Question Best RTX GPU upgrade for my i7-3960X system

[Ferminator]

Hello
I'm currently rocking a pretty old system as a daily driver with these specs below:
• Intel Core i7-3960X All-Core OC @ 4.7 GHz
• ASUS P9X79 Pro
• 32GB (4* 8GB) DDR3 1600 MHz Quad-Channel
• Arctic Liquid Freezer II 240
• Dual GTX 980 Reference
• 1TB SSD, 2TB HDD (All SATA)
• Cougar GEX850 850W 80+ Gold PSU
• NZXT H710 Case
• Misc: Creative Soundcard, Windows 10, plenty of airflow

I also have to mention that I play games at 3440 x 1440 144 Hz but are okay with 60 FPS as I do play single-player games most of the time. I don't plan to upgrade my platform anytime soon. (Maybe in the next 3 years)

These are the 3 options for upgrade (All used):
1. Gainward Phoenix GS RTX 3070 8GB ~ 185 USD
2.Colorful IGAME Vulcan OC RTX 3080 10GB ~ 363 USD
3. PNY XLR8 EPIC X RGB RTX 3080 Ti 12GB ~ 388 USD

I'm looking for best bang for the buck and money isn't an issue for me.

Now is it worth to go get the RTX 3070 for such a cheap price or should I go with the 3080/3080 Ti and risk bottleneck by doing so? What are your thoughts.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Core i7-3960X will bottleneck all those cards.

 

[Ferminator]

Yes but should I just go with the 3070?

Considering it's very cheap and I'll see a noticeable performance uplift in single player games?

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Yes but should I just go with the 3070?
YES.

 

[Eximo]

Yeah, double the VRAM, more than twice the core count (assuming SLI). Massive bandwidth increase. Should work fine.

3080 and 3080 Ti are almost the same thing in practical use, aside from the VRAM, in which case I would track down a used 4070 rather than a 3080 Ti, despite the extra cost.

In most modern games you have been relying on a single GTX 980, most titles will see a massive bump with any of the cards from the 30 or 40 series. Even a 4060 would be quite something compared to a single 980.