Upgrading from GTX 970

[Tschrom]

I've been researching for the last few weeks as to what and whether or not to upgrade my GPU. I've had my system running 2 nVidia GTX 970s in SLI for a while, but recently, one of my GPUs decided to take a shit on me and a single GTX 970 seems to strain in some more modern games (I.E. GTAV and The Witcher 3). I love to have my games running at Ultra settings all around, so having to degrade and downgrade my settings pretty much sucks and is unacceptable compared to what I was able to run... So, I've been wondering if it would be worth it for me to invest in a nVidia GTX 1080 or 1070, or if it would be smarter (and more economical) to go with a couple AMD Radeon RX 480s (8GB) in Crossfire? Resource intensive and bogus extras like nVidia's Hairworks don't really matter to me (as it seems to not really make a difference on Ultra settings in most games, and only drains resources) and I'm running on a single 42" 1080p television. Is it worth it to spending the money on a GTX 1080 or 1070? Or would I be better off going with the 2 RX 480s (8GB)? (No, I don't and likely never will play "Ashes of the Singularity" which is what the RX 480s where hyped up for.)


EDIT: Thought I should add, that I do play many games in DSR@ at least 1440p since my 970 SLi setup was able to handle it.

 

[frank_hnd]

if the games you play scale well with Crossfire/SLI then RX480 wouldn't be such a bad choice.

Honestly, GTX1070/80 are overkill for only 60Hz 1080p. they are meant for 1440p or higher with 60Hz+ monitors.

a single GPU solution is usually preferred. a GTX1070 would murder any 1080p game and let you DSR to 1440p without breaking a sweat.

 

[Tschrom]

if the games you play scale well with Crossfire/SLI then RX480 wouldn't be such a bad choice.

Honestly, GTX1070/80 are overkill for only 60Hz 1080p. they are meant for 1440p or higher with 60Hz+ monitors.

a single GPU solution is usually preferred. a GTX1070 would murder any 1080p game and let you DSR to 1440p without breaking a sweat.

I play a pretty varied mix of games that both support and don't support Crossfire/SLi. In which case, maybe the single GPU in the 1070-1080 would be better since not everything will work well with Crossfire?

The cost isn't necessarily an issue, though I am trying to keep it relatively decent. (Not looking to shell out for a Titan X or R9 Pro. But I could probably afford a 1080). In terms of "future proof-ness", I'm guessing the 1080 would be better?

 

[frank_hnd]

I think if you are not into VR and 144Hz monitors, the GTX1070 makes more sense.
as for future proofing, it is hard to tell how long would the 1080 outlast it since it is roughly 20-25% faster, it that is worth an extra $250 to you... by the time you need a new GPU you will have a totally different setup.