I usually skip a generation, and my RTX 3080 Ti is now the only older part in my system. I play mainly at 3440×1440, with occasional 4K gaming on my TV. Current pricing makes the RTX 5070 and lower feel like sidegrades, while the RTX 5070 Ti and above are expensive. The RTX 5080 would provide the most noticeable improvement, but the models available locally cost around $1,700, well above MSRP. AMD's Radeon RX 9070 XT looks more reasonable, though the performance increase over my card doesn't seem huge. I have a Ryzen 7 9800X3D and mostly game, with some hobbyist game development, so I'm not dependent on NVIDIA features. Is anything available now actually worth buying, or should I keep the 3080 Ti and wait?
5 Answers
I went from a 3080-class card to a 5070 Ti, and the improvement was useful but not transformative. Heavy ray tracing and newer Unreal Engine games ran more comfortably, but the upgrade made much more sense when the old card could be sold and the price difference was small. At today’s prices, I wouldn’t recommend doing it unless you really need the extra performance.
For a clearly noticeable jump, you’re mostly looking at the RTX 5090 or a similarly high-end card. The RTX 5080 would be faster, but paying around $1,700 for it is difficult to defend when your current card already handles most games well. A 9070 XT is the better value option, while waiting for the next generation is probably the best financial choice.
Use your actual games as the deciding factor. If Cyberpunk, Diablo IV, or upcoming titles are dropping below the frame rate and image quality you want, the 9070 XT could provide useful headroom. Otherwise, hold onto the 3080 Ti and consider enabling newer frame-generation options where compatible. There’s no need to buy an overpriced card simply because prices may rise later.
I’d keep the 3080 Ti for now. At 3440×1440 it’s still a very capable card, and most of the current options are either modest upgrades or badly overpriced. Upgrade when you’re actually missing your desired frame rate or settings, rather than because the card is no longer the newest generation.
The Radeon RX 9070 XT is probably the most sensible upgrade if you’re willing to switch away from NVIDIA. It offers a meaningful rasterization improvement, more VRAM, and can also be faster in some ray-tracing workloads. It still isn’t a night-and-day jump, though, so it only makes sense at a reasonable price. The RTX 5070 Ti and RTX 5080 are harder to justify while they’re inflated.
That’s where I’m leaning. I do have a 9800X3D, and I’m not tied to NVIDIA for anything important, so the 9070 XT seems like the more reasonable way to gain some headroom without spending RTX 5080 money. I’ll miss NVIDIA’s upscaling and ray reconstruction, but I can live with that for now.