Is the GTX 1050 a good upgrade right now?

JohnJSal

Active Member
Hi all. I'm thinking I might upgrade my graphics card soon, since it's been quite a while. I currently have a GTX 670, and I'm not sure how it will handle some games I want to play soon, like The Witcher 3.

I haven't been keeping up much with graphics card news, but I think the 1080 is the latest and greatest Nvidia card, right? But I don't want to spend $500+ on it. I see a 1050 on Amazon for $150 (2GB), and the 4GB version is $200. That's a decent amount for what I think is a good card. But is it really? I'd definitely go with 4GB over 2GB. Not sure about the clock speed. There seem to be several options: 1430, 1455, 1468, and 1506 MHz.

This is the one I'm looking at:

Gigabyte Geforce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB GDDR5 128 Bit PCI-E Graphic Card (GV-N105TD5-4GD)

Any advice? Thanks!
 

Intel_man

VIP Member
You should probably look at a 6GB GTX 1060 if possible. The 1050 Ti isn't that great.

Note that the 3GB version of the GTX 1060 is slightly neutered by Nvidia and has less processing cores. So it's not only just a VRAM size difference and is typically not recommended.
 

JohnJSal

Active Member
Thanks guys! I didn't realize The Witcher 3 had such a low requirement. Maybe I can still get by with my 670?

If not, then I'll definitely check out the 1060. Is there perhaps a 1070, or is that getting into the really pricey range like the 1080?

Edit: As for the 1060, are there multiple versions I should be aware of and/or avoid (like the 3GB version mentioned above), or is the 6GB version the only other option? All these serial numbers and product IDs are confusing!

Edit 2: I'm thinking all I really need to upgrade at the moment is my GPU. Will it be compatible with the rest of my existing hardware? I guess the motherboard is the main thing. How can I check this?

Thanks!
 

JohnJSal

Active Member
I would recommend the 1060 instead of the 1050ti as the 1050ti is worse then your 670.

Wow, really!? My 670 is a few years old. I assumed the 1050 was fairly new, based on the numbering scheme, but yikes.

OK, 1060 at least, I definitely know that now!
 

Agent Smith

Well-Known Member
What is the make and model of your PSU you have now? What is the wattage? If you plan on more than one screen then more RAM will help.

I so need to sell my 1050 now after rereading the specs compared to a 670. Damn!
 

Agent Smith

Well-Known Member
How old is it? General rule of thumb is to replace a PSU every 5 to 7 years. If the PSU goes out it could take the whole system with it.
 

JohnJSal

Active Member
How old is it? General rule of thumb is to replace a PSU every 5 to 7 years. If the PSU goes out it could take the whole system with it.

Hmm, I last upgraded my PC (everything but the HDD and case, which are both 10 years old! Yes, that worries me a bit with the HDD, but so far it's going strong) about four to six years ago.

I'm considering doing another full upgrade as well, but everything seems to be doing fine as is. Even the GPU, frankly. But I haven't played a ton of graphic-intensive games lately either. Arkham Knight was probably the most recent, a few months ago. It ran fine.
 

Agent Smith

Well-Known Member
So are you saying your PSU is ten years old? If that's true you might want to go on ahead and replace the PSU. 10 years is about the limit for warranties to some name brand PSUs as it is already. I know that's a pain in the ass, believe me. I just replaced my PSU a few months back and rewiring and running the cable so that it's hidden is a PITA. But in the long run it's well worth it should your current very old PSU might bite the dust. And like I said, if it goes out it could take out your whole system.

Another thing you might want to consider is a good UPS that supports active PSUs. I can't tell you how many threads I've read on computer forums where people were asking for help because their power went out and all of a sudden the computer wouldn't boot anymore or there was damage.

You might be interested in this UPS. It supports active PSUs and puts out at least 500 watts which should be plenty. Your typical PC probably pulls around 200 watts not including a monitor/s. https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...2131&cm_re=CP850PFCLCD-_-42-102-131-_-Product


If you want to compare Specs between two GPUs, check out GPU boss. Many people complain that their comparisons are biased, but I use it to compare Specs only which is a real good way to get a feel at what to look out for. And it's pretty much common sense to know that higher numbers mean better performance. That goes for the core clock MHz, shaders, texture fill rate, etc. I'm not entirely sure how RAM in a GPU plays a factor, but I do know it plays a factor if you use more than one monitor. Especially if said monitors are massive. It may also have to do with the core clock as well. Which means if you run more than one monitor you'll want a higher clock rate. That's just what I have ascertained over the years from reading.

