Graphic Cards Suggestions for a 4k GPU with low power consumption

I

imad7x

Forerunner
Requirements -
4k@60-70fps with DLSSQ
Hdmi 2.1
Power consumption ~250 (should work with rx550)
Budget - ~25k
Current spec - 12500, 32GB, 2070S
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I'm currently using a 2070S with my 1440p 180hz monitor. Occasionally I play story games on my 4k TV but games like Ragnarok are struggling to keep at 60 fps even with dlss quality.

I don't want to spend too much, I have a budget of ~25k for used GPU. I also don't want to upgrade my PSU - RX550
 
Seems too tight, could just play using DLSS balanced or performance, At 4k they aren't bad esp when not in motion and at tv distance maybe it would like decent enough.
Digital foundry guys say that DLSS performance at 4k is good enough for them. At monitor distance i prefer quality but with these constraints i think i would try DLSS perf first.

Nvidia gpus at reasonable price points suck a bit right now. Even 4070 just doesnt have enough VRAM for the price and seems to be a bit bandwidth starved at 4k.
Amd next gen will fill some glaring gaps hopefully. FSR is ok at quality 4k but less so at lower levels and they need to fix RT perf. But still GRE isn't bad and i would definitely pick that over 4070/S due to VRAM.
Soon enough 12gb will become like 8gb is today for 1080p .

Also use optimized settings. Can try to find them in youtube. Generally ultra isnt worth it. And at this performance level, just ignore RT ( Even 3080 barely scrapes by for it at 4k).
 
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Darth Vader said:
4070 Super with Frame Generation is enough for 60 fps 4k gaming but your CPU will bottleneck even at 4k.
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Nope. Only a few games will be bottlenecked at 60-70fps but for that resolution does not matter (won't help if you drop from 4K to 1440p in such case). Most of the CPU bottleneck is at 100+ fps territory.

I use i5 12400 + 7900GRE, so I know the CPU bottleneck of my rig. FYI - I get fps numbers similar to Hardware Unboxed at 1440p high for Black Myth Wukong (around 60+ fps something). But my fps for CoD BO6 is stuck at 130fps because of CPU bottleneck whereas GPU can push 170+ fps.

OP - just wait for next gen, buy used GPUs after 3-4 months when people start upgrading. Say a used 4070 under 30k will be a good upgrade from 2070S.
 
OMEGA44-XT said:
Most of the CPU bottleneck is at 100+ fps territory.
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That it not true at all esp at 4k with 4070 Super you ain't hitting 100+ fps on most of the games and CPU bottleneck will drag your fps further down.

Watch HUB video on 4k/1080p bottleneck.

Also you need to check more games at 1440p against HUB Benchmarks before dismissing CPU bottleneck below 100+ fps.
 
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Darth Vader said:
4070 Super with Frame Generation is enough for 60 fps 4k gaming but your CPU will bottleneck even at 4k.
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Frame gen to reach 60 fps is pretty terrible i think, is true for FSR framegen ( which works well). And should be same for Nvidia framegen ( and many reviewers have said so too). Its good to go from good to even better frame rates.

12gb vram today for 4k at that price is a shit deal.
 
Tracer_Bullet said:
Frame gen to reach 60 fps is pretty terrible i think, is true for FSR framegen ( which works well). And should be same for Nvidia framegen ( and many reviewers have said so too). Its good to go from good to even better frame rates.

12gb vram today for 4k at that price is a shit deal.
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4070 Super performs similar to my 3090 despite having only 12GB VRAM and you can get 60 fps with DLSS alone on most games. Its a bare minimum IMO.
@OP budget is 25K, he has to wait for the next gen release to get anything 2nd hand in that budget.
 
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Darth Vader said:
4070 Super performs similar to my 3090 despite having only 12GB VRAM and you can get 60 fps with DLSS alone on most games. Its a bare minimum IMO.
@OP budget is 25K, he has to wait for the next gen release to get anything 2nd hand in that budget.
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yeah 4070 used at 30k might be a better deal, but not by much as we already have 3080 used 10gb at 30k - and that is faster than 4070 at 4k minus 2gb vram.
So either cheaper still or better to go with used GRE/7800xt 16gb.

Even Intel entry level gpus will start having 10-12 gb now. Nvidia 5070 might later shift to 18gb once 3gb chips get out. Once things like this start happening, all 'higher end' 8-12gb gpus of today will progressively start struggling more and more ( even more at 4k). So don't fall for this planned obsolescence trap.
 
