which graphics card should I get, upgrading from a GTX 970?

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
S

smilemore

Distinguished
Jan 30, 2015
170
3
18,695
Hi,

I play GTA 5, Fortnite, PUBG, CSGO, COD and some mmorpg like guild wars, WOW and runescape.

I have all 1920x1080p monitors; one 144 hz monitor (asus vg248qe) with 2 other 60hz monitors on the sides.

My question is, if I upgrade from my gtx 970, which card should I buy? I am thinking about the 1070ti, but not 100% sure. The difference between a 1070ti and a 1080 is like $50. Would a 1070ti manage to get 144 fps in most games? Also, would my i5 4690k be a bottleneck for the 1070ti? When I play fortnite, my cpu is usually around 70-90% usage at 144 hz. On gta 5, my cpu is usually 90-100%. Would that cpu usage fall with a 1070ti or stay the same? Is it smarter to wait for newer nvidia cards to come out later this year or get a new card now? Is the 1070ti a lot better than a 970 for 1080p?

Is there any difference between like FTW and SC on graphics cards? Is SC fine?

Specs:
i5 4690k
gtx 970 evga sc
16gb ddr3
asus z97-a
evga supernova 750w b2 power supply

choices:
https://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-Scanner-Graphics-08G-P4-5671-KR/dp/B076S4RH6K
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IA9HKGE/ref=twister_B07B1NLJCF?th=1
 
Solution
T


no, if you look at that benchmark i linked they are using a 970 and can't get that high of an avg fps.. only the 1070ti and higher all hit 150fps avg. the 970 has around 90 avg fps, this is average for 3 matches the played thru the same areas. they also use a i7 8700k oc to 5ghz so in this situation the 970 definitely bottlenecks the cpu, but then once you get a 1070ti or higher the bottleneck is within the game and it is a cpu bottleneck. once you go to...
Sort by date Sort by votes
T

t99

Honorable
Jul 16, 2014
756
1
11,215
Pubg just doesn't get that high of fps. 1070ti needs medium settings for 100+ and it's just barely past 100. 970 should get 60 to 90fps depending on ultra or medium. You need 1080ti to get 120+ and that's custom setting not ultra.

As far as the difference in sc and ftw.. The differences are typically small, a few fps or so. I'm not sure about those specifically, but in general it's a few fps or maybe like 10% at most.

The 1070ti is a great card for 1440p at high frames. It's overkill for 1080p mostly, but some games just dont run as efficiently. If you tweak settings and don't need 144fps I think 1070ti is a great choice, it's a beast of a cards.

Battlefield 1 gets like 130fps and then ghost recon wildands is under 100, so mich varies by each game. It's hard to find 1080p benchmarks on the 1070ti they are mostly 1440p and 4k. Footnote can do 150fps on 1070ti, but GTA probably not, but do you even need that in GTA? Fort hits a wall with the cpu at 150fps the 1070 thru titan all 150fps.

It all comes down to if you have to have 144 in everything. Lower quality games yes, some AAA yes and some no, but still you can get 90-100 in basically anything. Cpu might be a small bottleneck, not 100% sure.

I think you are better off waiting unless you get a good price on the 1070 and sell your 970 for a good bit. Might as well make a 2 generation jump, it's not that far out.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
S

smilemore

Distinguished
Jan 30, 2015
170
3
18,695
I don't want to upgrade my other pc parts because I feel like I have a couple more years in them, but willing to upgrade the GPU because that's where the biggest difference in better hardware comes in, other than upgrading the cpu. The build is like 3 years old now.

I was thinking about selling the 970 for like 150-200 and then buy the 1070 ti for around $430, is that a good price?

If I keep my rig, and stay at stock CPU clocks, because I don't OC, will a 1070 ti be a good upgrade, or is it useless because the 4690k is a bottleneck? Will I even see 144 fps ALL THE TIME in fortnite if I got the 1070ti? In some areas without a lot of people I get 144fps no problem, but in packed areas I get lower fps. Since the 1070ti is built for 1440p, I would think that the 1070ti would be a good furture proof upgrade while being overkill for 1080p and I would pretty much max all games like GTA 5 at 60fps and then shooters like fortnite at 144 fps.

I was thinking that if I upgraded the GPU, the cpu would work less and drop some percentage in gaming, is this not true?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
T

t99

Honorable
Jul 16, 2014
756
1
11,215
I agree, that sounds like a good plan. You could oc some to help you get there.

https://www.techspot.com/article/1557-fortnite-benchmarks/

The 970 to 1070ti jumps way up on this one... they also use a 8700k at 5ghz..

