Looking for new gfx card for Emp

Discussion in 'Other Discussion' started by Dionysos, Oct 20, 2016.

  1. Dionysos

    Dionysos Commander

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    While pre-alpha worked well with 1080p for my old gtx 750 ti - its ability to give me propper frames declined steady since the alpha version. Other recent games show similar results - its time for a change.

    In Budget range would be the 1060/Rx480 - or if i get mad - a cheap 1070 (kfa/phoenix).

    So does anyone of you use these cards? What frames/level of detail can be expected? And would you recommend your card - in general and especially for Emp?

    Since i want to get rid of my stuttering i dont want to wait till the upgrade - so x-mas time (in hope for bargains) would be the very last upgrade option for me - preferably ealier or now^^
     
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  2. Alo

    Alo Captain

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    Simple. You speak of 1080p, but what of 4k? If you're not going to be using a 4k monitor anytime soon you're good with the 1060. However, if you are planning to make the step to 4k, seriously consider the 1070. What about the Rx480? Well..... Simply put. 1060>Rx480. Why? Because benchmarks.
     
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  3. Dionysos

    Dionysos Commander

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    y currently 1080p. 2k may be an update eg with a cheaper monitor like the dell U2515H but 4k seems to expensive monitor wise. The other option would be a 144hz and to stay with 1080p. But currently a new card is most important and mayb next year a decent screen.
     
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  4. Alo

    Alo Captain

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    If you're looking to buy into 4K somewhere next year, get the 1070 now. You'll regret it next year otherwise.
     
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  5. Scoob

    Scoob Rear Admiral

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    I bought a Palit "Gamerock" GTX 1070 - the cheapest 1070 available at the time - and I've been VERY impressed. It has an amazing after market cooler, which keeps things cool as you'd expect, but also remains near silent. Its design does mean it vents warm air into the case, but my two intake and single exhaust fans (positive pressure = less dust) take care of that.

    The rest of the system is old, but high-end for it's day: 2600k @ 4.4ghz, 32gb DDR3 1600 and I just updated the old SSD pair to a pair of Samsung 850 EVO's in RAID0. A very capable machine.

    So, yeah, my recommendation is the 1070.

    May I ask though, what are the rest of your specs? CPU, Ram, drives etc.

    Scoob.
     
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  6. Dionysos

    Dionysos Commander

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    Sure

    I did the cpu/board upgrade last year (had a x6 phenom II):

    Xeon E3-1231v3
    ga-z97x-ud3h-bk
    be quiet 500w straight power

    still using my old 8gb Ram (2x 4gb DDR3 gskill sniper 1833 (cpu limit 1600)
    and my old case: Antec Nine hundred (version 1)
    No SSD in yet just a standard WD blue where my w7 64 is installed

    And of course the current gfx card: Asus gtx 750 ti oc - great card for what it is but it's time for a change.

    Usually playing Open world games like Skyrim, Fallout, Mount & Blade, Emp, etc. or tactic shooters like Arma. Also space operas like the old X-series, rarely Elite Dangerous and in the future perhaps Star citizen.
     
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  7. Scoob

    Scoob Rear Admiral

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    That's a pretty decent CPU, am I right in saying they don't really overclock though? Still, with a 3.8ghz boost it shouldn't really be needed.

    I think Empyrion, as well as other titles such as Skyrim and Fallout (which I also play) really do like having a little more ram. If you could add another two 4gb sticks, you wouldn't get an FPS boost as such, more an increase in smoothness and less snagging / temporary fps dips. Not needed to game by any means, but it might enhance the experience.

    Additionally, even a cheap SSD is going to transform loading times as well as overall system fluidity. I've bought several of the Kingston SSD-Now V300 120gb SSD's to go in a variety of systems, some as a pair using RAID0, and they've all performed excellently. I even have one running on an old system, no trim support, that's done me 13,705 hrs trouble-free thus far. I've had plenty of Spinners that haven't lasted that long.

    Oh, I also play ED - though not much currently - and the 1070 handles it fantastically, as you'd expect. Also I have all the X games as well as Rebirth, which run at a stable vSync'd 60fps now - unless I break things with mods lol.

    So, you have a decent system there, a 1070 will be a huge jump over the excellent, but now somewhat dated 750ti. Additionally, as funds permit, adding an SSD and possibly a little more Ram will give you a solid system for a while to come. My old, second hand, 2600k is still doing very well, albeit with a slight OC, but the 1070 transformed it. Note: I had 2x120gb Kingston SSD in RAID0 before getting the Samsungs. Despite the higher price-point of the Samsungs, they're not worlds ahead of budget Kingstons - I got them due to their higher capacity (500gb vs 120gb) and they were at a good price on the day.

    Scoob.
     
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  8. Alo

    Alo Captain

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    My two cents.

    Current setup will work fine with a gtx 1060 or 1070 (I already stated my preference earlier).

    Don't get hung up on RAM and/or SSD. RAM above 8GB doesn't do much at all. SSD only improves loadtimes really. If you're not bothered with those, I wouldn't consider getting one.

    Upgrading your graphics card will give you the biggest performance increase; considering your earlier statement about your budget, I'd go with just that for now.
     
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  9. Scoob

    Scoob Rear Admiral

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    I agree that the GPU will make the largest difference, but don't dismiss the benefits of ram over 8gb and an SSD. I've transformed older systems with just SSD's and I've been quite surprised how my old 2500k + twin GTX 680 system struggles with certain titles since I robbed the 32gb from it for the 2600k, replacing it with just 8gb. I mention it because I play many of the same titles @Dionysos does, and my 2500k system, reduced now to 8gb as mentioned, does not give as fluid an experience as it once did.

    All that being said, if getting a 1070 is a push over a 1060, then forego the SSD and Ram for the time being, and just get the GPU.

    Scoob.
     
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  10. vicomt

    vicomt Captain

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    TBH don't get hung up on GPU either, I picked up a second hand GTX970 for £100 (coz I'm the only wage-earner in the house and I can't afford shiny) and it runs EMP and everything else (F04, ED, Spengies, Cities Skylines) rock solid at 80fps+ 90% of the time. Of course, given our fleet workshop has ALL our ships in view, I can push it down as low as 40fps, but usually I run maxed settings no problems.
    Kerbal Space program is probably the worst for me, with all the GFX mods it'll go down to the low 20's
     
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  11. Fractalite

    Fractalite Rear Admiral

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    You are in luck, between Scoob and I, you can contrast. Reason being: I just got me a fancy new-fangled laptop with a 1060 6gb.

    I was really concerned about the decision, should I go laptop with 1060 or 107o, and I believe I have a fair answer for you. Go with the 1060 in a laptop(presuming you are going to use the laptop screen) and then go for the 1070 for desktops.

    So far the 1060 crushes, minces, and mangles games at 1080p. It is hilarious how effective it is. I came from a SLI 650 ti x 2, and it is startling how powerful this single card is(which is saying something as I was pleased with the SLI combo as long as games had a profile.) Part of the reason I choose it was for the laptop scenario; the card uses less power and runs super cool - which is perfect for people like myself that only ever use the laptop screen on said laptops. Since the laptop screen will never change, the card only ever has to worry about 1080p, so, in effect, it will never really go out of date assuming only modest changes to game coding/design(edit: an assumption that is GARGANTUAN in its hopeful premise :p:D:eek::).)

    That would change for a desktop. If you plan on keeping your 1080p monitor for a while, the 1060 is a great upgrade and you will see a booming performance increase.

    But

    Come some point in the future... most likely 3 - 4 years out, then comes the march of the 4k monitors(they should come down to a reasonable price by that point,) and the 1060 will need to be replaced(assuming you want to change your monitor.) Frankly, even the mighty 1070 will want replacement, but with the 1070, there is at least a chance that you will not be pressed for an upgrade.

