A Question About GPU's

[Perrie Juran]

Recently I have been considering upgrading my GPU.

But let me start out by saying that overall I am happy with my computer's performance with SL. Until I turn on ALM. And then if I turn on Shadows my performance dips even further.

My current specs are:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 2700X Eight-Core Processor          (3693.06 MHz)
Memory: 16311 MB (Used: 2767 MB)
Concurrency: 16
OS Version: Microsoft Windows 10 64-bit (Build 19045.3208)
Graphics Card Vendor: NVIDIA Corporation
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3GB/PCIe/SSE2
Graphics Card Memory: 3072 MB

As I looked at GPU's and looking at benchmarks I could see to make a real difference in I'd have to make (for me at least) a significant investment. But then looking at specs I made the discovery I would need to upgrade my power supply from 550 watts to 650  watts, adding about another Hundred dollars to the price tag pushing me over budget.

So I while I know I am not stating a specific dollar amount, to begin to make a significant difference in SL what would I need to upgrade to?

I will add this one last thought, I am thinking ahead to when PBR goes live in SL and it has been said the ALM will not be optional.

[sceneris]

i think rtx 3060 12gb with 650 watts, should do an okay job

higher models like rtx 3070 3080 4070 4080 requires more watts, can help run a little bit better but that's about it

[Ted McGregor]

1 hour ago, Perrie Juran said:

So I while I know I am not stating a specific dollar amount, to begin to make a significant difference in SL what would I need to upgrade to?

You face difficult times for upgrading. Your GPU is obviously the 3GB VRAM version instead of the 6 GB , so any new card would give you instant benefit as 8GB is a current standard for VRAM on GPU cards. Since you have not specified any budget , I'd still advice to go for a complete new system while you are at it instead. Or buy a favourible second hand system and wait it out until the PC market is better for consumers instead for the few monopolists in hardware ( NVIDIA ) that are controlling it now.

If you find a brandnew GPU for a reasonable price, you will probably need to upgrade other components as well, specifically the power supply you mentioned and most likely your mainboard. The GPU market itself is kind of in a turmoil after the bitcoin-craze : RTX 3xxx are phasing out now as a product and are usually less power efficient than the 4xxx series , yet the 4xxx series are failing to impress and sell well and are dropping in prices below MSRP ( standard recommended sales price by NVIDIA ).

For the time being and your current system I'd think you'd be better off with a second hand RTX 2xxx series perhaps if you can get one ? Perhaps a RTX 2060 8GB or better. Only go for latest of NVIDIA generations if you are willing to pay for a complete new system.

Your current system supports PBR too ( perhaps not all too fast but it still does ) .. no need to worry about that. Any future upgrade will too.

Maybe hang on to your money until next Black Friday coming autumn ?

 

Edited July 28, 2023 by Ted McGregor

[AmeliaJ08]

You're pushing a 1060 pretty hard with high detail shadows on. Try turning down "Quality of shadows" - it makes a big difference on weaker hardware.

The 3GB of VRAM is also a bit of an issue, SL content is terribly optimized and even 4GB isn't quite enough these days. That said, texture swapping doesn't bother everyone and I think this could probably be improved by the viewer.

You should be able to achieve 30FPS in a relatively busy scene with a 1060 though, you might have some settings you can tweak to achieve this. In less busy scenes 60+FPS is possible with that hardware with ALM etc enabled, I'm not talking blank sandbox either.

If you are looking to upgrade and want to stay NVidia: RTX3060 (12GB ideally) is a great buy right now if you can find one, especially used. On the AMD front the 6700XT is fantastic value as well, just go one generation back in general and you'll find good (relative - GPU prices are insane these days) value from both brands.

 

 

Edited July 28, 2023 by AmeliaJ08

[ChinRey]

If you want smooth, low lag performance with max graphics quality everywhere in Second Life, you need an AMD Ryzen 12000 series or a NVIDIA RTX9090. You have to expect at least ten years delivery time though and that can be a slight problem.

As for GPUs that actually exist, an RTX3060 or 3070 (or a similar AMD) should be more than enough for most purposes in SL. As others have said already, VRAM and even CPU power are often narrower bottlenecks in the SL rendering pipeline than GPU power.

Edited July 28, 2023 by ChinRey

[Perrie Juran]

Thanks everyone for your replies.

My computer is a custom built, my son built it for me. It's around 3 1/2 years old now. Most of it's components were bought end of year clearance sails.

With graphics set between high and ultra with ALM off at a club with 20 to 25 Avatars present I will still get 45 fps so I really can not complain about that.

I do have a little trouble with texture thrashing but following Firestorms suggestion to raise TextureFetchConcurrency it has pretty well eliminated that.

A whole new system will be out of the question for a while.

My thinking has moved to if I get a nicer GPU now when I can afford other upgrades I can just continue using the better card.

So it's time for me to start watching for sales now.

[Jenna Huntsman]

Before you get too excited, download the glTF project viewer - it contains a lot of performance improvements in addition to a bunch of new features, so your existing hardware may be more than enough for your needs.

https://releasenotes.secondlife.com/viewer/7.0.0.581126.html

[Perrie Juran]

56 minutes ago, Jenna Huntsman said:

Before you get too excited, download the glTF project viewer - it contains a lot of performance improvements in addition to a bunch of new features, so your existing hardware may be more than enough for your needs.

Great suggestion!  Thanks!

[Zalificent Corvinus]

8 hours ago, Perrie Juran said:

Thanks everyone for your replies.

My computer is a custom built, my son built it for me. It's around 3 1/2 years old now. Most of it's components were bought end of year clearance sails.

With graphics set between high and ultra with ALM off at a club with 20 to 25 Avatars present I will still get 45 fps so I really can not complain about that.

I do have a little trouble with texture thrashing but following Firestorms suggestion to raise TextureFetchConcurrency it has pretty well eliminated that.

A whole new system will be out of the question for a while.

My thinking has moved to if I get a nicer GPU now when I can afford other upgrades I can just continue using the better card.

So it's time for me to start watching for sales now.

In that case, instead of buying a 40x0 series Incendiary GPU that might set your PC on fire, literally, or trying to find somebody who still has stocks of 30x0 cards, or shopping for a 20x0 card, 2nd hand that hasn't been crypto-thrashed to death, search for a 1660, there are still some in stock rooms, they tend to be reasonable prices because the tech snobs won't touch anything not 30x0 plus, and while only SLIGHTLY faster than your 1060, they will almost certainly have more vram, to ease the texture thrash.