Digital Foundry: Why We Recommend Buying a GPU Now

Just as google throws their TPU into the ring, possibly negating half the need for GPUs in AI

Sit tight, crash coming sooner rather than later. Then I'll make them beg for my business.
There's still the manufacturing capacity limit. If Google's chip is a hit, they will buy more TSMC wafers to make them and this will results in less Nvidia GPU wafers.
 
ASUS Prime GeForce RTX 5070 12GB GDDR7, is that a good card for my system? I have a MSI X470 Motherboard, a Ryzen 5700x, 32GB of ram, Windows 10, a 750 watt PSU I think, a big Coolermaster case, but Im not sure it'll fit in my PCI slot.. And also I dont know if I need to upgrade anything else in my case. Or my windows? Right now I have a 3070 Gigabyte Gaming OC 8GB. It's still serving me fine, in 2560x1440 I get about 100 FPS in Arc Raiders, when using DLSS Transformer model and all settings on High, RTGI is at medium.

Or a 5070ti??
Spend a bit more for the Ti with 16GB VRAM and performance if you have the budget. Will last you significantly longer if you plan to keep it. Even now games can go over 12GB easily at 4K high settings.

Or get a 9700XT which has better raster to cost ratio. AMD cards generally have less CPU overhead than Nvidia's which will better suit your Zen 3 CPU.
 
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Fuck it, I just ordered a new rig. Going all in.

AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D (8x 4.7GHz / 5.2GHz Turbo)
64GB (2x32GB) DDR5 AMD/Intel 6000MHz Corsair Vengeance RGB CL30
32GB NVIDIA RTX5090

I don't think prices will get any better. My first rig since 2015.
Which model 5090 did you go with?
 
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I'm on a 3080Ti FE, and whilst I am a little tempted for a 5080 I'm currently playing games from my backlog. Some of them 10+ years old so they run completely fine. By the time I clear 3 or 4 titles, the 60XX etc cards will be out and (hopefully) the chip prices will have settled or returned to normal.
 
So I bought a GPU as I trust DF. How do I hook it up to my Thinkpad?
If its an Intel that has Thunderbolt 3/4 or AMD laptop with USB 4 you can connect it as an external GPU using a dock. Something like the AOOSTAR AG02 will do the trick. If not or unsure, you might be better off cancelling order or returning.
 
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Imagine an AIB needing to secure 32 GB of GDDR7 for the 5090... lol

man these cards are gonna skyrocket soon lol

People really should secure a video card as soon as possible if they are in the market for one. Stop worrying about 50$ or 100$ less deals. It's gonna get ugly, you wish you paid that 100$
I wonder how this will ultimately affect the next PlayStation with those rumors about 32 GB of RAM. What a terrible time for shortages.
 
If its an Intel that has Thunderbolt 3/4 or AMD laptop with USB 4 you can connect it as an external GPU using a dock. Something like the AOOSTAR AG02 will do the trick. If not or unsure, you might be better off cancelling order or returning.

Is the interface (thunderbolt/ USB4, or whatever is needed) expensive to implement? I would like small form factor to start leaning more into external (upgradable) GPU support.
And external GPU with it's own power supply.
If the interface plus power supply costs too much I can see it being an issue but even if it adds $100 or $200 to the price of the GPU it might be worth it for the ease of upgrade/use/resell value.
 
Just got an rx 9070xt. As a replacement for my 4070 super. 12GB VRAM was not enough for me after all. Let's see how long AMD will support the card, or whether it will be discontinued two years after its release.
 
Ypu are a lemming and part of the problem if you buy right now.
Both Nvidia and AMD will have no incentive to make their cards cheaper given the demand from the AI market. The only thing I see happening here is that the current hardware will get even more futureproof as development in that sector will severely hampered due to the costs. Meaning, why even bother making more advanced graphics when hardly anyone can afford the hardware any more?
 
I wonder how this will ultimately affect the next PlayStation with those rumors about 32 GB of RAM. What a terrible time for shortages.
It ain't gonna be pretty. If anything this kinda confirms the PS5 don't be below 700 at least.

Because I am expecting the prices of the PS5 to go up early next year for sure.

The good news is the PS6 isn't out till late 2027 from the leaks. So the production of retail units won't be before March or may 2027 give or take couple of months. One would hope the prices of these rams would go down or something changes . Because If the situation doesn't change soon it's gonna be much worse.
 
Is the interface (thunderbolt/ USB4, or whatever is needed) expensive to implement? I would like small form factor to start leaning more into external (upgradable) GPU support.
And external GPU with it's own power supply.
If the interface plus power supply costs too much I can see it being an issue but even if it adds $100 or $200 to the price of the GPU it might be worth it for the ease of upgrade/use/resell value.
Unless you already have a compatible laptop or PC handheld, its probably not worth the time, money or hassle. It starts getting costly once you factor in getting external eGPU docks (with PSU) which are like $200+ from places like AliExpress. And you won't get the full performance of the GPU due to bottlenecks in the interface and connection - Thunderbolt and USB 4, especially. And resale value of it all will suck compared to lets say a gaming laptop.

You can get mini-PC's that have those connections not unlike the Steam Machine in that they use mobile parts. And there is a sub-Reddit dedicated to eGPU's should you be interested. I'd just go for a gaming laptop personally if for a performant and portable gaming setup or maybe look into a Steam Machine that's coming early next year. Though the latter isn't upgradable. Maybe even look into building your own small form factor PC, though probably not the best time due to RAM and SSD prices skyrocketing.
 
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Unless you already have a compatible laptop or PC handheld, its probably not worth the time, money or hassle. It starts getting costly once you factor in getting external eGPU docks (with PSU) which are like $200+ from places like AliExpress. And you won't get the full performance of the GPU due to bottlenecks in the interface and connection - Thunderbolt and USB 4, especially. And resale value of it all will suck compared to lets say a gaming laptop.

You can get mini-PC's that have those connections not unlike the Steam Machine in that they use mobile parts. And there is a sub-Reddit dedicated to eGPU's should you be interested. I'd just go for a gaming laptop personally if for a performant and portable gaming setup or maybe look into a Steam Machine that's coming early next year. Though the latter isn't upgradable. Maybe even look into building your own small form factor PC, though probably not the best time due to RAM and SSD prices skyrocketing.
Thats unfortunate, the PC industry really needs to hammer out some new form factor standards. Seems we have been stuck with the current ones for decades.

I read about things like, connectors on backs of motherboards, and flat memory that's not in the way of CPU coolers and wonder, where the heck is all the innovation?
 
I wonder how this will ultimately affect the next PlayStation with those rumors about 32 GB of RAM. What a terrible time for shortages.
Demand will hopefully have stabilized in two years. SK Hyrix already announced they have a very large increase in production lines underway. We'll see if Samsung and Micron follow suit.

The issue is you don't want to go too crazy and end up sitting on a ton of inventory when the AI crash happens.
 
Rtx7000 7000 dollars
It's cute how you think the PS6 won't be affected. Capacity is sold out for 2026 and you think Sony can compete against the major AI players?

- Delayed
- Nerfed to 20GB
- Significantly more expensive then planned.

Pick one for the PS6. Or hell more than one if this memory issue isn't addressed.
 
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