Is the GTX 1070 worth it?

[Dlowden]

Hi there, this is my first post on here, so please excuse me if I'm breaking any rules with question threads like this, or anything else like that (I didn't see it in the rules anyway!)

I'm looking to upgrade my PC, as all the components aside from the GPU are fairly good, so is it worth me buying the GTX 1070 brand new, or are there betters cards in the price range that I may be able to find that are more effective? I'm happy to buy second hand, and my budget is around $700 AUD (~$500 USD).

I currently have in my build:

• Intel i7-6700
• Gigabyte H170-Gaming 3
• 16GB of Ripjaws V @ 2133MHz
• GTX 960 2GB
• EVGA SuperNOVA 650W

If you guys could give me some advice it'd be greatly appreciated, but I'd prefer to avoid cards that get particularly hot, as I'm in Australia and it's summer over here, so my house is always hot to begin with.

Thanks!

 

[tential]

I can't speak for your market, but there is no alternative to a GTX 1070. The competition has no competitor currently.

So it's whether it's worth it to you.

If you want that level of performance and are willing to pay for it then you pay for it. If you're willing to wait and see what the competition brings out then you wait.

Pretty much as simple as that.

 

[Newbian]

We need to know your resolution you use as that's very important but the gtx 1070 is great for 1080p 144hz and ok for 1440p but you will need to lower settings for more demanding games.

Otherwise as for heat these newer gen cards of nvidia would be the way to go as they are power efficient and run cool but make sure you get a 3rd party version and not the fe versions.

You can get the 1070's for $375-400 easy these days but I do not know the prices for being in australia.

 

[Dlowden]

We need to know your resolution you use as that's very important but the gtx 1070 is great for 1080p 144hz and ok for 1440p but you will need to lower settings for more demanding games.

Otherwise as for heat these newer gen cards of nvidia would be the way to go as they are power efficient and run cool but make sure you get a 3rd party version and not the fe versions.

You can get the 1070's for $375-400 easy these days but I do not know the prices for being in australia.

I was more meaning in terms of if it would be viable to run dual AMD or NVIDIA cards that would be better value for money, or if I should just stick with my current plan.

 

[escrow4]

You can probably get 1080 for 700 AUD. Check Ozbargain. I bought a Strix OC 1070 for $700 something (AUD) a few months and its a tip top. A 1080 still has more grunt.

 

[Newbian]

I was more meaning in terms of if it would be viable to run dual AMD or NVIDIA cards that would be better value for money, or if I should just stick with my current plan.

Going for crossfire / sli is hit or miss and generally not worth it these days if you can get the performance you need with one card especially if heat is an issue for you.

 

[Borealis7]

as said, it all depends on the games you play, your screen resolution and refresh rate.
for instance, i have a 1080p 120Hz monitor so a card that could run the games i play at over 60FPS would be desirable. personally, i plan to upgrade and play The Witcher 3, DX:MD, Civ6, Fallout4 and here's what the charts say:

i take these numbers are lower bounds since i don't run the same settings as TPU, so my potential FPS could be higher.
it looks like that with a GTX1070 i would be good on all fronts except DX:MD. but if i lower settings i could sustain gameplay above 60FPS.

so a GTX1070 would be good for me, and i wouldn't go for an overkill GTX1080. instead i would get a GTX1070 and overclock it slightly.

 

[Bacon1]

instead i would get a GTX1070 and overclock it slightly.

If you were going for 1080p60 on those games, why not just get a 480 / 1060 6gb / Fury? Save 20-50% money for same performance in the end (capped 60@1080p)

 

[guskline]

With your budget, I think a GTX 1070 makes the best sense. I owned a single RX480 and really liked it at 1080p but I ownly paid @$240 US for it. I even bought another because I wanted to try out CF. That being said. A GTX 1070 gives you incredible 1080 resolution play and solid 1440 resolution play without breaking the bank AND is less expensive than 2 RX480s here.

 

[BFG10K]

I went from an original Titan to a 1070 and the difference was most definitely worth it: http://www.portvapes.co.uk/?id=Latest-exam-1Z0-876-Dumps&exid=threads/my-gtx1070-vs-titan-6gb-comparison-50-games-tested.2492264/

Going from a GTX960 would show an even bigger difference.

 

[psolord]

The GTX 1070 is a great card. I upgraded to it from a GTX 970.

Now the GTX 970 is still a very decent card and it can run most games at very good speeds, but still in some of the newer games I saw some great differences.

