GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

wanderingbison9 said:Well, seeing an NVIDIA RTX 3050 mentioned alongside an NVIDIA GTX 1060 actually made me wonder if pairing them up for work in Adobe Premiere Pro might make sense, especially since I'm seeing the NVIDIA RTX 3050 priced at $726 for SD tasks.?

Where on earth did you see a 3050 for $726?

Yeah, I'll have to look into a few more options... I'm planning on doing some streaming and coding work too.
But so far, nobody has really given me any solid advice regarding the GPU—whether I should just hold off for another month to see if prices drop or 🕺
Also, the real question is whether prices will even go down at all. 😁

Benjamin Sanders76 said:Yeah, I'll look into it... I'm planning on streaming and video editing too.
But nobody has given me any solid advice on the GPU yet—should I just wait another month for prices to drop or what?🕺
And honestly, will they even drop at all? 😁

I'm holding out because I already have a rig... been wanting to swap out my NVIDIA GTX 1060 for a while now.

Not feeling overly optimistic about the next month, but after that, things should start dipping once the new cards hit the market. I'm assuming we'll see the 4070Ti, 7800XT, and stuff like that in a month or two.

Andrew Patel6 said:Where on earth did you find an RTX 3050 for $726?

SD=Sancta Domenica

Benjamin Sanders76 said:Yeah, I suppose I should look into things a bit more... I’m thinking about getting into streaming and video editing as well.
Though nobody has really given me any solid advice on the GPU situation yet—specifically whether I should just sit tight for another month and hope prices drop, or if🕺
if they’ll even bother dropping at all. 😁

If I may ask, did you pick up that Intel Core i5-13600K with the intention of overclocking it, or was that not really part of the plan?

Also, if you were eyeing that NVIDIA RTX 3080, it would be a pretty solid pairing with the 13600K.

wanderingbison9 said:Look, the NVIDIA RTX 3060 Ti isn't exactly some weakling. I’m constantly hitting 80C on my NVIDIA GTX 1060 under full load—which pulls way less power—but I’ve got two fans, a 120 up front and an 80 in the back, all inside a pretty cramped case. Maybe try a light undervolt? Besides being a good deal, Eaglov cases are tight, which I actually prefer—I'm eyeing an RX 6700 for $1067.

Hopefully that performance jump is enough for you. I'm rocking a 1080FE right now and I'm looking at the RX 6800 as my absolute floor if I don't want to swap out my PSU... anything above that is just ridiculous for the money... too bad prices here in the US never seem to drop...

Jerry Watson2 said:Picked up a Gigabyte Eagle RX 6700XT today—not exactly blowing me away, though it was $1233. I figured I’d crush RDR2 on Ultra at 1080p, but it's struggling more than I expected. Temps are hitting 74°C too—I was really aiming for that 65-70°C sweet spot. I'm running a Corsair Airflow case with one intake fan in the front, plus one exhaust in the back and one at the top.

What kind of CPU/Mobo/RAM/PSU are you pairing it with? I'm guessing it's not some overkill 13900K or 7900X setup like those YouTubers always push...

velvetlynx3 said:I’m hoping that jump is enough for you; I’m currently running a 1080FE and I’m eyeing an RX 6800 as my baseline, assuming I don't have to overhaul my entire PSU... anything above that feels like overkill given the price point... it's just a shame how prices here in the States never seem to drop...

The performance leap could be massive, anywhere from 2.5x to 4x depending on the specific task, which is pretty standard in post-production, but it would definitely be a noticeable upgrade 😛. I've actually realized that my RX 580 is starting to struggle with certain workflows, so I really need to step things up, though current budgets and market prices are making that difficult. I'm not sure if we'll see any movement in the markets before New Year's Day, which is my personal deadline for upgrading since I start finalizing a major project right after the holidays...

@Malic: Maybe you should ask Božo Petrov to hook you up... oh wait, damn it, Congress has adjourned and Božo is already back home in Metković 😛 Just kidding, but seriously, why would shipping a GPU from a major hub like NYC to a place like Metković be such a headache? 🤷

wanderingbison9 said:The performance jump would be substantial, anywhere from 2.5x to 4x depending on the specific task. That’s just how post-production works, but it's definitely a noticeable upgrade 😛. I've realized my RX 580 is starting to struggle with certain workflows, so I need to upgrade soon, though budgets and market prices are what they are right now. I'm not sure if there will be any price shifts before New Year's Day; that's my personal deadline since I need to start finalizing a major project right after
.
@Malic: Maybe ask Božo Petrov to hook you up... actually, never mind, Congress has adjourned and Božo is already back in Metković 😛 Jokes aside, I don't see why shipping a GPU from a city like Chicago to a place like Metković should be an issue 🤷.

