Octopus Overlords

Posted: **Thu Apr 15, 2021 2:14 pm**

stessier wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 12:31 pm How about not upgrading until 2023?

I guess it's ok. I think my 3080 will probably work until then...

Posted: **Thu Apr 15, 2021 2:41 pm**

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 2:07 pm That sounds...not great. I wonder if I should just accept that a 20xx card is going to be better than what I'm rolling with now? I'm always of the mind that upgrading a computer voluntarily is better than replacing one in an emergency....

I'd seen that Cyberpower had a 20xx Intel system coming back in stock.

I'm pretty glad I finally got off the fence and ordered a new system last month, I saw that they've already raised the price on it by about €120. I can't think of a time when things have ever gotten this crazy before.

Posted: **Thu Apr 15, 2021 3:01 pm**

I just looked and they do have 30xx systems for sale right now with a 6+ week lead time. So I guess they're expecting something to magically show up. But yeah, prices are insane.

Posted: **Thu Apr 15, 2021 3:24 pm**

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 3:01 pm I just looked and they do have 30xx systems for sale right now with a 6+ week lead time. So I guess they're expecting something to magically show up. But yeah, prices are insane.

Solid 3070 system for $1800 available in North Jersey Microcenter:
https://www.microcenter.com/product/630 ... toreid=075

I got the 3080 from the same manufacturer around a month ago and it has been solid. If you check daily, early mornings you might see a 3080 show up for a bit more($2400).

Posted: **Thu Apr 15, 2021 4:26 pm**

I've definitely migrated away from PC Gaming, even before the pandemic, and GPU availability/cost has been the number one factor. I used to pretty much wait and then buy a good last gen card at a good price (around the $200 range) when the new generations came out, but that approach hasn't been useful for over 5 years, I'd say. As such, I just don't really like upgrade treadmill as much as I used to. Pandemic work at home the past year plus has further cemented this, as Couch Console gaming gets me away from the home office work location.

Posted: **Thu Apr 15, 2021 4:47 pm**

I also caved and went with a Microcenter PC a few months ago instead of waiting for a Falcon or Digital Storm PC.

Posted: **Tue Apr 20, 2021 12:37 pm**

We've been looking at building Lila a computer vs a pre built laptop. Enough to play games like roblox, and stuff for school.

Saw a deal at costco for a MSI gaming laptop for about $500 after rebate. Nothing fancy, but enough to run what she plays.

I went to see how much we paid for Ethan's video card a few years ago. My Geforce 970 blew up so we had to buy a new card, adding to our cost. We paid like $160 for a Radeon 570. Went to check the prices for something similar and the same card was at least double the cost.

I told Erin that there's no way I can build this pc within the same price area. Prebuilt is finally a better option. Never thought I'd say that.

Posted: **Wed Apr 21, 2021 7:06 pm**

Yeah the gaming PC world is totally upside down due to the chip shortage - which may last through next year or longer. You will save money buying a prebuilt gaming PC (or laptop) over building your own for the foreseeable future.

On another note, the same thing is happening with the auto industry. If you are in the market for a car (new or used), I would try to get one soon. I expect the price of new/used cars to go up soon and for a while.

The chip shortage is going to be painful and it will linger for some time.

Posted: **Thu Apr 22, 2021 1:04 pm**

coopasonic wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 3:24 pm
Smoove_B wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 3:01 pm I just looked and they do have 30xx systems for sale right now with a 6+ week lead time. So I guess they're expecting something to magically show up. But yeah, prices are insane.
Solid 3070 system for $1800 available in North Jersey Microcenter:
https://www.microcenter.com/product/630 ... toreid=075

I got the 3080 from the same manufacturer around a month ago and it has been solid. If you check daily, early mornings you might see a 3080 show up for a bit more($2400).

That place is 20 minutes from my work. They have great stuff, but I only drove there once. It's in a baddddd area.