For example in Watchdogs 2, I was getting 40fps for the 970 at 1080p Ultra and 70fps on the 1070. Same with Forza Horizon 3.

In some other games, like Mafia 3, Deus Ex, Quantum break, you can still get very decent performance on the 970 hovering around 60fps, but with the 1070 you don't get that random delayed frame that occurs from time to time. And that, with a very inferior cpu than yours, a 2500k (soon to be upgraded).

Speaking of Deus Ex, here is a screenshot of MSI Afterburner, having logged a lengthy gameplay session, in 1080p, Ultra, with vsync.



Ok, it's winter where I live, so things will be a lot cooler than the hot Australia right now, but still, look how the clock and voltage change from one scene to the next, depending on the workload.

Notice how the fan is at 15% and the gpu temp at 55C. All that with the game running perfectly smooth at 60fps.

Now consider that I have a KFA2 GTX 1070 EX, which is one of the cheapest 1070's out there and still does a very decent job. Turbos to 1920Mhz out of the box too.

Nvidia has done a crazy job with this chip. Go for it. I see two years easy with this card the same as the 970 when it came out.

 

[RussianSensation]

If you can wait 2-3 months, I would wait. The best time to buy a 1070 has passed. NV is getting ready the 1080Ti as early as CES 2017 and AMD will launch Vega soon too. NV may lower prices on 1070/1080 and/or refresh them. 1070 has not dropped in price for the last 3-4 months so you could have been gaming on it since August for the same price it costs today. However, if you don't want to wait, maybe get an EVGA version for the 90-day step-up in case NV releases something new.

I would never pay $600-700 Australian (more or less equal to Canadian) for a 1070 as of December 2016. To me a 1070 is worth $450 Australian/Canadian at most and I paid <$450 many months ago. I would wait for a solid deal assuming you guys get those. If prices stay high until the next generation launches, then maybe look for a used AIB 980Ti. If a 980Ti costs $150-200 less than a new 1070, I would get that instead. AIB 980Ti and AIB 1070 are very similar in performance.

If you are only gaming at 1080p 60Hz, I would actually go for the RX 480/1060 6GB (whichever is cheaper). Both of those cards are 2x faster than your 960. You can probably sell the 960 for $150 Australian too.

 

[Newbian]

I would never pay $600-700 Australian (more or less equal to Canadian) for a 1070 as of December 2016. To me a 1070 is worth $450 Australian/Canadian at most and I paid <$450 many months ago. I would wait for a solid deal assuming you guys get those. If prices stay high until the next generation launches, then maybe look for a used AIB 980Ti. If a 980Ti costs $150-200 less than a new 1070, I would get that instead. AIB 980Ti and AIB 1070 are very similar in performance.

The problem with that is since 980 ti's are no longer being manufactured their prices are actually as much for used ones as new 1070's in many cases or even more and the days of getting cheap 980 ti's are over it seems because of this unless the market prices in australia are completely different.

 

[RussianSensation]

The problem with that is since 980 ti's are no longer being manufactured their prices are actually as much for used ones as new 1070's in many cases or even more and the days of getting cheap 980 ti's are over it seems because of this unless the market prices in australia are completely different.

I have a very hard time recommending almost a 7 months old AMD/NV card that is selling at more or less MSRP. 1070 released June 10, 2016. In the OP's case, the price is way higher than $379 MSRP, making it even worse. He is going to pay cutting edge prices for tech that is approaching 1/2 of its lifecycle on the technology curve.

In 11 months, the technology market went from a November 2013 $550 R9 290X/ $700 780Ti to a $330 September 2014 970. In 12 months from June 2015 $650 980Ti/Fury X, the technology market went to a June 2016 $380 1070. Almost 7 months have passed since the release of the 1070 and it has barely dropped from its FE marketing overpriced $430-$470 launch prices.

At this point I would see what NV and AMD have in quarter 1 and go from there. At least I would wait for CES in a January 2017 and see if NV has anything new. If not, I would grab a 1070 then. The closer 1070/1080 get to 12 months lifecycle, the more overpriced they get on the price/technology curve.

Honestly, if the OP is using 960 for 1080p gaming, RX480/1060 are better cards for that resolution and cost 50-60% of the 1070's price.

 

[tential]

I have a very hard time recommending almost a 7 months old AMD/NV card that is selling at more or less MSRP. 1070 released June 10, 2016. In the OP's case, the price is way higher than $379 MSRP, making it even worse. He is going to pay cutting edge prices for tech that is approaching 1/2 of its lifecycle on the technology curve.

