GPUs & CPUs & Enthusiast hardware: Questions, Discussion and fanboy slap-fights - Nvidia & AMD & Intel - Separe but Equal. Intel rides in the back of the bus.

Most games are really poorly written and CPU bound games benefit mostly from CPUs with high single-core performance that can just plow through the shitty code, as multi-threading isn't really a concept many game developers of such games seem to be too familiar with. Also fun things like binding game logic and render logic together, non-optimized memory usage etc. etc.. I'm really not aware of a single game that's both highly CPU bound and elegantly written to actually take advantage of the core counts we have since the core2duo. I'm even talking best sellers here, not some rando unity asset flip nobody ever heard about. From some things you can even squeeze a little more performance by "disabling" CPU cores so the remaining cores can boost higher for longer without running into thermal limits, also less cache trashing by well-meaning cpu schedulers that often don't understand the "batch-esque" nature of some tasks. I don't know if windows lets you, but in Linux for example you can pin tasks to specific cores. These tricks alone often get you quite a few more % out of some given software.

Cpt. Stud Beefpile said:
My very basic needs:
Click to expand...
Not that basic. Does it really need to be all one machine? Maybe think about getting a second machine for your old stuff.
 
  • Informative
  • Like
Reactions: Smaug's Smokey Hole 2, Friendly Primarina and Brain Problems
Cpt. Stud Beefpile said:
Kiwibros, it appears I'm in urgent need of a solid suggestion for a new motherboard as my decade old machine is now suddenly failing to boot properly.

My very basic needs:
  1. Full driver support for Windows 7 64 bit (long story)
  2. Ability to accept a lower-cost CPU now but a much better one later when I can scrape up the dough. (I'm running an I7...3820) #old
  3. Preferably no integrated sound or video, but not a deal-killer
  4. As many PCI slots as possible
I do NOT need DDR5 for the very little media editing I do or the ~4 high-end games I care about.
Click to expand...

What's your budget? If you are nearly broke, LGA 2011 motherboards are available for under $100 on Ebay. If you can spend $300-$400 and absolutely need something that old, you can pick up a Xeon E5-2687W workstation for about that, and it should keep you going for a while longer.
 
With 10+ driver crashes per day on the 7900X's integrated graphics at 4K desktop loads with seemingly no effective fix or workaround, I am now pretty much forced to buy a discrete GPU on short notice.

I have decided against upgrading my old gaming rig and reusing its old GTX1080. I will be going with a brand new GPU (both as in "never used" and "reasonably freshly released") partly because YOLO, partly because I want some futureproofitude. Now, I'd like something that's not complete trash, that can pull off a compute load here and there and won't shit itself should I dare run a game on it every now and then, but then again, I am not looking to build a nuclear reactor here either. Ideally, and this is a stretch, I would like rock-solid drivers because I can't be assed to camp on GeForce Experience or Adrenalin waiting for the damn things to update.

Right now, I'm leaning towards a RTX3060/3070, as long as it can fit in my case and share a 750W PSU with the 7900X. I've never had issues with nVidia before, the drivers have always behaved well and everything I threw at them ran buttery-smooth and stable. But oy vey the prices and the thiccness and power draw, which brings me to...

So how's AMD been on the driver front lately? From everything I remember, they've been a little slack on the QA, can be a little crashy, and haven't been too great at supporting some more exotic stuff like GLASM, but if that's improved significantly, I might give AMD a chance instead.

Thots?

Edit: Very strongly leaning towards a ZOTAC ZT-A30700E-10PLHR GeForce RTX 3070 8GB GDDR6 Twin Edge right now. Sure it's a bit older, but the specs check out. What would be the AMD equivalent at the same or lower price point with comparable specs?
 
Last edited:
  • Feels
Reactions: Brain Problems
spastic_bag said:
Edit: Very strongly leaning towards a ZOTAC ZT-A30700E-10PLHR GeForce RTX 3070 8GB GDDR6 Twin Edge right now. Sure it's a bit older, but the specs check out. What would be the AMD equivalent at the same or lower price point with comparable specs?
Click to expand...
Closest is a bit subjective. On the cheaper end, the 6700xt/6750xt are a tad lower in overall game performance, but are usually a good amount cheaper. For more you can go up to a 6800 which will slap a 3070 down. I think with recent sales and whatnot you could find them for the same price. Shoot, I saw 6800xts that will really roflstomp a 3070-3070ti for high 400-500s on newegg and such.

