Welcome to #AskTrusted, a new series from TrustedReviews where we put your questions to our experts. Got a question? Tweet us @TrustedReviews with the hashtag #AskTrusted, or leave a comment.
In this episode, we’re talking graphics cards with Computing Editor, Michael Passingham (@MrPassingham), who has reviewed the GTX 1080 and every other big new graphics card this year.
Ask us anything: Join us on Weds, 27 July at 12:30 BST for #AskTrustedLive
Stefankisgr: Should VR benchmarking be a standard test for new graphics cards?
A: Getting quantitative results for VR performance is extremely hard to do right now.
There’s only one benchmark that currently exists which is the Steam VR benchmark. It’s not very useful in terms of numbers and not really something I think benefits the reader in terms of providing an actual result.
Currently the only way we test VR is from own perception of how well it runs. It’s not perfect, but it’s a good overall indicator of performance.
We will certainly be putting more emphasis on VR performance for graphics cards in the future as more and more people think about upgrading their card with a view to use VR.
David Code: Is a cheaper, overclocked GTX 970 better bang for buck than a new GTX 1070?
A: No, the GTX 1070 is far more powerful. The step up from Maxwell to Pascal is huge. In reality, the 1070 is closer in performance to the GTX 980.
Of course the GTX 1070 is significantly more expensive than the GTX 970, but you get substantially better performance as a result of paying that premium. If all you can afford is a GTX 970, it’s still a great card, especially if you buy a good overclocked model.
MPRA2: Playing games at 1080p, is it worth investing in the new GTX 1080?
A: Absolutely not – that’s overkill.
The GTX 1080 is top-end card meant for 1440p and 4K gaming – you don’t need it for 1080p. The GTX 1060 or 1070 would be a better choice.
Naiv69: What is the test rig case you use?
A: It’s the Aerosol Strike-X Air, which I think you’ll agree looks badass!
Having said that, while it works well for our test rig as you can easily access and change components, I wouldn’t buy one for my own gaming PC as it’s far too big and has no sound isolation.
Adrian: Why are you benchmarking graphics card at 4K with 4-8x Anti-Aliasing? That’s unrealistic.
A: That’s a really good question, and the answer is we are trying to push the cards to their limits, but we certainly could do a better job at explaining this.
At the end of the day, the individual frame rates don’t matter as much as the percentage difference in performance between different cards. So in that sense it doesn’t really matter what settings we use, as long as they are the same in all our tests.
Ask us anything: Join us on Weds, 27 July at 12:30 BST for #AskTrustedLive
If you have any questions you’d like to ask Michael or anyone else here at TrustedReviews, tweet us @TrustedReviews with the hashtag #Asktrusted or leave a comment.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
