2080 Super vs. 3070Ti: Do you recommend the upgrade?

Cannibal Corpse

[H]ard|Gawd
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Hello all,
I have the option to sell the my eVGA 2080 Super for $600 (had it for almost 2 years now, very little used), and spend $290 to get the eVGA RTX 3070 Ti FTW3 ULTRA GAMING.

Some reviews show about 25~27% increase in gaming speeds between the two cards:

https://www.hwcompare.com/44521/geforce-rtx-2080-super-vs-geforce-rtx-3070-ti/
https://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-RTX-3070-Ti-vs-Nvidia-RTX-2080S-Super/4116vs4050

My current system which has the 2080 Super (and will host the 3070Ti if you guys recommend it), is the follwoing:

Intel Corei7-7700K, 4500MHz
Gigabyte GA-Z270-Gaming K7
16GB Corsair Vengeance LED (3200)

Windows 10

The vendor that I obtained the 3070Ti has the 30 days return policy, and as of this writing, I have been testing and comparing ELDEN RING with the 3070Ti and my 2080 Super:

The 3070Ti seem a bit more smooth, and overall I am OK with it (not a whole lot different)

Do you recommend spending the extra $290 to upgrade to this video card? Upgrading my current system is not an option at the moment, so I thought at least I would spend less than $300 to inject a bit more life into this system.

Thank you for your kind recommendation and comments in advance!
 
Honestly, if you're able to get ahold of a 3070ti right now and you have the itch? Scratch it! You can always upgrade the rest of your rig later on at your leisure. Finding a solid gpu to pair with any upcoming new gear may not be easy.
As far as the improvement over your 2080, its worth it for the improved rt and dlss features as well as the increase in frames.
Ultimately, your being able to test them head to head is going to go far further in answering any performance questions you may have!
 
I'd say wait until you can upgrade the platform first and then the GPU; GPUs are started to stay stocked everywhere now and seems to indicate that prices and availability will be getting a bit better over the next month or two hopefully. My discord channels have been blowing up with 30-series GPUs coming available everywhere the past few weeks at least.

FWIW, I'm still riding out my 2080 as well and it's still doing fine for me, esp. in games with DLSS support. I'm only at 3440x1440 though, so not sure what resolution you're playing at. I've almost bit on a 3080 and 3090 the past couple weeks too at $300-$400 over MSRP, but I figure I've already waited 18 months at the point, so might as well wait longer to see if this stupidity might end soon or even see what the 40-series brings. I've also mostly been playing my PS5 lately too with the exclusives I'm catching up with on there (Horizon at the moment), so that helps.
 
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Yes, I have been busy with my PS5 as well! Do you know a time-frame for 40-series release? Is it going to be this year?
Thanks!
 
I’d be sinking that money into a new mobo and cpu, then start saving for the upcoming 4000/7000 series later this year, ETA Q3. You could sell your current mobo and cpu for around $200, combine it with that $290, and get a nice new platform e.g. Zen 3
 
I’d be sinking that money into a new mobo and cpu, then start saving for the upcoming 4000/7000 series later this year, ETA Q3. You could sell your current mobo and cpu for around $200, combine it with that $290, and get a nice new platform e.g. Zen 3
As much as I would love to do that, with my current $300 budget I simply can't do that I am afraid:

An i9 Intel starts at $499, and a descent MoBo would cost around the same ($499).

Somehow, historically I have been able to upgrade all my previous systems with this strategy:
Keeping the aging hardware but upgrading the GPU, and never had any issues playing the latest games.

To me, installing a blazing fast Hdd (1TB 970EVO in my case for instance), and upgrading a newer GPU, is more meaningful than upgrading to the latest CPU+MoBo (that is upgrading to an i9 16 Core CPU, and Z690 MoBo)
 
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As much as I would love to do that, with my current $300 budget I simply can't do that I am afraid:

An i9 Intel starts at $499, and a descent MoBo would cost around the same ($499).

Somehow, historically I have been able to upgrade all my previous systems with this strategy:
Keeping the aging hardware but upgrading the GPU, and never had any issues playing the latest games.

