I'm planning to build a PC that will be able to last me 5-7 years without needing an upgrade. Given the outrageous prices of GPUs right now, I'm thinking of waiting for the next high-end AMD graphics cards or potentially the 5080 Super, preferably with at least 24 GB VRAM. I've noticed some games are already pushing almost 16 GB at 1440p, and I'm concerned that might not be enough in the near future. Since I'm looking at spending over €1000 on a GPU, it seems reasonable to wait for updates rather than settle for something that might become obsolete too quickly. For the CPU, I'm considering the 7800X3D or the 9800X3D, depending on prices when I'm ready to buy, which feels simpler to decide on.
5 Answers
There's no such thing as truly future-proofing your setup. AMD has confirmed they won’t be releasing any high-end products in the current generation. A more realistic approach would be to work within your budget and plan for a GPU upgrade every 3-4 years instead.
Truthfully, no matter what you buy now, you'll need a replacement in about 4-6 years. A good idea is to focus on a mid to high-end build that allows for upgrades over time. You could buy something like a 5070 Ti, and sell it before it depreciates too much to keep your system relevant.
Future-proofing is a bit of a myth in PC gaming. Take the RTX 3090 Ti from just four years ago; it was the top dog then, but now you can get something like the RX 9070 that performs comparably. Remember, even 16 GB of VRAM is plenty for 1440p gaming for the next few years without needing to chase the latest GPUs for the absolute top specs.
If you're willing to wait for about 8 months, you should be prepared for the possibility of disappointment. There's no confirmation on whether future cards will have more VRAM. If you plan to hold off upgrading for 6 months, then waiting an extra few months might not be too bad, but I personally wouldn’t wait that long.
If games start using too much VRAM, you can always adjust your settings. It's usually not too much of a headache for most gamers. By the way, here’s a list of GPUs that have more than 24 GB of VRAM: [link to GPU list]
True, but with a solid GPU like the 7900XTX, you could still manage not to upgrade for about 5 years.