Maybe someone with a 1070 and your level cpu can confirm 144 smooth fps.. that price seems fine. Maybe someone else can comment better about the cpu working less if you got a 1070. From my understanding there is a balance you want to find the sweet spot. Lower resolution will use more cpu, like you can try lowering resolution to increase fps, but it might not do much because cpu is taxed more. The way all those gpu cap at 150fps a titan and a 1070 both cap at 150. One gpu is much stronger so it's limited on the cpu side, changing gpu doesn't help at this point. I think its possible you could hit say 140fps at 1080p, up the resolution and basically stay the same fps with the gpu working harder.. either way you will see gains, your cpu is not a bneck on 970 right?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
A

aquielisunari

Judicious
Mar 31, 2011
6,499
14
33,015
The 4690K will be a slight slow down in some games.

$150-$200 seems unrealistic. You might get $100. Do I want a 970 or a 1060 3GB? The 1060 3GB is usually around $199 and I'd get a warranty that usually lasts for 3 years. It seems for valuable in a complete rig and not by itself.

I was thinking that if I upgraded the GPU, the cpu would work less and drop some percentage in gaming, is this not true?
Click to expand...
No.Simply put the CPU and GPU have completely different jobs. Having a better GPU doesn't help the CPU. Where the GPU can make a difference is with higher resolutions. Go from 1080p up to 1440p and that puts a greater load on the PC which will bring down the FPS meaning the CPU will draw less frames but not because the GPU is moonlighting as a CPU.

Why do I say all this?
image.png
I've been where you are.


 
Upvote 0 Downvote
S

smilemore

Distinguished
Jan 30, 2015
170
3
18,695
Is the 1070ti a better choice compared to 1080 price to performance wise? I think the 1080 is $100-130 more than 1070ti, I was wrong its not 50, because I only buy evga cards.

1070ti is $430 and 1080 is $560

If the 1070ti isn't going to bottleneck my cpu, I'm probably going to get it but if it's going to be a problem I'm not.

Thanks for the responses btw guys. :)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
A

aquielisunari

Judicious
Mar 31, 2011
6,499
14
33,015


The 1070 Ti sounds good. It wouldn't be a deal breaker at all for me. The 4690K is still an okay chip.

Yep, Michael and everyone else at EVGA are so very knowledgeable and helpful before and after the sale. Their liberal stance on OC'ing, over-volting, water cooling and other changes sets them apart from the crowd. Their regular RMA turn around time is a week or less and they offer an expedited RMA where they can immediately send out a new card before you send yours in. It's good to know before anything happens.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
S

smilemore

Distinguished
Jan 30, 2015
170
3
18,695
For my rig, would it be better to upgrade just the gpu or the cpu to a new gen i7 and new mobo, ram and keep the 970?

If im getting 100% cpu usage with a 970 @ 144hz(i dont always get 144 fps) in fortnite isn't it going to be the same way with a 1070 without any fps increase?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
T

t99

Honorable
Jul 16, 2014
756
1
11,215


no, if you look at that benchmark i linked they are using a 970 and can't get that high of an avg fps.. only the 1070ti and higher all hit 150fps avg. the 970 has around 90 avg fps, this is average for 3 matches the played thru the same areas. they also use a i7 8700k oc to 5ghz so in this situation the 970 definitely bottlenecks the cpu, but then once you get a 1070ti or higher the bottleneck is within the game and it is a cpu bottleneck. once you go to any other gpu even a titan you gain 0 more avg fps.. 450$ 1070ti or 6,000$ titan x, they both perform exactly the same avg framerate.

What I would do is run the game on High settings 1080p and do a few matches and track your avg fps, see if it comes close to what they get with the i7 8700k.. they are getting 90 so if your avg is somewhere close to this I think we could assume you would gain more on an gpu upgrade.. you could also play at 90fps which is still insanely smooth and fast.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
T

t99

Honorable
Jul 16, 2014
756
1
11,215
Yeah that cpu has to be water cooled or low ambient temps. I have a nice case with 7 fans plus a noctua cooler with 2 more fans and the lowest I've seen was 25 in the bios when first turning on. Usually it's between 28 and 30. I'm also in New Orleans where it's hot as can be. The temps usually only go below 30c when the a.c. is running.

U can get a rx 480 to idle below 20, but it requires higher fan speed. I leave fan at 18% and it idles around 28. I would love to see this person's set up if they are getting that cpu cooling on air in a warmer environment. Going to copy whatever they are doing if it's air



 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom