It’s finally time to stop buying Nvidia’s RTX 30-series GPUs

If you’re looking for a budget GPU, nan wide proposal is usually to bargain from nan erstwhile procreation of graphics cards. After all, arsenic nan caller cards return complete nan market, nan older ones are still waiting to beryllium sold — and while they’re nary longer among nan best graphics cards, they’re still perfectly acceptable alternatives.

We’ve now reached nan constituent successful nan existent procreation of Nvidia GPUs wherever that proposal nary longer applies. If you want to get nan champion bang for your buck, it’s clip to extremity buying Nvidia’s RTX 30-series and look for different options.

The RTX 30-series arrived astatine nan worst imaginable time

Jacob Roach / Digital Trends

Nvidia’s RTX 30-series arrived astatine a difficult clip for galore gamers. Launched during nan pandemic and astatine nan tallness of nan GPU shortage, nan GPUs sold for illustration hotcakes, but often ended up successful nan hands of scalpers and crypto miners alternatively of those wanting to usage them successful a gaming PC.

It was rough. Shoppers were faced pinch nan difficult determination of buying a graphics paper astatine an inflated value from a scalper aliases not buying 1 astatine all. Of course, you could ever guidelines successful statement for an full nighttime erstwhile Best Buy had 1 of its GPU drops, too, but if that wasn’t an option, you were retired of luck.

Having lived done it, nan business was beautiful crazy, and cards on nan likes of nan RTX 3090 were highly sought after. Fortunately, Nvidia started releasing versions pinch lite hash complaint (LHR) limiters that made them little viable for mining cryptocurrencies. (Miners recovered their measurement astir them successful grounds time, but I digress.)

These difficulties made it truthful that galore of these cards, while fantabulous successful their ain right, were ne'er fixed nan clip to radiance successful nan mainstream spotlight because astir of america conscionable couldn’t get our hands connected them.

Things started improving gradually, though, and complete time, nan RTX 30 bid climbed successful popularity. A speedy look done nan Steam Hardware Survey tells america that Nvidia’s RTX 3060 is presently king, but nan RTX 4060 is not acold behind. Nvidia dominates nan apical 10, and Ampere holds an moreover divided pinch Ada.

The presence of nan RTX 40-series formed a caller ray connected its predecessors. Widely considered costly crossed nan full lineup, nan Ada Lovelace procreation of GPUs served to push nan prices of nan RTX 30-series down. Often much affordable astatine that constituent and sometimes adjacent successful performance, those GPUs made consciousness to bargain if you didn’t attraction astir DLSS 3. Even conscionable a fewer months ago, I’d person recommended a fewer of nan RTX 30-series cards arsenic viable options to prevention money.

Not anymore. With nan prices nan measurement they are correct now, you’re almost ever amended disconnected buying a different GPU. Let maine show you what I mean.

Expensive, not successful stock, aliases not worthy it

Jacob Roach / Digital Trends

I support a adjacent oculus connected GPU prices, and there’s been a dependable displacement successful nan pricing of nan RTX 30 series. While immoderate cards are still somewhat reasonable, galore others are either overpriced aliases straight-up gone from nan shelves. To exemplify nan problem, let’s comparison nan existent pricing of caller Ampere graphics cards to their MSRP (manufacturer’s suggested unit prices).

The prices are a spot each complete nan place, which isn’t precisely unusual. Some of these GPUs are now complete 4 years old, and each of them are nary longer being produced. Many cards dropped beneath their MSRPs, but some, for illustration nan RTX 3070, person really gone up.

The then-overpriced RTX 3080 Ti came backmost down to a much reasonable level, but unfortunately, that still doesn’t make it worthy nan money successful nan existent GPU climate. The RTX 3090 Ti is now much affordable — if that connection still applies to thing that costs $1,600 — but, again, that doesn’t make it a bully deal.

I’ll explicate why below, but first, we’ll person a look astatine nan prices of nan current-gen equivalents of nan supra GPUs.

This is wherever nan rumor lies. Nvidia’s RTX 40-series is almost wholly nether aliases astatine MSRP now, which is awesome news. The only outlier is nan RTX 4090, which is now crazy costly because of factors for illustration precocious request for AI GPUs and nan U.S. export prohibition connected China — but that doesn’t make nan RTX 3090 Ti a worthwhile alternative. The RTX 4080 has been replaced by nan Super refresh, truthful it’s fundamentally retired of stock, hence nan ridiculous value tag.

The RTX 4090, while expensive, turned retired to beryllium 68% faster than nan RTX 3090 Ti, and a monolithic 89% faster than nan guidelines RTX 3090. At this point, it hardly matters really overmuch nan 30-series equivalents cost. If you’re spending good complete $1,000 connected a GPU, it’s overmuch amended to walk that money connected a paper that’s astir doubly arsenic accelerated and provides entree to Nvidia’s framework generation, which is only disposable successful nan RTX 40-series.

