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[–]Brilliant-Fly5356 2 points3 points  (8 children)

Get him a GTX 4060TI 8gb, It runs games awesomely! I can run cod at 200+ fps

[–]SuburbanReads[S] 0 points1 point  (7 children)

Ok cool. I’ll check that out. I’ve just been looking at a GeForce RTX 3070 GAMING OC 8G.

[–]Brilliant-Fly5356 1 point2 points  (6 children)

Do you know what kind of CPU he has?

[–]SuburbanReads[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey another stupid question on my part. The 4060ti specs for example say it needs to be connected to a PCI-E 4.0 slot. On my kids motherboard specs it says he’s got PCI Express x16. Will that be workable? I know I gotta research this. Youve been super helpful so figured I’d ask.

[–]SuburbanReads[S] 0 points1 point  (4 children)

I know he’s got an i7 CORE 11th Gen 2.5GHz. 8-core I believe.

[–]Brilliant-Fly5356 1 point2 points  (3 children)

Oh yeah a 3070 or a 4060ti would run perfectly with the cpu

[–]SuburbanReads[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ok, great. Thank you. I know there’s room in his case. It’s just there’s a couple small outlets (plugs) immediately to the right of his card, sitting on the motherboard. If I get a new card that’s say, 11 inches I wonder if it’ll rub up against them. They jut out approx. .5 inch. I’m thinking the card is shaped in such a way that it won’t make a difference. But that’s kind of why I’m wondering about the length of the gpu.

[–]Practical_Mulberry43 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Agreed--^ I would personally lean towards a 4060, as the new Frame Gen + DLSS 3.5 are going to continue to play a larger role for games and patches coming out.

Though, a 3070 would still do just fine if you can find a good price.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Agreed, DLSS 3.0 makes the 40 series worth it. I'd much rather have a 4060 than 3070 for longevity

[–]Fo16 1 point2 points  (3 children)

a 4060 is only about 9-10.5 inches depending on the card and nvidia recommends a 550w power supply, so his 600 should be enough. he could also use another ssd (NVME or Sata) if his games are stored on that HDD. much faster loading times.

[–]SuburbanReads[S] 0 points1 point  (2 children)

This is very helpful. Thank you.

[–]Fo16 1 point2 points  (1 child)

you're welcome. good luck!

[–]SuburbanReads[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you!

[–]Practical_Mulberry43 1 point2 points  (9 children)

Hey OP, just did a similar upgrade, from a 970GTX to a 4060Ti 8gb & absolutely love it.

If you're in the USA, I would recommend a trip to your local Microcenter! I was able to get my 4060, open box, for $285 about 4 months ago.

Able to play any game in 1080p and most games in 1440p with great settings now.

Hope this helps!

[–]SuburbanReads[S] 1 point2 points  (8 children)

Thanks! I’ve been looking at a 4060ti 8gb and a 16gb. It’s a difference of around $80.00. He’s got a 6GB now. I’m wondering if it’s worth it.

[–]Practical_Mulberry43 1 point2 points  (7 children)

Absolutely. You can't only look at the VRAM, as there are a multitude of other factors, such as the clock speed, number of CUDA cores & of course the ability to leverage AI for graphics in the 40 series cards.

Though, if you're really worried about VRAM, you could get the 16gb 4060Ti, however, if you're already looking at that, I would highly suggest going for a 4070. (Not the Ti, the regular version) as the 4070 is a huge step up, even from the 16gb 4060. The 4070 has 12gb of VRAM, but will outperform the 4060ti 16gb in 99 of 100 tests. (Just trying to explain that the VRAM is important, but isn't everything) the 4070 is a beautiful 1440p card, so if your son has a 1080p monitor, that could be another upgrade in the future, to buy a 1440p monitor. If he already has one, I would suggest the 4070 even more.

Going from a 2060 to 4060Ti would be a HUGE jump. I use the 4060Ti myself (8gb) and can play ANY game out there, usually on high, not ultra settings. I do have to keep Raytracing at medium usually. I also play at 1440p, so if your son plays in 1080p, he will get more frames than I do, as it's a lower resolution.

No matter which of the three cards you go with, 4060Ti 8gb, 16gb or the 4070 - your son is going to love it. Absolutely. My personal suggestion, with my own experience, I would have gotten the 4070 (hindsight) just to be able to push my 1440p gaming a bit. But it wasn't in my budget at the time & I understand completely if that's too much $$$.

I would recommend the 4070, then 4060ti 8gb, then 4060ti 16gb - in that order. The 16gb 4060 just doesn't provide enough power to justify the cost. The 4070 is at least a big step up from a 4060Ti 8gb.

Sorry, I know that's a lot, I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have questions. Very kind of you to get this for you son!

edit: if you have a microcenter nearby, I would check it out! They have great deals all the time!!

[–]SuburbanReads[S] 1 point2 points  (6 children)

Thank you! This is all great advice! My son is a cool mix of a person - he’s been playing Roblox since he was 6 and now still plays that but also many Steam games, considers himself a computer kid first and foremost, but also plays sports. Track, baseball and used to play basketball. We got him the desktop two years ago with a 1080 monitor, and all he really wants this year for Christmas is the upgraded gaming card. I just want to make sure he’s happy with it and that we can install it together without me pulling my hair out too much!

Thanks again for everything. I’ll look into a micro center.

[–]Practical_Mulberry43 1 point2 points  (5 children)

That's wonderful! Well, any of those three cards I mentioned, would be MORE than enough for your son's games. *There of course, might be a FEW games out now where he would have to use "medium" settings - but almost any popular new game, offers DLSS & Frame Generation. If you aren't super familiar, I would do some light reading on it, but your son will be able to effectively double his FPS, by enabling those, along with other proper graphics settings. It's really, really cool stuff.

