Hold onto GTX 1070 or Upgrade, What Should I Do?

LittleJerry96 on 01/05/2021 - 15:50
Last edited 01/05/2021 - 16:02

Hi everyone,

I currently have a PC which I've had a custom built in 2013. I've made a few upgrades like a 250gb SSD and a GTX 1070 since. the CPU is an i5-4570 and its running off 8GB DDR3 ram

I'm looking at building a new PC which I've already purchased most parts for (https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/p3P7bh). All I need to buy is a new GPU, ram and a CPU fan (not a huge fan of using the stock). I'm currently sitting in the EVGA RTX 3070 Ultra queue at PLE for $999 (about half way in the queue after ordering about 1.5 weeks ago).

My original intention was to use the RTX 3070 in my new PC build and then just sell my existing PC as a whole. Now I'm having second thoughts, should I instead take the 1070 out of my current PC and use it in the new one until I wait for the GPU prices to come down? I.e. cancel my queue placement, run a 1070 in the build for maybe a 1yr+ until GPU prices return to normal and then upgrade (perhaps to a 6800xt if that becomes closer to the the $999 price point)

There may not be an obvious right answer and now probably wasn't the best time to build, but my current PC is aging.

Thanks for any comments

FYI- Playing on a 1440p, 144Hz monitor

Computing

Comments

  • Switchblade88 on 01/05/2021 - 15:55
    +1

    If you're already in queue then you can certainly use your 1070 and swap; assuming you're not rushing to sell then that'll be an easy swap back in a few weeks, and sell whenever after that.

    You'll probably get the same price for your 1070 as you would for the whole system!

    • LittleJerry96 on 01/05/2021 - 15:58

      Thanks for your feedback :) I was more thinking, whether I should cancel the queue placement now and just run a 1070 for like a year with hopes that GPU prices start returning to normal. Perhaps get a 6800xt instead

      • Switchblade88 on 01/05/2021 - 16:03
        +2

        Definitely don't cancel! A 3070 will be a massive improvement, and if you're lucky you might still be getting one of the Gen1 chips that still does crypto mining at full speed which will hold its value really well compared to the newer silicon that Nvidia is locking down.

        Assuming the shortage lasts another 12 months (a reasonable guess) then the price will still be no less than $999 then; after which point the prices might start to drop for a brand new card. Having a brand new card for 12 months with zero depreciation will be well worth it.

        • LittleJerry96 on 01/05/2021 - 16:07
          +1

          really good point! cheers!

        • [Deactivated] on 01/05/2021 - 20:18

          Watch NVIDIA drop a 3080ti/3070ti and cancel all pre-existing preorders for extra $$$ LOL

  • pharkurnell on 01/05/2021 - 15:56
    -1

    There is not an obvious right answer

    • LittleJerry96 on 01/05/2021 - 16:00

      I'm more just wanting to read what others would do in a similar situation

  • FireRunner on 01/05/2021 - 16:00
    +2

    I'd sell with old build without the GPU and keep using the 1070 until you get the 3070.
    You're likely to get more selling the old build and GPU separately anyway

    • LittleJerry96 on 01/05/2021 - 16:03
      +1

      I think that might be the way to go. Sell the system separately without the GPU and run a 1070 for as long I need.

      • FireRunner on 01/05/2021 - 16:05
        +1

        Also the old build iss not well balanced with a 4th gen i5 + 8GB RAM paired with a 1070. 8GB RAM alone is a problem but I'm pretty sure that CPU is a bottleneck in many titles

        • LittleJerry96 on 01/05/2021 - 16:06
          +1

          Haha yeah I can guarantee you it is. I'm expecting to see a decent improvement running a 1070 in the new system regardless

  • bobvegas on 01/05/2021 - 16:13
    +2

    I don't think a 3070 for $1000 is too bad, maybe paying $200 too much or $300 too much if you would have been happy with 3060ti but got 3070 as impossible to get, but as of this date $1000 is a great price

  • bircoe on 01/05/2021 - 16:15
    +1

    Keep in the queue for the 3070, GPU prices aren't dropping anytime soon even if miners stop buying 30xx cards… And with that said, start mining on your 1070, when the 3070 arrives mine on it too and with in 6 months the card would have paid for itself and you'll start earning profits ;)

    • LittleJerry96 on 01/05/2021 - 16:17

      Seems to be the general consensus, think i'll look into doing that!

  • DingoBilly on 01/05/2021 - 16:34
    +1

    Depends on what you're doing no?

    I have a 1070 and similar monitor. I find I can play all games full settings without issue, anything more woukd be overkill. I'm not necessarily playing the latest bleeding edge games though.

