I recently finished building my PC after a long delay and need some advice on the graphics card. The system has a Ryzen 7 5800XT, 16 GB of RAM, and a GTX 1660 Super. I originally planned to buy something around an RTX 4060 Ti or RTX 5060, but GPU prices in my local used market have risen and money is currently tight. A used GTX 1080 Ti is available for $110. I mostly play competitive games and only occasionally play demanding AAA titles, usually without ray tracing. The 1080 Ti is old, but its raw performance and 11 GB of VRAM still seem useful, especially at 1080p or 1440p. Would it make sense to buy it as a temporary upgrade, or should I keep using the 1660 Super and save for a newer card?
5 Answers
Your actual games matter more than the card's age. For competitive titles and occasional AAA gaming, the 1080 Ti should still feel like a large step up from the 1660 Super. It will not be ideal for the newest games at maximum settings, but at sensible settings it remains surprisingly strong. $110 is fair if the card is in good condition, though it is not such a huge bargain that you need to buy immediately.
The main concern is that the 1080 Ti is no longer a modern choice. It uses a lot of power, is nearly a decade old, and driver support is limited compared with newer cards. Newer games increasingly benefit from features such as DLSS and frame generation, which the 1080 Ti cannot provide. If your 1660 Super is still doing what you need, saving for a used RTX 3060, 3070, 3080, or a newer equivalent may be the better long-term move.
Prices may not necessarily drop soon, so waiting only makes sense if your current card is good enough and you have a realistic savings plan. The 1080 Ti is still perfectly usable, but treat it as a short-term upgrade rather than a final purchase. Check whether it was heavily mined on, confirm it does not overheat or crash, and make sure your power supply can handle its higher power draw.
At $110, the 1080 Ti is a very capable temporary upgrade. It will easily handle competitive games at 1080p and can still do respectable 1440p gaming. The 11 GB of VRAM is helpful too, and you could resell it later when you can afford a modern card. Just test the temperatures, fans, ports, and stability before buying.
I would look around for other used options before deciding. A used RTX 3060 would offer similar performance in some situations with newer drivers, lower power use, and better feature support. If you can find a 30-series or 40-series card at a reasonable price without stretching your budget, that would be preferable. Otherwise, the 1080 Ti makes sense as a cheap stopgap.

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