QOTW: Do you use a discrete graphics card?

[HEXUS]

And will you go the same way for your next build?

Read more.

[chj]

It's anything but discrete. GTX 780ti. I'm always interested in new GPU releases and looking forward to this fall. Both teams look ready to give a nice performance bump but i'm cautious on what direction pricing will go.

[lon3wolf2002]

Yes being a gamer I think it's a requirement for that purpose.

[Output]

Yes and Yes.

I'm not a fan of APUs myself, although I can understand why it can be suitable for others and/or in certain circumstances.

I prefer having a clear separation, so that there is as much CPU performance as possible (without a portion of it being reserved for onboard graphics that isn't getting used due to having the discrete graphics card) and as much GPU performance as possible (which while it may not always be made use of to the extent of its capabilities, still has that extensive capability available if the need arises).

[3dcandy]

Depends though at the moment all of my main systems do have discrete graphics.
I'm not a huge gamer though and there is a good chance that my music pc will be upgraded with an apu (AM4) when the time arrives as it really makes little difference most of the time.It would have to beat the current cpu though which is a Ryzen 2600 and that is the issue

[ik9000]

yes. I use a GTX460 I bought in 2010. By the time I got to build my next system GPU prices had risen to obscene levels and lockdown was kicking off so I just stuck with it and saved the GPU budget. It still works for the basics and it stops me having to shell out on new games as I know I can't play them. I did wonder if the refresh cycle might bring some offers to entice me to upgrade, but nothing materialised and so I'll hold out a bit longer. And yes, I would stay discrete. Better cooling, quieter running. I don't want that load on my CPU fans. My laptop thermally throttles all the time with its onboard graphics. I've no desire for that cack storm in my main machine.

[judge56988]

Yes. Quadro P620 for Autocad. The CPU doesn't have integrated graphics so I would have to have some kind of graphics card. Quadro M2200 in the laptop.

[Iota]

I do indeed. I have zero intention of using the alternative as I enjoy playing games on my PC.

[malculator]

Slightly off topic, but today I learnt that discrete and discreet are separate adjectives. Whereby "discrete" can be defined as individually separate and distinct. Always wondered what GPU's had to do with discretion.

[mers]

Always have had discrete GPU's as apart from no interference with the CPU it allows freedom of graphics upgrade.
First off , I'm not a gamer , perhaps might indulge once a year if I'm at a loose end or work has dried up , normally
don't have the time to waste and besides I'm an active type. I cringe when I see the prices of some cards ( labeled as mid-range , really , not in my book ).
I'm budget concious as cash is normally fairly tight so any upgrade I only allow £125 for each main component. Last upgrade back before Xmas was Ryzen 5 2600 ,MSI B450 Pro Carbon , 16 GB GSkill 3200 and a Samsung NVme Drive. I was going to transfer my old Radeon HD6770 but won a second hand RX570 on Ebay for £75
( over kill for my needs but at least something more recent and well within budget constraints). My secondary PC is a Phenom X4 965 and if I aim to replace
that would consider one of the newer Ryzen APU's , that would make for a very viable second machine.

[Phrontis]

An AMD FirePro W5100. Mainly for use with AutoCad, but it seems fine for everything I do these days. Never have played games even though I have had a computer since the days of the Sinclair ZX80.

[alpha channel]

Yep, always have. I game but it helps out (to a greater or lesser extent) in 3D modelling, video work, 2D art work (Photoshop/Painter), etc...

Currently using a 5700xt, seems to work better in some of my 3D software (Vue Infinite especially, ditto my old 7870) than my old 970GTX despite nVidia's "superior" OpenGL support.

[mikeo]

Yes. For the time being at least. Then who knows!

Nvidia 1080ti. Though can't see me upgrading anytime soon. This should still be good for 1440p for a couple more years yet. If I have to drop graphical settings down a notch, I can live with that. PC games are basically designed to run decently on a mid priced card from a couple of years back. Otherwise game developers would not sell many games! Though I can see the lure of "must run it at max".

Still looking forward to the up and coming new releases though. New tech is always interesting. I'll be waiting for the inevitable comments about the prices though... as I'm sure the top notch cards will be ludicrous prices.

We live in interesting times. As I'm want to say.

[moshpit]

I am using my GTX 1080 Ti right now, but have money set aside for the imminent RTX 3080 Ti launch and will order one within minutes of launch announcement and availability. And 3-ish years from now, when "RTX 5080 Ti" launches, I will be doing the exact same thing.

[dannyboy75]

I've been using a 1080Ti for just over 3 years now. It wasn't cheap but it's undoubtedly stood the test of time, and runs RDR2 and BeamNG quite happily at 1440p.

I'm keeping one eye on Ampere though, as will be buying MS Flight Simulator when it releases on 18th August. I'll wait and see how the 1080Ti handles it first, but I have a feeling FS might be the game that pushes me into an upgrade. A 3080Ti will probably be beyond what I'm prepared to pay though, so any upgrade would likely be a 3070 or 3080 depending on price/performance.

[DanceswithUnix]

yes. I use a GTX460 I bought in 2010. By the time I got to build my next system GPU prices had risen to obscene levels...

I have to wonder if AMD are still making Polaris chips, there still seem to be plenty kicking around. Currently £140 for an 8GB OC card with fans that will do zero rpm at low load, they have been as low as £125 at one point. Two machines here have this MSI 8GB model:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/MSI-Radeon-...dp/B0785Q6DYP/

Raw grunt that is about 3.5 times faster than your GTX 460, and I don't know about yours buy my GTX460 was a noisy begger.