Food for Thought…is buying high end PC videocard dumb?

Your money is your money but personally I can't find a single game I can't enjoy on my laptop. Obviously a desktop GPU will give you more bang for your buck but my frames are never the problem. I'm curious what anyone needs a 9 series card for. What are you playing that I'm not on high graphics? But hey some people buy sports cars and never drive anywhere you can go more than 60 mph legally so.
 
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Q: Do you have money to spend $2000+ every two years on a graphics card like it's $200? Then probably yes


You will be getting the same game experience between a 5090 and a 9070XT other than graphical fidelity.
 
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Honestly, buying a 90 in any series is a terrible idea unless you plan to keep for a long time.
80 is a gamble.
I think 70, even 60 is good if you skip a few gens.
But getting an 70-80 every new iteration is bad practice.
 
Draugoth said:
Q: Do you have money to spend $2000+ every two years on a graphics card like it's $200? Then probably yes


You will be getting the same game experience between a 5090 and a 9070XT other than graphical fidelity.
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I don't agree with the " same experience line "

one you gt to enjoy the highest graphics possible. with the highest frames possible, the other can't

Even if I am playing Team Deathmatch online in Call of Duty, one will get me 240 frames on high graphics, the other won't unless everything is super low-rez, to the point that it's hard to enjoy the game. The details are not even the same, to the point that clearly having a high-end GPU has more advantages in these games.


not to say the 9070 xt is weak. it's far from it. But i wouldn't same say experience.
 
It really comes down to personal choice. Some people really love being able to have the best possible experience with performance and graphics and that's fine. I game mostly on console, I have a Pro but also a mid tier gaming PC 7700X + 3080. On console, as long as image quality is good enough and can game at 60fps, then I'm fine. So the Pro and even the PS5 for the most part meets this requirement.

If I'm on PC, as long as I can run 1440p@60fps minimum, all good. A 5080 for example is not really required for me to do that and if I had one, it would be nice but underappreciated because 1440p/60 is good enough for me. So in my case, it would probably be a dumb purchase because I would still be gaming on my console a lot anyway.

TLDR: It's not dumb if the person really values it.
 
Liopleurodon said:
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This reminds me of the competitions we have in Australia from this billionaire Adrian Portelli, he sometimes gives away $200-$300K+ cars and you see all these comments on social media from people saying please I really need this, my car is broken and can't afford to fix or can't afford to buy a car right now. Like even if they won it, they still couldn't afford to keep it lol
 
I couldnt justify spending thousands on something that has known issues like melting power connectors and black screens. I'll stick with mid-range cards. I have no problem turning down the graphics settings on the handful of AAA games that not even a RTX 5090 can run at 4k60fps with dlss off. I can run a good chunk of games in my 2000+ steam library at 1440p/120hz. If you have the money then go for it, i wish the best for you.
 
Unknown Soldier said:
Food for thought:

Is buying a Porsche dumb?

The answer is no, if you can appreciate what a car that is amazing to drive feels like
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That's stupid comparison.
Because when Inwatch a review of any. Or al car, it doesn't get compared to porche.
But every game is tested on and every gpu is compared to xx90 card. It's a part of the stack. Not some unnoticed luxury good.

So being that, it skews rest of the stack and it's performance.
 
How is the comparison "stupid"?

A Porsche is a high end car

A 5090 is a high end GPU

Porsches are compared with other high end cars all the time so I have no idea what you are on about
 
How much time do you spend with AAA games? Is it worth to overpay for a useless piece of hardware slightly better graphics in several games?
 
