GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

granitebison said:Thanks for the reply!

wanderingbison9 said:Just opened the link... $167 RX 580? What's a fair price for one used these days? If I can't get anything decent, I might just hold onto mine...

steelfalcon71 said:Not sure which way to go here;
RTX 4070TI vs RTX 3090. The 4070TI uses less power, is about 10% faster, would be brand new from Best Buy, and costs me $950. The RTX 3090 is used with 10 months of warranty left, double the VRAM, and would cost me $800.

CPU, case size, and PSU aren't issues. My main goal is gaming and making sure I can push max settings at 3440x1440p for as many years as possible.

Looking for opinions and reasoning. Thanks!

steelfalcon71 said:I am having a hard time deciding which of these two options is better:
RTX 4070 Ti vs RTX 3090. The 4070 Ti is more power-efficient, about 10% faster, and would be brand new from a retailer for $950. The RTX 3090 is used but still has 10 months of warranty left, offers twice as much VRAM, and would cost me $800.

My CPU, case dimensions, and PSU aren't issues here. My main focus is gaming and ensuring I can run everything on ultra settings at 3440x1440p resolution for as many years as possible.

I would appreciate any thoughts or reasoning you can provide. Thanks!

wiredotter14 said:If both new cards were priced around $900, I’d go with the 3090 just for the Intel memory capacity.

As it stands, I believe opting for the newer card at a $150 premium is actually the smarter move.
Performance-wise they are fairly close; the 4070Ti edges out the 3090 slightly in gaming, landing somewhere in the realm of the 3090Ti. Ray tracing performance is essentially on par with the 3090.

At your resolution, you aren't going to run into any VRAM limitations.

Personally, I would wait a bit—perhaps until the price dips below $900.

Benjamin Sanders76 said:Where on earth did you find it for $950? Mine was listed at $1,349.😵 😵 😵

wiredotter14 said:Where on earth did you find one for $1,350? 😵😵

For just an extra $200, you could step up to a 7900XTX or a 4080.

In Germany, prices sit around $900–$950, whereas here in the States, they go for $1,000–$1,100.

Benjamin Sanders76 said:So, here is where things stand. I was just browsing through some hardware listings online and came across this specific product page. It really makes you wonder how much the availability of certain components fluctuates depending on which retailers we choose to shop from. Have you ever noticed how one store might have exactly what you need in stock, while another completely similar site is totally sold out? It’s such an interesting part of the shopping experience when you're trying to piece together a new build.
I was originally leaning toward picking up an RTX 3080 Ti, but then I realized the price was practically identical to the RTX 4070 Ti, so why wouldn't I just go with the newer one once I saw that?
It feels like you might as well be driving all the way to Germany just to end up paying the exact same amount once customs and fees are factored in. Honestly, isn't that just how it goes sometimes? Though, I did happen to notice that over at the American AMD store, the prices are actually about $800 cheaper. $367
I haven't been able to track down anything for 900 around here, either... does anyone know where I might actually find a decent deal?☕
Just a quick heads-up: they’re actually starting to put everything together today. 🙂

wanderingbison9;96307181 said:What kind of customs fees? 😵

That’s true; once you factor in the sales tax difference and shipping, the total ends up being about the same—unless there are some sudden flash sales. For instance, there were a few days where the RX 6700 was listed at $375, making the final price on Amazon about $403, but now the price has gone back up...

I'm actually based in Canada 😁
But honestly, it all works out to be roughly the same. Once you pay the sales tax, it might even end up being $100 cheaper $67
I was just talking to a friend over in Germany, and they have the 4070 Ti for around $1,100. That means we're paying about $200 more here, which makes sense given that our income levels are significantly higher than theirs 🙂🙂

Besides, AMD has been struggling lately. Their last two series, the 7000 XT and XTX, had massive issues with their cooling systems, so...