    The one stress point here is budget. The 1070 is a whopping 200+ dollars more expensive than the 1060, and while I think that it is worth the money, you may not have the funds. I totally get it, and if the 1060 is all you can afford at this juncture, know that you are gonna be one happy fellow/lady(try to find Newegg around the holidays for a sweet deal on the 1070.)

    The laptop: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834154302

    I tested:

    Heavily modded skyrim(Woo hoo!)
    Ashes of the Singularity(MEH)
    Gemcraft labyrinth(which, granted, is a more cpu intensive)
    Middle Earth Shadow of Mordor(a game that is not very good on pc, but I took the pain to test the graphics)
    Sins of a Solar Empire - modded with the Star Trek Armada 3... er.... mod(which is sweet by the way, if you have yet to see it)
    Warhammer... well, everything. :)
    Supreme Commander Forged Alliance with the FAF add-on(my favorite game, but also more cpu intensive)
    and others

    None of them made the card so much as flinch at the most intense settings I could find running at 1080p.

    Let me know if you have any other questions.
     
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    Last edited: Oct 29, 2016
  12. Scoob

    Scoob Rear Admiral

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    Just a quick caveat from me: When I got my 1070 the 1060 and lower models did not exist, limiting my options. The 1070 looked like quite the bargain vs. the hugely price-gouged 1080.

    Checking prices now, my 1070 (Palit Gamerock) is £399 - I paid £380 - and the equivalent 1060 is £250. So, in the UK at least, you're getting a little over 50% more performance from the 1070 for a little over 60% more cost. This makes a 1060 better "bang for your buck" IF, and only if, the 1060 provides sufficient performance for your needs.

    Basically, for me, if the 1060 had been about when I bought my 1070 I would not have considered it as the 1060 would have been below the performance threshold I was looking for. I plan to go 1440p eventually, and the 1060 is a solid 1080p GPU, 1440p might be asking too much of it at the fidelity levels I expect.

    For the record, several of the heavily modded games I play (Fallout 4 for one) already push my 1070 very hard at just 1200p. Even Empyrion with everything turned up sees heavy GPU load and the odd, though rare, dip below 60fps.

    While looking at the 1070, I had also considered the RX480. However, with only 970 performance levels it would have been a reduction in performance in most titles vs. my twin 680's, only being better in non-SLI enabled titles.

    It's all relative, @Fractalite experiences are of course fully valid, him coming from two 650Ti's to the 1060 is a huge jump, especially in titles that didn't scale well in SLI. A 1060 for me would likely have been quite underwhelming as I came from twin overclocked and water cooled GTX 680's - hell, even the 1070 isn't that far ahead of those 680's when the title scaled well and wasn't overly vRam heavy. Still quite a powerful setup those twin 680's, just the 2gb vRam is starting to let them down.

    One final thing. With a 1070, there's always the option to go SLI at some point in the future. Now, in my experience, the last couple of years have seen SLI support being a little more flaky than it once was. AAA titles generally get it...eventually, though forcing it via tweaks usually works until support is official. However, I've found myself playing more EA and non-AAA titles with zero SLI support, making a single GTX 680 show its age. But, DX12... With DX12 it's expected (by some, I'm not sure) that Mutli-GPU will be leveraged more, but only if the DEVS code for it, it's not a driver thing any more.