    • LittleJerry96 on 01/05/2021 - 16:37

      It's mainly my other components letting me down. I enjoy playing Fps games like apex and I'm looking forward to the new Battlefield

  • s1Lence on 01/05/2021 - 16:36

    hmmm i wonder how much you can sell a 1070 for nowadays, at least $500-$600 i reckon, but if you were to mine with it i wonder how much that would make you in the long run

    • LittleJerry96 on 01/05/2021 - 16:46

      Good question, I remember buying it new for 500 back in the day. Crazy to think it's back at that value as used

    • randomusername2017 on 01/05/2021 - 20:55

      Where ?
      .. got a couple I wouldn't mind parting with for that price 🤣

      • s1Lence on 01/05/2021 - 20:57

        gumtree or anywhere like it i guess, i checked there and they float around that price

  • Yuri Lowell on 01/05/2021 - 17:50

    Why not a 6700 XT? It's on par with a 3070 which was your original intention and it's not as massively inflated. You can pick one up for around $1100, then you could sell your 1070 and make back 50% or so. It would be a nice boost over your 1070 and provide a consistent 144fps experience at 1440p. Be quick though, the 6700 XT is now rising and will join the ranks of those other GPUs (it was $900-1000 just a couple of weeks ago).

    • LittleJerry96 on 01/05/2021 - 17:53

      But if it's on par with the 3070, shouldn't I just save the extra $100 by staying in queue?

      • Yuri Lowell on 01/05/2021 - 17:55

        Oh yeah, I missed that part of your post. I'd probably do that then, if PLE order queues are reliable. I guess if you want a GPU right now then a 6700 XT wouldn't be a bad pick up. With that said I'd definitely go a 3070 at a similar price of the 6700 XT. $999 is an insanely good price for a 3070 in the current climate. Also a 1070 is still a competent GPU if you decide to wait it out for GPU prices to fall, I heard Ethereum mining will be a bust by the end of this year.

        • LittleJerry96 on 01/05/2021 - 17:58
          +1

          I think that'll be the plan for now unless something drastic changes. As other have pointed out, I could recoup the 3070 cost pretty quickly through mining but ill have to do some research. Cheers!

    • s12321 on 04/05/2021 - 21:12

      no, it is between 3060 and 3060ti, and it is over priced.

  • This Guy on 01/05/2021 - 18:35

    Forecast from TSMC (one of the companies that make chips) is that they expect the current chip shortage to last another two to three years. This sounds right as this shortage seems to be due to there being little extra capacity as the other major leading edge fab (Ti) dropped out of leading edge in 2014 iirc. It will take around two years for the dominant fabs to increase production, as new buildings take time and ASML, the only company that sells a key fab tech, will need time to ramp up and deliver more machines than initially anticipated.

    From memory, 370's started at $880 at release (if you missed the founders edition). An extra 10% is within the usual price variance we have due to hardware distribution prices being tied to foreign currencies.

    The only reason I can see to jump is if you want to try for a 3070 Ti. But I would expect them to be several months away (the 3080 Ti was due for an early Feb launch but got pushed back to late May due to all this who ha). And then there would be the actual price issue which you would have noticed with non PLE stores.

  • zrmx on 02/05/2021 - 09:20

    It depends on whether your gaming needs can be sufficed by the 1070 or not.

    Definitely hold onto the 1070 for now, as it's your current best chance to still have a GPU without forking out massive amount.

    If you'd like to high end game soon-ish, and you don't have requirements to go nVidia only, I'd actually consider holding onto 1070, wait for PowerColor 6700XT Hellhound card to be available on PCCG for $899, and get that card. Swap it over, sell the 1070 (to offset some of the cost of the 6700XT). Yes the prices arent great to buy, but can be offset by the higher price you can currently sell the 1070 (as when the current gen cards finally become reasonably priced, the selling price of old cards will drop also). The 6700XT Hellhound is a good card which perform very closely to a 3070, and AMD cards strains less on the CPU due to less driver overhead, so maybe of benefit depending on the type of game settings you play.

    If you can wait, then by all means stay in the queue. But as mentioned above, the strained silicon wafer supply is not going away any time soon, and I don't see/expect companies will be fulfilling early orders that paid under than current market costs/prices, until that supply shortage has passed and overall demand comes down. NVM, didn't realise 6700xt prices went up signicantly too. Sigh. just keep the 1070 lol.

  • Brendoo on 02/05/2021 - 15:05
    +2

    Stay in the queue. When you get the 3070 prices will still be high so sell your 1070 then. You should get about $500 on the second hand market (ebay) for a 1070 8GB if you sell in the current climate..

    And definitely sell the 1070 separately to the old PC, people will only want the GPU from that old kit.

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