I've been pretty happy with how my R9 Nano has lasted me in performance so far, but the recent reveal of Half-Life Alyx and its 6GB VRAM requirement gave me cause for concern: Can I still get away with playing the game on this GPU? Other VR titles haven't seem to have given me an issue so far, and if things felt stuttery (as it did in Nvidia-centric games like EVE: Valkyrie), I'd just lower certain settings and be off.
Still, in the event that I do need to upgrade, I wanted to know what would be my most viable option in terms of GPUs. I don't mind hunting down for second hand cards, as at the moment I'm not quite that financially fluid (company closed a year or so back), which is why I was debating about the GPUs that would be considered a "step up" in terms of performance.
A note about certain restrictions: Since my chassis is almost completely occupied, there's no room for a full-width GPU. Unfortunately even if the ZOTAC mini line of cards would still be too long, leaving me with only the Gigabyte mini or similar line of cards that would be a viable fit. Another would be power draw, as I prefer this new GPU to still use the same 8-pin power connector, otherwise I'd have to do a lot more unscrewing just to get an extra 6-pin in there as with the case of the 2070Super mini or 1080Ti mini...Not that I would be able to as it would have to abide by a third rule: It must be $200 USD or less.
I've heard some people recommend a 6GB GTX 1060mini, but from what I understand, that card would actually be a step down, considering how much better AMD's drivers have been getting and its advantage with APIs like Vulkan and DX12. The 1070mini might actually be a more suitable starting point based on what I've seen but I'm uncertain given my limited experience with Nvidia GPUs. Others also say 1080mini but the prices might be prohibitive...
Which leads me to the AMD side of things. Is an 8GB RX 580 ITX considered a step up considering Navi advances, or does my R9 Nano still have an edge? It seems at this point only a Vega Nano would be the likeliest option coming from Team Red, but considering how they're not as ubiquitous as other ITX cards, can one even acquire a second hand one at an affordable price?
Still, in the event that I do need to upgrade, I wanted to know what would be my most viable option in terms of GPUs. I don't mind hunting down for second hand cards, as at the moment I'm not quite that financially fluid (company closed a year or so back), which is why I was debating about the GPUs that would be considered a "step up" in terms of performance.
A note about certain restrictions: Since my chassis is almost completely occupied, there's no room for a full-width GPU. Unfortunately even if the ZOTAC mini line of cards would still be too long, leaving me with only the Gigabyte mini or similar line of cards that would be a viable fit. Another would be power draw, as I prefer this new GPU to still use the same 8-pin power connector, otherwise I'd have to do a lot more unscrewing just to get an extra 6-pin in there as with the case of the 2070Super mini or 1080Ti mini...Not that I would be able to as it would have to abide by a third rule: It must be $200 USD or less.
I've heard some people recommend a 6GB GTX 1060mini, but from what I understand, that card would actually be a step down, considering how much better AMD's drivers have been getting and its advantage with APIs like Vulkan and DX12. The 1070mini might actually be a more suitable starting point based on what I've seen but I'm uncertain given my limited experience with Nvidia GPUs. Others also say 1080mini but the prices might be prohibitive...
Which leads me to the AMD side of things. Is an 8GB RX 580 ITX considered a step up considering Navi advances, or does my R9 Nano still have an edge? It seems at this point only a Vega Nano would be the likeliest option coming from Team Red, but considering how they're not as ubiquitous as other ITX cards, can one even acquire a second hand one at an affordable price?