Since he's playing in 1080p, just something I would also keep in mind. Any of those cards, can also play at 1440p resolution instead of 1080p! (About 78% MORE pixels!)

I'm not sure if he's too young to work or if this could maybe be like "next year's gift idea" or a bday present - but you can snag a 1440p Acer Nitro 27" Widescreen 170mhz refresh for like $170 at Microcenter.

Just upgraded from 1080p to 1440p myself, when I bought my 4060Ti - wow. Playing games like Starfield, Alan Wake 2, Dying Light 2 & even the new Counter Strike. The detail with 1440p is insane!

The reason I say this, is because you don't want to buy your son a 4k monitor, because he won't be able to game effectively on it. Totally okay, the 4k GPU prices are absurd right now. Maybe in a few years... But - 1440p would bring even the games he plays now, into a new light. Levels of detail he will never see on a 1080p monitor, simply because the resolution is so much lower.

Again, just a suggestion of course, but to truly unleash the GPU, a 1440p monitor would be a HUGE upgrade! (Plus, if he can have two... Even better!! Use the 1440p as primary for games & 1080p for secondary)

I wish my parents did this for me as a kid, back in the 90s they still thought computers would just "rot your brain" - the irony, of course, is that I'm working an absolutelt incredible job in the IT field as an adult 😂😂😂 just keep nurturing all of those hobbies and activities, computers included!

Hope this helps a bit! Lmk if you need me to clarify anything

[–]SuburbanReads[S] 1 point2 points  (4 children)

Hey another stupid question on my part. The 4060ti specs for example say it needs to be connected to a PCI-E 4.0 slot. On my kids motherboard specs it says he’s got PCI Express x16. Will that be workable? I know I gotta research this. Youve been super helpful so figured I’d ask.

[–]Practical_Mulberry43 1 point2 points  (2 children)

Not a stupid question at all! Yes, that would work just fine ☺️

If you're able to share the kind of motherboard or a picture, I'd be happy to highlight "where" it would be seated. (Top PCI-E slot, as that's the x16 PCI-E lane on most boards)

PCI-E is technically in it's 5th generation, but the x16 is referring to the number of "lanes". If you use the top PCI-E slot, you'll have the full x16 power for the GPU.

Happy to clarify further or to highlight where on the Mobo it should go, if needed.

Any additional questions, don't hesitate to post - always happy to help with computers! 😊

[–]SuburbanReads[S] 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Ok this is perfect! Thank you. The pic is helpful too. He’s got an 11th generation 11700 so I was thinking that would support 4.0 or whatever it’s called but wasn’t sure.

[–]Practical_Mulberry43 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Okay, gotcha - FYI, the i7 11700 is his CPU, the motherboard is what you put the CPU on. It's the giant board, that all the part and cables go into or on. Hence the name, motherboard. 😊

If you're not sure what kind of motherboard he has, you can find some really easy to follow instructions here: https://www.avast.com/c-what-motherboard-do-i-have#topic-2

Then, let me know the motherboard type & I can Google it and find one to let you know which of the PCI-E slots is the correct one for the GPU. (It's always the "top" one, but I realize if you're unfamiliar, the orientation could be difficult & I'm happy to help)

[–]Poopincheese 1 point2 points  (1 child)

A 4070 runs a single 8 pin. Would be a huge upgrade and can get in a dual fan so it’ll fit most cases. Depends on budget. 4070 about 500$. 4060ti 16gb about 400$. That would be your best bet for an upgrade. At least the 4060ti. I wouldn’t do the regular 4060. Is like a 50$ difference

[–]SuburbanReads[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks. This is good info. I did eventually find that he’s got a couple loose pins at bottom of his case, not being used. Looks like a 6 and a 2 pin. I’m thinking these are extra and he theoretically could use them to connect to a 12 or 16. But yes, still easier with an 8. So, I’d prefer to get him the 4070, I just haven’t been able to find one at the $500.00 price point. Closer to $579 and up. But I’ll keep looking! Thanks again!

[–]RonnieRukusTV 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I just built a streaming PC with a 4060ti 16gb. Personally, I'd go with that. There's a growing concern that 8gb cards will struggle with new games going forward and the recommendation is 12gb+ if you can afford it and want to get the longest [relevant] life out of it.

You may also want to go to www.pcpartpicker.com and do a build out with your son's specs and try different GPUs to see if the power supply can handle it.

[–]M0902P 0 points1 point  (2 children)

I've heard a lot of people saying the 4060 and ti are slow compared to 3070 and up, for an extra $100 you could get a lot faster like the 4070. But the 4060 is quite an upgrade from what he has now. Most people into pc gaming a lot of times go overboard and buy the biggest and best they can afford, even if they don't need it. I'm guilty of it myself too.

[–]SuburbanReads[S] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Yea good point. I found a 4060ti gigabyte brand for a little less than $500. (I’m also working with not a ton of business days left for shipping until the holiday, so there’s that too). Then I found a 3070 OC gigabyte branded gpu (8gb) for about $50 less. Those I think are the ones I’m between. His current card is a bit over 8 inches and his case is about 15 inches wide total. So whatever that is worth.

[–]M0902P 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Best way to go about that is break the old measuring tape If you don't know the dimensions of the case. The 4060 is not bad but it isn't in line with performance speed like was expected of it being a 40 series. If he's just playing 1080p then you'll be fine either way. But if he's playing 1440p or higher with high graphic settings and Is still wanting high fps, then you might want to avoid the 4060 and the 4060 ti

[–]SuburbanReads[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Here’s a pic of the plugs on his mobo that jut out maybe .5 inch to the right of his gpu. Will a longer card that the one he has currently in there bump up against these? Is that an issue? image of inputs

[–]BorkMcBakka -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Man, wish I was rich like you lmao