[SOLVED] Is an upgrade from 3070 to new 4070TI a smart decision?

[drwhykk]

Well aware that value is different for every person but looking for some opinions. Clearly the 4070 TI is too highly priced as a rebranded 4080. However given prices over past three years, $825 for a high end GPU isn't overly outrageous and I'd be surprised if we saw lower prices or similar performance budget cards in the next year.

I have a 5800X3D CPU and game at 1440p with a 165hz monitor. My goal is to be able to continue gaming at 1440P with HIGH settings (don't want to drop to Medium) for as long as possible on the AM4 platform. So far so good, I can run all AAA games at 60+ in 1440p Ultra and all competitive shooters and MMO's at high refresh rates thanks to CPU.

So my debate is just between biting bullet now and not having to upgrade any parts for 4-5+ years or stick to what I have for 2+ more years and re-evaluate what's out there and upgrade the GPU then.

 

[kerberos_20]

is 8GB vram enough for 1440p ultra? i have several games running over 12 GB vram...thats also reason why i went with rx6800 as it has 16gigs at lower price than 3080

 

[ohio_buckeye]

I would say 8gb vram isn’t enough for 1440p ultra. Perhaps today but I remember when the discussion was about 4gb being enough for 1080p a few years back. These days I wouldn’t be surprised if 1080p is approaching 8gb much less 1440p.

As far as upgrading that’s your call. I think they said the 4070ti performs around a 3090ti, but of course it just has 12gb vram whereas the 3090ti was like double that. On the other hand if you can find a 4070ti at 800, it looks like used 3070 cards are going for 350-500 used on eBay. So you could probably sell yours, take off about 20% for fees and shipping, say you get 400 for example means you pocket about 320. So that makes a 4070ti a 500 dollar card for you.

 

[5900x]

The vram is going to be an issue even on 4070Ti. When you turn on all the jazz, RT, DLSS 3, and FG, it borderline peaks near to 12GB, so I don't understand why Nvidia is still dumping a 12GB on an advertised 4K card. Yeah they all say but 1440p is the sweet spot for this but how many times are you gonna buy a 1k card so maybe some future proofing is sensible if you even want to buy it.

If I were you, I would stick with 3070 for now, everything is good here with your specs. I would look how 2023 would pan out for atleast 5-6 months and then decide on what price and market and tech we have then.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

Another consideration once they resolve some of the issues might be look at the 7900xt or 7900xtx from amd. Close to the same price but you would not have to worry about vram.

 

[DSzymborski]

Honestly, if you're not unhappy with the performance now, I don't see a compelling reason to upgrade. In two years, you'll be able to get something better than a 4070 Ti for cheaper than a 4070 Ti is going for now.

 

[hotaru.hino]

When you turn on all the jazz, RT, DLSS 3, and FG, it borderline peaks near to 12GB,

The only thing out of these three that consumes a significant amount of VRAM is RT for BVH structures, and even then NVIDIA made updates to use simpler BVH structures, which take up less space.

DLSS doesn't cost much, if any VRAM to use. It actually decreases overall usage because the game runs at a lower internal rendering resolution.

Frame Generation also wouldn't increase VRAM usage, because it's using the frames the GPU already generated to make an in-between one.

Also most tools that report VRAM usage only report VRAM allocation.

 

[sizzling]

Honestly, if you're not unhappy with the performance now, I don't see a compelling reason to upgrade. In two years, you'll be able to get something better than a 4070 Ti for cheaper than a 4070 Ti is going for now.

I was going to say something similar.

I have decided that the current prices make upgrading from one generation to the next not enough gain for the money. Had the 4080 been <£1k I may have considered upgrading my 3080 (running 1440p 240Hz), I am not spending £1.2-1.3k for a 40% increase in performance.

 

[DSzymborski]

Hotaru's last sentence is extremely important. This is a constant problem that endlessly causes people to overestimate how much VRAM they're using.

 

[hotaru.hino]

If anyone's confused at what allocation vs usage means: allocation is a reservation which the OS promised. You can call up a restaurant and reserve 20 seats. But if 10 people actually show up, the restaurant is still out 20 seats until you decide to relinquish some of them.

 

[drwhykk]

Honestly, if you're not unhappy with the performance now, I don't see a compelling reason to upgrade. In two years, you'll be able to get something better than a 4070 Ti for cheaper than a 4070 Ti is going for now.

Thank you, this genuinely feels like the best response. Can probably get greater performance boost in a couple years for same or less.

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

is 8GB vram enough for 1440p ultra? i have several games running over 12 GB vram...thats also reason why i went with rx6800 as it has 16gigs at lower price than 3080

As a matter of interest, which games? I play one or two modern titles like BF2042, but don't see anything too big at 1440p and I've a 3060ti 8gb.

 

[Ar558]

Well aware that value is different for every person but looking for some opinions. Clearly the 4070 TI is too highly priced as a rebranded 4080. However given prices over past three years, $825 for a high end GPU isn't overly outrageous and I'd be surprised if we saw lower prices or similar performance budget cards in the next year.

I have a 5800X3D CPU and game at 1440p with a 165hz monitor. My goal is to be able to continue gaming at 1440P with HIGH settings (don't want to drop to Medium) for as long as possible on the AM4 platform. So far so good, I can run all AAA games at 60+ in 1440p Ultra and all competitive shooters and MMO's at high refresh rates thanks to CPU.

So my debate is just between biting bullet now and not having to upgrade any parts for 4-5+ years or stick to what I have for 2+ more years and re-evaluate what's out there and upgrade the GPU then.

The Value can't get worse realistically, I would wait and hope 5000/6000 series from nVidia or 8000/9000 series from AMD is better value. The worst case scenario is the same as now, but historically most previous generations have been better value.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

I thought I saw a video today that there may be some price cuts. We’ll see if that happens or not. But the 3070 should be ok for a little while. Although it does appear 3070s are selling on eBay for the high 300s to over 400 dollars. So there is something to be said for getting a new card and selling the 3070 to recoup part of the costs.

 

[kerberos_20]

As a matter of interest, which games? I play one or two modern titles like BF2042, but don't see anything too big at 1440p and I've a 3060ti 8gb.

horizon zero down 1440p ultra

under mem two vram values, first is allocated, second is actual usage...its just few minutes in game...some locations eats less then others (slightly)