Graphics card update advice please.

Posted 12th Nov 2022

Bought my son a pc 2 years ago with the idea of upgrading the gpu for his 18th. The time has come but I wanted to check what I was looking at is the best.

This is what he has:
CPU AMD Ryzen 5 3600
Mobo ASUS TUF B550-PLUS Gaming
RAM 16GB Corsair Vengeance 3200MHz (now upgraded that to 32GB)
M.2 Intel 660p 1TB NVME
Optical Asus 24X Dual-Layer DVD-RW
Case Coolermaster MasterBox MB600L
Video Gigabyte GeForce RTX2060 OC 6G
OS None (obviously has Windows on it now I think 11)
HDD 1TB Seagate Compute SATA III
PSU Seasonic 650W 80+ Gold Semi-Mod
Cooler Corsair Hydro Series H45 120mm

He sent me some links to a couple of 3070 but second hand. I'd rather get new so it has a warranty. I looked at various 3070 and some 3080 but don't know enough to make a judgement. I'd like it to be a surprise for his birthday, I mean he knows he's gonna get one but not which. So any advice would be appreciated. I don't have a max budget as such but I've seen roughly what they sell for and I'm happy with that. Cheers.

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12th Nov 2022
The CPU will be the limiting factor with a 3080 at higher frame rates, you probably wouldn't take advantage of it's full power. There's also the monitor it's being played on: getting 120fps at 4k resolution doesn't matter if it's on a 1080p 60hz monitor.

Here's a video comparing the 3070, 3070ti and 3080:

I'd say the 3070ti is the upper limit in terms of not getting your money's worth, it'll get 60fps for everything (except for Cyberpunk 4K RT ultra without DLSS but that's not a realistic setting to run) (edited)
12th Nov 2022
Ryzen 5 3600 I think would be a bottleneck for 3080.
Author
12th Nov 2022
So 3070 is best to look for? The TI or normal? There's variations with the ddr what should I be looking for?
12th Nov 2022
not sure they're selling new 3070s or 3080s anymore.
maybe someting with ti at the end - the upgraded versions.
i got a 3070 founders edition from nvidia for £479 on release and seen them around £350 on gumtree near me best price
i would buy second hand
buying from CEX would be 'safer' than ebay / guntree as can return it if doesn't work and has 24 months warranty (edited)
Author
12th Nov 2022
I know ebuyer and overclockers did have new. I'd not thought about CeX if I'm honest I'll have a look now
12th Nov 2022
3600 will bottle neck overall for 3080 but not as much as many think, if you want a good card for the 3600, the 3060ti is the same as a 3070 basically, I'd cap out at a 3070ti tops till you upgrade your cpu. (edited)
Author
13th Nov 2022
Wanted to thank everyone for the advice. Went with a 3070 founders edition from Cex going to leave all other upgrades until a later date. Help was much appreciated!
13th Nov 2022
CEX sell the 3070 fe for £480 , please tell me you didn't pay that.
13th Nov 2022
Upgrading the cpu is cheap and easy down the line so no reason why you can't get a 3080
13th Nov 2022
I ran my 3080 with a 5 3600, currently run a RX6900XT OC with a 5 5600. Worth looking at AMD as you can get better bargains and despite what some would have you believe the drivers are solid now.