Upgrading to 1440p, Which GPU?

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Maddnotez

Limp Gawd
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Nov 28, 2014
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I am wanting to upgrade to a good 1440p monitor so I feel I will also need a new GPU. Looking for suggestions. Also as a side note would I need to upgrade anything else? I only play a couple of games. Mostly PUB G and another shooter. Looking for fast render and all of that good stuff.

Current specs:

GPU - GTX 970 - Gigabyte G1 Gaming
Monitor - Asus VG248QE 1080p, 144hz
CPU - i7 4790k
PSU - Evga Supernova G3 750w
Motherboard - Asus Z97 AR

Not sure what other info is needed. It has been a long time since I have looked up anything PC related so I have no idea what is out there these days or if things are no longer compatible.

Will I absolutely need a new GPU to run 1440p? Looking at something 1ms, 144hz+ and 27". I suppose the GPU budget would be about $500. Not sure if it would be worth it or not.
 
Dont try with that 970. Not enough ram on board for 1440.

Nvidia 1080 minimum but 1080ti would be best.
 
Maddnotez said:
I am wanting to upgrade to a good 1440p monitor so I feel I will also need a new GPU. Looking for suggestions. Also as a side note would I need to upgrade anything else? I only play a couple of games. Mostly PUB G and another shooter. Looking for fast render and all of that good stuff.

Current specs:

GPU - GTX 970 - Gigabyte G1 Gaming
Monitor - Asus VG248QE 1080p, 144hz
CPU - i7 4790k
PSU - Evga Supernova G3 750w
Motherboard - Asus Z97 AR

Not sure what other info is needed. It has been a long time since I have looked up anything PC related so I have no idea what is out there these days or if things are no longer compatible.

Will I absolutely need a new GPU to run 1440p? Looking at something 1ms, 144hz+ and 27". I suppose the GPU budget would be about $500. Not sure if it would be worth it or not.
Click to expand...

A friend of mine runs 1440p with a 970 and has no issues. He can't run max settings in graphically heavy games but it generally seems to be fine with medium settings. I ran 1440p with an 4GB RX470, a GTX1070, and now a GTX1080. The RX470 was honestly fine in most games at high settings though some required me to drop to medium (I don't remember exactly what the performance numbers were in pubg but it was acceptable. Destiny 2 pretty much sucked on it at 1440p though). The 1070 and 1080 both ran/run max settings at 1440p all day long in everything I play. One thing to note: You are not going to get 144 hz in many modern games at that res without a 1080ti so temper your expectations as it won't feel quite as good as 1080/144.
 
eclypse said:
Dont try with that 970. Not enough ram on board for 1440.
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Digital foundry has 4k on a budget series using a 970. So thats not very accurate.

With that said I Would say might was well get 1080ti or higher if you got the money and stick with your 1080p monitor. Read more about dsr.

With a 1080ti or higher you should be able to run games fine at 4x dsr (4k) with 0% smoothness and low to no AA. Shit looks amazing on my 1080p 144hz monitor. I really like it with no AA for a sharp picture.

My 1070ti shows a little struggle with 4x dsr and 40 to 60fps depending on the game. Batman arkham knight with all gameworks give me that kind of performance with all high settings.

Used is definitely the way to go.
 
I ran 1440 just fine on a 970 for almost 2 years @ 60 hz. It’s def possible.

If you can grab a 1070ti for a decent price you’d be fine. I wouldn’t buy a 1080 at this point. And the 1080ti is priced crazy high even in the used market, because of this shit show launch and pricing of the new NVIDIA 20 series.
 
I guess I should of pointed out with max settings. Of course if you lower the settings less ram would handle it. I dont game like that. Never have.

Titanfall at 1440 max settings would make the screen crawl on less then 1080.
 
If you are ok spending $500 new I would say:

1st EVGA RTX 2070 black edition
2nd 1080 for around $470

Used I would look for a 1080 under $400 or a 1080 TI around $500. This is the one of the few times I would lean towards an RTX card for an upgrade over a 1080 ti.
 
eclypse said:
I guess I should of pointed out with max settings. Of course if you lower the settings less ram would handle it. I dont game like that. Never have.

