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PC GAF: Where on the spectrum are you?

Which of these best describes your current approach when buying a new GPU?


  • Total voters
    241
Balanced.

PC hardware pricing is retarded and has been for awhile. My last high end GPU was the 1080ti (holy fucking shit what a card I miss that shit so bad) and since then I've been in the 60/70 camp. I have a 4070 Super now but had a 3060ti previously. I play at 1440p at my desk and 4K when I move my PC to my tv. CPU wise I'm on a 3600 still.

I also build ITX only so I'm mostly pushed out of most of the 80/90 series even if I wanted to waste that much money. I just can't bring myself to spend over $700 on a GPU anymore especially when I'm pretty evenly split between PC and consoles. My ceiling is like $1200 for the entire build.

That being said I did splurge on an OLED monitor recently. I got the KTC 1440p/240hz model as it's got USB-C with power delivery for my Mac, and usable speakers.
 
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jshackles

Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
Picked "I aim high, but not that high". Some things I don't mind splashing out on. For example, my current monitor cost more than my entire pre-built PC did.

13th Gen Core i5
RTX 3060 12GB
16GB DDR5 RAM

49 inch Samsung ultrawide, 5120x1440

= most games I can run at 32:9 1440p and get anywhere from 30-240fps. The very few things that run less than 60fps, I'll usually scale it down to 32:9 1080p and that's usually good enough. I don't play a lot of demanding games, mostly JRPGs and indies.

Will probably upgrade my graphics card to the mid-range 5000 series when they come out. 5070, I guess?
 

Bojji

Member
That's pretty darn high! 5800x3d and 3080 here. That cpu is still awesome huh

5800x3d and 3080ti here. No need to upgrade that CPU, it's gonna be okay for quite some time.

I try to maintain balance, never buy top tier stuff (but I did when GPUs were MUCH less expensive, had 7970 and gtx680) but rather something like xx80, xx70ti. Too bad nvidia is selling like 0.33 of big gpu now as xx70ti part :messenger_tears_of_joy:
 

Zathalus

Member
I generally upgrade to the latest and greatest CPU/GPU. Unless the upgrade is pointless like 13900k to the 14900k. 5090 / 9950x3D is next.
 

Fess

Member
Highest.

But money is always an issue. I’ve just come up with a way to handle it by planning ahead with stock investments instead of my low salary.
 

Mister Wolf

Gold Member
5800X3D, RTX 4090, 64GB DDR4

I'd say I'm high, but not that high. Saw no need currently to upgrade to socket AM5. See no need to upgrade to RTX 5000 series GPU.
 

Pagusas

Elden Member
I upgrade every generation, last GPU upgrade was a 4090 at launch, Last CPU was a x7590, 9xxx is too small an upgrade for me to touch, Next upgrade will be a 5090 at launch and will maybe go Intel this time if Arrow lakes proves to be good.

This hobby is honestly my cheapest hobby, wood working is a hella lot more expensive, and I obsesses over tools, and my wife and I travel and cruise a lot during the year. So yearly part upgrades are nothing on the budget, and they keep me entertained.
 

Garibaldi

Member
If I build it. They come.

Only the best. Due a full rebuild anytime actually. The 5950/3090 is getting long in the tooth.
 

hinch7

Member
Currently have a 5800X3D and 4070Ti. I'd say fairly high, tethering on midrange. I try min max with around what I need it for. Before it was gaming at 1440P and now its 4K. Which tbf my GPU can do it but RT+DLSS kinda eats up a lot of VRAM.

But yeah usually go for the 70 class or second tier card, for best bang for buck. Every upgrade I'd like to see at least a 60% performance uptick before considering a new thing whether a new CPU or GPU. Like I have no incentive to go upgrade to a new platform before DDR6 because its all so boring on the CPU side. At least for gaming.
 
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Upgrade every 3 years or so. For example, I'll upgrade to the 5xxx series this cycle, but try to stretch another year or two out of my CPU. I won't buy the 5090 or whatever, probably the 5080 or 70 depending on how much uplift over my 3080 Ti it is.
 
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Cattlyst

Member
11900F and a 3080. Plays everything I throw at it and probably won’t upgrade for at least a couple of years. When I do, I’ll probably just get a whole new system.
 
I have no idea what I'm supposed to vote for here because the categories are so vague

Do you have to buy a new x090 every gen to qualify for the highest tier? I have a 3090 but I skipped 4090 to wait for 5090
 

HogIsland

Member
I've got a 6700XT right now, I'll probably upgrade to a 6070 Ti in 3 years. I like to build small form factor PCs and I don't think the power+heat compromises in top end GPUs are worth it.
 

ssringo

Member
I build about as good as it can get before the price increases for a single part become hundreds of dollars. Then do a complete new build every other GPU generation.

This gets me fantastic performance for a long time and and when I have to start clicking left on settings it still delivers acceptable performance. Once I build a new PC I recycle my "old" gaming PC into my work PC.
 

Fess

Member
5800X3D, RTX 4090, 64GB DDR4

I'd say I'm high, but not that high. Saw no need currently to upgrade to socket AM5. See no need to upgrade to RTX 5000 series GPU.
I’ll upgrade if Nvidia can truly show me why I need to do it, otherwise I’ll stay on the 4090.
 

