GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

Alexander Moore67 said:Everyone offering you advice here probably has years of experience shopping at these retailers. Honestly, my experiences with Futurait and Adm have been nothing short of excellent—they really put places like Instar to shame. But hey, if you feel like you already have everything figured out, then maybe you don't need anyone's input at all... just go ahead and do things your own way....

Does that 2% discount for forum members still apply at Futurait, and how am I supposed to prove my membership if I'm placing an order online?

Benjamin Sanders76 said:Did he actually write that?

So, assuming the software and OBS are set up correctly, everything should run smoothly, right?..
I was also weighing the options between a 3070 Ti and an AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT, and after watching some YouTube reviews, it seems like the RX is clearly superior, but there's always a catch...

https://obsproject.com/forum/tags/amd/

If you just skim through the thread titles, everything sounds absolutely apocalyptic at first glance... but then again, shouldn't we take those claims with a grain of salt? It’s natural that only the people running into issues are the ones posting loudly about it. I remember once trying to record a video using the AMD SW and everything worked perfectly fine, only for me to realize later that a pesky Windows update had swapped out my AMD-ov driver for a generic one...

wanderingbison9 said:Does that 2% discount at Futurait still work for forum members? And how do I actually prove it when ordering online?

https://obsproject.com/forum/tags/amd/

If you just skim the thread titles, it sounds like the end of the world... but honestly, take it with a grain of salt. Of course only the people having issues are posting here... I tried recording a screen capture once using the AMD software and everything was fine—until I realized some damn Windows update had swapped my AMD driver out for its own version...

I used some AMD SW briefly a while back—can't remember much now—but it worked fine and the quality was decent enough. Haven't messed with OBS specifically, but I know it works with AMD... maybe check the streaming thread if there is one...

wanderingbison9 said:Does that 2% discount at Futurait still apply to forum members, and how do I actually prove my membership when ordering online?

https://obsproject.com/forum/tags/amd/

If you just skim through the thread titles, things sound pretty apocalyptic at first glance... though, honestly, you have to take it all with a grain of salt. Naturally, the only people posting are the ones running into issues. I was recording a screen capture once using the AMD SW and everything worked perfectly fine, only to realize later that a damn Windows update had swapped out my AMD driver for its own version...

Then there's the whole issue of recording and streaming...
It seems like everywhere I look, there's some kind of problem, haha. 😁
And Nvidia's pricing is still a massive headache—especially looking at the 3070ti. $2.25 😵

analogtiger19 said:What kind of issues are you even having at 1080p Ultra with an RX 6700 XT? What can't you crank up?

So, I tried cranking everything to the absolute max—including all those extra settings—at 1080p, but I ended up stuck at around 50-55 fps. I gave The Last of Us a shot too, and it runs pretty smooth at about 100 fps on Ultra, but if I bump it up to Ultra+, the performance just falls off a cliff. And man, turning on Ray tracing totally kills it, dropping me down to 25 fps. I'll have to check things out later; maybe I'll toss a couple more fans in my case or just grab a new one with better airflow. Either way, it's still a massive step up from my old RX 580.

Why not try popping the case open and pointing a desk fan directly at it to see if that makes a difference? While you're at it, have you checked your Intel Metrics overlay to see what’s actually happening under the hood? It would be worth seeing whether you're hitting a thermal wall or if you're just running into a power limit, though honestly, 74°C is nowhere near enough to cause throttling. If it turns out to be a power limit issue, then that’s just how the hardware is designed to behave. Besides, even if there is some throttling going on, it shouldn't be having such a massive impact on your experience, so could it be that the RX 6700 XT is simply underpowered for what you're expecting? I don't really game much these days, so I couldn't tell you exactly which frame rates you should be seeing in specific titles... but 55 fps is still quite smooth, isn't it? It might not feel competitive and it could have a bit more motion blur, but it's certainly playable. You should also double-check which drivers you currently have installed.

Jerry Watson2 said:I tried cranking everything to max (including extra settings) at 1080p, but I just ended up hovering around 50-55 fps. I tested The Last of Us next-gen too; it runs smooth at about 100 fps on ultra, but if you bump it to ultra+, the performance tanks. Ray tracing absolutely kills it, dropping me down to 25 fps. I might look into adding some more case fans later or just grab a new rig with better airflow. Regardless, it's still a massive jump over my old RX 580.

Look, RT isn't really meant for AMD cards yet. I play RDR2 at 1440p on ultra and I'm averaging near 70 fps. Granted, I'm running a Sapphire RX 6700 XT Nitro, but there shouldn't be that much of a gap just based on the specific model... maybe you've got a different bottleneck? Also, those ultra settings are mostly pointless compared to very high, and they just murder your frame rates.

