GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

Prices are just going to keep dropping. If you aren't in a rush, just hang tight.

I mean, is Nvidia actually circling the drain just because they aren't dropping any new card series right now?

I’m wondering how the next generation is going to handle power consumption and those sudden power spikes.
Nvidia cards are notorious for those massive micro-peaks lately.
I’m running a 650W PSU, which is basically just enough to squeeze by with an rtx3080 12.

Is AMD actually better when it comes to dealing with those spikes?

amberhound8 said:has Nvidia essentially lost its way now that there aren't any fresh GPU series hitting the market?

Well, they released the 1050 and the 1050ti, followed by the 1630, so I wouldn't say they've gone under just yet; besides, the 4000 series is right on the horizon.

2014 Maxwell
2016 Pascal
2018 Turing
2020 Ampere
2022 Ada Lovelace

People think nothing is happening because cards haven't been available, but the release schedule is just business as usual

AMD has had more gaps and recycled tech over the last decade

Rx200 2013 - architecture similar to the HD7000 series but beefier cards
Rx300 2015 - a mix of GCN 1 (HD7000) up to GCN 3 (new stuff)
RX400 2016 - polaris GCN 4
Rx500 2017 - recycled polaris
Rx Vega 2017 56 and 64 GCN 5
Rx Vega 7 2019 - Vega on 7nm
RX5000 - 2019 RDNA 1
RX6000 - 2020 RDNA 2

With AMD, you can sum it up like this:
Rx200/300 2013-2015
Rx400/500 polaris 2015-2017 (low-mid range)
RDNA 1 2019
RDNA 2 2020

200/300 were successful despite running hot. Polaris was a win, just no high-end presence. RDNA 1 was okay, nothing special
RDNA 2 is decent, sits on par with Nvidia except for Raytracing and other features

I seem to have made a bit of an error here, so please accept my apologies. Instead of the 1050, I was actually thinking of the 1010, which I believe was released late last year or perhaps just at the start of this one.

Good grief,😁 GTX 1630 or whatever Nvidia decides to call this—it looks like they're attempting to launch something even more underwhelming than the RX 6400.😵

I honestly have no clue what they were thinking. They could've just left this kind of garbage for the OEMs to deal with. I guess they're just desperate to offload all that Pascal stock that's still sitting on shelves somewhere

So, I’m looking for some solid advice on a GPU for gaming—planning to pull the trigger on the card right now, even though I won't be upgrading the rest of my rig until later... also, I definitely need some recommendations for a 27-inch 1440p monitor to go with it, by the way.

thanks

AOC CQ27G2U/BK 27" VA, 2xHDMI 2.0/DisplayPort 1.2, AMD FreeSync 144 Hz

It all comes down to your budget and what you actually need. If you're aiming for 1440p at 144Hz, there isn't really a ceiling on how powerful a GPU you can throw in there. Are we talking about spending $2,000, $5,000, or $3.25?

I was originally looking at spending maybe around $850, but now I’m staring at the RX 6900 XT. From what I’ve been digging up online, it sits right in that sweet spot between a 3080 and a 3090—basically acting like a 3080 Ti—but there's about a $300 price gap... and honestly, I'm wondering if it's smarter to just take that extra $300 and dump it into another part, like a beefier CPU or something instead...

https://www.mindfactory.de/search_re..._query=6900+xt

https://www.mindfactory.de/search_re...h_query=3080Ti

driftingscout20 said:It was supposed to be around $850, but I'm looking at the RX 6900 XT now. From what I can gather online, it sits somewhere between the 3080 and 3090—basically a 3080 Ti. There's about a $300 gap there, and honestly, putting that extra $300 toward another component, like the CPU, makes more sense...

https://www.mindfactory.de/search_re..._query=6900+xt

https://www.mindfactory.de/search_re...h_query=3080Ti

You could also grab a 6800 XT for under $800. Check some reviews and see if that price jump actually buys you anything worth it.
I think the Nvidia deal is better. You're getting an RTX 3080 with 10-12GB of VRAM compared to 16GB, regardless of the performance or feature set.

As for the CPU, depends on what you're running right now.

wiredotter14 said:I honestly have no idea what they were thinking here; they really should have just left a product this mediocre for the OEMs to deal with, unless their main goal is just clearing out remaining Pascal stock once and for all.

Well, Nvidia wins again,😵 managing to release an even worse graphics card than before. We all remember how much noise there was surrounding the RX 6500 XT, but it looks like Nvidia has officially taken home the trophy for the absolute worst budget GPU on the market.🙂

What do you guys think I should pair with my Ryzen 3600? I'm looking at the RX 6600, 6600XT, or the 6650XT. There’s only about a $600-$233 difference between all three. I'm mainly aiming for solid 1080p gaming, but I also want something somewhat future-proof so it lasts me maybe 3 or 4 years. I might even jump up to a Ryzen 5600 down the road, since I heard somewhere that AMD has this feature where pairing 6000 series cards with 5000 series CPUs gives you a nice little performance boost.

Jerry Watson2 said:What do you guys think I should pair with my Ryzen 3600? Looking at the RX 6600, 6600XT, or 6650XT. All three are hovering around the $600 mark.$233 Differences. I need this for 1080p gaming, but it needs to be somewhat future-proof—looking at maybe 3 to 4 years down the line. I might eventually upgrade to a Ryzen 5600, too. I read somewhere that AMD has this feature where if you pair 6000 series cards with 5000 series processors, performance actually gets a boost.

Looks like the RX 6650 XT is actually priced lower than the 6600 XT right now. Choice is pretty obvious.
The 6600 is fine. It all comes down to how much you’re willing to shell out.

Neither of them is exactly future-proof, but they’ll still manage to push through new titles on reasonable settings for a few more years.

The whole deal with the 5000 series is the Resizable BAR support. It’s fine, I guess, but honestly? It's a total lottery. You might see a boost in one game, but in most, the differences are negligible. I wouldn't bother upgrading a CPU just for that feature—only if your current chip is actually bottlenecking you during gameplay. These cards are perfectly fine paired with a Ryzen 3600. Personally, I'd rather just swap out the entire platform in a few years. That 3600 isn't going to hold back an RX 6500 XT.

Best Buy is running a massive sale on select graphics cards right now, with some discounts hitting up to 50%. It’s one of those rare windows where you can snag a high-end beast without having to empty your entire savings account. Just a heads-up: stock is limited, even though the promotion officially runs through September 30, 2022.

driftingscout20 said:It would've been around $800, but I'm looking at the RX 6900 XT right now, which seems to sit right between the 3080 and 3090—basically a 3080 Ti—and since there's like a $300 gap, I'd rather dump those extra bucks into a better CPU or something else instead...

https://www.amazon.com/search?q=6900+xt

https://www.amazon.com/search?q=3080Ti

Hey... anyone here actually used this shop before? I'm wondering if it's legit because their prices look killer upfront, but I want to know what the final damage looks like once you factor in shipping...

urbantiger542 said:Hey... just wondering if anyone here has actually pulled the trigger on this shop lately? I was looking at their site and the prices look killer at first glance, but I'm always wary of those sneaky shipping costs hitting you at checkout...

Ordered, paid, arrived. Shipping can run you over $160 though—but get this—if you place your order between midnight and 6 AM, they'll give you free shipping. Crazy, right?

driftingscout20 said:Ordered it, paid, arrived. Shipping was over $150, but if you order between midnight and 6 AM, it's free.

Well that’s alright I guess... just tell me how much money you actually saved compared to just driving down to Best Buy and grabbing it there...🙂