Is it really that simple?

Haste266

Haste266

Supreme [H]ardness
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I'm looking to upgrade for the first time in over a decade. Budget really isn't an issue, but obviously a consideration. Running an ultrawide at 5120x1440. Obviously looking for best quality/fps. 4090 all the way?

The age old question of "should I wait?" still at hand. I've gone this long. What's next? I'm assuming ray tracing performance will come a long way with the next gen but is the NOW gen the way to go for future proofing? I just don't want to buy now and feel the need to upgrade two years from now to get over 60+fps in the next gen titles.

what do y'all think?
 
pendragon1 said:
your rockin a system from '09, might as well keep waiting...
buy now if you want it now, 'cause in two years your gonna want something new anyways.
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Sorry, haven't updated my sig. Running 7700x now with 32gb ram.
 
It always depends on what you play, but the RTX 4090 is a safe bet on the future. It powers through nearly every title available today. It's the first GPU that I would actually consider a 4K120+ graphics card. It's stupidly powerful.

  • Intel has the 13900k.
  • AMD has the 7950X3D. (7800X3D will be released soon)

  • Nvidia has the RTX 4090.
  • AMD has the 7900 XTX.

Pick 2 and enjoy. It's a great time for PC hardware (the price sucks, though).
 
It's always a huge gamble trying to figure out how to "future-proof" a system. Marketing is always making it seem like new technologies are going to give certain cards an advantage, when in reality by the time those technologies are utilized, it will already be time to upgrade again. For example, my previous card was a RTX 2080. When I got it, I was really on the fence about getting the 2080 or a 1080 Ti. The idea that I was making a more "future-proof" choice by going with an RTX-capable card was a factor in choosing the 2080 over the 1080 Ti. I don't necessarily regret my choice, but ultimately the 2080 didn't have enough raw power to actually make significant use of RTX in most RTX games as they began to actually appear. It wasn't until I upgraded again to my current 4080 that I really felt like I could finally benefit from RTX without an unacceptable performance trade-off.

So, ultimately, there is always going to be something on the horizon to "wait" for. Don't upgrade based on marketing promises, just get something that is very solid now. If money is no consideration, then of course It's a given that going with the fastest, most over-priced card is the "safest" choice in terms of "future-proofing". That doesn't mean that there won't be cheaper midrange cards out by then that will outperform it.
 
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GotNoRice said:
It's always a huge gamble trying to figure out how to "future-proof" a system. Marketing is always making it seem like new technologies are going to give certain cards an advantage, when in reality by the time those technologies are utilized, it will already be time to upgrade again. For example, my previous card was a RTX 2080. When I got it, I was really on the fence about getting the 2080 or a 1080 Ti. The idea that I was making a more "future-proof" choice by going with an RTX-capable card was a factor in choosing the 2080 over the 1080 Ti. I don't necessarily regret my choice, but ultimately the 2080 didn't have enough raw power to actually make significant use of RTX in most RTX games as they began to actually appear. It wasn't until I upgraded again to my current 4080 that I really felt like I could finally benefit from RTX without an unacceptable performance trade-off.

So, ultimately, there is always going to be something on the horizon to "wait" for. Don't upgrade based on marketing promises, just get something that is very solid now. If money is no consideration, then of course It's a given that going with the fastest, most over-priced card is the "safest" choice in terms of "future-proofing". That doesn't mean that there won't be cheaper midrange cards out by then that will outperform it.
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As much as I hate linking to adored, he did have a solid video about future proofing

 
So on the GPU side of things, the 3090/3080 released back in September of 2020. The 4090 released in October of 2022. It is still early enough in the cycle to buy and enjoy (which the 4090 would last a few generations).

But I see a post that your rig is running a 7700x. Are you still using the Corsair PSU? If so, I would see if it had any issues with the 3000/4000 series cards. If I remember correctly, the voltage spikes/lengths could cause some PSUs fault/shutdown unexpectedly.
 
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Since the 4090 is THE highest performing card right now, there is no other video card more "future proof" than it (reason 1: It has 24GB VRAM which is the highest available right now; reason 2: It will get driver updates for longer since it is current-gen; reason 3: It has the highest RT performance of any card out right now). There is literally nothing better right now, so if you are the "buy it now and keep it forever" kind of guy (which it seems you are), it is the best bet. Just know that the "value" of the 4090 is terrible. It costs a LOT of money for the performance benefits you get vs other cards in the stack. But damn it has a lot of performance. Will it last 10 years before needing an upgrade? Nobody knows, but I'm guessing no, at least for RT because RT is a big focus of each new GPU generation, thus the highest increases in generational performance will be on the RT side of things (vs rasterization).
 