Titanfall at 1440 max settings would make the screen crawl on less then 1080.
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AA max on 1440 with a 27” isn’t even needed. I guess it depends on his Monitor size and budget
 
I use a 1440p/144hz monitor. Gtx 1080 is able do 60 or 72hz just fine, but on the more demanding games I can't really get much more than that. Somewhat older games all do 120 or 144 fine though.
 
There is a difference between decent 1440p performance and a consistent 144fps to take advantage of your monitor's refresh rate.

I run a 1080 @ 1440p and get good 60-95hz performance, but highly doubt I could properly push a 144hz monitor without significant image quality compromises.

IMHO if you are concerned with refresh rate related issues past 1080p, you should probably start looking into gsync or freesync. Even a 2080 ti isn't going to give you 144fps @ 1440p in all titles.
 
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When I bought my 1440p@144Hz monitor, I picked up a 2nd GTX 980. That means, when SLI is working well (and for the games I played: BF1, R6 Siege, Dragon Age Inquisition, Wildlands, and finally Fallout 4... they actually did), I will chime in that that is probably the minimum: 2048x2 CUDA cores @ ~1300MHz. I strived for max settings except for AA = Off (looked fine enough to me at native res 27in on my desk) and also the proprietary stuffs like Turf Effects and Godrays usually also = Off. Also, due to 4GB of VRAM, the High Res Texture Packs are no-go as well.

Recently I am ready to move on from SLI, and also itching for more VRAM. So, I targeted 1080 Ti at a minimum. Though, by the time I was ready to buy, all the 1080 Ti have disappeared from the local shelves... so I ended up with a 2080.

I expected that a 1080 by itself would not have cut it, so I would have had to get 2x of them again. Despite the healthy discounts on the 1080, and the hooplah surrounding RTX launch prices... that would have cost me ~$200 more. So, I felt like the 2080 was the "right choice" for me.

I also tried dropping my monitor down to 1080p, to get a bit more "legs" out of my Maxwells... but no, not recommended. The 3:2 interpolation sucked.
 
I was going to suggest Vega 64 as an alternate but since you are mostly interested in PubG I dont think it would be the best choice. Are you dead set on 144 FPS?
 
I would recommend an RTX 2070 if you want to buy new. You can find some for just around $500.

You should be able to get in the 90 fps+ range on new games. Older games or esports titles can probably reach 144fps locked.

Also consider G-Sync as this can help a lot with keeping animation smooth when under the native refresh.
 
For a high end experience, 1070 or 1070 ti is going to be bottom of "high end."

I ran 1440p on a 1080 for quite a while and really liked it but the cards were cheaper then. I agree with the above on the 2070 100%. 1080 cards and 2070 cards are almost the same price now. The 2070 is far and away the better card to spend $500 on especially with the long term, VR, 4K or whatever else in mind.

For a budget but decent experience? Your 970 ain't bad. A lot of people would wish they had your card for 1440p.
 
I have a 27 inch 1440p gsync 144 hz monitor. My graphics have gone from 2x 680 is SLI to 1080 to 2080 to 2080 Ti. The 1080 was sufficient enough to do the job, little to no sacrifice to frame rates by simply turning off anti aliasing in all games. Older games are fine. Newer games are memory hogs @ 1440p and 4k
 
For money saving and a great experience Vega 56 (if on sale) and a 144 hz FreeSync Monitor. A good HDR monitor for some folks (like me) can blow your socks off on the rather few games that support it well.

Nvidia 2070 or greater (new I would go with Turing over Pascal) and a GSync Monitor for higher a cost but better performance as well.

Your monitor in my opinion is just important if not more than the video card you buy. Also in general the monitor will outlast your video card before one updates. I would not get a Vega 56 in the $400 range when you can get a 2070 for $499 but below $350 and the lower cost of better quality adaptive sync monitors - AMD is a good buy and a very good gaming experience at 1440p.
 
RogueTrip said:
D Read more about dsr.
Click to expand...
Going to look into this.

I just can't believe the prices of good cards these days. I haven't kept up but when I got my 970 it was top of the line, on sale for $320. Now cards are pushing $1k or more. It is absolutely ridiculous.
 
