Of course I'm talking about peak performance, but my point is that we shouldn't dismiss people using an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 or 1080 for 1080p gaming. What might have been considered total overkill for 99% of titles at 1080p back when they launched two and a half years ago just doesn't hold true anymore today.
We really need to consider the fact that more and more reviewers are testing on High settings instead of Ultra, and those who do stick to Ultra often just toggle off one or two of the most demanding settings anyway. While we don't have Medium or High benchmarks for every single title, it’s pretty obvious that if the minimum frame rate on Ultra sits around 30 or 40 FPS, dropping down to High isn't going to magically boost those minimums significantly. Similarly, if the average is 55 FPS, it means the minimums are even lower, so simply shifting to a lower preset won't necessarily stabilize them at a smooth 60 FPS. The real issue is that this has become the standard for every major AAA release lately. I’ve churned through about ten of them in no time, and the flood of these titles is only going to increase every month. Like I mentioned before, these "optimal" cards—like the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB or the AMD Radeon RX 580—can't even maintain 60 FPS on Medium in some games anymore, let alone High, which is becoming impossible for a massive amount of titles.
My perspective is this: if someone is willing to drop serious cash on hardware, they aren't looking to play on medium settings or deal with sub-60 FPS drops. You don't want to be caught off guard by poor performance. We've already reached a point where there are plenty of titles where an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB or an AMD Radeon RX 580 just won't cut it anymore. Most people buy new gear specifically so they can run the latest AAA releases, not some three-year-old game.
Final Fantasy XV Kingdom Come: Deliverance Grand Theft Auto V Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Assassin's Creed Odyssey medium preset Tomb Raider Mafia III Watch Dogs 2 PUBG Hitman 2 Monster Hunter
...and so on. We are seeing several games now where even at medium presets, the minimum frame rates dip below 60 FPS on cards like the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB or the AMD Radeon RX 580. Some of these titles have been out for years, and when you factor in High, Very High, or Ultra settings, you aren't just turning down "one or two details." Sure, bad optimization is a real issue, but it's not limited to just two or three games anymore; it’s becoming a pattern. Buying something more powerful than an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB or an AMD Radeon RX 580 for 1080p 60/75Hz gaming is definitely not overkill, nor is it a waste of money.
Ideally, we would see much clearer benchmarks and criteria established for these tiers.
wiredotter14 said:The gap between ultra and high settings is often barely noticeable.
I get that, but even on high settings, there are games where an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 struggles to stay above 60 fps... Obviously, nobody wants to throw money down the drain; everyone is looking for that "best buy" sweet spot. I'm just saying there isn't some fixed ceiling for what GPU you should grab for 1080p 60/75hz gaming. If you have the cash, go for an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070, an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070, or even an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080Ti if you find a killer deal on the used market. Once you have the power, you can always crank up the details or just lock your fps if a game happens to be easy to run.
Look, if you stick with the capabilities of a G4560, you're going to hit a wall fast. We’re seeing games nowadays that absolutely butcher even a pure quad-core setup, making stuttering pretty much inevitable—just look at how many people upgraded from an i5 quad-core just to handle the multiplayer in the latest Battlefield titles. If you're definitely planning to jump to an i5 or i7 down the road, my advice is to grab the best GPU you can afford right now. Don't settle for a GTX 1050Ti today only to realize later that it isn't cutting it.
Ultimately, everything boils down to what specific games you want to play and what kind of settings and FPS you need to be happy.
Look, I don't care about any of those trashy little technical limitations anymore. Personally, I wouldn't even set a ceiling for myself, even when playing at Full HD. If someone’s buying, they should just grab the most powerful card they can afford 😁
An NVIDIA GTX 1080 is basically just a baseline for 1080p at 60/75hz if you're trying to run the most demanding modern titles...
That socket features an i5 which is strictly a quad-core chip. If you want my opinion, hunt down an Intel Core i7-7700 (4c8t) instead—it’s a much better long-term investment if you can snag it at a decent price. As for the GPU, it’s really a case of "you get what you pay for." You could go with an AMD Radeon RX 580 8GB, an NVIDIA GTX 1060, or an NVIDIA GTX 1070; honestly, you could even aim higher if you decide to pair it with that i7.
The monitor is fine; it’s got all the connections you need, like DVI or HDMI.