In 11 months, the technology market went from a November 2013 $550 R9 290X/ $700 780Ti to a $330 September 2014 970. In 12 months from June 2015 $650 980Ti/Fury X, the technology market went to a June 2016 $380 1070. Almost 7 months have passed since the release of the 1070 and it has barely dropped from its FE marketing overpriced $430-$470 launch prices.

At this point I would see what NV and AMD have in quarter 1 and go from there. At least I would wait for CES in a January 2017 and see if NV has anything new. If not, I would grab a 1070 then.

I'm waiting for January to decide my future in the PC gaming market. Hopefully some good news, but if not, there is a Nintendo switch with my name on it

 

[Arachnotronic]

If you can wait 2-3 months, I would wait. The best time to buy a 1070 has passed.

Nah, I don't think so. Nowhere near new NVIDIA products at that price/performance point. Ditto AMD.

NV is getting ready the 1080Ti as early as CES 2017 and AMD will launch Vega soon too. NV may lower prices on 1070/1080 and/or refresh them. 1070 has not dropped in price for the last 3-4 months so you could have been gaming on it since August for the same price it costs today. However, if you don't want to wait, maybe get an EVGA version for the 90-day step-up in case NV releases something new.

1080 Ti is not in the same price class at 1070, it is likely to sit above the 1080 pricing wise. And yes, he could have been gaming on it for 3-4 months if he'd bought earlier, but so what?

If you are only gaming at 1080p 60Hz, I would actually go for the RX 480/1060 6GB (whichever is cheaper). Both of those cards are 2x faster than your 960. You can probably sell the 960 for $150 Australian too.

Not a bad suggestion if a monitor upgrade is nowhere in sight!

 

[TestSpecimen]

I would never pay $600-700 Australian (more or less equal to Canadian) for a 1070 as of December 2016. To me a 1070 is worth $450 Australian/Canadian at most and I paid <$450 many months ago.

Where did you find a 1070 for $450 CAD? Cheapest one I've seen within the last 3 months was a Zotac 1070 FE for $490 with free shipping.

 

[2is]

If you can wait 2-3 months, I would wait. The best time to buy a 1070 has passed. NV is getting ready the 1080Ti as early as CES 2017 and AMD will launch Vega soon too. NV may lower prices on 1070/1080 and/or refresh them. 1070 has not dropped in price for the last 3-4 months so you could have been gaming on it since August for the same price it costs today. However, if you don't want to wait, maybe get an EVGA version for the 90-day step-up in case NV releases something new.

I would never pay $600-700 Australian (more or less equal to Canadian) for a 1070 as of December 2016. To me a 1070 is worth $450 Australian/Canadian at most and I paid <$450 many months ago. I would wait for a solid deal assuming you guys get those. If prices stay high until the next generation launches, then maybe look for a used AIB 980Ti. If a 980Ti costs $150-200 less than a new 1070, I would get that instead. AIB 980Ti and AIB 1070 are very similar in performance.

If you are only gaming at 1080p 60Hz, I would actually go for the RX 480/1060 6GB (whichever is cheaper). Both of those cards are 2x faster than your 960. You can probably sell the 960 for $150 Australian too.

Can't say I agree here. Looking at the prices, I see now as the best time to buy a 1070. Aftermarket, factory Oc'd cards with good coolers for around 379 when you'd be extremely lucky to find them for $400 not long ago, and closer to $429-449

 

[Head1985]

Cutdown vega should be 20-25% faster than GTX1070 because AMD never cutdown cards as much as Nvidia.There is huge gap between GTX1070 and GTX1080 and if full vega is even 5% faster than GTX1080 cutdown card will be only 10% slower than full so only 5% behind GTX1080 and 20-25% faster than GTX1070.
But question is when vega comes out.
It is also possible Nv will release pascal refresh when vega launch.
GTX1070 will get GDDR5x(+10% performance)
And probably more SP(2048) and 4xGPC(another +10% performance)
For the same price.Or they can just rename GTX1080 to new GTX1170(like they did with GTX680-770)

 

[Valantar]

Cutdown vega should be 20-25% faster than GTX1070 because AMD never cutdown cards as much as Nvidia.There is huge gap between GTX1070 and GTX1080 and if full vega is even 5% faster than GTX1080 cutdown card will be only 10% slower than full so only 5% behind GTX1080 and 20-25% faster than GTX1070.
But question is when vega comes out.
It is also possible Nv will release pascal refresh when vega launch.
GTX1070 will get GDDR5x(+10% performance)
And probably more SP(2048) and 4xGPC(another +10% performance)
For the same price.Or they can just rename GTX1080 to new GTX1170(like they did with GTX680-770)

That's a whole lot of speculation stated as if it were fact. Exactly none of what you're saying is known to be true.

