Budget 31-40k GPU upgrade from Zotac GTX 970

M

masterkd

Disciple
My Zotax GTX 970 is almost 8 years old now and still running solid. However one of the fan is having issues and sometimes does not spin properly.
Hence, I am planning to upgrade it.

Below are my use cases:
  • Primarily gaming @1080p. However like to keep the option open for 1440p.
  • Occasional video editing in Adobe Premiere
  • Watching 1080p - 4K video (youtube/KMPlayer/Netflix/Prime)
  • would like to card the last for long time like my current card
  • Note: I do not care much about ray tracing as I am yet to see that in action personally. Also as per my understanding ray tracing capability does not make much sense for the my budget. Please let me know if I am wrong.
Current spec:
  • R5 3600
  • Asrock B450 Pro4
  • 32 GB 3200Mhz RAM(16-18-18-36)
  • Corsair TX850 V2
  • BenQ FHD monitor
I understand as per my budget 6700 XT or 3060 Ti would be the suggestion.
Below two I found in Vedant.
Gigabyte Radeon RX 6700 XT Gaming OC
Zotac Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Twin Edge

However as I have never used AMD GPU I am a bit skeptical to got for 6700 XT even when it is coming cheaper than 3060 TI. Also because of Zotac is having 5 years warranty and my current card serving me so well this long I am a bit leaning towards Zotac. Moreover I read there are a lot of driver issues for AMD cards.
Below are my questions.
  1. How true/severe the issues for AMD cards
  2. Is there any point to wait for the next gen mid range cards
  3. Any other better suggestion
Thanks a lot in advance.
 
I have used both and I don't think you can go wrong with either of them. It all boils down to pricing. There is a used 3060ti for sale right now, see if you can grab it. Also just a heads up; Twin Edge non oc LHR doesn't have fan stop and LED. Although it's almost silent at idle, still sucks a lil. Now on Non-OC Non-LHR cards you can flash OC VBIOS and get fan stop but LHR non-OC is a bi$#h in that flashing OC VBIOS renders the card useless.

Whatever u choose, no need to buy them brand new right now, grab a used one still under warranty and save urself some money.
 
dvader said:
I have used both and I don't think you can go wrong with either of them. It all boils down to pricing. There is a used 3060ti for sale right now, see if you can grab it. Also just a heads up; Twin Edge non oc LHR doesn't have fan stop and LED. Although it's almost silent at idle, still sucks a lil. Now on Non-OC Non-LHR cards you can flash OC VBIOS and get fan stop but LHR non-OC is a bi$#h in that flashing OC VBIOS renders the card useless.

Whatever u choose, no need to buy them brand new right now, grab a used one still under warranty and save urself some money.
Click to expand...
Doesn't matter even if the fan spins at idle/min temps. Thats how gpus were designed. Its not at all going to contribute towards electricity bills.
@masterkd try to get LHR ones but even non-lhrs are equally good.
 
If you're open to used ones, try finding a mint 3080 with 2y+ warranty it'll be available in your budget and you have the required psu too.
If only new and you can extend a little then consider this Colourful 3070ti at 46500rs if not 6700xt/ 3060ti both are great cards, 6700xt has slightly better raw performance
 
I am on my 4th AMD card and none of them have failed on me within the warranty period. I stick to AMD cards mainly due to my hackintosh requirement. People say that AMD drivers are shit but I also read that people face problems with Nvidia drivers as well. If you stick to creator drivers, that should offer better stability no matter which camp you choose. I recently bought a used powercolor RX6800 for 27.5K and it performs extremely well at 1080p max settings. It is capable for saturating my 144Hz monitor.
 
Thanks a lot everyone for all the suggestions.
@powervgx reached out to me with ROG strix 3060 Ti offer and planning to take that. Only problem is my cabinet will not support the long card. So looking to upgrade my cabinet as well.
Considering Lian Li Lancool II Mesh
Only thing I was wondering if the cable routing cutout will interfere with the card.
 
dvader said:
Twin Edge non oc LHR doesn't have fan stop and LED
Click to expand...
I have fan stop in Zotac 3080 and its a bit annoying really. Always starts stops around 54C. Can fix that using afterburner on windows but not on Linux. As workaround i put a side case fan over it + disable gpu usage in normal desktop environment in Linux.
 
masterkd said:
Thanks a lot everyone for all the suggestions.
@powervgx reached out to me with ROG strix 3060 Ti offer and planning to take that. Only problem is my cabinet will not support the long card. So looking to upgrade my cabinet as well.
Considering Lian Li Lancool II Mesh
Only thing I was wondering if the cable routing cutout will interfere with the card.
Click to expand...
Thats one hell of a tank cabinet and you wont regret at all. Cable management, air flow and rgb all is top notch. Go for it!
 
Ordered Lian Li Lancool II Mesh from Vedant. Unfortunately the site went under maintenance again. Lately Vedant is having too much trouble with their site and it is going down multiple times daily. Not sure if this will impact delivery. I guess it would been better buy in store.
Also sent full amount to @powervgx
 
nRiTeCh said:
Doesn't matter even if the fan spins at idle/min temps. Thats how gpus were designed. Its not at all going to contribute towards electricity bills.
@masterkd try to get LHR ones but even non-lhrs are equally good.
Click to expand...
Yeah it's a non issue for me. Just pointing out cuz it's exactly the same hardware but some nice guy at zotac decided to take away that choice.
 
Get a used 3080 of msi/zotac/asus should last a while, set power target to 70-75% in msi afterburner and you should be golden. New cards from old series are not worth paying for as used market is flushed with good number of cards for fraction of the price
 
I have been using a 165hz 1440p monitor from 2017(Rog 279q). I had a 1080 Ti for sale duration and had excellent performance with 70 plus fps till Hogwarts legacy dropped and made my 1080 Ti into a mediocre GPU with huge stutters and fps drops at 1440p. Now had to upgrade to a 3070 (purchased second hand) and it's excellent for 1440p. However I still can't get ultra settings with ray tracing on without massive fps drops on Hogwarts legacg. Hence if ur looking to play newer AAA titles at ultra 1440p with RT on, u will need 3080 or even 3090. Else 3070 is probably the best bang for buck for general 1440p gaming with light RT/no RT even at Ultra settings.
 
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