It's the entire computer setup. My main concern is making sure nothing gets smashed or broken during transit, because we all know how careless people can be when handling packages and boxes 😁.

Jerry Watson2 said:So I picked up a Gigabyte Eagle RX 6700 XT today and honestly, it’s a letdown, even if it was $1233. I figured I could just crank Red Dead Redemption 2 to Ultra at 1080p and call it a day, but clearly, that's not happening. Temps are hitting 74C. I was expecting more like 65-70C. I'm running a Zalman Z3 case with one intake fan in the front and one exhaust in the back and one on top.

What kind of issues are you actually having with an RX 6700 XT at 1080p Ultra? What exactly isn't working?

Benjamin Sanders76 As stated by:
No!!

So, you finally pulled the trigger on a 911 GT3 RS, only to go and slap some Ling Long tires on it. And let me guess—you aren't even planning on driving the thing much more than that. 37 milesSimply wonderful.

bluesurfer66 said:You buy a 911 GT3 RS and put budget eco-tires on it. And you don't plan on going faster than 37 miles/h. Brilliant.

If an 13600K is a 911 GT3 RS, then... 😵😵😵

The 13600K is just a solid mid-range chip with decent value.

It's like buying a slightly tuned Golf TDI and putting economy tires on it... maybe it's not your style, and sure, there are people who would never touch eco-tires, but there's nothing wrong with it.

That 13600K will hit 95-100% of its stock performance on that board anyway.

Most people don't overclock, and they don't need to if they don't feel like it.
Not to mention, specifically with Intel, you need a beefy cooler for overclocking—higher power draw, more heat, all that.

Even at a 150-180W power envelope, the 13600K is still a great choice. No need to force 200W+.

Benjamin Sanders76 said:No!!

But I still think I'll pass on it. I saw the NVIDIA RTX 4090 at AMD (Sapphire RX6950XT gaming OC nitro + , 16GB GDDR6,) $2.50 I think it's pricier $300 than the RX6800, but way better...
Still, I'm kind of wary about buying from them; there are tons of negative reviews out there. Plus, I have no clue how they'd ship it from NYC to Miami...

Shipping from NYC to Miami works via USPS/courier just like NYC to Philly.

You've got the Speedster Merc, which is a solid 6800XT model over at Protis, or that ASRock one at ADM.

https://www.h2-shop.com/ASR-RX6800XT...m_medium=click

Both shops are fine. I've never had issues with ADM, even if they can be a bit clueless and act like they know everything. At the end of the day, you're buying a single card that comes with a factory warranty, and you have the right to return it within 14 days of delivery regardless of which shop you use or why. Wouldn't worry too much about it.

Either way, it's better than Newegg, Best Buy, or those random overseas shops shipping to the US.

At ADM, you can grab an RX6800 for around $1533, which might offer a slightly better price-to-performance ratio depending on what you're aiming for.

wiredotter14 said:Shipping from NYC to Miami works via USPS/courier just like NYC to Atlanta.

You’ve got the Speedster Merc—it's a decent 6800XT available at Micro Center—versus this ASRock over at Newegg.

https://www.microcenter.com/products/detail...m_medium=click

https://www.newegg.com/ASR-RX6800XT...m_medium=click

Both shops are fine. I haven't had issues with Newegg, even if they can be a bit condescending sometimes—but look, you're buying a single card with a factory warranty. You have a right to return it within 14 days of delivery regardless of which shop you use or why, so I wouldn't sweat it too much.

Either way, it's better than buying from Newegg's overseas sellers or those sketchy international sites shipping to the US.

Newegg has an RX6800 for about $1533, which might offer a slightly better price-to-performance ratio depending on what you're aiming for.

