New build advice -> 3070 vs 3080 -> 1440 @144hz vs 4k @ 60hz

Associate
Joined
8 Jun 2021
Posts
3
Location
UK
Hi all,

I've been out of PC gaming for quite a while and haven't built my own machine for 15 years. As a result I'm likely going to go for a OCUK built machine as i don't trust my self to do a decent job of it.

1.5k - 2k is my upper limit, although i can stretch if needed, it will take me more time to save the cash, i should have the budget mentioned by end of July.

I mostly play FPS games, but of course dabble in just about anything.

My current monitor is a Gigabyte G27Q 27" 1440 144hz - which i use for my PS5

So my first question:
Looking at 4k monitors it doesn't seem that you can get anything above 60hz for a reasonable price. Higher refresh rate monitors seem to be around £700, which i can't justify. Am i better off sticking with gaming at 1440 144hz on my current monitor? or investing in 4k 60hz? My gut is telling me that as i enjoy competitive FPS then frames are king, and i should stick with 1440 144hz. Or is there a sensibly priced 4k monitor with higher refresh rate that I've missed?

Second question:
For the graphics card I'm looking at 3070 vs 3080 and the considerable price difference. From what i've read if I'm going to be gaming in 4k then 3080 is worth the extra. But if as above i may be gaming in 1440 is it still worth the extra?

Third question:
As I won't have the cash together until end of July are there any upcoming releases which would change any of the above? Once i have the cash together i don't mind waiting a month or so to make sure i get the right set up.

Finally, thank you in advance for any advice and opinion.
 
Soldato
Joined
6 Jan 2012
Posts
5,502
Hi all,

I've been out of PC gaming for quite a while and haven't built my own machine for 15 years. As a result I'm likely going to go for a OCUK built machine as i don't trust my self to do a decent job of it.

1.5k - 2k is my upper limit, although i can stretch if needed, it will take me more time to save the cash, i should have the budget mentioned by end of July.

I mostly play FPS games, but of course dabble in just about anything.

My current monitor is a Gigabyte G27Q 27" 1440 144hz - which i use for my PS5

So my first question:
Looking at 4k monitors it doesn't seem that you can get anything above 60hz for a reasonable price. Higher refresh rate monitors seem to be around £700, which i can't justify. Am i better off sticking with gaming at 1440 144hz on my current monitor? or investing in 4k 60hz? My gut is telling me that as i enjoy competitive FPS then frames are king, and i should stick with 1440 144hz. Or is there a sensibly priced 4k monitor with higher refresh rate that I've missed?

Second question:
For the graphics card I'm looking at 3070 vs 3080 and the considerable price difference. From what i've read if I'm going to be gaming in 4k then 3080 is worth the extra. But if as above i may be gaming in 1440 is it still worth the extra?

Third question:
As I won't have the cash together until end of July are there any upcoming releases which would change any of the above? Once i have the cash together i don't mind waiting a month or so to make sure i get the right set up.

Finally, thank you in advance for any advice and opinion.
Been on 60hz 4K for years now (32 in Predator) .. never played on 144hz+ but 3080 could handle big fps in some games sure but I love RT atmospherics which look sweet, so happy to sacrifice mega refresh.
 
Soldato
Joined
15 Oct 2019
Posts
11,656
Location
Uk
Stick with the monitor you have and use the cash saved for a 3080 over a 3070 although there is a 3070ti releasing tomorrow I believe so you may have a chance to pick one of those up if lucky although OCUKs stock will likely be reserved for forum members with 6 months membership+1k posts so you might be better checking elsewhere.
 
Soldato
Joined
6 Jun 2008
Posts
11,616
Location
Finland
Welcome aboard.

With current graphics card availability it's definitely best to get OcUK to assemble PC for you, unless you're ready to wait many many months.
(they reserve some portion of cards they receive for those PCs)


100+ Hz 4K monitor choise and especially availability is still such bad that better to hold onto current one.
2560x1440 is really that golden middle now at which you can easily get good framerates in about every game.
3840x2160 has like twice the pixels per frame and is extremely GPU heavy.

Also considering that PS5 you would want HDMI 2.1, which despite of its 3+ year age is extremely rare in monitors.
(LG 27GP950 would be one such, but even HDMI2 using 27GN950 has been hard to get)
 
Associate
OP
Joined
8 Jun 2021
Posts
3
Location
UK
Stick with the monitor you have and use the cash saved for a 3080 over a 3070 although there is a 3070ti releasing tomorrow I believe so you may have a chance to pick one of those up if lucky although OCUKs stock will likely be reserved for forum members with 6 months membership+1k posts so you might be better checking elsewhere.

