My gaming PC is about seven years old, and the RTX 2080 recently started crashing and showing signs that its VRAM may be failing. I have already run several tests and am fairly confident the graphics card is the problem. I mainly play Deep Rock Galactic, Old School RuneScape, Dead by Daylight, and other older or moderately demanding games, so I would prefer not to replace the entire system unless it is necessary. My current build has a Ryzen 9 3900X, Gigabyte X570 AORUS Elite motherboard, 32 GB of DDR4-3200 memory, and a Seasonic Focus Plus Gold 850W power supply. Should I replace the card with another used RTX 2080, upgrade to something like an RTX 3080 or 4070 Ti while keeping the rest of the system, or start planning a completely new build?
3 Answers
Your Ryzen 9 3900X, motherboard, memory, and 850W power supply are still perfectly usable for a graphics card upgrade. A used RTX 3080 12GB would be a noticeable step up from the 2080, especially if you can find one from a trustworthy seller for around $300 or less. The 3900X may limit performance somewhat at very high frame rates or lower resolutions, but it should not prevent the card from being a worthwhile upgrade for your games.
If your budget is considerably higher, a newer card such as an RTX 4070 Ti could also work with this system, and its efficiency would be better than a 3080. However, for the games you listed, that may be more performance than you need. A reasonably priced 3080, 3080 Ti, or similar mid-to-upper-range newer card makes more sense than replacing the whole computer right now. You can upgrade the CPU later if you start chasing very high refresh rates.
A 3080 should drop into your current build without requiring a motherboard or platform change. Just check the specific card's dimensions, use the required PCIe power cables, and make sure it has not been heavily abused or mined on. Your 850W Seasonic unit is more than adequate. I would avoid paying close to new-card pricing for another used RTX 2080 unless it is extremely cheap, since a 3080 gives you better performance and more VRAM.
That sounds like the most practical route. I will compare prices and be careful about the card's condition before buying.
I would really like to keep the rest of the system if possible. So even if the 3080 is occasionally limited by the 3900X, it should still perform at least as well as the 2080 and give me some extra headroom, right?