Benjamin Sanders76 said:What worries me is the price gap between Instar and AMD.

Why does the price difference bother you? It’s normal for different shops to have different prices. Instar is just one of many, maybe even the cheapest right now (like any other shop). The product is identical; it comes straight from the manufacturer's box. If they send you the wrong thing, you return it. It’s not like buying bananas. 🙂

BTW, RTX 3000 series prices are a disaster right now. Looks like stock got cleared out and new stuff isn't really arriving yet. AMD 6000 series is holding up okay, but generally, there's going to be a drought until new models force prices down.

P.S. keep one thing in mind—streaming is basically at 60FPS. Unless you absolutely need max FPS on competitive settings in esports games, you can realistically use CPU encoding in OBS with a 13600K. Plenty of people do it, and CPU encoding is still the highest quality option, though it might slightly tank your CPU performance. But if you're running a mid-range card like an RX 6750 XT, you'll likely hit a GPU bottleneck first anyway.

So, an AMD card + CPU encoding is a solid move, IMO. And apparently, AMD encoding isn't even that bad anymore.

wiredotter14 said:Why is the price difference bothering you? It's perfectly normal for different retailers to have different pricing; Best Buy or Micro Center might be the cheapest one this week, but that's just how retail works. The product itself is identical, straight from the manufacturer's packaging. If you receive the wrong item, you simply return it. We aren't talking about buying produce at a farmer's market here. 🙂

By the way, prices for the RTX 3000 series are a disaster right now. It looks like they've cleared out the inventory, but new stock isn't arriving fast enough. The AMD 6000 series is holding up okay, but generally speaking, we're facing a dry spell until the newer models force prices down.

P.S. Keep one thing in mind—streaming is essentially running at 60 FPS. Unless you absolutely need maximum frame rates for competitive esports settings, you can realistically use your 13600K to stream via the CPU in OBS. Many people do exactly this, and CPU encoding remains the highest quality option, though it will slightly impact your CPU performance. However, if you're using a mid-range card like a 6750XT, you'll likely hit a GPU bottleneck before you even notice.

So, an AMD card paired with CPU encoding is a solid choice, IMO. Plus, I've heard AMD encoding isn't nearly as bad as it used to be.

Yeah, looking at the RTX 3000 series, the prices are honestly ridiculous. It's a shame they haven't dropped them yet; I think it's better to wait for the next generation, as prices might dip then.
I'm thinking about getting the AMD RX 6950 XT gaming OC nitro +... I can't seem to find any decent threads about streaming, because everywhere I look, everyone seems to be talking about NVIDIA. ☕

I honestly can't take it anymore; I've spent days on end just staring at benchmarks. 😬 Should I go with the Gigabyte Eagle RX 6550 XT for $883 or maybe the Sapphire Pulse RX 6700 for $1083? ...Setting aside the fact that their Compute performance is generally pretty close, the 6650 XT seems significantly faster in 3D OpenGL, which is actually a big deal for me since I use Fusion quite a bit, and the benchmarks definitely back that up. On the other hand, the 6700 offers an extra 2 GB of VRAM—though that feels somewhat theoretical—and it features PCIe 4.0 x16, though I have my doubts if that really provides any tangible advantage in this specific performance tier... which of these two options actually makes more sense to pick? The price gap is $200

wanderingbison9 said:I'm losing my mind—staring at benchmarks all day 😬 should I grab the Gigabyte Eagle RX 6550 XT for $883 or the Sapphire Pulse RX 6700 for $1083? ...aside from the fact that Compute performance is basically neck and neck, the 6650 XT pulls ahead in 3D OpenGL—which matters for my Fusion work based on what I'm seeing—while the 6700 has an extra 2 GB of VRAM (though that's purely theoretical) and supports PCIe 4.0 x16 (not that I think anyone actually sees a boost in this tier)...which one is the smarter play? The price gap is $200

What about the RX 6750XT? 😉

velvetlynx3 said:An RX 6750 XT? 😉

But then again, you could just grab an RX 6700 XT for around $370. Or is there some hidden detail about this one that I'm completely missing? 🙂

wanderingbison9 said:Look, you can grab an RX 6700 XT for $3,700. Or maybe you've got some inside info I'm missing? 🙂

I'm exhausted...

😵

How are those 6700XT/6750XT cards handling the 3D OpenGL tests for you?

velvetlynx3 said:I’m feeling pretty wiped out today...

😵

I was wondering, how are those 6700 XT and 6750 XT cards actually holding up when you put them through those OpenGL tests?

