To own, or not to own

thraxxcv · Feb 23, 2016

Hey guys, this isn't really a question about "component not working, what should I do" but it's about asking for an advice. See, I've recently won a giveaway (GTX 980 Ti) but the Philippines is horrible when it comes to customs. So I have to pay a huge amount of money in order for me to receive the package. The thing is, money doesn't come easy. I didn't expect it to have an additional fee.

If there was no fee, I was planning to sell my old GPU and PSU (GTX 750 Ti and Silverstone Strider Essential 500W 80+ Certified, I would get roughly 147 USD or 7000PHP) so that I could buy a new PSU (500W to 620W) and a new case (unsure if it would fit my current case, my case is called Rise. Not Rosewill Rise, just Rise. It looks diff, it's a generic case). But unfortunately there are fees so I need to use the money I get from selling to pay the fee. So I need to deduct 88 usd to my 147 for the customs fee. Which leaves me with 67USD, which, in the Philippines is not enough to buy a PSU.

I enjoy playing on my GTX 750 Ti the graphics are awesome (for me) even at medium settings. Also heard that it is on par with the PS4 and that's great. Console killer-ish build. I'm okay with my current GPU since I mostly use my computer for graphic design, video editing and programming and the only game I usually play is NBA 2K16 and League of Legends. I have triple A games but I dont play them a lot.

So after giving that very long background (so sorry), I have 3 options..
1 - sell my GPU and buy two additional monitors (same model as listed below) for productivity, use the remaining money for something else. But would be sad, since I'm enjoying the graphics on an entry level 750 Ti, how much more on a 980 Ti
2 - use my current 500W PSU and risk frying my motherboard and other components (including my GPU)

What would be the wisest decision to make?

Current specs:
- Intel Core i3-3240
- MSI H61M-P31
- 8GB Kingston 1333Mhz RAM
- GTX 750 Ti StormX Dual
- Silverstone Strider Essential 500W 80+ Certified (not bronze, silver or gold, just 80+ Certified with the white sticker)
- Acer V236HL 23" Monitor and an AOC 18.5" Monitor
- 500GB Seasonic HDD and 80GB WD

sidewinder1911 · Feb 23, 2016

The games are likely the most demanding applications on there, and a GTX 980 ti for said games is beyond overkill. For your work I would say the monitors would benefit you more. Any spare money left over should be spent on a power supply that is at least 80+ Bronze in my opinion.

Mxhawthy · Feb 23, 2016

Congratulations on the win!

Unless I've missed something (it's a lot to read so I scanned it pretty quickly), I would definitely pay the customs fee to get the 980 Ti and then just keep it in the original packaging and sell it for a lot of money! Then you can get the stuff you wanted, plus whatever money you have left.

Would that work? I have no idea what prices are like in the Philippines, but I assume you can sell the 980 Ti for much more than the cost of the customs fee...?

Wolfshadw · Feb 23, 2016

If at any time you receive notice that "You've WON! Now pay this fee..." you should automatically stop and take a step back.

Make sure that this is actually a contest/giveaway you actually entered.
Make sure that it is even legal for you to have entered (many have region limitations e.g. US Residents Only).
If possible, go back and see if paying the fee was initially noted in the contest documents (usually in the fine print/rules).

I'd hate for you to send off monies to pay for this, only to never get anything.

-Wolf sends

thraxxcv · Feb 23, 2016

Mxhawthy :

Yes, I can sell it and gain roughly.. 5 times more than the customs fee. But I'm kinda battling over selling it or not. It's not that easy to have NVIDIA's flagship card

thraxxcv · Feb 23, 2016

Wolfshadw :

It's already in the Philippines actually, it's in the office of DHL. Cant get it because.. customs ._. I need to save up money to get OR sell my old GPU and use the money to pay for the custom fee. But in that case I still couldn't use it since I only have 500W PSU. Also, this is legit. Won this from NVIDIA UK

got the tracking number and everything.