I'm looking at the RX 6800 TUF for $500. Honestly, I'm debating if ASRock holds up long-term... purely my opinion, but I don't see the 6800XT being worth $333 more. It's about not overspending—even though I could afford an NVIDIA RTX 4090, who actually buys those?

velvetlynx3 said:I'm eyeing an RX6800 TUF for about $500, but I can't help wondering if ASRock really holds up over the long haul... it's just my subjective take, but honestly, I don't feel like the 6800XT is significantly better for the jump. At the end of the day, you don't want to overspend, even if I actually have the cash sitting there for an NVIDIA RTX 4090—but let's be real, those are way out of everyone's league, right? $333

I've been running an ASRock Phantom gaming 4 for four years now, and I can honestly say I haven't run into a single hardware issue.
In my view, as long as the performance boost from a newer card justifies the price hike compared to what you currently own, it’s a solid purchase, though obviously, that depends entirely on your specific needs and how much you're willing to shell out.

wiredotter14 said:Shipping from New York to Miami works through the USPS or standard couriers just like shipping from New York to Philadelphia.

You have the Speedster Merc, which is a solid 6800XT model available at Protis, and then there is this ASRock option over at ADM.

https://www.h2-shop.com/ASR-RX6800XT...m_medium=click

Both shops are fine. I haven't personally had any issues with ADM, even if they can be a bit confusing or overly opinionated at times. Ultimately, you are buying a single unit that comes with a manufacturer's warranty, and you have the right to return it within 14 days of delivery regardless of which shop you choose or your reason for doing so. Personally, I wouldn't worry too much about it.

In any case, these are better options than iBuyPower, eDigital, or those overseas shops that ship to the US.

ADM actually has the RX6800 for around $1533, which might offer a slightly better price-to-performance ratio depending on what your specific goals are.

Yeah, but I am also concerned about the AMD software. Thinking about streaming, I feel like I might run into some hurdles. Every stream I tune into seems to be running on NVIDIA. 🤔
As for the shop, I previously bought three computers from them via Instagram and have been genuinely satisfied so far. However, looking now, they don't even have a single 3070 Ti in stock that costs $1767; they only have the 3070 priced at $2133. I sent them a message asking if they will be getting more in stock, but they didn't seem to know—it feels like nobody knows what's going on there.

Benjamin Sanders76 said:True, but I'm honestly a bit worried about the AMD software... I'm thinking about streaming, and I feel like I might run into issues there. No matter which stream I tune into, everyone seems to be using NVIDIA. 🤔
I actually bought three rigs from Micro Center recently and I've been really happy with them so far, but looking at their current stock, they don't even have a single 3070 Ti, which is $1767 expensive. They just have the 3070, and that's $2133. I sent them a message asking if they'd get more in, but they just replied saying they aren't sure—it feels like nobody knows what's going on.

Everyone giving you advice here has years of experience buying from these retailers. Most people find their experiences with Futurait and Adm to be excellent. Micro Center doesn't even come close! Honestly, if you're set on forming your own opinion, you probably don't need anyone's advice anyway... just do whatever you want.

Benjamin Sanders76 said:Yeah, but honestly, AMD's software keeps me on edge—I'm worried about streaming. Every single streamer I watch uses NVIDIA, so I feel like I might run into issues. 🤔
Plus, I bought three rigs from Micro Center recently and they've been solid so far, but now I see they don't even carry a 3070 Ti which goes for $1767. They just have the 3070, which is $2133. I sent them an email asking if they'll get them in, but they gave me some vague answer like they weren't sure... who knows.

It hasn't been forever, but I recall there shouldn't be much trouble streaming on AMD—especially nowadays... though the codec names and all that stuff still trips me up. Someone else here will probably weigh in on that...

I've gotta plug in my AMD card first... 😉

Alexander Moore67 said:Everyone giving you advice here has years of experience buying from established retailers. Most people find their experiences with Micro Center or Newegg to be excellent. Best Buy doesn't even come close to that level of service! Besides, if you’re determined to stick strictly to your own opinion, then you don't really need anyone's input... just do whatever you want....

Of course I have my own opinion, but when you're purchasing something brand new from a retailer, you should always ask around first.

What really concerns me is the price gap between Best Buy and Newegg.

velvetlynx3 said:I haven't been active for a while, but if I recall correctly, there aren't any major issues with streaming on AMD cards, especially nowadays... though the codec names and technical jargon can be a bit overwhelming. Someone from the group will probably clarify that for you soon...

I need to get my hands on an AMD card first before I can say for sure... 😉

They replied?

So, everything should run smoothly with the software and OBS...
Also, when comparing the 3070 Ti to the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT, I watched some YouTube reviews suggesting the AMD card is significantly better, but still...