Gaming PC/GPU - 4060 Ti vs 4070
Discussion
Keep putting it off but can't delay it much longer, my 8 year old laptop is well past it's best so looking to replace it with something which will run games made in the last few years (plus obviously a few years to come). Initial thoughts are a budget of around £1500, which would have to include a monitor and keyboard.
Having been playing on a potato for so long anything modern is obviously going to be a step up in terms of graphics quality, etc, so would be perfectly happy with a 1080p setup, not looking for the best of the best and would rather not spend too much money for marginal gains. Enough to play stuff like Cyberpunk, Starfield, Cities Skylines, etc, on reasonably high settings.
Caveat is it would have to come (mainly) from PC World as I have a decent amount of vouchers to use there, so thinking about this:
i7-13700F, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, RTX 4060 Ti (16GB)
https://www.currys.co.uk/products/msi-mag-infinite...
But then looking at slightly more expensive models I can see this with an RTX 4070 (12GB) card
https://www.currys.co.uk/products/msi-mag-infinite...
Is the 4070 version really worth the pushing the budget by an extra £450? Or would the gains be relatively marginal? If the 4060 is capable enough to keep me going for a few years then I could always upgrade the GPU in the future if I felt it necessary (assuming the power supply and cooling could cope?).
For either version I'd probably look at sticking in some extra RAM and another SSD, which is another plus point for "making do" with the 4060 as adding these along with a monitor/keyboard is already going to exceed my £1500 budget.
Thoughts?
Having been playing on a potato for so long anything modern is obviously going to be a step up in terms of graphics quality, etc, so would be perfectly happy with a 1080p setup, not looking for the best of the best and would rather not spend too much money for marginal gains. Enough to play stuff like Cyberpunk, Starfield, Cities Skylines, etc, on reasonably high settings.
Caveat is it would have to come (mainly) from PC World as I have a decent amount of vouchers to use there, so thinking about this:
i7-13700F, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, RTX 4060 Ti (16GB)
https://www.currys.co.uk/products/msi-mag-infinite...
But then looking at slightly more expensive models I can see this with an RTX 4070 (12GB) card
https://www.currys.co.uk/products/msi-mag-infinite...
Is the 4070 version really worth the pushing the budget by an extra £450? Or would the gains be relatively marginal? If the 4060 is capable enough to keep me going for a few years then I could always upgrade the GPU in the future if I felt it necessary (assuming the power supply and cooling could cope?).
For either version I'd probably look at sticking in some extra RAM and another SSD, which is another plus point for "making do" with the 4060 as adding these along with a monitor/keyboard is already going to exceed my £1500 budget.
Thoughts?
I understand your wish to spend the Currys vouchers, but buying a pre-built really limits the upgradability/future-proofing of the PC.
Whether it's Currys or the PC manufacturer, they tend to give you minimum info about the other components - even when they claim it's "perfect for future upgrades". It's on a dead-end platform (14th gen is just re-branded 13th gen), and a CPU upgrade will thus require a new motherboard.
For example, the PSU is 500W...which I'd consider underpowered for a 13/14th gen i7 an current generation GPU...and it doesn't even tell you what model, so it could be an 'office-spec' PSU, rather than an 'enthusiast-spec' one that allows simple switching of cables should you need to fit a future RTX5080 or RX8900 that require additional power.
There's also a very poor/low-level motherboard (H610 in both).
But to answer your question, yes a 4070 will be better than a 4060Ti in almost every case (e.g. except in the rare case where you 1080p game needs more than 12GB of VRAM)...but the amount of improvement over a 4060Ti will depend on the game and the settings you're going to play at...and there's no way that 20% performance improvement is worth £450 more...assuming that's the only difference between the PCs (should be more like a £100-£150 difference).
You'll also get more value out of an AMD GPU than the equivalent Nvidia GPU...but if you want to do any VR or use ray-tracing a lot, then Nvidia is the way to go.
For example (this has a AMD 78000XT GPU, Corsair 750w modular PSU, latest AMD platform with an 8c/16t CPU, better case):
https://www.currys.co.uk/products/pcspecialist-flu...
Whether it's Currys or the PC manufacturer, they tend to give you minimum info about the other components - even when they claim it's "perfect for future upgrades". It's on a dead-end platform (14th gen is just re-branded 13th gen), and a CPU upgrade will thus require a new motherboard.