If I bought anything from there I would have it mailed even though I could drive there.

Posted: **Thu Apr 22, 2021 9:59 pm**

The Meal wrote: ↑Sun Apr 11, 2021 1:08 pm RMAed my RTX 2060 6GB yesterday after I couldn't get my machine past the BIOS select screen, and reinstalled my R9 390. After an evening of spurious reboots (Chrome being too much of a load if I already had Discord and PokerStars open along with driving two monitors), I recall why I purchased the nVidia card in November 2019. Hopefully the repair process goes quickly, as I don't think I can live with one scaled down monitor and babysitting my GPU temps for the six weeks they anticipate it'll take for my repair...

I'd probably save money by purchasing a 1060 Ti 3GB (just $500, used!) if only because this Radeon I'm currently running pulls something insane like 300W. Of course, the turn-around time on one of those cards is also measured in weeks, so maybe I just turn off the PC until June.

2017 technology FTW. RX 580 is so much better than my of-questionable-wattage R9 390 (booting the machine required 3-8 minutes of waiting after pushing the power button, before there'd finally be enough juice to get the hamsters up and running, then watching YT video, with only one monitor plugged in, ran the card up to 95°C+ after about 15-20 minutes — something definitely wrong with the R9 390, but it was the only other option I had in the house). I still haven't plugged in the second monitor, but temps are a good 15°C less compared to the R9 (nominal wattage was 275 W vs 185 W in the two cards — my 2060 is nominally 160 W).

Speaking of the 2060, MSI has acknowledged that my RMA has arrived on their shores, and estimates 15-35 business days of repair turn-around. BUSINESS. DAYS. Ugh.

Posted: **Thu Apr 22, 2021 10:35 pm**

Posted: **Fri Apr 23, 2021 1:50 pm**

Wow, he sure is fired up based on a LOT of assumptions.

I guess that's what happens when you have a YT channel dedicated to a product that no one can buy anymore.

Also, angry video card dude, I can assure you "Nvidia" is not sitting around wondering how to make people happy.

Posted: **Fri Apr 23, 2021 1:51 pm**

Shareholders are people. Allegedly.

Posted: **Fri Apr 23, 2021 2:22 pm**

Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Fri Apr 23, 2021 1:51 pm Shareholders are people. Allegedly.

1. Make as much money as possible, in the shortest time possible. Making money in THIS quarter trumps pretty much everything else PAST this quarter.
2. If "people" are happy about how we do 1. above, bonus!

I think very very few very large, publicly traded companies these days put customer happiness first (or maybe even second). And I'm not talking about what the CEO SAYS, or their mantras, or anything else. SOLELY talking about IN REALITY, at the level where managers and directors are making decisions like this guy is talking about.

Posted: **Fri Apr 23, 2021 3:01 pm**

Just saw some report that maybe there's an issue with the 30xx cards and a recent Win10 update too now? NVIDIA is advising rolling back the Win10 update?

Maybe just buying a pre-built with the best 20xx card is the way to go right now.

Posted: **Fri Apr 23, 2021 5:53 pm**

Carpet_pissr wrote: ↑Fri Apr 23, 2021 2:22 pm I think very very few very large, publicly traded companies these days put customer happiness first (or maybe even second). And I'm not talking about what the CEO SAYS, or their mantras, or anything else. SOLELY talking about IN REALITY, at the level where managers and directors are making decisions like this guy is talking about.

Forty years ago I worked for a large, publicly traded corporation and since I was a budding prospective middle management type I was sent to a week long "charm" school.

At one point in the school, our instructor asked us as management what our most important goal was. There were various answers like "successfully launch Space Shuttle missions", "develop our employees", "keep the customer (NASA) happy" and the like. The response to all those answers was "wrong". Our most important goal, he tells us, is to make money for the shareholders.

Thus it was, and thus it shall forever be.

