Question Upgrading from GTX 980 Ti for 1440p or 4K Gaming

[airwalkrr]

Hello! I would like some advice on how best to upgrade my GPU. My system was built in 2015 and proved remarkably future-proof for 1080p gaming. I'm at the point where I'd like a boost, and my GPU seems like the main bottleneck right now, but I might be missing something. I have done a little reading on GPUs available right now and the options are just dizzying. So any advice you can offer even as a place to start would be helpful. Thank you for answering my thread!

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: by December; willing to wait for Cyber Monday/Black Friday but might snag a good deal if its available now BUDGET RANGE: up to USD$1000 After Rebates

USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Baldur's Gate 3 and Starfield primarily, I also want to play Star Wars Jedi: Survivor at some point. I may play Assassin's Creed: Odyssey or replay Cyberpunk 2077.
Edit: I don't have to play these games at 4K on Ultra, but being able to run at native resolution for my monitor would be nice.

CURRENT GPU AND POWER SUPPLY: EVGA GTX 980 Ti & EVGA 850G

OTHER RELEVANT SYSTEM SPECS: MSI Gaming 5 Z170A / Intel I7-6700K / G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (8x2) / Phanteks Enthoo Pro quad-fan cooling / NH-D15 D-Type Cooling heatsink

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: anywhere that will ship to continental USA COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA

PARTS PREFERENCES: nVidia preferred; I have bad experiences with AMD

OVERCLOCKING: Probably SLI OR CROSSFIRE: I would prefer a single card

MONITOR RESOLUTION: single 3840x2160

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I occasionally stream for friends at 720p; nothing too demanding, but it would be nice to be able to stream at least 1080p without a severe fps hit

 

[MrN1ce9uy]

$1,000 will get you an RTX 4070 Ti 12GB. If you can find the RTX 4080 within your budget, then go for it. IMO I simply cannot pay a price premium for a card that is intentionally crippled in the VRAM department when my intentions are to play the latest AAA games at high resolutions.

 

[airwalkrr]

$1,000 will get you an RTX 4070 Ti 12GB. If you can find the RTX 4080 within your budget, then go for it. IMO I simply cannot pay a price premium for a card that is intentionally crippled in the VRAM department when my intentions are to play the latest AAA games at high resolutions.

Thanks for the reply! I was browsing and the RTX 4070 Ti looked like a decent card in my price range, but I wasn't sure because it has been so long since I bought a new GPU.

Which card are you suggesting is crippled by the VRAM?

 

[MrN1ce9uy]

Thanks for the reply! I was browsing and the RTX 4070 Ti looked like a decent card in my price range, but I wasn't sure because it has been so long since I bought a new GPU.

Which card are you suggesting is crippled by the VRAM?

The RTX 4070 and 4070 Ti have a smaller than usual 192-bit memory bus with only 12GB of vram. For $600 and $800, one would expect a 256-bit bus with 16GB vram. Some of the latest AAA games today use over 11GB of vram. Next year, they will use more and so one and so forth. Nvidia gave us virtually zero headroom for vram on 12GB cards that will be used for 1440p and 4K gaming.

To make things worse, they took the RTX 3060 on a 192-bit memory bus with 12GB vram, and made the RTX 4060 with a 128-bit bus and 8GB vram. So, it looks to us like the RTX 4070 and 4070 Ti should have been the RTX 4060 and 4060 Ti for half the price. Also, you will see the RTX 4060 has at times a 0% or even negative lead over the RTX 3060 in gaming performance.

It's really a bummer, and I hate even thinking about it. Makes me not want to build computers anymore. Games are not worth that much money.

So, I will buy AMD.

 

[MrN1ce9uy]

The RTX 4080 on the other hand is a full 256-bit 16GB card. The only drawback is it starts at $1100.

 

[airwalkrr]

The RTX 4080 on the other hand is a full 256-bit 16GB card. The only drawback is it starts at $1100.

Thank you so much for your helpful explanations. I did a side-by-side comparison of some of the cards you talked about and I see what you mean. I really appreciate you giving me some great advice. Right now I am thinking since my 980 Ti still works fine I will keep my eyes peeled for a price drop or sale for the RTX 4080.

Since you advocate for AMD, what would you recommend if I were to consider an AMD card? I used to use them all the time because of the value and had no end of issues with them (overheating, not overclocking well, just straight dying) but my 980 Ti has been solid as a rock. You appear to have significant experience with more recent models. Is it possible my experience is outdated at this point? I looked at the 7900 XTX and just don't understand where the value is. That could easily be my ignorance though.

 

[MrN1ce9uy]

The RX 6000 series is still relevant. The RX 6800 XT at $529 and the RX 6950 XT at $629 are two of the best values right now. The RX 7800 XT is supposed to release Sept 6th at $499. It may be the new price/performance king if you ask me.

Do understand that my opinion is biased on the basis that no gaming GPU should cost $1,000; let alone more than that. I previously had a GTX 1080 Ti which I thoroughly enjoyed even though I often thought it was overkill and costed too much at $769 in 2017. I sold it for more than I paid for it in 2021 due to weird things happening in the markets. GTX 10 series was the last greatest generation from Nvidia until they bring back some value to their products. The GTX 1060 rivaled the GTX 980. The RTX 4060 will barely compete with the RTX 3060. Nvidia is going backwards.

AMD has announced FSR 3 to compete with Nvidia's DLSS3. These are frame generation technologies. DLSS3 is only compatible RTX 40 series. AMD FSR 3 will be compatible with older generations. This goes to show the intent of both AMD and Nvidia as to the value they bring their customers.

 

[airwalkrr]

The RX 6000 series is still relevant. The RX 6800 XT at $529 and the RX 6950 XT at $629 are two of the best values right now. The RX 7800 XT is supposed to release Sept 6th at $499. It may be the new price/performance king if you ask me.

Do understand that my opinion is biased on the basis that no gaming GPU should cost $1,000; let alone more than that. I previously had a GTX 1080 Ti which I thoroughly enjoyed even though I often thought it was overkill and costed too much at $769 in 2017. I sold it for more than I paid for it in 2021 due to weird things happening in the markets. GTX 10 series was the last greatest generation from Nvidia until they bring back some value to their products. The GTX 1060 rivaled the GTX 980. The RTX 4060 will barely compete with the RTX 3060. Nvidia is going backwards.

AMD has announced FSR 3 to compete with Nvidia's DLSS3. These are frame generation technologies. DLSS3 is only compatible RTX 40 series. AMD FSR 3 will be compatible with older generations. This goes to show the intent of both AMD and Nvidia as to the value they bring their customers.

I'll keep an eye out for what happens with the RX 7000 series since I am looking for a new card. I see some nice things being said about the RX 6950 XT, but I saw more than a few reviews citing high temperatures which brought back some bad memories. Thank you again for all your responses. You have been most helpful!