Freezer 33
In my opinion, if you're strictly gaming, you're better off grabbing the R5 2600. You'll save some $100, plus it comes with a cooler included. While the Ryzen 7 1700X gives you an extra 2 cores and 4 threads, you won't see much of a benefit from that unless you're doing heavy video rendering or something similar. On the flip side, the R5 2600 actually has about 3% better IPC and roughly 200MHz more overclocking headroom—plus, it's cheaper and includes the cooler.
That all sounds good to me. By the way, what kind of monitor are you planning to run? I really hope you aren't sticking with some ancient relic that only has a VGA connection
In my opinion, if you aren't a hardcore gamer playing competitive multiplayer titles, there’s really no reason to overspend. You could easily go with something half the price of a 60Hz or 75Hz model and still be perfectly fine.
It’s priced higher because it offers superior performance—specifically that 144Hz refresh rate which makes a world of difference for gaming—plus you get a much better ergonomic stand and similar perks. If it fits within your budget, and you find that the AOC monitor is too small or the resolution is just too demanding for your setup, then this is definitely the way to go.
The difference usually boils down to the cooling solution—think temps, noise levels, and overclocking headroom—and occasionally the warranty terms. I already went over the specifics regarding the US in your DMs, but it doesn't hurt to lay it out here.
- Most US retailers don't ship to America, let alone internationally. - Even if they do, once you factor in sales tax, customs duties, and shipping fees, the cost will absolutely eat you alive. You'll likely end up paying more than if you just bought it locally in the States. - Unlike in the EU, US prices don't include sales tax upfront, so things aren't nearly as cheap as people assume. - Within the EU, you don't have to worry about customs.
Like I mentioned, my advice is to stick to European shops. Only pull the trigger if the final price is significantly lower than what we see domestically—which isn't common unless there's a massive sale going on.
That link is broken, and I have no idea which motherboard you're looking at. Just a heads up: for SLI to work, you need two identical GPUs. Honestly, I wouldn't recommend SLI at all (say, running two 1070Tis)—the whole concept is basically dead. Even hardcore enthusiasts don't bother with it anymore. It’s much better to just sell your old card and put that money toward one single, more powerful GPU.
For the CPU, go with the or if you decide to step up to the 1600X (which is roughly $400 in that link), grab a Freezer 33 cooler too, since it doesn't come with one.
As for RAM, you could go with this or this. If you end up buying the rest of your parts from that same site, you might even roll the dice on this, YOLO.
Motherboard—that really depends on your budget, but like I said, don't make SLI or Crossfire your goal. It's an outdated, headache-inducing concept that's completely unnecessary.
You should also check out the Americans—keep tabs on the European Amazon sites (co.uk, amazon de, es, it, fra). They’ll charge the local US sales tax instead of the domestic rate plus shipping (you won't see the final price until the very last step of checkout). For eu.evga.com, they apply their own listed tax plus a $15 shipping fee. Also, check out scan.co.uk and maybe a few German shops that ship to the US, like Caseking or Newegg RX 580.
Peter Green said:*edit - just realized that one was the 4GB version in the ad, while this one on Computer Universe is 8GB When are we ever going to see deals like this over here? 😁
There was an AMD Radeon RX 580 $533 recently, and even with shipping included from Amazon Germany, it was almost the same price. I nearly pulled the trigger myself.
analogtiger19 said:I don't see a price on the link, you must have typed it in yourself...
Too late, analogtiger19, too late... 😁
I was seriously considering grabbing that GTX 1070 (around $767 total, never seen a deal that good), but I really need to save up for a car... Apparently, EVGA support is top-tier—they don't mess around. If you file a warranty claim, they actually send someone to your door to pick up the product.
Give me an R7 1800X for a decent price, people! It’s basically a pipe dream at this point. Every single year, it's the exact same story with their Black Friday sales—it's all just empty hype. Everyone drops the Links, companies run massive ad campaigns, but let's be real: nobody actually manages to snag anything during those big promotions.
Check out this absolute steal:
GTX 1060 3GB $150. GTX 1060 6GB Two hundred bucks. GTX 1070 8GB Three hundred bucks.
Shipping to the US is only $15, and they handle all the import taxes themselves—so you won't get hit with those extra customs fees like you sometimes do on Amazon.