Danknugz

Member
plan to it'll the trigger in 5090 as soon as I can and sell the 4090. shame it doesn't look like there's more than 24 GB again though and i'm not shellin out 8 grand for the one with more vram
 

M1chl

Currently Gif and Meme Champion
AMD 7950X3D
ASUS ROG STRIX X870E-E (my X670 MSI board got RMA'd, so I went with this one)
64GB RAM Corsair 6400Mhz CL32
8TB of WD SN850 storage
4090 MSI Supreme (Air cooled one)

All packed in Fractal Design Torrent

Around 100k CZK, thus around 4.4k USD


Monitor is separate from that amount, I am currently using HP e45c g5 which is 32:9 5k 165hz VA panel and its mainly due to having ethernet port (thus I don't have to chase wifi on my mBook), 2 USB-C Thunderbolts, DisplayPort and HDMI, thus I can easily connect my PC, my macBook, my Xbox. Probably best monitor for my use case.
 
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Soodanim

Gold Member
I have no idea what I'm supposed to vote for here because the categories are so vague

Do you have to buy a new x090 every gen to qualify for the highest tier? I have a 3090 but I skipped 4090 to wait for 5090
I thought I worded the poll "When buying", not "To buying". (My mistake. Hopefully a mod can fix.) It's about your personal approach to choosing a GPU model in general terms.

How often you buy doesn't matter, and the categories are vague because the battle between, say, a 70 and a 70ti model isn't the point.
 
I can afford to buy the latest or top of the line GPU without an issue but it always feels like an utter waste of money to me. I'm not a competitive gamer or a professional, I just play games every so often for fun.

My strategy has always been to stick to he XX80 series NVIDIA GPUs and I've always got the best performance versus buck ratio.
 

jburdick7

Neo Member
I’ve dumped quite a bit into my PC over the past 2-3 yrs so I’m hoping to make it 3-5 yrs without having to upgrade much of anything (6950xt + 5800x3D + 32gb RAM driving an OLED Ultrawide). I set most everything minus ray tracing to max and get 60-100 fps which is more than enough for me since I don’t play competitive shooters.

I buy top end stuff but usually wait until I can get a discount on it. My next gaming rig might end up being a server in my homelab, depending on the improvements game streaming makes and improvements I’d like to make to my home network. I love my ultrawide but I’ve found I spend more time on my Steam Deck & streaming to my TV than I do hiding away in my office when I want to game.
 

flying_sq

Member
I generally buy the best every other generation. 5900x, 3090ti. I will probably go for a 3d chip next round and a 5090
 
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Lux R7

Member
3090, 3700x, 32gb ram
voted high, not sure
i can play the games i like in 4k on my oled, it's fine for now
 

Cohetedor

Member
Just ordered parts for my first gaming PC in 15 years, been living with a 20w mini PC for awhile.

7700x
32gb ddr5
4070ti super

With discounts, everything came to $1495 after taxes. Already have a nice monitor, keyboard and mouse. Excited to try my psvr 2 for some 3d blurays.
 

TintoConCasera

I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
5800X and 4070 Super. Anything above this GPU seemed way too expensive for what they offered so I'd say I try to strike a balance between price and performance.

I'm very happy with my current rig. Plays all the stuff at 4K (DLSS needed in most modern games) and I think I must have been lucky because it has given me 0 issues at all so far.
 

Hohenheim

Member
Had a 3090 and upgraded to 4090 and 4K monitor. Then sold the 4090 and the 4k monitor recently to save up for the 5090, and now rocking a 4070 Super and a 1440p OLED. Very happy with current setup.
I don't really know where that puts me, but at some weird place for sure.
 

Radical_3d

Member
I know that GAF always have been the home of rich fucks (remember the old show (off) your car thread), but I suspect many here are counting the 60 series as “balance between price and performance”. And no. It’s budget.
 
I game almost exclusively on console. I do have a PC. It is currently seven years old and rocks a GTX 1050. While I will be buying a new PC soon, I'll be going bog standard in terms of graphics capabilities. On PC, I mainly play old titles from GoG, emulations, and the occasional RTS that isn't taxing on my system. Everything else is on console or I just don't bother as I no longer enjoy the "feel" of gaming on PC. Which is ironic as I was a PC only gamer for about 15 years.
 

ahtlas7

Member
I upgrade each gen to an 80 series. It will usually max settings but with some fps drops which is an acceptable trade off so long as there is no screen tearing. Damn, I despise screen tear.
80 series usually powers my editors with good results too.

I have a bad habit of cheaping out on cpu though
 

FunkMiller

Gold Member
I tend to travel a fair bit for long periods, so I'm a laptop gamer. But I splashed out on a very good one with a 4090, 32gb RAM, and a Ryzen 9 7945HX. Plays everything I want it to at 60fps or above, and don't see any reason for that to change in the near future. I'll upgrade against once I feel it starts to lag in terms of performance with new games.
 
Fortunate enough at this point in my life I can spend stupid money on my kinda expensive hobby's and don't miss a meal or the second vacation. Because I can applies here.
 

GymWolf

Gold Member
Pretty beefy pc, i see no reason to play on pc if i can't play much better than a console.

4080\13600k\32gb ddr5

So definitely on the spectrum.
 
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