Tax season is here. Consider the GTX 1060, a new PSU and a UPS. Once you build a new system you can reuse the new PSU and GPU of course. So it's like already buying parts for your future build.

Yes, that worries me a bit with the HDD


I wold learn to periodically clone the computer. Buy an external HDD of equal or greater size and use AOMEI Backupper to clone the disk to the external. That way if your hard drive bites the dust you just buy a new HDD, install and clone back and it will be like nothing ever changed. I do this all the time so if for some unforeseen reason I mange to get malware or the HDD goes south, I can just clone back my HDD. Granted if I had any data on the current HDD that wasn't cloned between that time frame I won't have that data. But it's better than losing the whole enchilada. I've seen many people loss their data and in this day and age with the technology available it's senseless not to clone to a backup HDD once in a while and prevent a nightmare. Best of all there's no cloud storage costs, the data is yours and not on someone else's server and you don't need to worry about bandwidth or Intenet speed consideration with cloud backups and restoration. I personally store alll of my HDDs in two fire proof safes. And my websites are backed up to DVD/RW every now and then. I plan on migrating to blu-ray. Who says optical media is dead? :D Besides, it's EMP proof. LOL The "cloud" isn't.

Note- I have seen people say AOMEI Backupper triggers virus protection for some asinine strange reason, but it's just a false positive. I heard that about a year ago, and perhaps the anti-virus makers have rectified that by now.
 
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JohnJSal

Active Member
No, I did a total upgrade about five years ago that included everything but the HDD and case. The PSU was also upgraded.

I've been reading a bit about GPUs on some other tech sites, and it does indeed sound like the GTX 1060 is a great choice. So now the question is, is this a good time to upgrade, or are new cards coming soon?

Also, if I upgrade just the GPU, will any of my other components be a problem?

Thanks!
 

Agent Smith

Well-Known Member
What kind of CPU do you have? I don't foresee a bottleneck since you upgraded everything 5 years ago. PSU should be fine.

I wouldn't wait too long for a GPU. I hear the Bitcoin craze may be increasing again and GPU's will go through the roof. As if they aren't overly priced now already.
 

JohnJSal

Active Member
What kind of CPU do you have? I don't foresee a bottleneck since you upgraded everything 5 years ago. PSU should be fine.

I wouldn't wait too long for a GPU. I hear the Bitcoin craze may be increasing again and GPU's will go through the roof. As if they aren't overly priced now already.

Here's my hardware:

Case: Antec P182 | Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H | CPU: Intel Core i7-3770 | GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX670 (2GB) | RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) | Sound: Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Xtremegamer / Logitech X-230 | HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 (500GB) | Optical: Samsung 20x DVD burner | PSU: Corsair HX750 | Monitor: Asus VH236H
 

Agent Smith

Well-Known Member
Looks good, I don't foresee a bottleneck at all.

I talked about you cloning your HDD. You might want to heed that advice since your HDD is like 10 years old? and it's a Seagate and I don't trust that brand at all. Just some food for thought.
 

JohnJSal

Active Member
Looks good, I don't foresee a bottleneck at all.

I talked about you cloning your HDD. You might want to heed that advice since your HDD is like 10 years old? and it's a Seagate and I don't trust that brand at all. Just some food for thought.

Yes, very good idea. I'll look into that. I don't have much on my HDD worth losing anyway, but it seems like a smart thing to do.

By the way, how can I check to make sure the 1060 will fit in my motherboard and all that? I'd hate for that to be an issue.

Thanks for all the help!
 

Agent Smith

Well-Known Member
It should fit, and if it doesn't, according to this website your upper HDD cage comes out if it doesn't fit. The 1060 I listed in post #3 will definitely fit.
 

JohnJSal

Active Member
Thanks!

Edit: The one you linked looks like a small version. What's the difference between that one and the longer one with two fans?
 
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