# Do I need to upgrade from current system for new GTX 1070?



## AvidTechUser (Jun 16, 2016)

Hi all,

I live in Australia and am interested in getting the *Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1070 G1 Gaming 8GB* which will be released here in a few days time. I would prefer to keep my current system, but was wondering if some of the clever members on this website could give me some honest advice about whether I need to upgrade first or not.

I have heard that if your GPU is relatively more powerful than your CPU (or vice versa), you can run into problems with gaming. *My main query is whether you think my current CPU and new GPU will complement each other well or not.* (But if you notice anything else that might be potentially problematic, please let me know.)

*Current system (which was built around October 2013):*
Intel i7 4770 (Haswell) 1150 LGA @ 3.4ghz CPU (this is the LOCKED version and I have no intention of overcloking this component in the future)
Corsair 16GB DDR3 RAM
Gigabyte H87-D3H 1150 Motherboard (single PCIe 3.0 16x slot for graphics)
Thermaltake 875w PSU
Gigabyte GTX 780ti WIndforce 3GB graphics card
Samsung EVO 500GB SSD
LG 22" 1920x1080 monitor
Windows 10 Home 64-bit

*System used for:*
I game at 1920x1080 and would like everything maxed out if possible. I know some people will suggest the new card is overkill for 1080p, but I have found the 3GB RAM on current card does not cut it for many newer demanding titles.

If you require any additional information, please ask. I look forward to and appreciate all constructive feedback!


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## Breaz (Jun 16, 2016)

I honestly don't see any problems running a 1070 with what you have. But if your going to get a 1070 why not upgrade from a 1080p monitor you will get sooo much more.

Edit The higher the resolution the less the cpu will effect the gpu


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## Dethroy (Jun 16, 2016)

Your current system is fine as is. No need to upgrade in order to use a 1070.


AvidTechUser said:


> .I have heard that if your GPU is relatively more powerful than your CPU (or vice versa), you can run into problems with gaming.


You won't exactly run into problems. But either one of 'em could bottleneck the other if the disparity between the two would be too big. But most games put much more strain on your GPU than CPU anyway. This coupled with the fact that we haven't seen high performance jumps basically since Sandy Bridge means that even a 2500K (released in 2011) would still be sufficient for a 1070.


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## Beastie (Jun 17, 2016)

There are very few games where your CPU will be the bottleneck, and those few where it will are mostly not speed/reaction based (civ 5 with huge maps, for instance).


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## Caring1 (Jun 17, 2016)

Your system is fine and the 1070 is a good choice, although expensive in Australia.
Are you waiting for the partner after market cards or buying the FE?


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## MagnyCours (Jun 17, 2016)

Caring1 said:


> Your system is fine and the 1070 is a good choice, although expensive in Australia.
> Are you waiting for the partner after market cards or buying the FE?



He did mention that he's going to get Gigabyte's G1 Gaming version. To the OP, you should check that there's enough room in your case to fit in the card. It's a big video card (28.6 centimeters long).

-Edit-
Whoops, looks like you've got enough space seeing that you're upgrading from the Windforce 780 Ti.


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## Caring1 (Jun 17, 2016)

MagnyCours said:


> He did mention that he's going to get Gigabyte's G1 Gaming version.


I read that and as soon as I saw "in a few days" I forgot, it will be hard enough getting a Fools Edition, the other after market cards will be a while coming.
He can pre order and hope for the best.


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## Azumay (Jun 17, 2016)

You are all good for 2-3 yrs ez.


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## Melvis (Jun 17, 2016)

Keep with your 780TI man, its a beast of a card even today.


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## AvidTechUser (Jun 17, 2016)

Thanks for the replies so far everyone. It looks like most feel that my CPU/GPU combo should be fine.



Melvis said:


> Keep with your 780TI man, its a beast of a card even today.