Maybe I went a little overboard when I said "enough," but honestly, it feels like the higher you climb up the model ladder, the more bizarrely disproportionate everything becomes. Isn't it strange how that works? ☕ I’m honestly at a total loss here. I mean, don't get me wrong, I realize that both Fusion and the CPU play massive roles in the equation, but it just doesn't make sense—how is it that even when you step up to a much more powerful CPU and significantly faster RAM, the results actually start to drop?😵 When you look at the performance gap between the 6650 XT and the XT-ica, there isn't really a massive leap to speak of, is there? However, if you compare them to an old RX 580, you’re looking at at least a twofold increase across the board. Still, I have to know when to draw the line somewhere, because if I keep chasing every incremental upgrade, I'll eventually just end up buying an RTX 4090...

wanderingbison9 said:Okay, maybe I went a bit overboard calling it "enough," but honestly, things feel more underwhelming as the models get more expensive—it’s bizarre ☕ I don't even get it anymore. Sure, Fusion and the CPU matter a lot, but even with a much beefier CPU and faster RAM, the gains just seem to shrink...😵 there isn't really a massive leap after the 6650 XT when talking about the XT-ica, though compared to an RX 580, they're all at least 2x faster. But I have to draw the line somewhere—otherwise, I'll end up buying a 4090....

So you're saying the 6950XT is basically the slowest one then? 😵

velvetlynx3 said:So, does that mean the 6950 XT is actually the slowest one in this group? 😵

Haha... well, if you take a look at the Fusion tests, specifically at the bottom (just click that little arrow next to Raw Results):

RX 6650 XT:

https://benchmarks.pugetsystems.com/....php?id=116876

RX 6950 XT:

https://benchmarks.pugetsystems.com/....php?id=118565

Now, tell me again how that’s normal; once you account for the average, the Phone composite would practically be identical...

wanderingbison9 said:Haha... check out the Fusion tests at the bottom—just click the arrow next to Raw Results:

RX 6650 XT:

https://benchmarks.pugetsystems.com/....php?id=116876

RX 6950 XT:

https://benchmarks.pugetsystems.com/....php?id=118565

Now tell me that's "normal"—the average is being pulled up by the Phone composite, otherwise it’d be basically identical...

That's just how it goes with pro software—you practically have to cherry-pick your graphs and drivers... until they finally decide to add some hardware acceleration or better optimization... maybe...

Because from what I can see, even NVIDIA (neither the 3060Ti nor the 3070Ti) is doing anything better.😉

Even the pro-grade Radeon Pro and NVIDIA Quadro cards look about the same if I'm reading this right... compared to them, the RX 6950 XT is 🙂

velvetlynx3 said:That’s just how it works with professional software; you basically have to hand-pick specific drivers or versions... at least until they implement some hardware acceleration or better optimization... if that ever happens.

From what I can see, even NVIDIA cards—whether it's the 3060 Ti or the 3070 Ti—don't offer any real advantage here. 😉

Even looking closely, the professional-grade Radeon Pro and NVIDIA Quadro cards seem to be on equal footing. Compared to those, the RX 6950 XT is essentially 🙂

So, who is actually buying an RX 6950 XT?

I was looking at the Gigabyte Eagle RX 6700 XT over at Best Buy for $1163, assuming they even have it in stock... I hadn't originally intended to drop that much cash, especially since my whole plan started out with just picking up an RX 6600 for $726... but then again, those performance gains feel like such a safe bet, don't they?
The only thing that's tripping me up is whether there's some sort of catch here, because it seems like most places only offer this card via special order; nobody actually has it sitting on the shelf except for Micro Center, so I wonder if they happen to be the main distributor?

wanderingbison9 said:Maybe check the Gigabyte Eagle RX 6700 XT at Best Buy for $1163, if they even have it in stock... I wasn't planning on spending that much originally—it all started when I was looking at the RX 6600 for $726... but the performance seems like a pretty safe bet...
I'm just confused about whether there's a catch, since so many places only offer that card via special order. Nobody seems to have it sitting on the shelf except maybe Micro Center; maybe they're the main distributor?

12GB MSI Radeon RX 6750 XT MECH 2x OC DDR6
is at Micro Center for $440

wanderingbison9 said:Maybe grab a Gigabyte Eagle RX 6700 XT from a local PC shop for $1163, assuming they even have it in stock... I wasn't really looking to drop that much cash—it all started with me eyeing an RX 6600 for $726—but honestly, those performance gains seem like a pretty safe bet...
I'm just a little confused about whether there's some kind of "catch" here, you know? Like, why is this card only available via special order at most places? It seems like Best Buy is the only one actually holding stock... maybe they're the main distributor or something?

Wait, the 6550 XT? Is that the current sweet spot?

https://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu_value.html