3090 Worth it Over the 3080??

Ravenger · 1 Mar 2021 at 15:57

I've got a Seasonic Prime Ultra Snow 750w PSU, 3090FE and a 3900x. I was a bit concerned that 750w wouldn't be enough, but so far I've not had any PSU issues.

If I were building a new PC I would be going for at least 850w though, just for the extra margin.

JohnG7 · 1 Mar 2021 at 16:02

Squidward said:
Did they have Seasonic Focus, or focus based PSU's? Just come accross a full article explaining that these PSU's specifically cannot handle the transient spikes of the RTX3080 or RTX3090

Edit: Here is a quote regarding seasonic PSU's specifcally

I understand and get that some PSU's will be fine and others will not but to try and work out which is which instead of just buying a 1000w PSU if you were starting over and could source one (I know it is hard today)

I have a AX1600i so do not really need to know or bother with the above but when I see a thread at least once per week asking if a 750w/850w is enough for a 3090 I do mention it in there.

Ghuraba · 1 Mar 2021 at 16:24

I have Seasonic 650w Focus with no issue that I can see with a 3080 Master. I just don’t overclock the card.

bemaniac · 1 Mar 2021 at 16:53

Ghuraba said:
I just don’t overclock the card.

Correction *You can't overclock the card or you'll destroy your entire PC*

Dontrocktheboat · 1 Mar 2021 at 16:58

i have a HX750i and 3090FE + 5950x + 32GB(4) stick of ram and its coping fine. Touch wood so far.

What I did notice is that normal boost curve for 3-series is not great, it gets very flat and starts using some serious W towards the top end. Thus it can be tweaked to great effect, saving a TONNE of W by simply adapting the curve for your card and for the intended use.. Be it gaming / mining / productivity or else. Enabling you a substantial saving upwards of 100W, with same perf.

Something to keep in mind.

andybird123 · 1 Mar 2021 at 17:01

Th0nt said:
Err you said this: so either your info is old (same source as Dave) or you know something we dont know. If it is released this year it will be after the summer.

Rumours. Since when does citing rumours mean you absolutely definitely believe them to be true?
In fact I already pointed out I'm not waiting on rumours and am keeping an eye on stock alerts for a 3080 to buy now. I will also buy a ti, whenever it does come out, wether that's in April or later I don't claim to know, I'm only saying what rumours have been on twitter, not exactly the most reliable of sources. I haven't seen any of these sources say later than April as of yet, so that's the only date I have to go off, but these are the same sources who said it was going to be announced at the same time as the 3060, but obviously wasn't.

I don't know what else you want me to say, I already said I don't know when it's coming out.

Your stating things as fact as though you know for certain, I said rumours, don't need to get shirty about it.

Dontrocktheboat · 1 Mar 2021 at 17:01

Ghuraba said:
I have Seasonic 650w Focus with no issue that I can see with a 3080 Master. I just don’t overclock the card.

Thats a Leeds PSU, extra hard.

Ghuraba · 1 Mar 2021 at 17:56

bemaniac said:
Correction *You can't overclock the card or you'll destroy your entire PC*

Lol. Well I was going to get a new PSU but the availability and price was pants. Plus I have revision 1 card and a few FPS is not worth the overclock anyway. Just glad it runs at all

Sarge2255 · 1 Mar 2021 at 22:29

Why does overclocking kill the whole system. I got an overclocked 3080. Have not tried to overclock it yet.

What is the headroom for 3080 overclocks?

Blackjack Davy · 2 Mar 2021 at 01:37

Squidward said:
should I just grab a 3080 instead and cancel my order?

Love the optimism. Who's going to enlighten him? Anyone?

Ravenger said:
A 3090FE inside my PC is definitely worth it over a 3080FE I can't buy at all.

Seeing the scalper prices that the AIB 3080's are going for a 3090 isn't much worse value than those, to be honest.

This guy gets it.

Dave2150 said:
Should have waited for the 3080ti, that should be out soon and will be the sweet spot.

People have been saying that since, what, last november?

Any day now...

Sc00p007 said:
I was experiencing random shutdowns with a Corsair ax860 and rtx 3090. Cleared up by swapping in a 1000w psu.
However, it seems it was due to transient spikes more so than continuous power output. I'm thinking this as the Ax860 is fine in a pc that draws more continuous power (373w 2080ti + 9900k @5.2). The new system is drawing less power than the 9900k one, as I have turned off a ccd and undervolted+underclocked the cpu (waiting on a waterblock so very small cooler on cpu).