Haste266 said:
Sorry, haven't updated my sig. Running 7700x now with 32gb ram.
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Assuming that you also changed the GPU once or twice?
You have that monitor. You're obligated to get the latest, even if it means getting the next one before the previous one arrives at the door.
 
4090 if price isn't an issue and you want top everything performance
7090XTX if price is being considered and top RT performance doesn't matter.

Either one will serve you very well. But the 4090's RT performance is nothing to be scoffed at, it's really damn impressive. Howerver the price is nutters, but if you can live with that it will be a great card.
 
Tactlesss said:
Assuming that you also changed the GPU once or twice?
You have that monitor. You're obligated to get the latest, even if it means getting the next one before the previous one arrives at the door.
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Nah, still got the 290. This is literally the first upgrade I've had since 2014 graphics wise and since 2010 for the CPU. Bought the Corsair HX850i back in 2016 when my seasonic took a dump.

Hakaba said:
But I see a post that your rig is running a 7700x. Are you still using the Corsair PSU? If so, I would see if it had any issues with the 3000/4000 series cards. If I remember correctly, the voltage spikes/lengths could cause some PSUs fault/shutdown unexpectedly.
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All the research I've done points to my PSU being OK. If it comes to it I can get a new PSU, no issue there.


What's the rumor mill on a 4090TI or Titan? Anything? I literally just want the absolute best that is out. IF something is coming the next 3-6 months I want to know about it because I am totally willing to wait. I can't find anything definitive in the research I've done about another card being released soon from either the Nvidia or AMD camp...


*****Updated my sig, btw.*****
 
Haste266 said:
Nah, still got the 290. This is literally the first upgrade I've had since 2014 graphics wise and since 2010 for the CPU. Bought the Corsair HX850i back in 2016 when my seasonic took a dump.


All the research I've done points to my PSU being OK. If it comes to it I can get a new PSU, no issue there.


What's the rumor mill on a 4090TI or Titan? Anything? I literally just want the absolute best that is out. IF something is coming the next 3-6 months I want to know about it because I am totally willing to wait. I can't find anything definitive in the research I've done about another card being released soon from either the Nvidia or AMD camp...


*****Updated my sig, btw.*****
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You do not want to use a decade old PSU with modern CPU's and GPU's. They'll kill that PSU if it even runs in the first place. Capacitor aging is a thing. I can guarantee that old PSU doesn't put out the power it used to.
 
Dan_D said:
You do not want to use a decade old PSU with modern CPU's and GPU's. They'll kill that PSU if it even runs in the first place. Capacitor aging is a thing. I can guarantee that old PSU doesn't put out the power it used to.
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I hear you brother, but this PSU has a 10 year warranty and is platinum rated. Seems fine to me at the moment. It's at the 7 yr mark right now. I didn't buy a crap component when I had to replace the seasonic. Looking at all the specs, I don't see why it couldn't handle a 4090.
 
Haste266 said:
I hear you brother, but this PSU has a 10 year warranty and is platinum rated. Seems fine to me at the moment. It's at the 7 yr mark right now. I didn't buy a crap component when I had to replace the seasonic. Looking at all the specs, I don't see why it couldn't handle a 4090.
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I don't think you understand what I mean. I had a Corsair AX1200 that couldn't get the job done after 5 years of service. The issue isn't so much that your total output is insufficient, although that does fall given capacitor aging. The real issue is that cards like the RTX 3090, etc. pull a crap ton of power. In fact, I didn't have any issues with my Corsair until I started playing Cyberpunk 2077. At exactly 374w of power being pulled by the GPU the PSU would hard shut down. I've seen the same issue on my test bench running an RTX 3090 I reviewed some time ago. Same thing happened with a different PSU. These GPU's pull a lot more power than they used to.
 
One thing I learned about GPUs, buy them at or close to launch to get max value. The Ti and Super models have a shorter shelf life or marginal performance boost.
A 4090Ti model will definitely arrive within a year so I would wait for that. It most likely will have DP2.0 "for future proofing" for 5K+ monitors.
 