It certainly was a beast back in the day, but with only 3GB it struggles to run games that recommend 4GB+. I'm not looking to have every single setting fully maxed out, but I would like most of the eye candy and still achieve 60fps+


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## AvidTechUser (Jun 17, 2016)

Caring1 said:


> I read that and as soon as I saw "in a few days" I forgot, it will be hard enough getting a Fools Edition, the other after market cards will be a while coming.
> He can pre order and hope for the best.



I'm not going to be pressured into getting one of the FE cards. You make a good point about availability and I guess it may be a bit of time before I can get the one I'm after.


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## Kursah (Jun 17, 2016)

What games are you struggling on at 1080P maxed out? 

780Ti is old sure, but a beast still yes. Not saying it won't struggle....but I can't think of much at 1080p it would struggle with maxed out. I guess depending on that question I could either say go for a 1070 upgrade or wait and save your $$$, let them mature a little and enjoy your Ti a bit longer with good gaming results. I know there are some games that are more demanding of VRAM....and it also depends on how much and what type of AA you run as well.

If you feel you need or want the upgrade, then go for it and enjoy! I'm sure you won't be disappointed and it'll be a great fit for your system and one sweet upgrade for sure!


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## ASOT (Jun 17, 2016)

Change the monitor best option and then buy gpu ..because right now for 1080p a GTX 1070 sounds silly 

Sell u'r 780Ti and monitor or keep it but add a 1440 monitor atleast for 1070 G1

No way a 1070 is not for 1080p even in 2-3 years ..1070/1440p


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## Estaric (Jun 17, 2016)

ASOT said:


> Change the monitor best option and then buy gpu ..because right now for 1080p a GTX 1070 sounds silly
> 
> Sell u'r 780Ti and monitor or keep it but add a 1440 monitor atleast for 1070 G1


Doesnt Sound Silly at all, GTX 1070 would be perfect for 1080p for the next few years. No Offense but there is not a need for him to spend the 450-500 on 1070 and then another 300 on a monitor.
My vote goes to buy a 1070 only if your 780 ti isnt doing what you want it too.


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## Mussels (Jun 17, 2016)

my 3770k matches my brothers 6700k in many benchmarks due to my better OCing skills... your chips damn peachy for a 1070. If its like 1155 just overclock via the turbo (its really changing turbo to use 4 cores instead of 1) - if your BIOS lets you.


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## djrabes (Jun 17, 2016)

Your specs are fine! The 1070 is a sweet card, If you can hang your 780TI for a few months you should get a nice deal on a Partner 1070!


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## Schmuckley (Jun 17, 2016)

i would overclock some.
Not sure how far you can go with non-k Ivy.
Overclocking to 4.2-6 would net you 10+ more fps across the board...minimum and all.


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## Mussels (Jun 17, 2016)

Schmuckley said:


> i would overclock some.
> Not sure how far you can go with non-k Ivy.
> Overclocking to 4.2-6 would net you 10+ more fps across the board...minimum and all.



if its like 1155, you generally get 4x on the multi 'free' at stock volts and stock cooling guaranteed, sometimes more. You can do it via the BIOS (might he hard with OP's H chipset) or via programs like ThrottleStop (here on TPU) pretty easily.


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## Jborg (Jun 17, 2016)

Personally I would wait a while until the 1070 drops in price. I know a lot of people probably have the upgrade bug especially with the new hardware being released..... but a 780ti is plenty for 1080p, or at least enough to wait til the price drops at least somewhat.

Is there any particular game that's giving the 780ti trouble?


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## P4-630 (Jun 17, 2016)

Jborg said:


> Is there any particular game that's giving the 780ti trouble?



GTA V would use more than 3GB vram on ultra.


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## rtwjunkie (Jun 17, 2016)

P4-630 said:


> GTA V would use more than 3GB vram on ultra.



And Arkham Knight, Shadow of Mordor, Assassin's Creed: Syndicate, Dying Light to name just a few more.


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## Flogger23m (Jun 19, 2016)

Not really. Even without an OC I'd say it is probably fine for most games.