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I think that kind of question just stirs up emotion and drama. It's a deeply personal decision and one that's closely tied to income and financial stability. Of course, dropping 3,000 on a GPU seems ridiculos if you're unsure how you'll make it through the month but if you got money pouring in its barely a blip on your radar.
But those are the extremes. Most of us are somewhere in the middle. we earn enough to live comfortably, but not so much that a $3,000 hit to the bank account goes unnoticed. That makes decisions like this really tough

If you do buy the GPU chances are youll look for some form of validation it wasnt a casual purchase. And if you decide against it you might still feel the need to justify or validate your choice. That dynamic is the perfect breeding ground for online drama and conflict. In the end the question doesnt really lead us anywhere useful. It rarely sparks meaningful conversation and it just fuel judgment defensiveness and endless backandforth. Everyones situation is different and making it a simple yes or no misses all the nuance that actually matter.
 
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Starbuck2907 said:
You enter buy a great card that lasts a long time or buy a cheaper card that needs replacing much sooner. The difference is that with one you get spectacular results longer.

That said, I usually buy mud level cards or used high end cards to save a few bucks.
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It used to be a relative of the "Buy cheap, buy twice" theory where a 1080ti would last a lot longer while not breaking the bank.

While this is still true in terms of how long it will be a good card, it makes far less sense now. You can upgrade your GPU multiple times for the price of a single top end nVidia card. Any tactical future thinking is lost in the current price system.

So now it only really comes down to disposable income and what a GPU does to that - if you want to spend that sort of money on one.

Personally I won't ever do it on sheer principle. It's ridiculous and the whales and miners have dragged everyone into a shit situation. I'm only "happy" to buy a 9070 XT because it's the best option on the market and relative to nVidia it's a bargain. But in now way is any of this how it should be.
 
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Scored my 4070 off of ebay for about $450 and don't have a legit reason to upgrade.
 
PC gaming at the low to mid range has stayed the same relative value over the past decade, it's the high end that has gone completely nuts.
 
Compare the cards in much more demanding games, to not look far, ff16, or AC:S and u will gladly take all the performance u can get- u can see even in highly compressed yt vid-game looks far worse and on top fps hit is massive, far from stable 60 which is unplayable on pc in 2025.
Not saying 3060 is bad buy ofc, its actually very good coz of dat 12gigs vram and dlss, but if u spending yearly say 10x 70usd on newest games, aka arent casual, and got disposable income for it, its well worth it to play on at least midrange pc, not lowend.

Another thing is- those yt vid comparisions are misleading af, even back with witcher 3(before nextgen patch, so 2015 game), both settings at 1080p, if u went medium vs maxed(which i did to test, played it with both expacks in 2017 on my gtx 1080, perfect stable 60 in all cases even with hairworks on except this one short blip with close up on a cat ;)- difference is massive.
W/e u guys think u seeing of a difference in yt comparision, in actual game it looks and feels 10x more massive.

Here one really demanding game he tested 3060 on, ff16
timestamped in the vid to 5:25

He is mincing his words and trying his best to market ugly 40s avg fps experience as playable- and since im currently playing it on my 9800x3d and 3080ti(thats basically 4070s/5070) i can tell u exactly 3060 that is literally 2x weaker will give bad experience to the player.

Remember when u upgrading ur gpu, u not only wanna play older titles, but u hope to play newer/demanding titles that will launch in next 2-3years too, and for that 3060 is simply too weak- unless u go 720p low/30fps which obviously most ppl wont wanna go in 2025 and onwards.
Thats where 3060 is currently, performance wise, on avg:
www.techpowerup.com

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB Specs

NVIDIA GA106, 1777 MHz, 3584 Cores, 112 TMUs, 48 ROPs, 12288 MB GDDR6, 1875 MHz, 192 bit
www.techpowerup.com www.techpowerup.com


TLDR: Not saying to not get 3060 or hate ur current gpu if its low end- just keep in mind it will be fine for older/less demanding games but new very demanding tittles will simply chew tru it like 1k bodycount slut trought a male virgin :p
 
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I think the main problem is feature set as opposed to raw performance. New media encoders, better upscaling, etc.
In that regard, the high-end gets just as outdated as the mid-range at a certain point in time. This is the case for CPUs as well with their SIMD extensions.
I won't stop anyone from buying a 5090 even though I had a retarded opinion about it earlier, I'm just too poor for one.
 
Many folks say that it's not nessecary, because you'll get similar fps with a mid range card.... in 1440p.
Is it "stupid" to want that kind of performance in 4K? Of course not. It's a better experience, and many people want the best possible experience when they're doing their hobby/passion. Nothing dumb about that, although its diminishing returns in the highest end (as with most stuff)

Lots of people don't think the jump from 2440p to 4K is worth it (considering the specs needed to get the same performance), and that's fine.
And it's also fine to want the best possible experience.
Something can be "dumb" or "stupid" for some folks but not for others.
I'm not a rich man, but I save up for the best possible gaming experience because it gives me lots of joy, and I prioritize it instead of other stuff (I seldom buy expensive cloths, I have a very regular car etc)
If purchacing a 5090 meant I couldn't get clothes and food for my kids, then sure.. that would not only be stupid, but irresponsible and insane, but getting a high end graphic card to enjoy my hobby in the best possible way is not dumb for me.
 
rkofan87 said:
how long be for top of the line pc stuff is out dated and its time to buy the new stuff??
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If u got 4090 that launched autumn 2022, u still got 2nd best gpu with 24gigs of vram and top1 gpu is only 35% stronger, which we can safely assume u will be superfine at least till 60xx cards launch so end of 2027 or maybe even 2028, so 5-6years from the launch date of the gpu.

Cpu wise its even longer coz that 7800x3d which launched in april 2023 will definitely obliterate even next xbox/ps6 cpu's which means u are likely safe till 2036 or so, as long as u wanna have 60stable fps, not some silly 120/240fps.

Here proof, launched this month 700$ msrp top of the line 9950x3d cpu review, compare its scores to 7800x3d in games, timestamped for u:


As u can see even in best case scenario, thats 20% difference(and thats with fps well over 100, often even beating 200), in most games even with making sure game plays on 1080p and cpu heavy scenario- its 10-15%, in actual gaming scenario where ur gpu will be bottleneck coz u ofc will wanna up the settings/res(even with dlss/fsr) both will give well above stable 60 for years to come.
 
I dont think is dumb, but this moment is same as crypto covid moment. Everyone is scalping where you can get a 9800X3D and 5080 full system for a price of 5090.

If you are rich and choose a 5090, it is fine.

If you are fomo normie and choose a 5090, you are dumb
 
Depends on circumstances, but for the vast majority of gamers buying a XX90 card would be dumb yes.

People buying a top of the line CPU like the 9950x3D just for gaming is even less justifiable than a 5090.

These products are more understandable for professional workloads. For gaming you shouldn't be spending $2k on a GPU unless you have enough income that it just doesn't matter and there's nowhere better for that money to go.
 
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Is it dumb?

no.

Has the pricing gotten ludicrous and out of hand?

yes.

I've always upgraded my PC every few years or so. But I don't think I'll be doing so further, at least not in the same way I use to. Also Nvidia are souring me with every generation having exclusive features that render their previous generation obsolete essentially.

Also PC games release in a hot shit state anyway lately and gaming in general is fairly mediocre at the moment. Look at what is trending on steam, a pretty mediocre drug dealer game that could run on a ps2 (yes I've played the demo, that game is not fun, it's just a boring way to have a second job).
 
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If we`re talking about disposable income it is probably not "dumb" per se, but on the other hand you are voting with your money for things to continue the given trajectory.
If people unanimously had given Nvidia the finger with the 4xxx gen we`d not have prices as we have them today.
 
Depends on your use case. That being said, buying a consumer-grade GPU, which all cards in the 5000 are, for >$1000 is fucking retarded.
 
if you are rich, nothings wrong.

But i personally dont see the reason to buy the latest 5090 GPU, heard it has alot of issues?

I just think that the performance you get compared to the money you spend its not worth it
 
People buying the 5090 are usually the ones with disposable income to spare.

Why should I give a flying fuck over what another person spends?

That's some real feminine energy, worrying about what another man spends or how much he has to spend it.
 
We live in times where the SCAM of high end pcs is through the roof, so everyone gets really personal about their builds.
 
I was an every gen Nvidia xx80 series buyer from the 280 to the 1080. Covid scalping stopped me from getting a 20 or 30, and dignity stopped me from getting a 40 or 50. Ended up with a used $200 6750xt and I still don't have a game I can't run on ultra settings (1080p monitor, rarely play new releases).
 
simpatico said:
I was an every gen Nvidia xx80 series buyer from the 280 to the 1080. Covid scalping stopped me from getting a 20 or 30, and dignity stopped me from getting a 40 or 50. Ended up with a used $200 6750xt and I still don't have a game I can't run on ultra settings (1080p monitor, rarely play new releases).
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Try demanding games, like wukong, ff16 or ac:s and go back to us :)
My 3080ti is 55% from ur gpu on avg and i cant run those games maxed in 4k(dlss from 1080p just so pixels arent the size of fists ;p)

We can see exactly how ur gpu performs in ff16 maxed 1080p:
 
For most games yeah, but if you have the money and it makes you happy then nothing wrong with it.
 
Not if it's worth it to you.

To me, I don't see how the high prices are justified, given the diminishing returns and the smaller gap between consoles and PC.

But I also thought the PS5 Pro didn't make much sense this gen and was kind of unnecessary, yet I still bought it and I'm happy with it.

So really, who gives a fuck?
 
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This is extremely subjective and comes down to personal preference as well as budgets. I'm happy with a mid-high end rig. I don't need 4K and am very happy with 1440p 60+FPS so I will buy parts to get that type of experience.
 
OverHeat said:
Guess I'm dumb 2080ti,3090,4090 and now 5090 😂
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Fuckin retarded bro. J/k

The point that Daniel is making is spot on- you don't need a 5090 to have a good gaming experience. A 5070ti/9070xt is all the card you realistically need unless you make money with your GPUs. And this is ignoring the poor frames/$ value of the 5090.

And good is relative to your needs. Play at 1080p? Be crazy to consider a 5090 for gaming only purposes.
 
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Macattk15 said:
What a stupid video.

Buy what you can afford.
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The video is fine. It isn't about buying what you can afford if the difference is not meaningful. Buy what you think is worth it and the video is just showing the difference (albeit on a youtube vid) and giving an opinion. I personally don't think it's worth the cost but to each their own.
 
kat_on_the_roof said:
I think that kind of question just stirs up emotion and drama. It's a deeply personal decision and one that's closely tied to income and financial stability. Of course, dropping 3,000 on a GPU seems ridiculos if you're unsure how you'll make it through the month but if you got money pouring in its barely a blip on your radar.
But those are the extremes. Most of us are somewhere in the middle. we earn enough to live comfortably, but not so much that a $3,000 hit to the bank account goes unnoticed. That makes decisions like this really tough

If you do buy the GPU chances are youll look for some form of validation it wasnt a casual purchase. And if you decide against it you might still feel the need to justify or validate your choice. That dynamic is the perfect breeding ground for online drama and conflict. In the end the question doesnt really lead us anywhere useful. It rarely sparks meaningful conversation and it just fuel judgment defensiveness and endless backandforth. Everyones situation is different and making it a simple yes or no misses all the nuance that actually matter.
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Psssht, using logic, reason and intelligence is not something appreciated by most users around here 😂
 
Dacvak said:
Stuttering in every single new game is the best experience?

Jk, I'm just trolling lol
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Even if it was in every single game and significantly annoying (unlike some rare traversal stuttering or the VRR problem on PS5s), over crappier IQ, frame rate and controls (no m+kb in shooters, etc.), no ultrawide, low/medium settings, yes, it's still the best experience.

Cyberpunkd said:
If you are looking at price vs. performance ratio - yes, but that's applies to many other product categories, now only graphic cards.
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Price matters for those too poor (like me). Otherwise doesn't matter.
 
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