One mightiness opportunity that there’s a large spread betwixt spending $1,600 to bargain an RTX 3090 Ti and shelling retired $2,200 for an RTX 4090, and while that’s right, you tin prevention money by conscionable getting nan RTX 4080 Super. In our reappraisal of nan guidelines model, we recovered that nan 4080 is 29% slower than nan RTX 4090, but it’s besides 22% faster than nan RTX 3090 Ti — astatine a whopping $600 less.

This aforesaid benignant of statement applies to nan mostly of nan RTX 30 lineup. Some cards are astatine a akin value point, but nan gen-on-gen gains mixed pinch nan powerfulness of framework procreation let nan RTX 40-series to propulsion up successful almost each scenario. And moreover though galore group leave DLSS 3 disconnected now, it mightiness beryllium a game-changer if you’re for illustration maine and don’t scheme to upgrade for a fewer years. Once nan tech matures moreover much and becomes disposable successful much titles, it’ll surely beryllium worthy nan other $50 to $100 you’ll walk connected an RTX 40-series card.

Jacob Roach / Digital Trends

The supra floor plan demonstrates why DLSS 3 remains specified a beardown trading constituent for Nvidia, and why it’ll beryllium a reliable enactment to travel for DLSS 4, whenever that comes around. With framework generation, nan $560 RTX 4070 runs astatine a unchangeable 73 frames per 2nd (fps) successful Cyberpunk 2077, and that’s astatine 4K and connected max settings. Meanwhile, nan last-gen RTX 3070 Ti — now $660 — delivers a wholly unplayable acquisition astatine 6 fps. Even nan pricier RTX 3080 Ti can’t break 20 fps.

Don’t get maine wrong: The RTX 4070 isn’t a 4K GPU, and DLSS 3 doesn’t move it into one, but it surely helps pinch future-proofing.

Generational gains betwixt nan RTX 30-series and nan RTX 40-series aren’t awesome crossed nan board. Some cards hardly move nan needle, and nan RTX 4060 Ti is really slower than its predecessor successful immoderate tests, which makes it a GPU to effort to debar astir of nan time. But moreover then, you’re astir apt amended disconnected buying nan RTX 4060 conscionable for entree to framework procreation alternatively of spending nan aforesaid magnitude of money connected an RTX 3060 Ti. (On nan different hand, it’s worthy remembering that successful axenic rasterization, nan RTX 4060 is slower than nan RTX 3060 Ti.)

To wrap this up, if there’s 1 paper that’s still somewhat worthy buying from this generation, it’s nan RTX 3060 Ti. Everything other is now either excessively costly aliases not worthy it erstwhile compared to its next-gen counterparts.

GPUs to see alternatively of nan RTX 30-series

Jacob Roach / Digital Trends

So, if nan RTX 30-series is nary longer an option, what other tin you buy? Tough question, but only because I don’t cognize your budget.

The marketplace is flush pinch fantabulous GPUs that are up for grabs astatine MSRP. The truth is that not each last-gen worldly is bad — AMD still has a bunch of coagulated cards successful nan RDNA 2 lineup, and galore of them are ungraded inexpensive astatine this point. For Nvidia, your champion stake is to bargain current-gen GPUs. Intel only has 1 procreation of cards, but it shouldn’t beryllium disregarded.

If I had to prime 1 GPU to urge from nan RTX 40-series, it’d decidedly beryllium nan — read our review to find retired why. It’s a top-notch GPU that outpaces a ample information of Nvidia’s last-gen lineup, and it’s not excessively costly (at slightest by today’s standards). You tin usage it for 1080p and 1440p gaming. The is simply a cheaper replacement if you’re sticking to 1080p.

The RTX 4080 Super is nan furthest I urge going for a gaming setup, arsenic it still thumps nan entirety of nan erstwhile procreation astatine .

Jacob Roach / Digital Trends

AMD alternatives are now much affordable than ever. The RX 6750 XT isn’t acold down nan RTX 4060 Ti, but you’ll find it astatine . Be mindful of its ray tracing performance, though, arsenic Nvidia is still king successful that regard.

AMD’s current-gen lineup is besides heavy discounted, which intends you tin get nan RX 7900 XTX and nan RX 7900 XT astatine and , respectively. The fills a spread betwixt nan different cards I’ve mentioned.  Lastly, Intel’s Arc A770 is simply a coagulated 1080p action coming successful astatine conscionable .

Apart from buying caller graphics cards, you tin ever look for renewed aliases utilized options. I personally thin to steer clear — acold excessively galore scary stories — but if you’re buying from a morganatic source, it’s a bully measurement to people a discounted GPU. Remember that nan safest measurement to bargain successful this business is to meet nan seller successful person, aliases bargain from a trustworthy root for illustration Amazon aliases Newegg.

We’re connected nan cusp of nan RTX 50-series, and Ampere cards are soon becoming not conscionable last-gen, but last-last-gen. The stocks are slow opening to dwindle, and it’s clip to bid farewell to a procreation that was solid, but galore of america ne'er sewage to effort it retired for ourselves. While it’s sad to spot these cards slow get replaced, it judge is simply a alleviation to spot nan GPU marketplace overflowing pinch options — a immense opposition compared to conscionable 3 years ago.