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Tracer_Bullet said:
we already have 3080 used 10gb at 30k
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I've seen a few fb posts selling 3080 10GB for 25-27k. Is this worth upgrading to considering low vram?
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imad7x said:
What's your power consumption in gaming and other high intensive tasks? I'm considering AMD since nvidia has few options in 16GB vram category and 7900 gre seems to be good fit.



I can definitely wait for a few months to grab a good deal.
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Just wait if you can.

My GPU w/o OC draws 265W, with OC, 290W+. Overall system power usage is around 450W. 750W PSU is the minimum I recommend for this GPU. A 4070 Super is more efficient but 12GB VRAM might cause issues in some games where the GPU is powerful enough to push 4K natively.

FYI - FG increases VRAM usage from what I read. Call me old school, but I don't like using it. I am happy if 1% low fps is above 55fps in most games, definitely need 100+ fps in CoD.
Darth Vader said:
That it not true at all esp at 4k with 4070 Super you ain't hitting 100+ fps on most of the games and CPU bottleneck will drag your fps further down.

Watch HUB video on 4k/1080p bottleneck.

Also you need to check more games at 1440p against HUB Benchmarks before dismissing CPU bottleneck below 100+ fps.
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I never dismissed CPU bottleneck under 100fps, but that only a few games will be CPU bottlenecked around 60-70fps, I can only think of Starfield. I think BG3 also struggles to cross 70-80fps in city area of ACT 3. I did look into multiple videos to find the extent of CPU bottleneck before spending 54k.

R5 3600 is relatively much inferior to i5 12400 or R5 5600.

Say an upgrade to 7900GRE or 4070S will benefit most games easily & is a good upgrade for someone having i5 12400 or R5 5600, but I definitely recommend a R5 7600 for new rigs.
 
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imad7x said:
I've seen a few fb posts selling 3080 10GB for 25-27k. Is this worth upgrading to considering low vram?
View attachment 215962
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FYI, stay away from that group. It's known to have a lot of scammers. Do your research for reputed sellers on FB Groups.

I bought my 3080 FE last year for 28K with 2 years of warranty remaining. Works like a charm. A 3080, as powerful as it is, will be pushing it for 4K when it comes to VRAM (I play at 1440p, with zero VRAM issues), although DLSS will help out a lot. However, your requirements call for lower power consumption, which is where the 3080/ti/3090 will stab you in the nethers. Even bone stock, the thing draws 300-320W. I personally don't care for power consumption, I've eeked as much performance as I can out of mine (+140 core, +750 memory, +115 power) and it draws 350-370w on full load.

A used 4070 will make more sense if power consumption matters to you (although it's a tad slower than a 3080, but more VRAM).
P.S.: if you consider a 3080, do NOT pair it with that PSU. It's a shit PSU (no offense), and the 3080 needs a 750W quality PSU to run without any hiccups.
 
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imad7x said:
I've seen a few fb posts selling 3080 10GB for 25-27k. Is this worth upgrading to considering low vram?
View attachment 215962
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I have never bought used, but things to maybe look out for
1) Reliable seller ( so i guess this one isnt as per Punkx75)
2) Few years of warranty left, atleast 1.
3) Best case - newish or rma replaced and tested
4) Good condition too - shouldnt be rusting for example. + check perf nos and temp

Hard to say whether its worth it now as once new gen comes, there would be more downward price pressure.
Also 10 gb is problematic at 4k, esp for new games.I play older ones and then its ok.

Probably just wait maybe, but its your call.

Used 7800xt/GRE might be better, but do note that RT perf would not be good (GRE is decent though) and FSR is probably best used at quality settings. ( so is DLSS imo, but it does better at perf)
So play without RT and with RT low.

Framegen is quite good once you have atleast say 60fps as it smoothens visually and to me there wasnt any noticeable lag ( had reflex on). You do get some artifacts but it was worth it.

PunkX 75 said:
. Even bone stock, the thing draws 300-320W. I personally don't care for power consumption, I've eeked as much performance as I can out of mine (+140 core, +750 memory, +115 power) and it draws 350-370w on full load.
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Yeah, it draws a lot of power, but i run it generally at 225w and only lose 9-10% vs stock. So he could do that if he can manage 225w.
But yeah, probably best wait and look for reliable suppliers. 10gb is really not nice at 4k for new games.
 
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