I do agree that if the OP can wait for Vega to show up, that would be good. We don't know anything about the performance, but competition should drive prices down across the board. If not, the 1070 is a great card no matter how you look at it.

 

[Head1985]

That's a whole lot of speculation stated as if it were fact. Exactly none of what you're saying is known to be true.

I do agree that if the OP can wait for Vega to show up, that would be good. We don't know anything about the performance, but competition should drive prices down across the board. If not, the 1070 is a great card no matter how you look at it.

AMD never cutdown any card same way NV did.So if vega is 5% faster than GTX1080=cutdown vega must be way faster than GTX1070 because there is 25% gap between 1070 and 1080.Look at 7970/7950 and 290x/290 and furyx/fury or RX480/470
And if Nv want to stay competetive they must refresh GTX1070:
There are 2 ways:
ADD GDDR5x and 2048SP=+20% performance vs current GTX1070
Rename GTX1080 to 1170 with faster GDDR5x and core=30-35% faster than current GTX1070(Nv did this with kepler last time)

Anyway GTX1070 is old tech(slow GDDR5) and is pretty bad bottleneck one way or another(slow GDDR5 and 3x GPC).It is very likely Nv will refresh 1070 when vega launch.

 

[Valantar]

AMD never cutdown any card same way NV did.So if vega is 5% faster than GTX1080=cutdown vega must be way faster than GTX1070 because there is 25% gap between 1070 and 1080.Look at 7970/7950 and 290x/290 or RX480/470
And if Nv want to stay competetive they must refresh GTX1070:
There are 2 ways:
ADD GDDR5x and 2048SP=+20% performance vs current GTX1070
Rename GTX1080 to 1170 with faster GDDR5x and core=30-35% faster than current GTX1070(Nv did this with kepler last time)

Anyway GTX1070 is old tech(slow GDDR5) and is pretty bad bottleneck one way or another(slow GDDR5 and 3x GPC).It is very likely Nv will refresh 1070 when vega launch.

Again, presenting pure speculation as fact, or at the very least presenting this as if it's so obvious as to not warrant discussion.

My problems with this:

• We're still waiting for the 1080Ti. The 11XX series won't be launched until a while after this.
• Nvidia has no history of changing products in a panic just because of competition. The 10XX series is very competitive (heck, as of now it has no competition) - the logical first step would be to simply lower prices.
• You say "if Vega is 5% faster than 1080." a) we have no clue as to this, b) neither does Nvidia, c) if that's the case, Nvidia can simply lower prices to compete, d) AMD still has nothing close to the 1080Ti in terms of performance.

 

[Gikaseixas]

From a GTX960 I would say GTX1070 is a solid buy. I would go for it

 

[frozentundra123456]

I have a very hard time recommending almost a 7 months old AMD/NV card that is selling at more or less MSRP. 1070 released June 10, 2016. In the OP's case, the price is way higher than $379 MSRP, making it even worse. He is going to pay cutting edge prices for tech that is approaching 1/2 of its lifecycle on the technology curve.

In 11 months, the technology market went from a November 2013 $550 R9 290X/ $700 780Ti to a $330 September 2014 970. In 12 months from June 2015 $650 980Ti/Fury X, the technology market went to a June 2016 $380 1070. Almost 7 months have passed since the release of the 1070 and it has barely dropped from its FE marketing overpriced $430-$470 launch prices.

At this point I would see what NV and AMD have in quarter 1 and go from there. At least I would wait for CES in a January 2017 and see if NV has anything new. If not, I would grab a 1070 then. The closer 1070/1080 get to 12 months lifecycle, the more overpriced they get on the price/technology curve.

Honestly, if the OP is using 960 for 1080p gaming, RX480/1060 are better cards for that resolution and cost 50-60% of the 1070's price.

Well, they are still selling at MSRP because there are no better cards out, and nobody really knows when or at what performance or price level a competitive card will come out.

 

[thxdd]

The GTX 1070 is a solid purchase with your hardware and should offer some legroom to spare. I jumped from a 780 to a 1080 and it was a huge leap in performance, I imagine a 960 to a 1070 would be a similar jump. Others may correct me if I'm wrong, but a 480 will likely pump out more heat than the 1070. If you can wait 3-4 months, it can't hurt to see what Vega does to bring down prices/offer competition.