    So, with all that said, my logic (which may only be logical to me lol) is to get the most powerful GPU I can justify, with the potential of going SLI at a future point. Sadly the 1060 does not support SLI, else it would have been a potential option for me - had it existed at the time :)

    Note: As I mentioned in another thread, I had originally planned to do a huge PC upgrade this time - basically an entirely new £2,500 PC. However, I felt that the CPU (6700k) wasn't really that much of a leap over Sandy Bridge, yet it, along with the new motherboard and ram, was a MAJOR share of the overall build cost. In the end I took my second system "Gamer Jnr" which was built from mostly second hand parts (2600k + single GTX 680) and upgraded that with better SSD's and the 1070. My old gamer (2500k + twin 680's, all water cooled) I left as was, it's now my Empyrion server. So, the £380 spent on the 1070 and the additional £250 I spent on SSD's was a small amount vs. my original plans, yet I am very happy with how things turned out.

    Scoob.
     
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  13. Fractalite

    Fractalite Rear Admiral

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    See? Perfect. Lots of input for a deceptively tricky decision.
     
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  14. Dionysos

    Dionysos Commander

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    Yea but still tricky :p

    I think i'll wait for x-mas. There might be some bargains around - aiming for 1070 but 1060 will be fine too. Compared to last year almost every buy is a good performance jump.
    And hopefully team red will anounce their vega card so we get some competition back. If rumours are true pascal will be pimped and equipped with ddr5x around summer which might also affect prices.
     
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  15. Dionysos

    Dionysos Commander

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    That escalated quickly :eek:

    The Black Friday thing is getting bigger in Europe too. And i was able to get a 1070 at a very-good-buy-or-you'll-call-yourself-fool-for-the-rest-of-your-life price :) Smashing Emp and what ever comes along with 60 fps maxed out yay! Now i can save my bucks for a new mission: the transition to 1440p

    Well most of the promo games have been crap this year. I got Watchdogs 2 as promo. Its ubi so it wont be a wow thing but i cant complain for free stuff. Still downloading so no clue if its cool. :p

    Sorry Red Team - i was up for a change, really, but i was sick of waiting. :(
     
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  16. Scoob

    Scoob Rear Admiral

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    Heh, go on, how much? Will it make me cry for what I paid for my 1070? :)

    I took am considering going to 1440p at some point, but not in any hurry. Tech has generally gone up around 20% in the UK due to the weaker pound, so certain products (not just monitors) I've been keeping my eye on have gone up a LOT. Still, it stops me buying thing I don't need, so I suppose that's good.

    To be honest, this old 2600k based system, revamped with some fast SSD's and the 1070 of course is giving me every reason to simply stick with what I've got. As this machine is a pure gamer (I have other PC's for other tasks) it will be a game that makes me upgrade finally I suspect.

    Scoob.
     
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  17. Dionysos

    Dionysos Commander

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    Well, i got a msi armor for ~60 pounds less then you. Small stock, was out in no time. I had to rubb my eyes seeing the tag. Its not the modell i was after but no coil whine so far and since the regular prices went up again i thought now or never. Prices are almost back to release prices even before the black friday weekend. Thats insane.
     
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  18. Scoob

    Scoob Rear Admiral

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    That's a very good price. Still happy with my purchase, it was a good deal relative to the bad deals everywhere at the time lol. I remember 1080's were originally expected to be in the £400 to £450 range, but price gouging got a bit crazy lol. Still, should see me for a good few years. Enjoy your purchase!

    I didn't actually want the Palit Gamerock originally either, however it was simply the cheapest available at the time. I've been very impressed by how over-engineered it is though. It's a large card, but still two slot, and the cooler is epically good - it just never gets above "warm" (68c tops with an over 30c ambient is the hottest I've seen) and it stays silent. My "neat silent" case fans drown out any noise. So, yeah, still happy :)

    Scoob.
     
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  19. Fractalite

    Fractalite Rear Admiral

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    I saw some of those sales - you were smart to wait for an epic sale. The Cyber Monday deals were pretty good too.

    All in all, excellent purchase. :)
     
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  20. Scoob

    Scoob Rear Admiral

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    Indeed. I'm actually quite thankful that nothing I wanted came up on sale - bargain 1440p monitors would have been dangerous lol.

    Scoob.
     
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