GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

Miners were picking them up 😁 I guess things are getting so desperate they're even grabbing the 1060s...

I’ve been hitting people up, sending messages, making calls—and honestly, from what I can gather since getting here, everyone keeps telling me to just wait another week or so. I’ve spotted a few interesting listings on Craigslist, but man, it kind of kills my vibe to drop that much cash when there's a high chance I'm just getting scammed.




Everything looks brand new, and we're talking anywhere from $1,800 to $1,900.

The only thing here even remotely reasonably priced is the GTX 1060 6GB. That RX 480 is actually more expensive than what you'd find at Best Buy, and don't even get me started on the price of the 970—it’s absolutely ridiculous.

Bottom line: don't buy anything unless you can inspect it in person first.

Thanks for all the tips👍 I’m gonna head back out today and see what else I can dig up, so I might even throw
into the mix. $33 Or, like Nesho says, I just need to chill out and be patient for a bit. I'll do some more digging later on once I find where the good stuff is hiding👍

steelfox36 said:Thanks for the tips.👍 I’m gonna scout out some more options later today, maybe I'll even toss in
$33 or just follow Nesho's lead and stay patient. I'll dig through everything again later.👍

It's Friday anyway... just hang tight for a few days, you aren't going anywhere.😬

I'm gonna go grab some food real quick, then I'll be back here in a couple of days😁 LP

So, my local Best Buy has this 1060 6GB sitting there, and the price used to be around $240,
but now they’ve marked it down to $200. Some kind of flash sale or whatever. 😁
I’ve shopped there before and they're legit, so I trust them. Does that sound like a decent deal to you guys?
Right now, the 3GB version is hovering around $600($17.80). At least, that's what I managed to find online.
If I were picking up a card today, I’d definitely want the 6GB model for about $20 extra over the 3GB one.

Whatever you do, don't go picking up a graphics card with only 3GB of VRAM. In today's gaming landscape, that's just not going to cut it—it's honestly way too little.

Wait, what store is that? I need to go grab one right now!

Honestly, just get the 6GB version since the price gap is basically nothing. It's not even just about the extra memory; the chip on the 1060 6GB is actually better, so you're getting a much stronger card overall.

fadedorca66 said:Wait, what store is this? I need to run out and grab one right now!

Man, you absolutely have to go for the 6GB version—the price gap is honestly negligible at this point. It’s not even just about having more VRAM; the chip on the 6GB 1060 is actually beefier, making the whole card way more capable overall.

It's their last one in stock, which is why they'd drop it from $2500 down to $2000.
The deal looks something like this...
https://www.bestbuy.com/art/gra...6gb-dual/74844
Does that PayPal look legit to you?😁
If I end up missing out on this because I hesitated, Tim Cook, I'm sending you the address and phone number of the shop immediately.
I've shopped with these guys before.

Look, the version itself is perfectly fine. The only real downside is that you’re stuck with the standard two-year warranty, but honestly, at that price point, there isn't much of a dilemma. Just make sure they didn't screw up and sell you the 3GB version for $667, and definitely double-check that it hasn't been refurbished.

Larry Ortiz5 said:Whatever you do, don't touch a graphics card with only 3GB of VRAM. In today's gaming landscape, that's just way too little.

Man, come on, you're overreacting. An RX 460 with 2GB can run The Witcher on high settings if you aren't being too greedy with the sliders. So why would 3GB be an issue, especially on a much stronger card? Sure, if you're chasing 4K textures, then yeah, even 4GB might feel tight, but for any reasonable gaming setup, 2GB gets the job done... Let alone 3GB on a card like the 1060.

Adam Moore3 said:Man, you're overthinking it. An RX 460 with 2 GB can handle The Witcher on high settings if you aren't being greedy with the sliders. So yeah, obviously 3 GB or some beefier card will do better. Sure, if you want those 4K textures, 4 GB might feel tight, but for any normal gaming setup, 2 GB gets the job done... let alone 3 GB on something like a 1060.

That's not the issue here. The point is that the gap between the 3GB version and the 6GB version isn't just about the VRAM; the 6GB model actually has a faster chip. You shouldn't settle for the weaker version when it's only $67 more.

+ I know exactly what I'm talking about—this isn't just some random stuff I read online, but actual experience from when I was running a GTX 970. Back then, it only had 3.5 GB of VRAM, and honestly? It caused quite a few stutters in certain games...

I’m not even a huge fan of the VRAM on that specific model, but if we’re looking at $567 current standards, it’s essentially his only viable option and his strongest GPU choice. If you checked out those benchmarks for 29 different titles I linked, the only game where that 3GB limit actually bites is Resident Evil 7. Even then, you might lose a few minor visual details, but the FPS would still jump up significantly. Hardware Unboxed mentioned they’ll be running tests specifically to see how much you need to dial back the settings in that title, but everything else should be totally fine.

Timothy Kim60 said:I’m not even a huge fan of the VRAM on that specific model, but looking at things $567 lately, it’s basically his only viable option and the strongest GPU available. If you checked out those tests for 29 games I linked, the only title where 3GB is actually an issue is Resident Evil 7, but even then, it only drops in a few minor details; the FPS would still jump back up quite high. Hardware Unboxed mentioned they’re going to test exactly how much you need to dial back settings in that specific game—everything else should be fine.

^

No, no, and no. I didn't say buying a 1060 6GB isn't worth it, mainly because I know the chip is being throttled on the lower memory models. I'm speaking generally here—saying 3GB is "simply too little" is an exaggeration. You can play perfectly fine with 2GB as long as you don't go overboard with stuff like 4K textures or rendering bushes way outside your field of view. If you want everything set to Ultra, sure, even 6GB might feel tight here and there. But 3GB on a card like the 1060 is totally solid; it's nowhere near "simply too little." Like I said, if a game was stuttering on a GTX 970 despite its 3.5 + 0.5 GB setup, you could probably fix it just by dropping textures from Ultra to Very High and calling it a day.

Hey everyone! I'm looking to upgrade my GPU soon and I've got about $1,500$833 set aside for it—maybe even a few hundred more if the right card pops up. As for my current setup, I'm running an i5-4460 with 8GB of RAM, though I'm definitely planning to grab at least another 4GB to beef things up. My power supply is a Be Quiet! 480W modular unit with an 80+ Bronze rating. For the last couple of years, I've been getting by with an ASUS R9 270X (using two 6-pin connectors), but it's time for something better. Does anyone have any solid recommendations on what I should pick up? It would be awesome if you could drop some direct links to specific cards from places like Best Buy, Newegg, Amazon, or Micro Center

Your only real move is the GTX 1060 6GB. You might actually be able to track one down somewhere. The thing is, crypto miners basically vacuumed up everything in that budget range—you know, the RX 470/570, RX 480/580, and the 3GB version of the GTX 1060. But maybe you'll get lucky with a 6GB model.

If you want something cheaper, there's the 1050 Ti, but I guess that’s such a tiny upgrade from what you're running now that it’s probably not even worth the money.

So I was scrolling through CNN.com and spotted an MSI GTX 1060 Gaming X 6GB priced at $400. Is that actually a solid deal or am I just dreaming?

Not really... maybe check if they have an EVGA model for $766. If not, you could probably grab an NVIDIA GTX 1060 3GB single-fan at Micro Center for about $583.