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## ratirt (Jun 20, 2016)

Schmuckley said:


> i would overclock some.
> Not sure how far you can go with non-k Ivy.
> Overclocking to 4.2-6 would net you 10+ more fps across the board...minimum and all.



It's not an Ivy. he's got a 4770 CPU which is Haswell Ivy is 3000 series and 4820K 4930K 4960K as Ivy-E. But either way without "K" version he wouldn't go far with OC




rtwjunkie said:


> And Arkham Knight, Shadow of Mordor, Assassin's Creed: Syndicate, Dying Light to name just a few more.



Well if you have a card with 12 GB it will use 12GB. There's definitely a margin of ram you need to have but I've seen tests of Vram usage and it's not completely that 3GB are not enough. If you have more then it's great.  I need to find those sites with the tests and get the links so that you can see it too. 3GB may be enough for games you specified.


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## Frag_Maniac (Jun 20, 2016)

The 4770's bigger brother, the 4790, is a beast, and yours would only require a mild OC to match it.

I would not worry one bit. If you happen to play some of the more CPU demanding games, you might want to put a mild OC on it (with adequate cooler), but most games should run fine.


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## Flogger23m (Jun 21, 2016)

I don't think he can OC it as it is a non-K.


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## terroralpha (Jun 21, 2016)

AvidTechUser said:


> LG 22" 1920x1080 monitor



focus on upgrading that first


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## Mussels (Jun 21, 2016)

Flogger23m said:


> I don't think he can OC it as it is a non-K.



non K's can OC to have all cores run at turbo clocks, if nothing else.


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## Enterprise24 (Jun 21, 2016)

terroralpha said:


> focus on upgrading that first



Agree. GTX 1080 is overkill for 1080p 60Hz monitor. Why not get something like GTX 1070 and some nice monitor ?


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## Mussels (Jun 21, 2016)

well as one fair point, my brother has a GTX 1080 on 6700K system - and he sits at 150W (measured at the wall) in most of the games he plays.

So even at 1080p, there are advantages (super low power consumption, super low heat/noise) - hell he can play some older games and the GPU + PSU fans dont even turn on, the passive airflow from the 2x120mm on his CPU radiator keeps the system cold enough :/


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## Ferrum Master (Jun 21, 2016)

Just sell the 780Ti.

Not because of performance. But warranty. It might kick the bucket after a year, nothing lives forever.

Sell this,  and get a new one... it will be colder and more silent too.


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## Enterprise24 (Jun 21, 2016)

Sorry misreading.


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## eidairaman1 (Jun 21, 2016)

Nope, Even a Phenom 2 would do fine


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## ratirt (Jun 22, 2016)

Phenom 2 would've been a bottleneck with 1080 GTX for sure.


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## Frick (Jun 22, 2016)

Mussels said:


> well as one fair point, my brother has a GTX 1080 on 6700K system - and he sits at 150W (measured at the wall) in most of the games he plays.
> 
> So even at 1080p, there are advantages (super low power consumption, super low heat/noise) - hell he can play some older games and the GPU + PSU fans dont even turn on, the passive airflow from the 2x120mm on his CPU radiator keeps the system cold enough :/



That's less than what my system pulls.


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## Mussels (Jun 22, 2016)

Frick said:


> That's less than what my system pulls.



i've been poking him to do a write up about it here on TPU, but in his own words "i'm shit at writing crap"

the sheer efficiency of his system is amazing, because he has a high end GPU and runs at 1080p, 60Hz with Vsync on. he's seeing an average of 25% load in most games - meaning stupidly low power consumption.

those same games he's now <150W in was over 500W with his previous crossfire setup.


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## AvidTechUser (Jun 23, 2016)

terroralpha said:


> focus on upgrading that first



I'm in two minds about which to upgrade. I would love to be able to experience 4K gaming, but finances might not allow for that dream to become a reality any time soon. I will have to upgrade one first, then the other some time in the future.

GTX 1070 prices range from AU$735 to $800.

GTX 1080 prices range from AU$1150 to $1260.