Yeah, the cards you are looking at today for "affordability" are going to be the 2070 and down...

The best value cards overall for serious gaming right this second in my opinion are these in order of price:

RTX 2070 ($500),
GTX 1070 Ti, ($385),
GTX 1070 ($330),
RX 570 ($160)

I have a hard time putting the 1060s in with current pricing because the 4GB 570 is a generally better long term choice than the 3GB 1060 and the 6GB 1060 cards are $250+ which is insane for a mid range performance card vs just stretching up to the 1070 and it's sure not $90 better than a 570. I suppose the 580 is in there too, but if the goal is to save money the 570 is close in performance, uses a lot less power and is a whole lot cheaper.

The 2070 is nearly the same price as a 2080 and starts approaching 1080Ti speeds so it's pretty much the best value high end card around.

The 1070s... well... I'd have thought they would be irrelevant by now but with what prices have done over the last year they have once again ended up in the sweet spot for those who want a lot more performance than a mid range 570 / 1060.

EDIT - just to be clear, the RX 570 is about the same performance as your 970. So you'd have to decide if one of the more expensive cards on my list is actually worth replacing your card.
 
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Maddnotez said:
Going to look into this.

I just can't believe the prices of good cards these days. I haven't kept up but when I got my 970 it was top of the line, on sale for $320. Now cards are pushing $1k or more. It is absolutely ridiculous.
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Yep, Nvidia is milking all of us that want high performance 2k/4k resolution gaming. All the crypto mining has not helped gamers on top of it. The pascal series has stayed at or above MSRP for so long due to mining. Maybe the first series of cards I've seen not depreciate in price like the previous generations.

We will probably see an adjustment in prices after pascal cards are sold out, there will be too big of a gap in prices if they don't.

I bought my GTX 970 within a month of its release for $357. I loved that 970 as it was a damn good card and still offers great performance for 1080p gaming IMO, it performs the same as the RX570 and sometimes as good as a 580. People play up the ram issue too much. I never had a game at 1080p go near 4gb.

I recently sold my 970 to offset the cost of the 1070ti I got used here in the FS/FT forums. Used prices are key to a good deal currently.
 
That would only happen if Nvidia stops making the 1070. Otherwise they've got it covered. 1060, 1070, 1070 Ti, 2070, 2080, 2080 Ti. That covers the price spectrum pretty well. It's stupidly high, but it does make a complete coverage.

Nothing is going to come down even one inch unless AMD pulls a rabbit out of their hat. And from everything we've heard the 590 isn't going to be a miracle.

AMD needs something that can go toe to toe with the 2070 for $100-150 less. That would make an immediate and tectonic difference to the entire price schedule.
 
IMO the best value for 1440p is the 1070Ti. It costs a little more than the 1070 and comes close to the GTX1080 performance wise.

I own a 1070 and a 1070Ti, both are great at 1440p but I think the Ti will better match a 144hz monitor.
 
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To drive 1440p at 144Hz at max or high settings in-game I'd personally get a 1080 Ti at least.
 
The best $500 card out there is the 2070. And there's nothing else in his budget that's any faster. No video card is going to peg 144fps at 1440p in the latest demanding games at max. But it's the fastest option and a whole lot better than a 970.

I have an overclocked 2080 and a 144hz 1440p monitor. Yeah, it's nice, but you don't get 144fps in every game at max. Not even close. Older or simpler games? Sure.
 
I've been more than happy at 1440p at 165hz gsync for 2 years now with a 980ti~1070ti. I did use to own a 1080 (never got the 1080ti) and didn't really see much of a difference in the games I played.
 
you can get a used 1080 ti for around $500. but I'd wait for black friday/cyber monday. thats what I'm doing. that said I've been gaming with a 1070 and 1440p 144hz monitor for a year and a half now and it gets me to my goal of 100+ fps in games as long as I lower the settings. I run pubg on mostly low and usually get about 120 fps. but since your budget is $500 I would just go for a 1080 ti.
 
