I totally agree about the 4060 Ti - it seems way too expensive for what you get. Im pretty new to this and kinda nervous about touching the parts, but I think doing the install yourself is the BEST way to save some extra cash. If you dont pay a shop to do it, you can use that money for a better card! Here is my plan for a budget DIY swap:

• Use some canned air to clean out the dust before putting the new card in
• Follow a simple video guide so I dont break the little plastic latch
• Download the drivers myself instead of paying for a setup service Does anyone else get worried about static electricity? I want the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT but I am just so scared of fryin it. Still, doing it yourself basically gives you a 50 dollar discount right away. Actually, I think the 7800 XT is probably the way to go if the price stays low. Just hope I dont mess up the motherboard!

Honestly, if youre looking for stability at 1440p, you need to analyze the AIB (Add-In Board) partner quality rather than just chasing the lowest MSRP. Most "early" deals are on base-tier models with mediocre VRM cooling and sleeve-bearing fans, which is a risk if you want this card to last as long as your 1070 did. - **Consider the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE:** Its the actual sweet spot for market value right now. Iirc, it outperforms the 4070 in raw rasterization and the 16GB VRAM is pretty much essential for future-proofing 1440p textures. - **Prioritize Thermal Headroom:** Look for deals on the Sapphire Pulse or ASUS TUF Gaming lines. Tbh, a card with a beefier heatsink is worth a $30 premium over a reference-spec blower or budget dual-fan unit that'll thermal throttle in a year. Also, keep an eye on retailer price protection policies. Some places will credit you the difference if the price drops lower on actual Black Friday, which is a safer bet for your budget. Ngl, waiting for the "perfect" drop usually just leads to out-of-stock notices.

🙌

Hey, I’m literally in the same boat as you. I was on a GTX 1070 until like a month ago, also playing at 1440p, and it was finally starting to choke on newer stuff.

I ended up grabbing an RTX 4070 (non‑Ti) for $579 on an “early” sale from Best Buy. What helped me a lot was tracking the price for a couple weeks on PCPartPicker and Keepa (for Amazon). Once I saw the 4070 dip below $600 and stay there for a few days (instead of a one‑day weird spike), I pulled the trigger. No regrets so far – performance jump is huge at 1440p and power draw is way better than my 1070.

From what I’ve seen this year, I think it’s worth:
- Watching 4070 and 7800 XT prices **now**, but
- Only buying when you see a deal that beats the typical “every week” sale by at least $30–$50 and has a clear price history showing it’s actually lower than usual.

Also, don’t sleep on the manufacturer stores. MSI’s own store had a 7800 XT that briefly dipped under $520 with a game bundle, which was pretty insane value IMO.

Lesson learned for me: early Black Friday can be good, but only if you compare against price history. If it’s just the “same sale as last month with a Black Friday banner”, I’d wait until the week of BF/Cyber Monday. But if a 4070 or 7800 XT hits low‑$500s from a big retailer with full warranty, I’d say that’s a safe buy even before the actual day.

Hope this helps!

Hey, veteran bargain-hunter here who’s been through… way too many Black Fridays.

**Background / why this matters:**
Retailers play a pricing game all year. Most “Early Black Friday” GPU deals are just the *same* sale price they’ve run 3–4 times already, with a louder banner. If you don’t know the baseline, it’s really easy to overpay by $50–$100.

**What I’d do, purely from a value/budget angle:**
- For 1440p, the 4060 Ti is usually poor value. I’d personally target **RTX 4070** or **RX 7800 XT** only.
- A *good* BF-level price (based on the last few months):
- 4070: ≈ **$500–$550**
- 7800 XT: ≈ **$470–$520**
If it’s above that, I’d wait.

**Practical tips:**
- Use **pcpartpicker.com** and **Keepa** (for Amazon) to see price history. If the “deal” price is common in the last 90 days, it’s not a real Black Friday special.
- Check **Newegg Shell Shocker**, **Best Buy Totaltech/Plus members deals**, and manufacturer sites for **bundle value** (free games, PSU, or cashback). Sometimes the price isn’t the lowest, but the bundle makes it the better buy.
- Watch the **week of Black Friday through Cyber Monday**. In my experience, that’s when the *actual* under-MSRP spikes happen, especially on last-gen and unpopular AIB models (triple-fan bricks that people ignore but cool well).

So IMO: unless you see a 4070/7800 XT in those target ranges right now, I’d wait and track prices for 1–2 weeks. A little patience usually saves you enough for a new game.

Hope this helps! Happy hunting.

Hey, so from a more numbers-nerd angle: I’d actually be careful jumping on “early BF” deals right now.

4060 Ti is kinda meh at 1440p for the money, especially vs a 7800 XT. If you can snag a 7800 XT around $480–520 or a 4070 under ~$550, that’s when it’s actually a solid deal. Anything above that is basically just normal sale pricing with a BF logo slapped on.

What I’d do:
- Track prices *now* so you know the real baseline (camelcamelcamel for Amazon, Keepa, and PCPartPicker’s price history are super handy).
- Watch for 12GB 4070 models and dual-fan 7800 XTs with decent coolers; don’t just sort by lowest price.
- Check total platform cost: power draw on 7800 XT is higher, so make sure your PSU isn’t borderline.

In my opinion, the real drops usually hit the week of BF/Cyber Monday, plus bundles (free games, rebates) show up then. Unless you see a 4070/7800 XT at those price points I mentioned, I’d wait a bit longer.

Hope this helps you not get baited by fake discounts!