Posted: **Tue Apr 27, 2021 7:59 am**

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Fri Apr 23, 2021 3:01 pm Just saw some report that maybe there's an issue with the 30xx cards and a recent Win10 update too now? NVIDIA is advising rolling back the Win10 update?

Maybe just buying a pre-built with the best 20xx card is the way to go right now.

Can confirm the issue - had to rollback a security update. It made several games into slide shows for me. That being said, it's squarely on Microsoft and I'd never give up my 3080.

Posted: **Sat May 15, 2021 1:29 pm**

The Meal wrote: ↑Thu Apr 22, 2021 9:59 pm
The Meal wrote: ↑Sun Apr 11, 2021 1:08 pm RMAed my RTX 2060 6GB yesterday after I couldn't get my machine past the BIOS select screen, and reinstalled my R9 390. After an evening of spurious reboots (Chrome being too much of a load if I already had Discord and PokerStars open along with driving two monitors), I recall why I purchased the nVidia card in November 2019. Hopefully the repair process goes quickly, as I don't think I can live with one scaled down monitor and babysitting my GPU temps for the six weeks they anticipate it'll take for my repair...

I'd probably save money by purchasing a 1060 Ti 3GB (just $500, used!) if only because this Radeon I'm currently running pulls something insane like 300W. Of course, the turn-around time on one of those cards is also measured in weeks, so maybe I just turn off the PC until June.
2017 technology FTW. RX 580 is so much better than my of-questionable-wattage R9 390 (booting the machine required 3-8 minutes of waiting after pushing the power button, before there'd finally be enough juice to get the hamsters up and running, then watching YT video, with only one monitor plugged in, ran the card up to 95°C+ after about 15-20 minutes — something definitely wrong with the R9 390, but it was the only other option I had in the house). I still haven't plugged in the second monitor, but temps are a good 15°C less compared to the R9 (nominal wattage was 275 W vs 185 W in the two cards — my 2060 is nominally 160 W).

Speaking of the 2060, MSI has acknowledged that my RMA has arrived on their shores, and estimates 15-35 business days of repair turn-around. BUSINESS. DAYS. Ugh.

Returnedificated and reinstallificated. Not repairificated, however. Replacificated. With a Super 2070 8GB (215 W, nominal, so a significantly higher power draw). Installificated and driver updatificated.

Time to gamificate.

Posted: **Tue Jun 01, 2021 12:41 pm**

RTX 3080 ti and 3070 ti coming out. The 3080 ti is about $1100. I would never pay more for a video card than I do for the whole rest of the PC....even if I had the money.

Posted: **Fri Jun 25, 2021 6:49 pm**

Obtain 3080 achievement unlocked! EVGA 3080 FTW3 Ultra model to be exact. I have a 144hz Gsync monitor (1440p) and it pushes all the frames with the all the goodies turned up to 11. Minesweeper has never played better.

Posted: **Fri Jun 25, 2021 7:09 pm**

Biyobi wrote: ↑Fri Jun 25, 2021 6:49 pm Obtain 3080 achievement unlocked! EVGA 3080 FTW3 Ultra model to be exact.

..but at what price?

if it's a choice between paying $1200 for a new graphics card or doing without, i'm going to be playing lots of indie/older games

Posted: **Fri Jun 25, 2021 7:47 pm**

A 3080 seems like overkill for 1440p even if you want 144hz. A 2080 would probably handle that without breaking a sweat and it may be overkill.

Posted: **Sat Jun 26, 2021 6:35 am**

hitbyambulance wrote: ↑Fri Jun 25, 2021 7:09 pm
Biyobi wrote: ↑Fri Jun 25, 2021 6:49 pm Obtain 3080 achievement unlocked! EVGA 3080 FTW3 Ultra model to be exact.
..but at what price?

if it's a choice between paying $1200 for a new graphics card or doing without, i'm going to be playing lots of indie/older games

I paid EVGA's list price (plus tax) on it. Turns out, the random guy I got grouped together with at a local muni golf course really does know somebody at EVGA. I thought he was bullshitting me until he called the other night. I spent an extra $140 for the really nice lunch I took him to when I picked up the card.

