Advice for New Graphics Card

[tom13king]

I need a new graphics card to play Halo Infinite since my current one (GTX 760 192-bit, 1.5GB) can't run it due to not having full DX12 support. I'm not looking for advice on how to get one since I know there's a shortage right now (in fact I probably won't buy it until at least the Summer holiday), but does anyone have any advice on what to get when the time comes?

Firstly, my current specs can be found here (https://support.hp.com/gb-en/document/c03824427) although they list the graphics card as a GTX 660, not a 760. I bought it in April 2014 and I haven't modified it at all.

I mostly play Halo MCC, CSS, Psychonauts 2 (currently) and obviously I'd like to play Halo Infinite.

The problem is, Halo Infinite is currently the ONLY game my current setup can't run, therefore I don't watch to spend too much on a new graphics card. Furthermore, there are PC's at uni I can play Halo Infinite on, which, for the time being, reduces the need for a new/expensive graphics card even more. Based on this, a guy at a shop recommended I get a GTX 1660 at 6GB. What are your thoughts on this? I've been debating whether I should get a 6GB or an 8GB graphics card (say a GTX 2000 series), and my thoughts are as follows:

Pros of 6GB card:
-Cheaper
-Less overkill for what I usually play (I rarely play brand new AAA games and I also don't particularly care about playing on very high settings)
-More likely to be compatible with my PC, which is nearly 8 years old

Pros of 8GB card:
-Better performance for all games
-Will be viable for longer
-My processor is really good, so a 6GB graphics card would still be a bit of a bottleneck (I feel like I'm wasting an amazing processor with my current graphics card)

I've also been told it might be worth getting an entirely new PC, especially due to the graphics card shortage (although like I said I don't urgently need a new one) and the age of my PC.

What do you think? Furthermore, what specific graphics cards would you recommend?

 

[Kip]

If you find a nice bargain, just go for it I guess. GPU prices have been pepega for a while and I don't think they'll ever go back to normal anytime soon. I don't know how the GPU market over there in engerland is, but most GPU's from the GTX 2000 series go well over their MSRP over here.

 

[Kiku-san]

U can check bottlenecks here: https://pc-builds.com/calculator/
Also i recommend u a 1060 since dx 12 is supported from 9xx and above, and graphic cards are way too expensive now for series 2000 and 3000

 

[tom13king]

Thanks for your replies. It turns out my work laptop can play Halo Infinite (albeit at 20-25 FPS) and according the website Kiku-san linked it's actually more powerful than my gaming PC

However if I upgrade my graphics card my PC will become much more powerful again.

U can check bottlenecks here: https://pc-builds.com/calculator/
Also i recommend u a 1060 since dx 12 is supported from 9xx and above, and graphic cards are way too expensive now for series 2000 and 3000

That link is really helpful, thanks. I tinkered around with it and narrowed my options down to a 1060 or 1660 (both 6GB). The 1660 performs quite a bit better; according to that website, about 10-15 FPS better when there isn't a processor bottleneck. I'm also worried about whether the 1060 will be obsolete much sooner than then 1660, especially with things like ray tracing and whether Directx12 will go out of date. I know they were at a similar price before the pandemic, so I think my course of action will be to try and get a 1660 if it's not too expensive. In 5-6 years or so, both the 1660 and my processor (an i7-4770 @ 3.4GHz) will have fallen behind and my PC will probably have started to break down anyway (it'll be about 13 years old), so I'll just get a new PC.

On a side note, that website also says that the 1650 Super performs somewhere in between the 1060 and 1660 despite being only 4GB, what are your thoughts on that?

 

[Kiku-san]

Thanks for your replies. It turns out my work laptop can play Halo Infinite (albeit at 20-25 FPS) and according the website Kiku-san linked it's actually more powerful than my gaming PC

However if I upgrade my graphics card my PC will become much more powerful again.



That link is really helpful, thanks. I tinkered around with it and narrowed my options down to a 1060 or 1660 (both 6GB). The 1660 performs quite a bit better; according to that website, about 10-15 FPS better when there isn't a processor bottleneck. I'm also worried about whether the 1060 will be obsolete much sooner than then 1660, especially with things like ray tracing and whether Directx12 will go out of date. I know they were at a similar price before the pandemic, so I think my course of action will be to try and get a 1660 if it's not too expensive. In 5-6 years or so, both the 1660 and my processor (an i7-4770 @ 3.4GHz) will have fallen behind and my PC will probably have started to break down anyway (it'll be about 13 years old), so I'll just get a new PC.

On a side note, that website also says that the 1650 Super performs somewhere in between the 1060 and 1660 despite being only 4GB, what are your thoughts on that?

Yeah, if u can go for the 1650 super and is cheaper, go for it, even with the 4gb of vram, u can play halo at +50 fps in low.

 

[Jan]

The thing is. If you are looking to upgrade something, why not spend the extra 100euro to have an above standard GPU. However, with the current scalp fees, you would pay to get any 2000 series card or equivalent. Any 1000 series card are good for your purpose.

 

[tom13king]

The thing is. If you are looking to upgrade something, why not spend the extra 100euro to have an above standard GPU. However, with the current scalp fees, you would pay to get any 2000 series card or equivalent. Any 1000 series card are good for your purpose.

Yeah I spoke to my brother about this, and he argued two things:

Firstly, he argued that since Halo Infinite is literally the only reason I need a new card, I should go for a bare minimum like the 1050ti.

Secondly, he’s much less optimistic about my PC’s life span. He reckons it will only last 2-3 more years before starting to break down.

He said that the other option is to go for a really high graphics card and in 2-3 years when I get my new PC, build it around that. But I think it would be better to spend a small amount now and wait for my PC to break and let the prices of GPU’s go down.

On the other hand, I'm stingy and cheap, and might continue to play old games with my current PC and find a way to play Halo Infinite on my laptop with a 1050 xd

 

[Glacius Verglas]

I've had my PC for about 8 years (And I Overclock everything) and have only had my power supply die. The only thing I've changed is the GPU in those 8 years.
If you want tech support for choosing parts or an entire build, feel free to DM me on Discord.

I still play all my games on max settings with my setup, even if it's old AF. This taking account my 144Hz monitor, where I obviously want games to run at 144+ fps.

I also have a habit of taking a few hours of my time to help friends of mine build their PCs live from the get go and to get their stuff running.
Don't pay for expensive computer build prices from retailers, those are a total scam.

 

[Kaka]

I would suggest going for a 20 card or above just so you get dlss support and perhaps reuse that for your future build. Personally I enjoy having that flexibility and being able to play recent releases at least with a stable 60 fps, it's not an aspect I have fully utilized but it's reassuring.

It's slightly off topic but from my experience pre built pc can be a viable alternative, a lot of them are a pure scam, and market research is needed but around 10 months ago I found a pre built pc with a 3060ti and 5600x for around 1100 euros~