For example, the PSU is 500W...which I'd consider underpowered for a 13/14th gen i7 an current generation GPU...and it doesn't even tell you what model, so it could be an 'office-spec' PSU, rather than an 'enthusiast-spec' one that allows simple switching of cables should you need to fit a future RTX5080 or RX8900 that require additional power.
There's also a very poor/low-level motherboard (H610 in both).
But to answer your question, yes a 4070 will be better than a 4060Ti in almost every case (e.g. except in the rare case where you 1080p game needs more than 12GB of VRAM)...but the amount of improvement over a 4060Ti will depend on the game and the settings you're going to play at...and there's no way that 20% performance improvement is worth £450 more...assuming that's the only difference between the PCs (should be more like a £100-£150 difference).
You'll also get more value out of an AMD GPU than the equivalent Nvidia GPU...but if you want to do any VR or use ray-tracing a lot, then Nvidia is the way to go.
For example (this has a AMD 78000XT GPU, Corsair 750w modular PSU, latest AMD platform with an 8c/16t CPU, better case):
https://www.currys.co.uk/products/pcspecialist-flu...
Edited by mmm-five on Wednesday 10th April 12:49
mmm-five is bob on.
Currys or similar is the last place I'd expect to get a good/good value gaming PC. And as said, the same for most manufacturer built ones. They'll skimp as much as possible on everything except the odd headline bit. So for example the mobo, not only lower spec, but will be missing PCIe ports because the PC as is doesn't need it, and saves them money. The same for the power supply, it probably has just the connectors needed. All limits future plans.
I realise you can't but going to your local small PC place, or online the likes of scan.co.uk where at least you can choose who's H610 mobo you're fitting and which power supply (with full spec) you fit, gives you far more of a fighting chance in the future, and likely better parts now. Failing that, build it yourself, it's not too hard.
Currys or similar is the last place I'd expect to get a good/good value gaming PC. And as said, the same for most manufacturer built ones. They'll skimp as much as possible on everything except the odd headline bit. So for example the mobo, not only lower spec, but will be missing PCIe ports because the PC as is doesn't need it, and saves them money. The same for the power supply, it probably has just the connectors needed. All limits future plans.
I realise you can't but going to your local small PC place, or online the likes of scan.co.uk where at least you can choose who's H610 mobo you're fitting and which power supply (with full spec) you fit, gives you far more of a fighting chance in the future, and likely better parts now. Failing that, build it yourself, it's not too hard.
Thank you both 
Really appreciate the advice, I knew there would be negativity towards Currys, which I assumed would be mainly about price/value for money, so I'm grateful for the more detailed and technical feedback as it definitely makes me rethink my plans. One of the reasons for going from gaming laptop to desktop is so I can have more futureproofing/upgrade options so would rather not waste my money on something which might be too limited.
Really appreciate the advice, I knew there would be negativity towards Currys, which I assumed would be mainly about price/value for money, so I'm grateful for the more detailed and technical feedback as it definitely makes me rethink my plans. One of the reasons for going from gaming laptop to desktop is so I can have more futureproofing/upgrade options so would rather not waste my money on something which might be too limited.
Curry's carry PC Specialist pre-built systems now, which are entirely standard upgradable components.
In fact the one linked in the first reply is PC Specialist. Getting one from Curry's might cost a little extra compared to going direct but if you already have the vouchers it might make sense, and you get it immediately.
At 4060/4070 levels the GPU doesn't really have enough grunt for serious ray tracing so the extra non-RT horsepower from an AMD card might be more usable.
In fact the one linked in the first reply is PC Specialist. Getting one from Curry's might cost a little extra compared to going direct but if you already have the vouchers it might make sense, and you get it immediately.
At 4060/4070 levels the GPU doesn't really have enough grunt for serious ray tracing so the extra non-RT horsepower from an AMD card might be more usable.
The counter argument is that if you'll happily let the PC run for 6,7,8 years before you think about something better then there won't be any point in upgrading as by then you'll be better off with new everything again.
Not sure what that time frame is exactly, it depends a bit on what you're doing really, but it's worth considering as well if that's the only argument against using your vouchers. I think the hidden cheaper components thing is a solid argument too though, though it depends how many vouchers you have and if they sell anything else you want too I guess.