JCC wrote: ↑Fri Jun 25, 2021 7:47 pm A 3080 seems like overkill for 1440p even if you want 144hz. A 2080 would probably handle that without breaking a sweat and it may be overkill.

Tell that to Cyberpunk!

With everything turned to max (with RTX on) the frame rates will dip even on lesser games. Ultimately, I was thinking about a quality 4k monitor if I can find something on a good Black Friday deal. I know I won't push everything at max settings at that point.

Posted: **Sat Jun 26, 2021 8:26 am**

Biyobi wrote: ↑Sat Jun 26, 2021 6:35 am Tell that to Cyberpunk! With everything turned to max (with RTX on) the frame rates will dip even on lesser games. Ultimately, I was thinking about a quality 4k monitor if I can find something on a good Black Friday deal. I know I won't push everything at max settings at that point.

LOL. Fair point! I am not even thinking about Cyberpunk until I have something better than a 970 to play it with. (ie. probably not until my next PC - or if it's on Gamepass and I get a Series X.)

Posted: **Sat Jun 26, 2021 9:11 am**

I got RTX 3060 Ti earlier, at time I kinda regret getting it because I paid too much for it (above MSRP). Now on local online marketplace, it sell for over twice what I paid for it.

Posted: **Wed Jun 30, 2021 4:20 pm**

Info: Cryptocurrency miners in China are beginning to sell off GPUs for cheap

Could the cryptocurrency boom be starting to ease off in China? Sales of graphics cards from mining groups seems to suggest it may well be. Not to speak too soon, but Taiwanese PC builders spotted heaps of GPUs up for grabs in China, cards likely once used to mine cryptocurrencies but seemingly no longer worth the hassle.

According to a screenshot from a mining group posted to PTT, a popular Taiwanese bulletin board, miners in China are selling off a large number of Nvidia and AMD GPUs (via HKEPC). These include the latest 30-series or 6000-series, but also other older GPU generations, such as AMD's cheap and cheerful Polaris generation.

Card prices aren't massively inflated, either. HKEPC reports that an RTX 3070, sold in there hundreds and thus potentially cheaper for it, will cost roughly $3,120 HKD (Hong Kong Dollar) each. That's a little over $400 US.

Since these cards are being sold in bulk, it may be that the sellers are hoping cryptocurrency miners elsewhere will take them up on the offer. Regardless, gamers will likely want to steer clear.

Posted: **Wed Jun 30, 2021 4:30 pm**

I've been looking and I'm starting to see pre-built MSI machines (on their website) available with NVidia 20xx and 30xx cards. Prices are still slightly higher, but if I'm willing to go with a 20xx model, it looks like I can get away with spending under $2K.

Posted: **Wed Jun 30, 2021 4:43 pm**

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Wed Jun 30, 2021 4:30 pm I've been looking and I'm starting to see pre-built MSI machines (on their website) available with NVidia 20xx and 30xx cards. Prices are still slightly higher, but if I'm willing to go with a 20xx model, it looks like I can get away with spending under $2K.

Tread carefully, because shenanigans are afoot beyond the GPU:

Posted: **Wed Jun 30, 2021 4:51 pm**

I had to zip ahead to ~14 minutes as he's mainly focused on laptops, but it certainly can be an issue with desktops. I remember trying to figure out the RAM stuff a while back but didn't realize there was still potential shenanigans in 2021. I also get really, really confused with the various video cards in situations where having 6 GB of [RAM type X] is waaaay better than having 12 GB of [RAM type Y] on a card that should be better. Like...there are situations where I'd be better off with a specific type of NVidia 20xx card with high end RAM than the lowest tier 30xx card that has more (slower) RAM.

