Ray tracing has largely been a gimmick, on which much hardware and marketing effort have been spent. Then, analogously to how software grew flabby in the years of cheap RAM, games became unoptimised, shifting the burden onto the consumer at runtime. So upside-down did things become that the world slowly accepted that games could be run at a lower resolution but resized to fit the native one. Upscaling became an accepted feature, adding to the feedback loop of unoptimised games. Now, it has evolved into made-up rendering.
How much is too much to spend on a graphics card?
- Thread starter Julio Franco
- Start date
Nobina
Posts: 4,719 +5,848
I thought I had a cap then prices went to **** and I bought RX 9070 for around $650. A few years ago me would say that is crazy. But the important bit is the value. If the GPU costs $300 but it doesn't do what I want it to then I just wasted $300. You must set price caps and expectations based on what the market is like currently.
LordVile95
Posts: 1,139 +750
Fair price would be $500 for a 5080 and $750 for a 5090. Current GPU prices is ridiculous to say the least.
Colonel Blimp
Posts: 98 +83
Just over 400 quid got me a 7800xt in 2024 and at one point I wished I'd waited a year.
Never spent that much before but needed to replace my Vega56.
Now with FSR 4 I'm much happier because I have no reason to upgrade for a long while.
Never spent that much before but needed to replace my Vega56.
Now with FSR 4 I'm much happier because I have no reason to upgrade for a long while.
It's either a luxury product if you want it for gaming only or a business expense if you need it for work. Depending on the use case it can change the value of a product and how much somebody is willing to pay for it.
And obviously... you shouldn't go into freaking debt for a gaming GPU.
And obviously... you shouldn't go into freaking debt for a gaming GPU.
Axeia
Posts: 1,263 +1,718
To be fair, might have reached that point already. Might go for an APU next time around.
I think a big difference now is how long we'll keep our GPUs for. I bought my 5070ti in summer of 2025...and I only update every other generation so was upgrading from an RTX 3080. So im pretty confident ill be keeping this 5070 Ti until 2031-2032 for the 7xxx series. Thats 6-7 years for a GPU, something Ive only done w/ CPUs.
Megalomaniac
Posts: 1,420 +1,550
Supply and Demand says that there is no price too high or too low.
$1000 has been my post crypto line so I didn’t get my 5080 until it dropped below that.
Above that I spend it on buying and racing motorcycles.
(I spent far more than that on my 3080 but it made me a profit mining between gaming.)
Above that I spend it on buying and racing motorcycles.
(I spent far more than that on my 3080 but it made me a profit mining between gaming.)
Theinsanegamer
Posts: 9,348 +19,075
I never have a set limit. Back in the Fermi days when I was poor it was $150, after months of scrimping. Then I spent $500 each on two gtx 770s. After that I went to a rx 480 as my gaming needs slowed, $250 each for a pair of vega 64s during lockdown, then over $1k for my 6800xt to replace those Vegas as they self immolated.
Only thing I regretted was the Vegas. Today I don't play much anymore so I can't justify any current GPUs. Had the 9070xt been $500 or if it had been the speed of a rtx 5080 at $650 if have bought one just because. Now, if mine breaks, I'd look into lenovos Strix halo laptop instead.
Only thing I regretted was the Vegas. Today I don't play much anymore so I can't justify any current GPUs. Had the 9070xt been $500 or if it had been the speed of a rtx 5080 at $650 if have bought one just because. Now, if mine breaks, I'd look into lenovos Strix halo laptop instead.
StrikerRocket
Posts: 316 +302
I have long reached the point where it's too much! I am wealthy enough, but I simply refuse to get scammed. Plain and simple.
techstrike
Posts: 224 +201
My price limit of a GFX card is the price of a desirable game console.
Nintenboy01
Posts: 401 +297
In addition to the high upfront cost I can't really justify running something that eats over 300-400 watts just for entertainment purposes. That's like 1/3 to 1/2 an air conditioner already.
Doesn't matter we will never see sensible pricing ever again
GodisanAtheist
Posts: 1,303 +2,707
Historically I'd do double performance for $300 (typically used), but that scheme broke down with the 2020 mining crisis. Went from my 980ti to a 6800xt for $400 used in 2022 near the end of the gen.
I was spooked with the AI thing and didn't want to be priced out of the market for another 6+ years so I jumped on a $600 9070xt in January 2026. Most I've ever spent on a GPU ever but it seems like a screaming good deal in hindsight.
So that was a ~50% jump in raster and a ~100% jump in RT for twice as much as I'd normally like to pay.
While I have the money to go out and buy a 5090 tomorrow if I wanted to, it wouldn't be a great use of funds. I'd like the $300 price point to return but I can see myself paying $600 in another 3-5 years for another doubling of performance.
I was spooked with the AI thing and didn't want to be priced out of the market for another 6+ years so I jumped on a $600 9070xt in January 2026. Most I've ever spent on a GPU ever but it seems like a screaming good deal in hindsight.
So that was a ~50% jump in raster and a ~100% jump in RT for twice as much as I'd normally like to pay.
While I have the money to go out and buy a 5090 tomorrow if I wanted to, it wouldn't be a great use of funds. I'd like the $300 price point to return but I can see myself paying $600 in another 3-5 years for another doubling of performance.
Used RTX 3080
takaozo
Posts: 1,116 +1,720
Current GPU was the most expensive PC part I ever got. XFX 9070XT Swift OC for 850 Euro VAT included. I was getting my eyes tired from DLSS/TAA mess on 3070 and even on quality/balanced I could not get more than 60 fps because the frame buffer was full in some games. In two weeks the price for the same card is 1000 Euro now, just checked.
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