As for a decent 4k capable monitor, I am looking at the range of AU$550 to $850.

If I plan to space out my purchases, which component should be upgraded first I wonder?


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## Mussels (Jun 23, 2016)

GPU first, monitor later. otherwise you wont be gaming at 4K, you'll be slideshowing.


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## AvidTechUser (Jun 24, 2016)

Thanks for all the feedback, you guys have been very helpful.

Just curious, if I were to go ahead and sell my current graphics card, how much could I get for it, realistically? I guess eBay would be an option...

Model name of the card is: *GV-N78TOC-3GD (Gigabyte Geforce GTX 780 Ti Windforce OC 3GB edition).

ETA: *At the time I bought it, I paid about AU$800 for it.


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## Frag_Maniac (Jun 24, 2016)

The non reference 780 Ti's in general on ebay.com.au start at about $330 Buy Now price, but I saw a Giga one for $385.

Just put it up for auction and sell to the highest bidder. Note that it helps if it looks very clean, and you have a pic of it and the box.

http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_...80+Ti+used.TRS0&_nkw=GTX+780+Ti+used&_sacat=0


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## Mussels (Jun 25, 2016)

ebay prices are bad, last year i got a 290 for $150 and a 970 for $200 this week :/

try second hand markets near you, facebook groups etc.


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## Frag_Maniac (Jun 25, 2016)

Mussels said:


> ebay prices are bad...



Not for those whom want to make a quick purchase without worrying about risk. They pretty much have you covered there, and that's worth something.


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## Machinematrix (Jun 26, 2016)

Enterprise24 said:


> Agree. GTX 1080 is overkill for 1080p 60Hz monitor. Why not get something like GTX 1070 and some nice monitor ?



Or he can keep that monitor, get a 1080 and keep it for 3 years, or more.


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## Ungari (Jun 26, 2016)

Jborg said:


> Personally I would wait a while until the 1070 drops in price. I know a lot of people probably have the upgrade bug especially with the new hardware being released..... but a 780ti is plenty for 1080p, or at least enough to wait til the price drops at least somewhat.



Price drop expected after Vega is released and 1080Ti is paper launched.


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## blued (Jun 26, 2016)

Monitor is always no.1 priority for me. Whats the point of a high end GPU other than getting better eye candy from higher settings? If thats the ultimate aim of a GPU, I can assure you a bigger, better higher res monitor (1440p) will bring you far more immersion, image quality, detail than a small lower res monitor ever could, even if maxed out. Simply put, the quality of your viewing experience has more to do with the monitor than from the GPU. And you will be looking at it 100% of the time, not just when gaming.


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## rtwjunkie (Jun 27, 2016)

blued said:


> Whats the point of a high end GPU other than getting better eye candy from higher settings? If thats the ultimate aim of a GPU, I can assure you a bigger, better higher res monitor (1440p) will bring you far more immersion, image quality, detail than a small lower res monitor ever could, even if maxed out.



You are quite mistaken.  A bigger, higher rez monitor needs a stronger GPU to bring the same image quality enjoyed on a lower rez monitor.  

And, LOL, the point of a GPU IS in fact to display the best eye candy possible.  To that end, the GPU upgrade needs to come first.  

You also need to factor in that everyone is not rich, so getting a powerful GPU on a lower rez but still decent sized monitor allows them to continue to play several years of new games, without upgrading and still seeing the best eye candy before buying anything new.


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## arbiter (Jun 27, 2016)

Youy cpu is more then good enough to run a gtx1070 no problem. If you don't want a new monitor probably better idea to just grab a 980ti off the after market instead as you can get it now probably for same price.


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## EarthDog (Jun 27, 2016)

blued said:


> Monitor is always no.1 priority for me. Whats the point of a high end GPU other than getting better eye candy from higher settings? If thats the ultimate aim of a GPU, I can assure you a bigger, better higher res monitor (1440p) will bring you far more immersion, image quality, detail than a small lower res monitor ever could, even if maxed out. Simply put, the quality of your viewing experience has more to do with the monitor than from the GPU. And you will be looking at it 100% of the time, not just when gaming.