It feels like sometimes they're intentionally making this difficult.

Posted: **Wed Jun 30, 2021 5:12 pm**

Posted: **Wed Jun 30, 2021 11:02 pm**

Cheaper RTX 3080s are coming, but you shouldn't buy one yet - here's why

Posted: **Fri Jul 02, 2021 12:36 pm**

jztemple2 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 30, 2021 4:20 pm Info: Cryptocurrency miners in China are beginning to sell off GPUs for cheap

Eh, well that's nice and all, but not like I'd want to buy a used GPU that's been used for mining, unless I'm misinterpreting things. They're likely to have much wear and tear already.

Posted: **Fri Jul 02, 2021 1:10 pm**

If it means that the miners are downsizing, it could mean that the boom is ending and the demand from miners is decreasing. That would eventually mean that the market could go back to normal(ish.)

But there are a lot of 'ifs' and 'coulds' in there.

Posted: **Mon Jul 05, 2021 8:11 pm**

Saw this buried on Blues - don't buy a GPU right now:

The market is showing all the signs of overbought status and will likely correct very very soon. Retailers have already started dropping prices to incentivise inveentory depletion and here is our 2 cents: don't fall for it. If the trend holds, then in another 2-3 months you will see prices crash well below the 150% MSRP mark as the global markets arbitragey away inefficiencies in the US markets. All of this, is of course, assuming that the cryptocurrency market does not recover and boom (which based on its historical trend - is also unlikely - as it takes a couple of years for the bear phase to end).

Posted: **Sun Jul 18, 2021 2:46 am**

I was surprisingly chosen in the Newegg Shuffle...for a 3070 TI OC Vision (white card). After the warm fuzzy of being able to get a card, I don't know if I should really keep it. I have been waiting for a 3080 forever, and of course, I win the chance for the bastard card.

Posted: **Sun Jul 18, 2021 8:59 am**

I've actually got a white PC build saddled with an aging, black 980ti.

Would you be interested in selling your white 3070?

Posted: **Sun Jul 18, 2021 6:17 pm**

Hey, Brian. I would have been happy to sell you the video card, but they bundled an extra $190 motherboard I didn't really want or need.

So, I think I'm just going to return the card/mobo combo and get a refund for the bundle.

Besides, this 3070 TI version MSRP was $900 for a card that, for all intents and purposes, maybe netted an average boost of about 5-7 FPS over the vanilla 3070.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/gigabyte-n ... Id=6467785

vs.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/gigabyte-n ... Id=6467782

And, even with OC, reviewers couldn't squeeze more than a FPS or two.

Posted: **Thu Sep 16, 2021 7:17 am**

Has anyone bought *just* a video card lately?

I’m trying to find write-ups on the current cards - reviews, guides, how (and maybe WHERE) to buy.

When I go to the Anandtech site, their last guide for video cards was written in spring 2019.

Tom’s looks like they want to sell me a sham-wow.

Any new indie sites that still do that stuff like those two used to?

Posted: **Thu Sep 16, 2021 12:56 pm**

Carpet_pissr wrote: ↑Thu Sep 16, 2021 7:17 am Has anyone bought *just* a video card lately?

No. And I still desperately need a new video card.

Probably two video cards if I'm being honest as the plan was to replace my 980ti and pass it down to my wife's machine which is running a 680 (I think).

However, the 980ti is now crashing/failing with such regularity that I need to just trash it entirely.

Which, of course, I can't do because there aren't any decent cards to buy at anything close to what I would consider a reasonable price and that doesn't look to improve any time soon.

Posted: **Thu Sep 16, 2021 12:58 pm**

I gave up and just purchased an entirely new rig.

Octopus Overlords

2023 is the first semi-reasonable year in some time in which to upgrade one's GPU

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I'm not saying what I paid, but MHS knows.

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Re: I'm not saying what I paid, but MHS knows.

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