Mxhawthy · Feb 23, 2016

thraxxcv :

Well as you said "I still couldn't use it since I only have 500W PSU.". So you can't use it yourself, but if you can sell it for 5 times as much as the customs fee, and it's a legit giveaway, then it seems like an easy decision to me... Pay customs fee for x amount > get 980 Ti > sell 980 Ti for 5x.

hang-the-9 · Feb 23, 2016

Your i3 CPU will hold back the card quite a bit if you want to up your video settings to run on what the card can do.

You may want to sell the 980 Ti, sell the 750 Ti you have now and go up to a 950 using the funds that will match your i3 better and will also give you enough for a new better monitor. That way you will not be sad that you passed up a faster card, yet will have a good compromise with a slightly faster card that matches your system and some extra money or a monitor.

Always like to see posters from the Philippines, pool is a national sport there

And I know about their customs, I have tried to work out some trades with cue makers there and cost for shipping and fees always ended up adding way too much to the total cost.

thraxxcv · Feb 24, 2016

Well as you said "I still couldn't use it since I only have 500W PSU.". So you can't use it yourself, but if you can sell it for 5 times as much as the customs fee, and it's a legit giveaway, then it seems like an easy decision to me... Pay customs fee for x amount > get 980 Ti > sell 980 Ti for 5x.

You may want to sell the 980 Ti, sell the 750 Ti you have now and go up to a 950 using the funds that will match your i3 better and will also give you enough for a new better monitor. That way you will not be sad that you passed up a faster card, yet will have a good compromise with a slightly faster card that matches your system and some extra money or a monitor.

Thanks for the help guys. You have really gave good options. But I am now thinking to sell my PSU and GPU, use the money for the customs. Keep the left over money, and save up a bit to buy a Seasonic M12II 620W for my GTX 980 Ti. Man it's hard here in the Philippines ._. pretty sure if I lived in the US I wont be going through these kinds of issues haha! I think I'd go for saving up, I wont be able to buy such an expensive card anyway (considering I'm still a college student with no part time work) so cant let this opportunity pass up. Anyway, I really thank you for your answers

hang-the-9 · Feb 24, 2016

A 980 Ti wold be almost useless to use with your CPU over the 75o Ti, you'd have to upgrade the CPU. Better to get a mid range card instead, unless you are going to upgrade the CPU to a decent i5 one from your i3. Also running on a 1080 resolution system or less the 980 Ti would also be wasted. That card is really for very high settings on high resolutions, not for a mid to low end system.

Mxhawthy · Feb 24, 2016

^^ Agreed. Although it's cool to say you own a 980 Ti, you won't really be able to see the benefits from it. You would see a much bigger change if you sold it, and used that money to get yourself an i5 CPU, a motherboard to go with it, a GTX 950 (possibly 960) and/or a new PSU. You would have a much better overall rig, instead of low budget rig, with a bottlenecked 980 Ti.

Joshua Martin · Feb 24, 2016

thraxxcv :

There is little to no point in pairing a 980ti with that I3. Not to mention a 980ti is overkill for 1080p gaming. If I were you, I would get the 980ti and sell it. Even if you need to sell your current PSU and GPU to get the money to get it out of customs. Then, sell the 980ti and buy a better CPU and GPU. If your current MOBO is the same socket type you can upgrade it to an I5 for around $200, use the rest for a GTX970. A 500W PSU will be fine for a GTX970/I5.

thraxxcv · Feb 26, 2016

Joshua Martin :

thraxxcv :

There is little to no point in pairing a 980ti with that I3. Not to mention a 980ti is overkill for 1080p gaming. If I were you, I would get the 980ti and sell it. Even if you need to sell your current PSU and GPU to get the money to get it out of customs. Then, sell the 980ti and buy a better CPU and GPU. If your current MOBO is the same socket type you can upgrade it to an I5 for around $200, use the rest for a GTX970. A 500W PSU will be fine for a GTX970/I5.

Turns out NVIDIA shouldered the duties and customs fee, which is great! I got the card already. I plan to sell my old GPU and PSU to get a 620W PSU and a new case (doesn't fit in my old one). I got a Gigabyte GTX 980Ti Xtreme. Will eventually upgrade to an i5

hang-the-9 · Mar 1, 2016

Good news, enjoy your new card!

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