Wouldn't it suck to upgrade from 1080 to 1440p and have things unplayable or have to turn settings down... kind of defeats the point of the viewing experience, no?


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## Frick (Jun 27, 2016)

EarthDog said:


> Wouldn't it suck to upgrade from 1080 to 1440p and have things unplayable or have to turn settings down... kind of defeats the point of the viewing experience, no?



Otoh the monitor will last longer than the GPU, and you can game on the old settings. It won't be the same but still. It depends on how much you're willing/able to spend I guess, and how much time there is between purchases.

Personally I'd definitely get a better/bigger monitor even if games would run like crap on its native res, because I use the monitor for everything.


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## Mussels (Jun 27, 2016)

if your current system doesnt have the balls for native res, i'd absolutely hate the quality drop of running out of native res, or at worse settings than i was already used to.


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## Vayra86 (Jun 27, 2016)

Melvis said:


> Keep with your 780TI man, its a beast of a card even today.



Well, yes. For 1080p I'm still reasonably satisfied with it, but the 780TI won't give me 120 fps, and the 1070 will easily get there in about 75% of all games, perhaps with dialing back one or two things from ultra to High.

I am considering a similar upgrade, the gap has really gotten wide enough to justify it. Just waiting for price to come down, and if that takes too long it'll still be a 980ti 

That being said, for 1080p/60, I'd stick with the 780ti another 6 months and see what the new real high end is gonna do, so you can actually consider a real monitor upgrade too. The 1070 really is a 1440p/60 card, or a 1080p/120 card - neither the 1070 or 1080 are really the '4K cards' yet and the release of 1080ti will be pushing 1070/1080 down to normal, reasonable prices unless AMD pulls out something very unexpected before then (like the RX 480 getting within 20-15% of the 1070 performance level).

Honestly OP, if I were making choices of yes/no new monitor AND GPU right now like you say you are, I would think twice on buying the most overpriced GPU currently available and of the past few years in the market. WAIT. Or invest in the monitor now, and live with the lack of GPU grunt for a couple months. Never early adopt a new graphics card that is also the top dog of the moment, and especially never early adopt that graphics card if it is in fact, NOT the top dog of graphics cards SKU's. Like you said - you paid 800 bucks for your 780ti, and now you're gonna do the same for a lower tiered card, literally a much smaller chip? That is tossing away a good 200-250 bucks just for having way too much GPU for your current monitor. It makes no sense.


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## AvidTechUser (Jun 27, 2016)

Vayra86 said:


> Well, yes. For 1080p I'm still reasonably satisfied with it, but the 780TI won't give me 120 fps, and the 1070 will easily get there in about 75% of all games, perhaps with dialing back one or two things from ultra to High.
> 
> I am considering a similar upgrade, the gap has really gotten wide enough to justify it. Just waiting for price to come down, and if that takes too long it'll still be a 980ti
> 
> ...



You make some very valid points, thanks for your advice. 

Before I bought the 780ti, I was in a continuous cycle of "waiting" to upgrade, always fearing that my next purchase would be outdated a few months later. I don't really care about having the "best" card on the market, just one that will make playing games more immersive and fun. I was fortunate at the time to have some spare money and decided to spoil myself with the 780ti. It was an extravagant purchase, but my older card (Radeon HD 6850 1GB, I think, from old computer) was not quite cutting it.

I think that waiting a little bit, at least until a little after AMD officially release their response cards, is the way to go. I personally have enjoyed successful products from both companies, AMD and Nvidia, and don't feel allegiance to either one. I will rather buy the card that meets my needs in terms of performance and value.


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## jaggerwild (Jun 28, 2016)

SLI 780 Ti's/DCIIOC/Skynet Bios/water cooled 3770K 4500Mhz, don't think the cards are running SLI but still look great on a Chinese knock off 1440P for $175 no display port.






OP if you need to ask you need to upgrade!!


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