I'd say 850w should be enough, but some psu may struggle with the power spikes.

My superflower 850w hasn't missed a beat, quite impressed honestly

bemaniac · 2 Mar 2021 at 12:16

Sarge2255 said:
Why does overclocking kill the whole system. I got an overclocked 3080. Have not tried to overclock it yet.

What is the headroom for 3080 overclocks?

It doesn't but if you're on a 650W psu you would go over the amount of power available on tap.

Dominic-Toretto · 5 Mar 2021 at 13:21

So it's been almost a week since I got my 3090, Thought I would update this thread for anyone who is on the fence.

Firstly I just have to once again reiterate how high quality the FE card really is. As soon as you pull it out of the box you appreciate how solid the cooler really is. I am not sure how AIB cards will compete with this.

My RTX3090 is paired with a 3900X for reference. On autofan it peaks at 65 degrees, at 100% fan it loads at 49 degrees generally. This is in an ITX case, it really is a amazing cooler.

I have been gaming at 4K, mostly Warzone, NFS Heat and some Mirrors Edge Catalyst. To my surprise the 3090 only just holds 60fps minimum in Warzone and Heat at 4K Max settings. In warzone the fps dips in the plane at the start, the lowest I have seen is 62fps, and nfs heat has seen dips down to 58fps at the start of races. If I had bought a 3080 I have no doubt that the FPS would have been dipping in to the low 50s in Warzone and Heat which would have been disappointing, given the average performance difference at 4K across 18 reviews is 15.7% in favour of the 3090, and at 4K with Ray Tracing is 19.7%. this can be the difference between 60fps and 50fps. The 3080 is fine if you are not gaming at 4K, but if you want a card that can play modern titles at max settings at 4K, the 3090 is the way to go.

Unfortunately it seems modern games are too demanding to run at 8K, I can however run 6K on some modern titles such as Mirrors Edge Catalyst which gives a nice bump in image sharpness. I do wish the 3090 had more power, would be nice to play modern games at 8K down sampled for that complete elimination of jagged edges, but that is probably a generation or two away yet hah!

Once again, thanks all for the advice!

Dontrocktheboat · 5 Mar 2021 at 13:31

Squidward said:
So it's been almost a week since I got my 3090, Thought I would update this thread for anyone who is on the fence.

Firstly I just have to once again reiterate how high quality the FE card really is. As soon as you pull it out of the box you appreciate how solid the cooler really is. I am not sure how AIB cards will compete with this.

My RTX3090 is paired with a 3900X for reference. On autofan it peaks at 65 degrees, at 100% fan it loads at 49 degrees generally. This is in an ITX case, it really is a amazing cooler.

I have been gaming at 4K, mostly Warzone, NFS Heat and some Mirrors Edge Catalyst. To my surprise the 3090 only just holds 60fps minimum in Warzone and Heat at 4K Max settings. In warzone the fps dips in the plane at the start, the lowest I have seen is 62fps, and nfs heat has seen dips down to 58fps at the start of races. If I had bought a 3080 I have no doubt that the FPS would have been dipping in to the low 50s in Warzone and Heat which would have been disappointing, given the average performance difference at 4K across 18 reviews is 15.7% in favour of the 3090, and at 4K with Ray Tracing is 19.7%. this can be the difference between 60fps and 50fps. The 3080 is fine if you are not gaming at 4K, but if you want a card that can play modern titles at max settings at 4K, the 3090 is the way to go.

Unfortunately it seems modern games are too demanding to run at 8K, I can however run 6K on some modern titles such as Mirrors Edge Catalyst which gives a nice bump in image sharpness. I do wish the 3090 had more power, would be nice to play modern games at 8K down sampled for that complete elimination of jagged edges, but that is probably a generation or two away yet hah!

Once again, thanks all for the advice!

Good work squiddy . FE cooler on 3090 is a work of art .

video doesn't do it justice until you hold it. you can also modify the fan curve to suit your needs on each of the two fans independently . Exhaust one is quiet in comparison to the delta one at the rear .

Oh and don't forget vbios for rebar should be out soon. That should give us approx 10% in certain titles.

