[SOLVED] Help decide between 3070/3070ti/3080

Jan 2, 2022
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So my 980Ti finally died 2 days ago, so I'm in the market for a Graohics card. I currently have a 1080p monitor, but Im planning to upgrade to a 1440p 144Hz monitor along with the new graphics card. I need your advice on whether I should go for a 3070/3070Ti/3080 for this. Since I play MSFS 2020, i thought of spending the ~15000 extra on a 3080 so that I can future proof myself for 4-6 more years pretty much. Note : I have no aspirations to ever upgrade to a 4k setup even with a 3080. 1440p is perfectly good for me.

I will however be using my 1080p monitor as a second screen to watch Youtube etc. while gaming on the new 1440p monitor.

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: this weekend BUDGET RANGE: ₹ 60000 - ₹ 75000 (lower the better, obviously)

USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming (MSFS 2020, Aoe2 : DE, Elite Dangerous, IL-2 Sturmovik Kuban) . Light 3D Modeling (Solidworks) ; Light Rendering (Bender) . Will also be grabbing some games scheduled to come out next year: Hogwarts, Starfield, etc.

CURRENT GPU AND POWER SUPPLY: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/RvfdY9

OTHER RELEVANT SYSTEM SPECS: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/RvfdY9

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Any of the ones in India (ITDepot, MD Computers, etc) COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Chennai, India

PARTS PREFERENCES:
Prefer only Nvidia Cards, and prefer Asus/MSI. Zotac seems attractive thanks to the 5 year warranty but willing to get any of these 3 brands.

OVERCLOCKING: No SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No

MONITOR RESOLUTION: Currently have 1080p, but planning to upgrade to a 1440p 144Hz monitor

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Current options I have looked at :

 
Solution
You have a contradiction in your post. Namely this:

so that I can future proof myself for 4-6 more years
BUDGET RANGE: ₹ 60000 - ₹ 75000 (lower the better, obviously)

The cheaper the GPU, the less future proofing you'll get with it. And vice-versa.

So, decide which is more important to you:
if future proofing, get RTX 3080, since with that, it takes far longer before GPU becomes too weak to be obsolete.
If money, get RTX 3070, since it's far cheaper than RTX 3080.

Btw, your PSU is good enough for any of the three GPUs you're looking at. Heck, it's even good enough for RTX 4080/3090/3090 TI.

punkncat

Polypheme
Ambassador
I had been watching the 3070 FE for some time during the high prices/crypto thing updating from a GTX1080. I use a 1440/144 monitor and was playing most of my games at high settings seeing ~75 average FPS with the 1080 GPU. On the 3070 I have been able to increase most of the games to highest/ultra settings and typically see ~110 frames.
The games I play are campaign mode single player types so having a high frame rate wasn't as important to me as it being consistent with the eye candy turned up. In regard to the price I am (mostly) happy with the 3070. Had pricing been in line with historical increases on the level of card I would have gone with the 3080 just such as to not need an upgrade that much sooner, as it were. I mean, being honest I didn't NEED the 3070 from the 1080, but you know what I mean.
 
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Aeacus

Titan
Ambassador
You have a contradiction in your post. Namely this:

so that I can future proof myself for 4-6 more years
BUDGET RANGE: ₹ 60000 - ₹ 75000 (lower the better, obviously)

The cheaper the GPU, the less future proofing you'll get with it. And vice-versa.

So, decide which is more important to you:
if future proofing, get RTX 3080, since with that, it takes far longer before GPU becomes too weak to be obsolete.
If money, get RTX 3070, since it's far cheaper than RTX 3080.

Btw, your PSU is good enough for any of the three GPUs you're looking at. Heck, it's even good enough for RTX 4080/3090/3090 TI.
 
Solution
That should be a good gpu for you. I would have suggested check amd cards as in the USA they are quite a bit less for similar performance these days except in the area of ray tracing. But I do realize you prefer nvidia and that you ordered the 3080, so hopefully that serves you well for the next few years. If you’ve got a 1080 now you are due for an upgrade after 5 years or so.