*Edit* On newegg 3070s are still somehow north of $500 while a 6700xt is a bit over $350. There are 6800s for literally less than the cheapest 3070s in stock which is embarrassing. My local microcenter has some red devil 6800xts for $580. Even on amazon you can find 6800s cheaper than a 3070. So unless you really need to feel the team Green or have a very specific feature you can't live without, I'd take a 6800.
 
Last edited:
  • Agree
  • Informative
Reactions: Bananadana and spastic_bag
If you're wanting to do general-purpose computing on a GPU, I would stick with NVIDIA. More applications support CUDA than HIP, and if you're writing your own, AMD's HIP compiler is notoriously buggy.

For gaming, AMD got its shit together on QA a few years ago. The equivalent to the RTX 3070 is the 6700 XT. I've never had a single crash with it or the 5700 XT.
 
  • Informative
Reactions: spastic_bag
serious n00b said:
Is there a reason you're running that CPU (older hardware support, lack of AMD PSP, etc)?
Click to expand...
I try to keep stuff working until I absolutely have 0 original parts. Also, it's a nice space heater when it is -20C outside.... RIP Athlon 64 though.
Edit: Anyone have a suggestion for an upgrade to a 580 or "wait" because god I miss the days of <200 GPUs.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Brain Problems
♂CANAM productions♂ said:
I try to keep stuff working until I absolutely have 0 original parts. Also, it's a nice space heater when it is -20C outside.... RIP Athlon 64 though.
Edit: Anyone have a suggestion for an upgrade to a 580 or "wait" because god I miss the days of <200 GPUs.
Click to expand...
GPU shopping is a pain but if you aren't too picky set up some alerts and/or check local buy/sells and you might find some deals. I also was checking the AMD website frequently and that's where I acquiring my current card 6750XT for a great price because AMD was offloading them in the Fall. With regard to specific models I'd just find stuff in your price range, read reviews, and just see if they'll scratch your itch. As long as you don't overpay for something that's absurdly high-end or cheap out tremendously it's tough to go wrong currently. They aren't cheap but at least there are deals and supply now. We're just starting to make our way out of the desert.

tl;dr - set up price alerts (camelcamel, pcpartpicker etc), and notifications on deal sites when people post things
 
  • Like
Reactions: Darkholme's Dungeon
♂CANAM productions♂ said:
I try to keep stuff working until I absolutely have 0 original parts. Also, it's a nice space heater when it is -20C outside.... RIP Athlon 64 though.
Edit: Anyone have a suggestion for an upgrade to a 580 or "wait" because god I miss the days of <200 GPUs.
Click to expand...

Sure, it's supposedly on par with the RX 6500-XT that just came out, which retails for around $200.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
  • Agree
Reactions: Bananadana and Smaug's Smokey Hole 2
♂CANAM productions♂ said:
I try to keep stuff working until I absolutely have 0 original parts. Also, it's a nice space heater when it is -20C outside.... RIP Athlon 64 though.
Edit: Anyone have a suggestion for an upgrade to a 580 or "wait" because god I miss the days of <200 GPUs.
Click to expand...
Wait, there are rumours the N33 will release at $300, there may be sales that take it below $200 since demand is so low. The 6500 XT is the same perf as the 580, so not much to be gained there.
 
I've looked through all the stores and shady channels I can think of. The RX6700s and RX6800s I can procure here are all giguntic, and I'd much prefer the fans not to scrape against the top of the PSU. Some of the brands too are ones I've never heard of, to the tune of Smiling Happy Xiao Yazi Fairy, and I'd, uhh, rather not.

Meanwhile, the RTX3070 seems to be available in all shapes and sizes, and the little one by Zotac is available at a very fair price. Looks like I've made my decision, boys.
 
It seems like the GPU market has calmed down a bit and things are in stock. Any thoughts on what I should get to replace a GTX 1060? I've had it for a while so anything I get will be a quantum leap in terms of capability. But I'd like to hear some general thoughts concerning what is on the market right now. I don't think I need to get anything top of the line, I guess I've grown out of the phase of life. But I would like something worthwhile that will offer me the same longevity that the 1060 gave me. It is probably the best value for the money of any video card I have ever bought. I've already got plans to put it in my media center for the fun of it seeing as the thing still works.