To me, installing a blazing fast Hdd (1TB 970EVO in my case for instance), and upgrading a newer GPU, is more meaningful than upgrading to the latest CPU+MoBo (that is upgrading to an i9 16 Core CPU, and Z690 MoBo)

You shouldn't be buying a new i9 or $500 mobo anyways if you're at all budget constrained like you seem to be and gaming is your only/primary purpose of this computer, when an equivalent gen i7/Ryzen 7 will perform nearly identically for the forseeable future in games over 1440p. Meanwhile, even if you're gaming at 1440p or below, that 7700k is likely to hold back a 3070 or above if you're gaming at 120 Hz or faster.

It might help to know what game(s) you're playing or interested in and what your current monitor specs are as well to know how everything pairs up with current and future hardware.

Most articles I've seen put the 40-series out this fall around the same time the 30-series dropped. If you can hold out until then, you'll likely be able to get more for your money at that time (esp. if you still consider buying a 30-series while they're still available).
 
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It's well under a 30% upgrade and with your older CPU you're not even going to see the full benefit of it anyway in some modern games. Also there's no way I'd buy another GPU with just 8 GB of vram at this point. Just hang on to what you got for now and do a platform upgrade later this year and then worry about getting another GPU at that point. And it seems many people forget that all you have to do is sell your other stuff to offset the majority of the upgrade cost.
 
I’d hang on to the 2080 super. Not worth the price difference. Had it been 6 months ago with how the used market was going, I’d have said do it. Currently, I’d wait until next gen.
 
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For games that use raytracing you'll see some improvement. Otherwise, it won't be a lot of improvement in framerate. That said, $290 isn't a lot of money in the big picture (for me at least) and if it was money you were already planning on spending then I say go for it. If money is tight then hold on to it for something more important than a hobby.
 
Unless you've got a game that's falling just short of being playable at your preferred resolution and refresh rate I wouldn't spend $300 on a 25% increase in FPS. Especially if you're on a tight budget. I generally view 50% faster as the minimum worth spending on; and I'm in a situation financially where I could've bought a 3090 at peak scalping if I wanted to. When my budget was tighter I generally held out for at least double performance.

I did not buy a 3090.
 
You shouldn't be buying a new i9 or $500 mobo anyways if you're at all budget constrained like you seem to be and gaming is your only/primary purpose of this computer, when an equivalent gen i7/Ryzen 7 will perform nearly identically for the forseeable future in games over 1440p. Meanwhile, even if you're gaming at 1440p or below, that 7700k is likely to hold back a 3070 or above if you're gaming at 120 Hz or faster.

It might help to know what game(s) you're playing or interested in and what your current monitor specs are as well to know how everything pairs up with current and future hardware.

Most articles I've seen put the 40-series out this fall around the same time the 30-series dropped. If you can hold out until then, you'll likely be able to get more for your money at that time (esp. if you still consider buying a 30-series while they're still available).
I never said that I am budget constraint, since this 2017 gaming rig cost me a pretty penny, nevertheless, I decided to
to keep my 2080 Super, as I really can't detect any FPS boost in ELDEN RING. (and some other games)

Then again the 40-series would be delayed til next year, and then there are price scalping, etc. What a lovely cycle...
 
I never said that I am budget constraint, since this 2017 gaming rig cost me a pretty penny, nevertheless, I decided to
to keep my 2080 Super, as I really can't detect any FPS boost in ELDEN RING. (and some other games)

Then again the 40-series would be delayed til next year, and then there are price scalping, etc. What a lovely cycle...
But prices have been trending down for the past month or so. So if this continues the market won’t be so bad when you decide to upgrade.
 
Personally, I'd just wait. Unless you find a good deal on a 3080.
It would be pretty stupid to pair a 3080 with a 7700k. Not only would the 3080 be laughably limited in many games there will be some games that a 7700k would struggle to even keep 60 fps.
 
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It would be pretty stupid to pair a 3080 with a 7700k. Not only would the 3080 be laughably limited in many games there will be some games that a 7700k would struggle to even keep 60 fps.