Gabe3 said:
you can get a used 1080 ti for around $500. but I'd wait for black friday/cyber monday. thats what I'm doing. that said I've been gaming with a 1070 and 1440p 144hz monitor for a year and a half now and it gets me to my goal of 100+ fps in games as long as I lower the settings. I run pubg on mostly low and usually get about 120 fps. but since your budget is $500 I would just go for a 1080 ti.
Click to expand...

It's quite possible there will be low stock and little to no discount on the 20 series for Black fri. Combine that with drying up stock of 1080 ti I wouldn't be surprised if they end up in the 600-700 range for the rest of the year.
 
You don't mention which games. But in general, I'd suggest a 1070 ti. PIck up a used one for 280-ish.

Or grab a used 1080 if you can get one for under 350.

I like the idea of Vega 56 / 64 for 1440. But higher power consumption, and higher price makes them a no-go for me.
 
Furious_Styles said:
It's quite possible there will be low stock and little to no discount on the 20 series for Black fri. Combine that with drying up stock of 1080 ti I wouldn't be surprised if they end up in the 600-700 range for the rest of the year.
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true, but some sites are selling the 2080 for the same price as the 1080 ti, which doesn't make sense. if they want to get rid of 1080 ti stock they need to drop the price. I'm really just waiting for a ebay black friday 15% off coupon.
 
Gabe3 said:
true, but some sites are selling the 2080 for the same price as the 1080 ti, which doesn't make sense. if they want to get rid of 1080 ti stock they need to drop the price. I'm really just waiting for a ebay black friday 15% off coupon.
Click to expand...

Yeah I agree. I think that ebay 15% off is going to be the best deal possible. No tax and buy a card under warranty and you're golden.
 
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1080ti for the price + ability to push a 1440p 144Hz monitor hardest with settings maxed, and give the option of DSR for AA.
 
Maddnotez said:
I am wanting to upgrade to a good 1440p monitor so I feel I will also need a new GPU. Looking for suggestions. Also as a side note would I need to upgrade anything else? I only play a couple of games. Mostly PUB G and another shooter. Looking for fast render and all of that good stuff.

Current specs:

GPU - GTX 970 - Gigabyte G1 Gaming
Monitor - Asus VG248QE 1080p, 144hz
CPU - i7 4790k
PSU - Evga Supernova G3 750w
Motherboard - Asus Z97 AR

Not sure what other info is needed. It has been a long time since I have looked up anything PC related so I have no idea what is out there these days or if things are no longer compatible.

Will I absolutely need a new GPU to run 1440p? Looking at something 1ms, 144hz+ and 27". I suppose the GPU budget would be about $500. Not sure if it would be worth it or not.
Click to expand...


You can run 1440p on your 970.. The question is what do you want to play and what is your target FPS AND what settings are you willing to adjust to get those FPS at 1440p. What Framerates are you getting in PUBG now on your 144hz 1080p monitor? I say buy the monitor and run your games on your existing system to see where you land on the stuff you play. See what trades you have to make to run 1440p on your system.

Suggest a 1070ti or 1080 for sweet spot 1440p gaming for the price -- USED 280-360 target price on either.

If you must have a NEW GPU just save for the 2070 as others have suggested.

Avoid Radeon sadly if PUBG is your game as it seems to favor Nvidia.

Good Luck!


PS: I run a Vega 64 at 1440p/144hz and use freesync for eyecandy games 60-90fps and dial in settings on shooters and competative stuff to get 100-144fps with freesync disabled. You can do that just fine on a 1070ti or 1080 minus the freesync obv.
 
Yeah, PUBG is much better on Nvidia, even though the game is kind of an unoptimized mess.
 
1070ti is best price/perfomance now for 1440P ($380)
If you want more performance used 1080ti would be great for around $520
 
waderunner said:
You don't mention which games. But in general, I'd suggest a 1070 ti. PIck up a used one for 280-ish.

Or grab a used 1080 if you can get one for under 350.

I like the idea of Vega 56 / 64 for 1440. But higher power consumption, and higher price makes them a no-go for me.
Click to expand...

If you factor VRR that cost flips on its head. Granted, OP hasn’t mentioned VRR or anything, and nor did you, but it is a consideration.
 
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