Thanks for the insight, much appreciated. Seems like the 3080 is a good solution, while keeping half an eye on 4k monitor prices for the foreseeable.

Welcome aboard.

With current graphics card availability it's definitely best to get OcUK to assemble PC for you, unless you're ready to wait many many months.
(they reserve some portion of cards they receive for those PCs)


100+ Hz 4K monitor choise and especially availability is still such bad that better to hold onto current one.
2560x1440 is really that golden middle now at which you can easily get good framerates in about every game.
3840x2160 has like twice the pixels per frame and is extremely GPU heavy.

Also considering that PS5 you would want HDMI 2.1, which despite of its 3+ year age is extremely rare in monitors.
(LG 27GP950 would be one such, but even HDMI2 using 27GN950 has been hard to get)

Looks like 1440 is the sensible way to go at the moment, thank you for the input.

My current monitor is HDMI 2.0 and being honest i thought by this point the PS5 would have released 1440 support which is why wasn't stressed about sourcing a 2.1 monitor. Show's what i know hey!
 
Soldato
Joined
15 Oct 2019
Posts
11,656
Location
Uk
Thanks for the insight, much appreciated. Seems like the 3080 is a good solution, while keeping half an eye on 4k monitor prices for the foreseeable.

Yeah a 3080 even at 1440p is the way to go IMO, it's what I'm using right now and while I probably will move to 4K in the future I don't think any of the current Gpus are powerful enough to consistently delivery 4K at high refresh rates.
 
Associate
OP
Joined
8 Jun 2021
Posts
3
Location
UK
Yeah a 3080 even at 1440p is the way to go IMO, it's what I'm using right now and while I probably will move to 4K in the future I don't think any of the current Gpus are powerful enough to consistently delivery 4K at high refresh rates.
Thank you that does provide some clarity and piece of mind
 
Associate
Joined
11 Jun 2021
Posts
72
Location
Glasgow
Stick with the monitor you have and use the cash saved for a 3080 over a 3070 although there is a 3070ti releasing tomorrow I believe so you may have a chance to pick one of those up if lucky although OCUKs stock will likely be reserved for forum members with 6 months membership+1k posts so you might be better checking elsewhere.

From my research, the 3070ti is not worth it at all. The 3080 is 11% better than the 3070 and a whooping 25% better than the 3070ti.
 
Soldato
Joined
15 Oct 2019
Posts
11,656
Location
Uk
I have done a crap done of research on this. I've used this website in the to look for my upgrade https://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-RTX-3080-vs-Nvidia-RTX-3070/4080vs4083
I think that site has the cards mixed up as its the 3070ti which is the faster card.

From my research, the 3070ti is not worth it at all. The 3080 is 11% better than the 3070 and a whooping 25% better than the 3070ti.

From the reviews I've seen the 3080 is around 30% faster than a 3070 and around 20% faster than a 3070ti.
 
Last edited:
Associate
Joined
12 Jun 2021
Posts
52
Location
Scotland
I definitely go for the 3080 card other than the extra speed it has more Vram. I think the 3070 will not age very well at all with only 8GB memory.

Good luck
 
Associate
Joined
12 Jun 2021
Posts
101
Location
London
Need to decide what type of gaming you're doing? Is this for competitive first person shooters, driving/flight sims, epics?

Really difficult to give too much accurate advice without knowing what you're aiming at, but unless you're after a complete eye-candy immersive experience (e.g. 4K screen, etc), I'd suggest sticking with your current screen and a RTX3070 should be plenty for some reasonably high detail high, high FPS gaming. If you're planning on playing high FPS games and you want all the eye-candy (especially ray tracing) turned on, then maybe step it up to the 3080 (ignore the 3070Ti).... but try it with your current screen.

If you can give specific games as examples, even better: e.g. CSGO / Fortnite and you'll be running at a capped 144FPS (144Hz) the whole time with a 3070, but if you're playing some of the other AAA titles you might struggle to maintain the refresh of your screen.... conversely, if you're only wanting to play Tomb Raider, then dropping below 100FPS is fine (arguably 40FPS is still playable and feel very smooth most of the time).
 
Last edited:
Associate
Joined
11 Jun 2021
Posts
72
Location
Glasgow
I think that site has the cards mixed up as its the 3070ti which is the faster card.



From the reviews I've seen the 3080 is around 30% faster than a 3070 and around 20% faster than a 3070ti.

That is completely possible too. I have a 7 year old card so I have been looking into all the 30 series options and benchmarker was just something I used to make my decision.
 
Back
Top Bottom