I totally forgot he had a 7700k. I did read the thread, lol.
 
You decided the performance difference wasn't worth $290 two years ago when you bought your 2080 Super. Why the change of heart now?
 
It would be pretty stupid to pair a 3080 with a 7700k. Not only would the 3080 be laughably limited in many games there will be some games that a 7700k would struggle to even keep 60 fps.
That’s somewhat disputable at 4k, but at 1440p and below a 3070 ti will be bottlenecked in many games. Essentially, OP has a platform where there’s nowhere to go really above his current card without running into bottlenecks — reason I suggested first upgrading her/his mobo and CPU.
 
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I'd say not worth it. A 3070Ti is basically the same performance as a 2080Ti which wouldn't be a night-and-day difference from your 2080S.
Well I agree somewhat a 2080ti was always at least $290 more then a 2080S. A 3070ti is similar in performance. It has some updates but still that anemic 8GB. Hate it. Unless OP is really struggling at their current games/monitor resolutions, keep the GPU and use the cash plus a sell of old MB/CPU and step into something modern.
That said getting a 3080ti right now for under $1000 combined isn't bad at all considering. In my opinion right now CPU/MB aren't jacked crazy price so a good buy. GPU's are a poor buy unless a must have. Only OP will know what they need.
 
I agree with the others. id put that $290 towards a B550 / X570 and AMD 5600X. I am 85% sure that GPU prices are going to plummet this fall not to mention refresh with new tech. I think you could do a 5600x, board, ram for just under $400.
 
I usually suggest skipping a generation or two to maximize your value and time spent but that's really more of an answer driven by your need for higher frames in specific games and settings
 
+1 on the folks who said upgrade the CPU/Mobo first if you absolutely have to do something. i7 7700K is likely more of a limiting factor right now than anything else in certain titles and certain resolutions, and if you did something like a good B550 mobo with a 5600 (the non-x version is coming in early April, apparently, and if past history is of any evidence then it'll be essentially the same gaming experience as the 5600X for less money), then you can get more life out of this PC overall for the $300 range you'd like to spend. You can us your current DDR4-3200 RAM in this box as well.

++1 on the folks who say don't do anything and wait. We're a few months out from a product refresh from AMD on the CPU side and Nvidia from the GPU side (possibly AMD as well), plus Intel is about to launch GPUs as well. Why not wait a few more months before pulling the trigger? Also, GPU prices are beginning to trend down. It looks like we're on the tail end of another crypto boom. Last time that happened, GPU prices got back to normal for a bit before everyone went crazy again. If supply is somewhat decent, you might have an opportunity this year to get something better for, possibly, the cash you're going to spend now for a performance increase that might not be enough to justify the cost. That's just my opinion.

That all said, personally, if I were you, I'd be doing nothing and waiting. We're just way too close to the next new product cycle for me to want to buy something.
 
In my opinion performance boost should be at least 1,5x better and ideally at least double. Anything less just isn't worth it. 1,25x ish performance increase isn't that noticeable.
 
As of right now the current games would run great on a 3070 ti for a long time. As saying that so will the same games run on the 2070. Performance increase will be a deciding factor for mainly future games. Buy one or the other to get a start on the future proofing your system. Def a better cpu and mobo is the best choice in your case as of right now. Will gpu prices get "normal"? Who knows....... Will prices of 10th gen Intel go down? Yes they will. Best route in my opinion is go for the 10th gen Intel. Look at the 10700k- or 10850k. Plenty of core speed and cores to future proof your system. If that means by a cpu now and save for a mobo. Then that's the best route. A gpu can be found at a "normal" price a good bit of the time but not every day. With running a 10th gen Intel system and then a gpu upgrade will be a world of difference. My daughter is running a 8700k and a 1080 in her system. Great frame rates and smooth play but I can see the difference in mine over hers.
 
Honestly, if you're able to get ahold of a 3070ti right now and you have the itch? Scratch it!

Scratch Cream is way cheaper!
 
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