Dan_D said:
I don't think you understand what I mean. I had a Corsair AX1200 that couldn't get the job done after 5 years of service. The issue isn't so much that your total output is insufficient, although that does fall given capacitor aging. The real issue is that cards like the RTX 3090, etc. pull a crap ton of power. In fact, I didn't have any issues with my Corsair until I started playing Cyberpunk 2077. At exactly 374w of power being pulled by the GPU the PSU would hard shut down. I've seen the same issue on my test bench running an RTX 3090 I reviewed some time ago. Same thing happened with a different PSU. These GPU's pull a lot more power than they used to.
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Was your GPU harmed during this issue?

I agree with you 100% and am skeptical of my PSU after all this time, but it hasn't had hard use and has been sitting "idle" unused for quite a while also. Capacitor aging is definitely a concern, but my PC was used here and there while being left on for lengths of time during periods of inactivity.
Trying to convince the wife of needing to replace my PSU AND getting the outright best GPU right now seems a little concerning to me. I know she'll go for it, but it will also put me back time wise getting what I "want". I believe my PSU will get me going for now with plans to replace it in the near future. Thank you for pushing me for the PSU replacement as it was already on my mind.

I've had my new build for a couple weeks now and have run it every night with the GPU and CPU maxed(prime 95 and Dirt benchmark on loop) for stress testing without a hiccup. No indication on my side that the PSU is faulty in any way. Yes, the new GPUs out there nowadays put a lot more stress on power delivery, as you stated, but my PSU is still going strong from what I can tell.
 
Haste266 said:
I'm looking to upgrade for the first time in over a decade. Budget really isn't an issue, but obviously a consideration. Running an ultrawide at 5120x1440. Obviously looking for best quality/fps. 4090 all the way?

The age old question of "should I wait?" still at hand. I've gone this long. What's next? I'm assuming ray tracing performance will come a long way with the next gen but is the NOW gen the way to go for future proofing? I just don't want to buy now and feel the need to upgrade two years from now to get over 60+fps in the next gen titles.

what do y'all think?
Click to expand...
The 4090 came out recently. If you wait for the next thing....it will be awhile. If you want something now----now is a good time to buy.
 
I suppose that you are in luck if you are still using such an old card. You would probably see an improvement if you upgrade to something as recent as your current psu.
 
chameleoneel said:
The 4090 came out recently. If you wait for the next thing....it will be awhile. If you want something now----now is a good time to buy.
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This. Wait a year for the ti and you could say wait for next gen. Then the ti. Then the next gen. Ad nauseum... The 4090 is very fresh still and an incredible card, good value for the perf amd feature set.

Dan_D, the 3xxx series has very high power spikes that the 4xxx has minimized. Haste266 's psu likely will work fine.
 
LukeTbk said:
If I didn't miss a beat, title released in 2 years, AAA will be made to run on PS5, at only 30fps if you push 1600p maybe, but still.

Game a 4090 cannot play all at the highest at your resolution and be conformably above 60fps already exist, making the question:
https://static.techspot.com/articles-info/2627/bench/Hogsmeade_RT_2160p-color-p.webp

At "reasonable" setting, if it run well on a xbox it will on a 4090
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The Harry Potter game runs very poorly on Nvidia cards vs amd ones I wouldn't use that one-off game as an example.
 
GoldenTiger said:
The Harry Potter game runs very poorly on Nvidia cards vs amd ones I wouldn't use that one-off game as an example.
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There will be list that will struggle in 2 years, to keep 1% low above 60fps, even today and even for average fps already today
cyberpunk-2077-rt-3840-2160.png
control-rt-3840-2160.png


ghostwire tokyo, Fornite with Lumen on, Chernobylite, Hitman 3, Watch Dog Legion (if those bench are still revelant today, that many drivers update away on release)
https://babeltechreviews.com/rtx-4090-performance-45-games-vr-pro-apps-benchmarked/4/

All game when you can have an hard time being 100% locked at 60, the question being (has always) with reasonable setting in reasonable game.
 
