GPU died, need advice on getting a replacement

[D4L41L4M4]

Since, my 7970 ghz died on me recently, I guess, it's time to upgrade the gpu. My budget allows me to buy gtx 1070 or lower.

"What's the problem?" You would ask, "Just get the 1070, case closed". And I would agree, but I have a bit of a dilemma. You see, my system is a bit dated, I'm running:

2500k at 4.0ghz, was able to OC it up to 4.4, but I wasn't comfortable with the temps.
p8z68-v pro/gen3
8gb ddr3 1600mhz
650w Seasonic PSU
and, currently, an old HD5670.

Before the 7970 bit the dust, I was thinking of doing a full upgrade in about a year or two, since now doing a whole new build would be, kinda, financially noticeable. But 5670, unsurprisingly, is terrible for gaming at 1080p, if it's not a 2d indie title. And any decent replacement will do.
So, in my mind, I have a couple of options:

1. Get a 1050 ti as a temporary replacement, which, judging by the stuff I've read, performs similarly to 7970. And I was perfectly content with how my 7970 performed, even in newer titles. Then, a year or two later, build a new system. Hopefully with a modern beefy gpu, or a decent midrange, if I will decide to keep a 1080 60hz monitor.
But then again, I'll be spending money to get, relatively, the same performance as I had with 7970.
2. Get a 1060 6gb/1070 depending on the prices available. And maybe postpone getting a gpu for a new build for a bit.

Speaking of prices, where I live, the 1050 ti sells for around 150 - 180 EUR, 1060 will cost me 320 - 370 EUR and 1070 is anywhere from 440 up to 700 EUR. I'm willing to spend no more than 500 - 550.

 

[ThomasKK]

What about RX570/580 for now and in a few years of saving you will be able to upgrade other components to a newer ones?

 

[constantine_99]

postpone and wait for Vega to be released, if the specs aren't enough / too pricy for you, at least the other GPU's prices would go down so u will be able to save some cash (or get something better than the one u could've get right now)

 

[D4L41L4M4]

What about RX570/580 for now and in a few years of saving you will be able to upgrade other components to a newer ones?

Currently, it's hard to find any RX570/580 over here. And the ones that I've managed to find seem overpriced as all hell. I'm talking about 460EUR for RX570 and 450 - 500EUR for RX580.

 

[ledhead11]

Yeah, I've heard about the supply distribution issues going on with AMD in Europe, Africa, and a few other parts of the world. It's a shame really since they really do have some nice products out in that performance tier.

That being said, I'd go for the 1070. I'm running a 1080ti on a 2600k/z68/1333mhz 16gb ram. Bottlenecking is not an issue anywhere. I use it for 1440p/144hz gaming. A 1070 will give you really solid 1080p gaming for a while longer and even allow a bit of 1440p if you should go there. Your PSU will be fine as well. If its old you might need to replace it at some point but 650-750w is pretty much the sweet spot for such a rig.

If you do a new rig the 1070 could easily be reused for it. If you just want to do a little more upgrading you may want to consider going to 16gb and possibly an SSD. Those three things and that z68 will still be kicking butt for awhile longer.

 

[A17_GaminG]

Hell, you live in a more expensive country than mine. And my coutry is Greece, with 24% VAT in electronics.
Anyway, i'd advise that if you really were ok with your older card, you ought to get the 1050 ti. It does perform a bit better than the 7970, so you can expect a few more frames there, and if you're up to, buy a better heatsink so you can overclock your CPU to 4.4 Ghz. It'll help a bit more with your framerate, and you will probably spend less.
Since your monitor is 1080p 60 Hrz, i dont see any point on buying a GTX 1070, its just too much. The most you should go to, is the GTX 1060, if you want to set the graphics to the ultra quality.

 

[D4L41L4M4]

Thank you for your replies!

Kinda starting to lean more towards 1060/1070.
Another minor question, are there any brands to look for/keep away from with these cards? Over here, you can find ASUS, Gigabyte and MSI almost anywhere, some places have Gainward, EVGA, ZOTAC, Palit and Inno3D.

 

[ledhead11]

Couldn't really tell you one is so much better than the other but I recommend reading reviews here, Guru3d, OC3D, and KitGuru as these sites are mainly based throughout Europe. Gainward is the only brand I haven't read much about but the rest are pretty good these days. For the most part its just a matter of performance clocks vs. sound vs. heat dissipation. Honestly though, most brands tend to be really close to each other. I tend to favor Asus, Gigabyte, and Zotac in terms of speed but MSI does have some nice combo's too. I used to love EVGA but with Pascal I haven't noticed as much. Palit and Inno3d seem to go for more specfic things like led displays or unique color/shapes.

 

[A17_GaminG]

Which brand to pick? The one that offers the best costomer service, and the card that has better thermals. Or maybe which card looks better, the difference between clock speeds are so minimal you can achieve them with any card.