Question i7-4790k 3080TI Bottleneck How Bad?

[djlu09]

Planning to buy a 3080 TI or 3090.

Cannot upgrade other parts due to financial restraints but they are compatible with the new gpu

The question is, How bad will the bottleneck be? for both?

I'm guessing it will be worse on the 3090 but if it outperforms the 3080 TI despite the bottleneck then isn't that still better?

Any advice would be much appreciated

Spec If necessary
z97 gaming 3
i7-4790k
750 psu - zalman 750 gold

 

[Phaaze88]

Best way to find out is to do it yourself.
Play your games and turn down the eye candy all the way down - if you don't already do it in some titles - compare the difference from the settings you normally use, and you'll then have an idea.


IMO, that platform(cpu/mobo/ram) is a bit long in the tooth. If that unknown 750w psu is just as old... if you were to buy one of those cards first, you'd end up in a pit with no way out - except time - as there wouldn't be enough funds left over to troubleshoot.

New psu(depending on age and identity) and platform first, card comes after those.

 

[sizzling]

A very key question, what resolution?

If you are cpu limited (bottlenecked) with a 3080Ti, then a 3090 is not going to give you any more fps as the limit is the cpu.

Agree with Phaaze88, what exact psu do you have and how old is it? If it is as old as the rest of the system don’t risk any new high end gpu by using it.

 

[USAFRet]

The question is, How bad will the bottleneck be? for both?

There is no "how bad".
Putting in a better part (the new GPU) you will get better overall performance than what you have now.

Of course, your PSU is a critical factor here with those GPUs.

 

[spartanjack321]

Gigantic. The 4790k was a beast back in the day but anything stronger than a 1070ti and you'll begin to bottleneck.

 

[Karadjgne]

Gigantic. The 4790k was a beast back in the day but anything stronger than a 1070ti and you'll begin to bottleneck.

At a 4k resolution, a 3080ti and 4790k is pretty much no different than a 1070 and 4790k at 1080p.

Except for the graphical detailing at that 4k resolution. Fps won't be much of any different.

The biggest issue will be cpu intensive games, ones with a ton of Ai, npcs, ambient and occlusive lighting etc and of course multiple scripted mod games like Fallout and Skyrim and mmorpgs like WoW with higher raid groups.

 

[BFG-9000]

At low resolutions and DX12 on a 4790k, the 3090 can be effectively no faster than a 1060, if the game is known to be highly CPU limited such as the Fortnite example provided in this linked video.

At higher resolutions with more eye candy turned on where the GPU can be the bottleneck, it will tend to perform much more as expected. Basically being very CPU limited just means you can turn the image quality settings way up and even run DSR or supersampling for "free" as in there will be no fps penalty for doing so. If this provides acceptable enough performance until you can move the card into a newer system then it can still be a reasonable upgrade, but AMD GPUs tend to work much better on weak CPUs because game consoles all have weak CPUs.

 

[spartanjack321]

At a 4k resolution, a 3080ti and 4790k is pretty much no different than a 1070 and 4790k at 1080p.

Except for the graphical detailing at that 4k resolution. Fps won't be much of any different.

The biggest issue will be cpu intensive games, ones with a ton of Ai, npcs, ambient and occlusive lighting etc and of course multiple scripted mod games like Fallout and Skyrim and mmorpgs like WoW with higher raid groups.

Is he gaming at 4k? I'm a 1080p guy so I only think of competitive fps