LukeTbk said:
There will be list that will struggle in 2 years, to keep 1% low above 60fps, even today and even for average fps already today
View attachment 558988View attachment 558989

ghostwire tokyo, Fornite with Lumen on, Chernobylite, Hitman 3, Watch Dog Legion (if those bench are still revelant today, that many drivers update away on release)
https://babeltechreviews.com/rtx-4090-performance-45-games-vr-pro-apps-benchmarked/4/

All game when you can have an hard time being 100% locked at 60, the question being (has always) with reasonable setting in reasonable game.
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Well obviously a given card doesn't stay top end forever :p. Dlss and frame generation help a ton already on the rare title you want X framerate at (personal preference varies, 60, 120, etc) and can't do it native with an RTX 4090 currently.

Just as an example, Cyberpunk runs at over 120fps with DLSS 3 on quality with frame gen (coming to games rapidly) on. It's almost the same as native, and input lag isn't an issue with a 60+ base fps for that.
 
GoldenTiger said:
Just as an example, Cyberpunk runs at over 120fps with DLSS 3 on quality with frame gen (coming to games rapidly) on. It's almost the same as native
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Exactly the kind of compromise I had in mind has reasonable setting
 
GoldenTiger said:
This. Wait a year for the ti and you could say wait for next gen. Then the ti. Then the next gen. Ad nauseum... The 4090 is very fresh still and an incredible card, good value for the perf amd feature set.

Dan_D, the 3xxx series has very high power spikes that the 4xxx has minimized. Haste266 's psu likely will work fine.
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I haven't personally gotten a hold of a 40 series card yet.
 
I just swapped my 3090 for a 4090 and damn... the 3090 is by no means a bad card but the 4090 is just insane. Better frame rates and less to ~ in power consumption, it's voodoo. I used to switch between 60hz and 120hz on my LG CX depending on the game but now I'll just leave it at 120hz and not think about it. I did play with Frame Generation a little bit with Hogwarts Legacy and CP2077. It helped a lot with Hogwarts Legacy but I've gotten used to v-sync so it's kinda odd and there's some graphical glitches here and there. For CP2077 I didn't like it, it felt smoother to me without it and v-sync 120. So far frame gen seems kinda wonky but whatever it's a new option I suppose.
 
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Haste266 said:
I'm looking to upgrade for the first time in over a decade. Budget really isn't an issue, but obviously a consideration. Running an ultrawide at 5120x1440. Obviously looking for best quality/fps. 4090 all the way?

The age old question of "should I wait?" still at hand. I've gone this long. What's next? I'm assuming ray tracing performance will come a long way with the next gen but is the NOW gen the way to go for future proofing? I just don't want to buy now and feel the need to upgrade two years from now to get over 60+fps in the next gen titles.

what do y'all think?
Click to expand...
4090 is a no brainer. They are amazing. You could even set it at 70% power target which would keep it at 315W or so, and should work with existing PSU. You might need a new case, be sure to check card lengths but also height.

Are you planning to also upgrade mobo/cpu/ram? You really should.
A 1000W or 1200W Seasonic with native 12vhpwr is one of the ones with the latest spec, would be a good investment. Lowering the power target on the 4090 should get you by if you want to space out the upgrades.
 
I am in the same boat and keep looking at the 4090 to guide my build. I have tons of free time right now and the funds to build since the last time I built was 2013, June will be 10 years, with the I7-4770 and Z87-Pro and a 7970 with the Benq XL2420TE. I am still using it though on the integrated graphics since either the PCI slot or the GPU died.

I also have 3 years of Xbox Ultimate so I figure I might as well build now.
 
Well, one reason for waiting is slot space. The 4090 is 3.5 slots wide. In the future you'd get the same graphics power in 2 slots wide.
 
Space isn't an issue at the moment. Went back to a full tower case(Phanteks Enthoo Pro 2).

Not really planning on using any of the expansion slots for anything other than a video card.
 
The golden rule of upgrading is to ALWAYS get the best card you can afford. Since money isn't an issue, the 4090 is a no brainer as it's the best card out period. The question should really be which 4090 to get. I have the Aorus Master 4090, the biggest card of them all and it fits fine in my 011 Evo. I like this video for comparsion.
 
Go with a 4090 100%!!! I game at 144Hz 4K and this thing is night and day difference from my 3090. Legit can max games out in all settings without compromise and it tears through it. Plus DLSS3 Frame Generation in games where you need it at 4k (CP2077, MSFS2020) is amazing. I upgrade every generation to the best cause I enjoy the hobby and max settings, but this card might give me pause come a 5090 in 2 years... lol
 
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