Benjamin Sanders76 said:I'm actually from Canada, 😁
but honestly, it all ends up being roughly the same... Once you factor in the sales tax, it might even end up being $100 cheaper. $67
I was just chatting with a friend over in Germany, and they have the 4070ti for about €1100, which means we're paying about $200 more here—which makes sense when you consider how much higher our income levels are compared to theirs. 🙂🙂

As for AMD, they've been in a bit of a tight spot lately; those last two series, the 7000xt and the xtx, have had massive issues with their coolers, so...

wanderingbison9 said:Let’s not blow this out of proportion—😬 the issue is specifically with the reference cards, it's not consistent... a heatsink is a heatsink, and if it were just undersized, the problem would be constant... maybe it's a sensor thing...
Look, I have a massive grudge against NVIDIA right now because the software I use keeps hitting VRAM limits and crashing—doesn't matter if it's a 4GB or 24GB card, the Blackmagic forums are full of people dealing with this. This RX 550 4 g I'm using as a temporary placeholder can render anything—it's slow, sure, but it gets it done—whereas my Quadro T600 throws a "GPU memory full" error every single time. It basically makes finishing a project impossible.

Plus, the RTX 3060 has some memory leaks that mess with professional software—I ran into that myself while working on an outside gig...

velvetlynx3 said:So you haven't actually pulled the trigger on anything yet?

I almost snagged a 6750XT myself, but it slipped right through my fingers while I was searching for it. Since a 6800 is way too expensive, and my long-standing commitment to 😁 won't let me settle for a 6750XT or anything lower, I ended up deciding on the 6800XT instead.

wanderingbison9 said:Nah, I didn't buy—I chickened out because I didn't want to get ripped off, plus prices will probably drop soon anyway... but you did, right? If I'm reading you correctly. How much and where?

Then I guess I’d have to jump to the 68xx series too since I'm running a 58x now if I want to stay loyal... how much would that even run me? Like, four times the price?...🙄😬

velvetlynx3 said:You really should aim for at least a 6700, 🙂

By the way, what do you think about the price per performance?

Benjamin Sanders76 said:Check this out here:
I was originally eyeing the 3080 Ti, but since the price tag was practically identical to the 4070 Ti, I just pulled the trigger on the latter once I saw it...
Forget about ordering from Germany; by the time you factor in customs and fees, it all evens out. Besides, I noticed that at AMD.US they have them cheaper by about $800, maybe up to $367
But I couldn't find anything for $900 anywhere locally...☕
P.S.: They start the build today. 🙂

steelfalcon71 said:There’s no customs... since both countries are part of the US. I order from abroad all the time. The only issue is those stupid shops that occasionally charge you 25% VAT instead of the standard 19%—if that happens, you just don't buy it, simple as that.

If you're buying locally at our prices, are you crazy or just throwing money down the drain?

velvetlynx3 said:Both options look...

As far as I know, charging 25% for the US is correct, and it's actually quite common for the rate to jump from 19% to 25% during that final checkout step... they probably just verify where the card was issued or check the IP address or something along those lines...

wanderingbison9 said:Look, this isn't some mindless error; it’s strictly following European Union regulations. We aren't exactly looking to break the law here... but it does raise a question: what happens if a shop mistakenly charges only the German tax rate of 19%? Is there a chance the customer gets some sort of "notice" from the IRS later down the line? Or, if a notice is issued, does it hit the buyer or the seller? Take the situation with Mailboxde, for example—since the address is in Germany, they charge 19%, and Mailboxde isn't responsible for handling any tax obligations once they forward the package to the US. Who actually ends up getting screwed in that scenario?

steelfalcon71 said:You could apply that same logic to pretty much anything else, including digital goods. To answer your question, I've actually never run into a situation where I had to pay extra VAT from another country because, well, since everyone stays under that 25% threshold, I haven't had to deal with any price differences or anything like that. Whether it's physical products or digital ones, I've been shopping regularly ever since we joined the system here in the US.