I haven't seen much value in upgrading any of my PCs for a while, the best CPUs the motherboards support tend to be not that much faster, but still £150-200 and I'm not really hitting the limits of anything to really gain much from spending. My last couple of PCs I've just waited for the right thing to come up on Gumtree of Facebook Marketplace and ended up with something a generation or two out of date for a lot less than buying new. In fact I bought one in 2020 thinking I would sell the GPU as it was worth more than the PC at the time, but instead I used it to mine Bitcoin and then cashed that in to pay for a 13900k thing with a RTX 4070ti in it.
Not sure what that time frame is exactly, it depends a bit on what you're doing really, but it's worth considering as well if that's the only argument against using your vouchers. I think the hidden cheaper components thing is a solid argument too though, though it depends how many vouchers you have and if they sell anything else you want too I guess.
I haven't seen much value in upgrading any of my PCs for a while, the best CPUs the motherboards support tend to be not that much faster, but still £150-200 and I'm not really hitting the limits of anything to really gain much from spending. My last couple of PCs I've just waited for the right thing to come up on Gumtree of Facebook Marketplace and ended up with something a generation or two out of date for a lot less than buying new. In fact I bought one in 2020 thinking I would sell the GPU as it was worth more than the PC at the time, but instead I used it to mine Bitcoin and then cashed that in to pay for a 13900k thing with a RTX 4070ti in it.
If it must be from Curry's due to discounts/vouchers you have, then you need to get specifics on the components used, so besides the clearly shown CPU & GPU models:
BTW, just for understanding, here's the visual difference between a modular and non-module/fixed cable PSU.
Non-modular/fixed (e.g. Corsair CV range, with a bundle of cables coming out of the PSU shroud)
Modular (e.g. Corsair RM range, with individual sockets so that you only plug in the cables you need)
- Case make & model (is it thin metal with polycarbonate side panels, or heavy steel with tempered glass; what's the airflow like)
- motherboard make & model (to see if it's the budget end with no slots for more RAM or another m.2, or it's missing bluetooth/wifi, or it can't be used with the next gen CPU)
- CPU (is it current gen, can it be upgraded on this platform?)
- RAM manufacturer, speeds, timings
- m.2 SSD make & model (to check speeds & reliability/endurance)
- PSU make and model (to check whether it's 'just' enough for the current components, but will run well outside of its optimum efficiency window, or has room for a beefy GPU in 2-3 year's time when you upgrade; also check to check whether the cables are hard-wired to it or can be removed individually - to make cable management easier)
- cooler make & model (depending on the CPU, the supplied cooler may be insufficient and cause your CPU to throttle, robbing you of performance or causing instabilities; is it an air tower cooler, or a AIO liquid cooler with fans & radiator)
- Case (your choice, but ensure it fits your needs and fits the component you choose): Corsair 4000D, good budget case = £90
- CPU (low-end, current gen): Ryzen 5 7600 6c/12t = £190
- CPU (mid-range, current gen): Ryzen 7 7700 8c/16t = £290
- CPU (gaming daddy, current gen): Ryzen 7 7800X3D 8c/16t = £360
- GPU 1080p: Gigabyte RTX4060Ti = £389
- GPU 1440p: Asus RTX4070 = £499
- GPU 1440p: PowerColor RX7800XT = £519
- PSU: Corsair RM750x = £135
- RAM: 2x16GB 6000MHz Corsair Vengeance = £110
- Motherboard (AM5 B650 low-end): Asus Prime B650-Plus = £190
- Motherboard (AM5 B650 mid-range): Asus TUF B650-Plus = £240
- Motherboard (AM5 B650 upper-mid-range): Asus ROG STRIX B650E-F = £280
- 1TB m.2 SSD: Solidigm P44 Pro = £88
- Windows 11 licence
- Air/liquid cooler
BTW, just for understanding, here's the visual difference between a modular and non-module/fixed cable PSU.
Non-modular/fixed (e.g. Corsair CV range, with a bundle of cables coming out of the PSU shroud)
Modular (e.g. Corsair RM range, with individual sockets so that you only plug in the cables you need)
Edited by mmm-five on Wednesday 10th April 16:40
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