Best bang for the buck for me?

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SKIPPY PB

SKIPPY PB

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Jan 9, 2015
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I'm just about finished building a 2nd PC and it's come time to figure out what to do about a graphics card. My main PC has a ASUS GTX 960 4GB and runs Windows 7 & 10. I have no complaints about the 960 but since I need a second card I was thinking about donating the 960 to the second build and grabbing something else.

This is basically my main PC minus a few tweaks that aren't really relevant, Except the EVGA G3 Supernova 750 watt PSU.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/CjtFqk

This is the second PC where I migrated most parts from a mITX build I had before. This one will be running Windows 7 & Mac OS as of now.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/tHKtRG


Here is the question/predicament; The second PC would be best off with a NVIDIA GPU as AMD's will not be supported and would complicate things.

I've dropped about 2K total over the past couple years on all this junk and am not really interested in dumping loads of cash into it. I wouldn't say im a huge gamer but I do enjoy being able to play a few games now and then. Batman AK, MGSV, Rust, CSGO, etc. And im sure some new ones will sneak there way in there but I usually wait for new games to get old so the price drops and they work out the bugs before grabbing them.

As far as cost effective in the long run, im trying to figure out what to get. I was thinking upgrade the main PC to a 1070 and then putting the 960 in the second PC but now i'm thinking that might not be worth it. I run 1080p so far and have no interest in VR. Had I jumped for the 970 or 980 back when instead of the 960 I would be a little pissed now that the 1060/1070 are beating those. Before I built these too I had a Dell XPS 400 from 2005 with no complaints and still have it, I just never gamed on it cause you couldn't.

Currently thinking 750ti for the second PC as a hold me over for a little while. The current card available is a PNY GT 730 1GB card that can get up to 100 FPS in csgo. Not too shabby but its pretty limiting.

Or get an AMD RX480 4GB or a 1060 maybe. The 1070 is about 400 bucks which got me thinking do I really need that for 1080p.


Any opinions on what I should do?

The second PC needs a GTX card as it will get borrowed for a mac at times.



 
Solution
Chugalug_
New power supply for the first, put the 960 in the second PC, get a 1070 and an SSD.
Games will become more demanding over time at 1080p, and a 1060 is just touching around the 65fps mark at very high settings in most titles.
A 1070 is a welcome addition.
Your first build's PSU is low quality and underpowered however, that needs to go.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Storage: ADATA Premier SP550 240GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 8GB SC GAMING ACX 3.0 Black Edition Video Card ($379.99 @ Jet)
Power Supply: Corsair CXM 550W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($43.98 @ Newegg)
Total:...
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Chugalug_

Chugalug_

Titan
Jan 28, 2016
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New power supply for the first, put the 960 in the second PC, get a 1070 and an SSD.
Games will become more demanding over time at 1080p, and a 1060 is just touching around the 65fps mark at very high settings in most titles.
A 1070 is a welcome addition.
Your first build's PSU is low quality and underpowered however, that needs to go.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Storage: ADATA Premier SP550 240GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 8GB SC GAMING ACX 3.0 Black Edition Video Card ($379.99 @ Jet)
Power Supply: Corsair CXM 550W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($43.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $493.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-03-20 21:10 EDT-0400
 
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Solution
D

dontlistentome

Glorious
Sep 5, 2016
5,979
19
43,415
What I would do depends on this, is the 960 enough to make you happy on the main PC? if so, then I'd buy a used gaming videocard for the 2nd PC. You could get an Nvidia GTX 6xx series that'll be cheap yet not as limiting as the GT 730. The GT 730 is really just a replacement for integrated graphics.

I wouldn't get upset over new components being cheaper/faster than old components since that's just the way it is. So buy what you need now, without worrying if two years from now you'll feel you made a mistake. If you buy what you need when you need it, it's not a mistake.
 
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SKIPPY PB

SKIPPY PB

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Jan 9, 2015
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A lot of people complain about the CX430 but I have to say its pretty damn good for what it is. At least mine, it was supposed to cost $20 but I think i forgot to send that rebate in. Run it 24/7 about 99% of the time for a year and a half it has served well but it was a hold over part. I bought an EVGA Supernova G3 750 watt to replace it and took the CX430 and stuck it in the second computer.

As for the SSD drive i'm looking to get a 1TB SSD but am holding till I feel I need it. The SSHD is annoying at times but overall decent for what it is.


Will the 1070 last the test of time? Since I probably wont leave 1080p for 5-10 years will it still be worth it.

I don't know im just thinking $400 for a card vs ~200.

~$700 vs $500 for a SSD and card. Maybe the 1070 is the way to go.
 
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SKIPPY PB

SKIPPY PB

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Jan 9, 2015
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4,860


The 960 is fine right now, no complaints. I bought the GT 730 because it was the best card I could find that would fit in my mITX case (in win BP-655) and I didn't really need more for that little HTPC thing, the heat sinks on all the other options where too big and even the KFA2 GTX 750 wouldn't fit because the fan hangs off the tail end and the HDD area is there.

I like that thought process. Since I don't need anything more then the 960 as of right now. Something like a 6 series might be good enough. One thing that im not sure of though is if nvidia is making drivers that are compatible with new mac OS's for the older cards. I'm just not sure on that, after seeing the 970 was $400 and now the 1060 and RX480 beat it up. And the 1070 beats up the 1080, that makes me a little nervous about dropping the 400 on a 1070.



Well... thats not reassuring. I guess i'll have to start shutting down the 2nd PC since it will be left un-attended for longer periods of time.
 
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Chugalug_

Chugalug_

Titan
Jan 28, 2016
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Yeah, the CX series is pretty notorious for being unstable under load and having cheapo components.
Annoys me that for the most part Corsair is a fantastic company, but then in terms of power supplies they have so many poorly made units like the old CXM, CSM and CX series.
Same with EVGA's B1/G1 I suppose though...
It'll be perfectly fine in a lower power draw machine like the 960, but anything higher and you're looking at instability.
 
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