News Nvidia RTX 50-series Blackwell designs and specifications expected to be finalized this month — RTX 5080 rumored to have 400W TGP

[Flayed]

They tend to ship them past the optimum power/performance point for the architecture to win benchmarks. I doubt I'll ever be in the market for such an expensive card, but I may be tempted when something like a 5070 Super is launched.

 

[jlake3]

But is it becoming obsolete because it lacks performance, or is it becoming obsolete because game titles are too demanding and require unrealistic hardware components?

A 4090 is a special card, only used by a small fraction of the gaming community. Most people use like a 4070 or a 4060.

The fact games are bringing a 4090 to it's knees tells me more about games than about GPU performance.

I feel like there might also be something to be said about expectations?

I've got a RX 5700 (non-XT), and while it's starting to feel older, it feels a bit dramatic to deem it "obsolete" just because I've gotta turn down a few settings and maybe run 1080p render resolution and upscale to my 1440p monitor. It's only good for Medium in the Star Wars Outlaws roundup, and Alan Wake's mesh shader requirement doesn't bode well for it's future, but it still can be turned to look and run well in a lot of things people are playing in 2024.

I am not understanding what is wrong with the 4000 series that we need a faster 5000 series. I think this is just too fast of a release strategy and causes those who spend their hard earned money on a 4000 card to loose out on a lot of resale value.

You could make the argument this is the way it has always been, but that does not mean it has to stay like this. The 4000 still has the performance crown, and has the RT advantage over any competitor.

I just don't see the point of upgrading from a 4000. Maybe upgrading from a 3000 makes more sense, but then again the 4000 series will likely receive some clearance discounts and the second hand market will provide some good deals on used 4000 cards that a 5000 card might not be the best choice either.

The "issue" with the RTX 40-series is that is that upgrading every generation doesn't make sense for most people, so they need a new product to entice RTX 30 owners to make another purchase. And with the current generation being considered a bit of a letdown in the lower tiers, a number of people who skipped the RTX 30-series sat out the 40-series as well (6 of the top 20 cards on Steam are 10, 16, or 20-series, and those six models add up to more than 15% of gamers surveyed), so there's the potential to entice them into a purchase with a good 50-series release (or at least get them to take the leftover 40-series cards off your hands with a good clearance discount).

As for causing those who spent their hard-earned money on a RTX 40-series to lose out on resale value, computer parts have historically had pretty terrible depreciation, and generally not been a great store of value. Discounts/bundles on new stock and a growing supply of second-hand cards put downward pressure on prices even before the replacement is announced.

 

[brandonjclark]

Why?

There are a ton of options at more reasonable power consumption levels and prices that still provide a very good experience, even if they’re not the absolute top of the line, and I’m sure people here will be happy to provide recommendations. The 90-class cards are for enthusiasts who aren’t as concerned about price or efficiency as much as having “the best”, just like the Titan line was before them.

A good point, for sure. But I don't have money issues. I have issues with things that hold me back.

 

[subspruce]

I thought the 4090 already drew too much power. Ah well, looks like we'll have to deal with melting connectors again.

yeah, as if we didn't have enough melting already /s