Thanks for any input you can give.
 
Too Many Catgirls said:
It seems like the GPU market has calmed down a bit and things are in stock. Any thoughts on what I should get to replace a GTX 1060? I've had it for a while so anything I get will be a quantum leap in terms of capability. But I'd like to hear some general thoughts concerning what is on the market right now. I don't think I need to get anything top of the line, I guess I've grown out of the phase of life. But I would like something worthwhile that will offer me the same longevity that the 1060 gave me. It is probably the best value for the money of any video card I have ever bought. I've already got plans to put it in my media center for the fun of it seeing as the thing still works.

Thanks for any input you can give.
Click to expand...
What does your budget look like? The RX 6700 looks like a respectable deal at ~$360.
 
  • Informative
Reactions: Too Many Catgirls
♂CANAM productions♂ said:
I try to keep stuff working until I absolutely have 0 original parts. Also, it's a nice space heater when it is -20C outside.... RIP Athlon 64 though.
Edit: Anyone have a suggestion for an upgrade to a 580 or "wait" because god I miss the days of <200 GPUs.
Click to expand...
Someone elsewhere actually helped me find a new core for a very reasonable price and it checks all my 'wanted' boxes. Just waiting to see if prices on any of it drops for Christmas.

I'm hanging on to my Windows 7 system because I have literally hundreds of legacy programs that I love. Not all of them can be run under emulators like Dosbox, nor will executible-replacements like ScummBM. Also I'm not letting the spy shit in 10/11 anywhere near my PC.
 
  • Thunk-Provoking
  • Autistic
  • Optimistic
Reactions: Darkholme's Dungeon, BIG BILL HELL'S and Friendly Primarina
Too Many Catgirls said:
It seems like the GPU market has calmed down a bit and things are in stock. Any thoughts on what I should get to replace a GTX 1060? I've had it for a while so anything I get will be a quantum leap in terms of capability. But I'd like to hear some general thoughts concerning what is on the market right now. I don't think I need to get anything top of the line, I guess I've grown out of the phase of life. But I would like something worthwhile that will offer me the same longevity that the 1060 gave me. It is probably the best value for the money of any video card I have ever bought. I've already got plans to put it in my media center for the fun of it seeing as the thing still works.

Thanks for any input you can give.
Click to expand...
if you wanna go with novideo, go for either a 3060 or 3050. both are decent gpus. im less familiar with the gpus of amd, and even more so with their naming schemes
 
  • Informative
Reactions: Too Many Catgirls
AmpleApricots said:
*info about single core performance*
Click to expand...
Adding on to this, single core performance is good for emulation of video games consoles, I believe (if anyone knows better please correct me).
Cpt. Stud Beefpile said:
I'm hanging on to my Windows 7 system because I have literally hundreds of legacy programs that I love. Not all of them can be run under emulators like Dosbox, nor will executible-replacements like ScummBM. Also I'm not letting the spy shit in 10/11 anywhere near my PC.
Click to expand...
Have you considered Linux? :story: I'm actually only half-joking; this was exactly my reason for switching to Linux. The Dolphin emu team made it clear a couple of years ago that W7 support was on the way out, and I figured that it was only a matter of time before others followed suit.

I'm not going to pretend that Linux is plain sailing, but if you're as adamant as I was to not put Windows Spyware Edition™ on your PC it's an option you have.
 
Road Work Ahead said:
What sort of performance are you looking for? Also, what monitor are you using? No point buying a powerful gpu if you just plugging in a 1080p 60hz screen to it.
Click to expand...
Oh yeah! Shit! I probably should get a new monitor, too. Thanks for reminding me. :lit:

As far as what I'm looking to do performance-wise. I've got a good computer that I just built about ten months ago, with the exception being the video card. Most of what I was playing at the time was more CPU-intensive because I play a lot of extremely autistic 4X strategy games. But I picked up Ready or Not a while back and wasn't super pleased with how my GPU handled things. Otherwise to be honest I'm not looking to do anything crazy. Maybe I'll try Cyberpunk if I get better hardware but that's not a priority or a necessity.

My overall goal is much the same with each of my builds over the last two decades: construct a good system that (barring outright hardware failure) will be serviceable for five to eight years. So I am looking for the 2022 version of the GTX 1060, which I got in 2016. A good card that plays contemporary games at the highest detail levels and will be able to play future games well.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back