RTX 2060 for 5 years now, got it at the beginning of 2019. Currently the only major upgrade I’m thinking of doing is getting a new GPU that can last me at least 2-3 years until I can do a full system upgrade. I’m still on AM4 now, would like to upgrade to AM5 in the future and take advantage of all the new tech, but I think stuff like that is still quite expensive, especially AM5 mobos and DDR5 RAM. Not many good budget options in that space just yet.

ram difference is slightly more important these days, 6gb to 12gb. One won't run out of resources as fast.
7700XT uses more power but its price/performance rating is still higher than the 2060

VRAM is increasingly a big concern to me. I’ve been running into issues on some newer games where the raw performance of my GPU seems to be able to handle a game but it runs out of VRAM, causing me to lower settings. I’ve noticed this most recently in Kunitsu-Gami, my VRAM was exceeding its limit and the game was crashing. Once I set textures to Low, it ran fine but looked like garbage. Have had similar issues in a few other games too.

I’ll also have to make sure my PSU will support a new card. No idea how to test it, gonna have to research that. I have a 600W Gold PSU, but don’t know how much of it im using currently.

 

[Colif]

I’ll also have to make sure my PSU will support a new card. No idea how to test it, gonna have to research that. I have a 600W Gold PSU, but don’t know how much of it im using currently.

Custom PC Builder | PSU Finder | CORSAIR

www.corsair.com

Power Supply calculator - calc for silent PSUs from be quiet!

be quiet! is a premium brand manufacturer of power supplies, cases and cooling solutions for your desktop PC.

www.bequiet.com

Wattage Calculator

Use our Wattage Calculator to determine the ideal PSU for your system. Enter your components to receive accurate wattage recommendations.

seasonic.com

Make/Model of PSU you have might be good to know. 7700XT seems to only need 550w (but models can vary. If they have rgb might need more)
I used those myself to work out what I needed for this GPU

I would hope a 7700xt can easily last 3 years.

Seasonic shows I only need a 700. thats funny, as 18 months ago it suggested an 850, I just grabbed a 1k to be safe. Now I have spare I don't use. Yay... and a spare PSU as well.