New GPU..worth it?

[Deltahawkoz]

Windows 10 Pro 64-bit

CPU

Intel Core i7 3770K @ 3.50GHz 45 °C

Ivy Bridge 22nm Technology

RAM

8.00GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 663MHz (9-9-9-24)

Motherboard

Gigabyte Technology Co. Ltd. Z77-HD3 (Intel Core i7-3770K CPU @ 3.50GHz) 34 °C

Graphics

VA2349 Series (1920x1080@60Hz)

BenQ T2200HD (1920x1080@60Hz)

2047MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti (Gigabyte) 37 °C

 

The above is my current sys, plays most of what I have very well, doesnt crack a sweat when running IL2, based on use of resources, ie CPU, RAM etc.  However, the GPU is getting long in the tooth now so am wondering would a GPU upgrade be worth it?  Given my monitor is locked at 60hz...Would the game run better??  Look better? Would I actually SEE a difference?  Would the game be more FLUID?? (note that I havent actually measured FPS ingame, but I dont discern any real problems in any situations, ie near the ground or in the air).  The card I am thinking about is the AMD RX580, 4 gb given I am unlikely to get a monitor with blistering refresh rates soon..OR is getting a high refresh rate monitor, still 1080p..the way forward?

 

Thanks in advance for your input...

[BeastyBaiter]

I promise you aren't getting anywhere near 60 fps at 1080p at max detail with that graphics card (I'd have a hard time believing 20 fps tbh), so yes, a new graphics card such as the RX 580 4GB would yield you a massive improvement.

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

Going from a GTX 650 Ti to a RX 580 is like night and day. That old card is really the weakest part of your system. As has been said, it is impossible that you are getting 60 fps at maximum settings with it. Even with your current monitor, the game would be noticeably more fluid with an RX 580.

 

1080p monitors with high refresh rates are still liked by many people. However, 1440p is becoming more popular and 4K is around the corner.

[Deltahawkoz]

With graphics settings on Ultra...getting high 20s, up to mid high 30s over the Kuban, with a furball going on...according to Steams FPS utility...so no, definitely not in the 60s for sure..liveable..for the time being...

[SAS_Storebror]

Can't say much about AMD cards as a long-time Nvidia user (thanks to IL-2 1946 and AMD's crappy drivers 10 years ago).

FWIW, my game rig is equipped with an Intel i5-2500K @4GHz + Nvidia GTX 970 4GB + Acer Predator WQHD (2560x1440) G-Sync Monitor.

The GTX 970 is supposed to perform some 10-15% worse than the RX 580.

My frame rates with Ultra Settings are in the range of 50-70 usually, with 144 looking up to clear skies and 40 looking down to coastlines with villages in bright sunshine.

Only thing I've had to tone down was the distant landscape detail which is on 2x (maximum would be 4x), as the max setting kills another 10FPS for nearly no visual difference.

 

As a long time 1946 player I've had to learn that BoX lives best with Nvidia Control Panel settings "all default", letting BoX deal with things like Anti Aliasing, Anisotropic Filtering etc.

In 1946 it was exactly opposite.

 

Cheers!

Mike

[BeastyBaiter]

Using game settings has been better for a long time now. It's what I recommend for both AMD and Nvidia cards. I had a GTX 770 2GB up until last year, then moved to the RX 480 8GB and a couple months ago moved to a GTX 1080 TI for VR. So I can comment on Nvidia vs AMD drivers since it's all fairly current. My experience is AMD presently has better drivers than Nvidia overall. Nvidia's DX9 drivers are very likely still massively superior, but nobody uses DX9 anymore and even if they do, it's for a game so old that an RX 480/580 would blow through at whatever FPS the CPU would allow anyways. For DX11, the two have roughly equal performance (RX 480 = GTX 1060 6GB). For DX12 and Vulkan, AMD does substantially better. An RX 480/580 is much closer to a GTX 1070 than it is the GTX 1060 with either API. The reason for this is Nvidia cards don't actually run DX12, they run a DX12 emulator that converts DX12 to DX11. Hence they actually lose performance in DX12. AMD cards run DX12 natively and so have equal or greater performance when compared to DX11. Vulkan is a bit closer between the two but AMD cards have a few more advanced technologies in them that can be utilized by Vulkan that are not present in Nvidia cards, hence they pull away there too. Those same features also make them super popular mining cards though, which is why any miner with any sense buys an AMD GPU. An RX 480 from last year is objectively better than a GTX 1080 TI for mining etherium and other cryptocurrencies.

 

For options and overclocking, the basic Nvidia control panel and Radeon control panel are basically the same other than the logo. Overclocking is a lot easier on the AMD cards though. Wattman is stupid easy to use and works great. For my 1080 TI, I have to use some dodgy overclocking tools from either MSI or EVGA. Neither works reliably, which is especially surprising since I have an EVGA 1080 TI. You'd think their own software would work! Regardless, both brands have pretty decent screen capture software and other extras, so good quality video recording is trivial with either. Performance loss is also negligible, it's around 2-3% of your fps in both cases.

 

In general, I recommend AMD over Nvidia at any given price point AMD competes in. They have better drivers, are more user friendly and offer equal performance in some tasks or greater in others. But as said, pricing is all messed up right now because of miners, so AMD cards are often priced far beyond what they are worth in gaming.

Edited December 8, 2017 by BeastyBaiter

[Beazil]

I went from sli'd 680's to a single 1070.  Framerates went up dramatically.

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

In the last few years, GPU performance has been improving steadily while desktop CPUs have not changed much. Therefore, it is possible to get amazing framerate increases just by adding a modern graphics card to an old system.

 

When looking for a new card, check the actual pricing and availability in your area. Then, find some benchmarks from reputable sites to compare real-world performance. It's very important to conduct some careful research because there are crazy variations in prices. Only benchmarks can reliably tell you what card offers the best value. 

[CanadaOne]

Went from a GTX950 to a GTX1060 and saw huge improvements.

 

Would have liked a 1070, but that was out of my snack bracket. Got a 1060 for about half the price.

[Deltahawkoz]

Stumped up for the Rx580 8gb.  Approx double the framerate that I was getting before with the 660ti.  Oh my the game sure does look good now......

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

Nice upgrade.

[BeastyBaiter]

Yep, it's a good card. Enjoy.

[Dakpilot]

Stumped up for the Rx580 8gb.  Approx double the framerate that I was getting before with the 660ti.  Oh my the game sure does look good now......

I think you made the right decision to go with the 8gb version, although 4gb is adequate in BoS right now, it is quite close to the limit, in near future you may have had to turn some settings down. Enjoy your new smoother experience

 

Cheers, Dakpilot