Ravenger · 5 Mar 2021 at 16:01

For VR the 3090 has been totally worth it for me. Though there are still some badly optimised VR games out there which even the 3090 can't run maxed out at a locked 90fps.

DD_Crash · 5 Mar 2021 at 16:12

Thats why I bought one

gpuerrilla · 5 Mar 2021 at 16:40

I know it has been said here earlier, but there seems to be some justification from the 3080 camp that "its only at best 10% faster for double the price". Now unless you have a good silicon lottery fairy, or you went with a beast model like a strix, this is where it becomes important. OK you will also have people on great overclocks with profiles stretching their card well so it performs almost like a stock 3090.

Now that this has been covered, we can debate healthily that if the 3090 just about plays 4k titles like @Squidward observed above, the chances of your average gamer getting decent framerates from a 3080 start slipping fast. We have also seen that in some games particularly the 4k resolution that the 3090 is more than the average 10% used in the comments which is why I think looking beyond the price - when it comes to availability and being able to handle frames the 3090 is not such a laughing stock it once was back in September.

Luckily for me (and I assume quite a few other now) the mining boost has meant the rather expensive £1399 to this day has cost so far around £900 so any regret factor has dwindled down considerably and im hoping for many more weeks yet it continues until it becomes a moot point between friends.

Dominic-Toretto · 5 Mar 2021 at 21:59

Th0nt said:
I know it has been said here earlier, but there seems to be some justification from the 3080 camp that "its only at best 10% faster for double the price".

I have to agree with this, there is definitely a feeling of resentment from 3080 owners. Like I said, if your gaming at 1080p or 1440p the 3080 will be fine. 4K needs the 3090 minimum.

JohnG7 · 5 Mar 2021 at 22:04

Plenty of games today and in future stress the 3090 at 1440p esp with RT, I would not buy a 10GB GPU today, added to fact the 3090 is quieter and cooler and looks the boss, could argue the value for money is poor over 3080 but same goes for many cars but at least it is not gimped by lack of VRAM.

None of these cards are "Ideal 4K+MAX setting and/or RT" that will be 4000 series but I could not care less about 4k, for now for me it is about 1440p and high HZ to at least try and get fluid motion on crappy LCD compared to CRT/Plasma.

gpuerrilla · 5 Mar 2021 at 22:52

Squidward said:
I have to agree with this, there is definitely a feeling of resentment from 3080 owners. Like I said, if your gaming at 1080p or 1440p the 3080 will be fine. 4K needs the 3090 minimum.

I can also observe and verify from the mining statistics, a 3080 on average hashes at 95MH/s (yes some people get higher but this is the average) and the 3090 averages 108MH/s (yes some can get up to 118MH/s). So even in the world of mining, you can clearly see the 3090 is the better silicon and depending on how you look at it more than the quoted 10% people flap on inaccurately about.

This reflects the gaming % you mentioned earlier where in some games its an edge where it matters i.e. instead of 52fps its 60fps and that can make all the difference.

JohnG7 said:
Plenty of games today and in future stress the 3090 at 1440p esp with RT, I would not buy a 10GB GPU today, added to fact the 3090 is quieter and cooler and looks the boss, could argue the value for money is poor over 3080 but same goes for many cars but at least it is not gimped by lack of VRAM.

None of these cards are "Ideal 4K+MAX setting and/or RT" that will be 4000 series but I could not care less about 4k, for now for me it is about 1440p and high HZ to at least try and get fluid motion on crappy LCD compared to CRT/Plasma.

Im not sure the extra % it holds over the 3080 in 1440p games, but in some circumstances it could play visually similar and allow for more settings to be cranked up. Either way I know its a sinner of a price, but if your going for the premium card as fps+quality matter so much, then its the edge.

Like you say 10GB of VRAM is rather stingy, 24 is overkill but nvidia could have done better with the whole 30 series and got the ram staggered better over the tiers for sure.

Sarge2255 · 11 Mar 2021 at 21:30

Yes, the OP is dead wrong. The Rtx 3080 is an insane card, I paid around £730 for mine (like rrp)and it is neck and neck in performance with the 3090 at 1080p and 4k. However, the 3090 cost £1500 plus (more than double the price for 5 to 10% performance boost)

But the rtx 3080 has made me happy. RDR2 maxed out at 4k 120hz. This game is the best looking game I have played for for long time! It looks totally amazing. Totally different game at 4k than 1080p. Well worth it. :eek: