3000 Series GPU's, do you need a 3080????

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
We have had a lot of people coming on saying "don't worry, I have a suitable monitor" and picking a 3080 and then proclaiming when pressed that they in fact have a 1440p 144Hz monitor, or even worse, a 1080p 60Hz monitor as we've just had now!

1. These cards are going to be in very short supply for the first few months as demand is obviously very high. These cards are CRAZY powerful, and if you're automatically assuming that you need one, it's probably very likely you don't, get some advice. It's not fair to pair these with an unsuitable monitor as you'll be taking one away from someone who could actually use the card to it's potential.

2. It's not the case that a more powerful GPU will provide better quality at all, UNLESS it's paired with a suitable monitor that can actually support that power. The monitor is the final output of the PC, you could have a £5000 PC with 2 x 3090's in SLI, and it wouldn't perform any better than a £800 PC on a 1080p 144Hz monitor, BECAUSE THE MONITOR IS THE BOTTLENECK.

The monitor can only display what it's capable of displaying.

My favourite analogy is it’s like buying a Ferrari only to ever drive to the local shops at 30mph. Sure, it’s got all the power, but it’s only being used at a fraction of its capabilities to impress the locals.

3. Hz = FPS. If you're looking for the ultimate FPS, thinking a 3080 is going to provide some amazing experience at 300FPS, but you're pairing it with a 1080p 144Hz monitor, you're mistaken. The monitor is 144Hz, therefor it can only show 144FPS of what the card is putting out.

If you're interested in a 3070 or a 3080, the ballpark of the monitor you'd need to make use of that power is roughly £1000 and over, usually around the £1200 mark.

So PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, get some advice on monitor pairing and build suitability.

And please bear in mind, it's not about weather you can afford it, it's about suitability IN YOUR SYSTEM, and the fact that you may be taking away from someone else better deserving.
 
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SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
For a little maths calculation that may put things into perspective:

You're gaming on a 1440p 144Hz monitor. So that's 2560 x 1440 which = 3,686,,400 pixels run at 144fps = 530,841,600 pixels per second.

The 3080 is a 4k 144Hz card.

So thats 3840 x 2160 = 8,294,400 run at 144FPS = 1,194,393,600 pixels per second.

1,194,393,600 - 530,841,600 = 663,552,000

So your monitor will use under half of the capabilites of the card.

Completely pointless.

The 3070 is a 4k 100Hz card.

So the same calculation adjusted for 100fps = 829,440,000

829,440,000 - 530,841,600 = 298,598,400

So your monitor will still use significantly less than available.

The 3060ti is likely to be suitable for 1440p 144hz
 

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
Another area people get confused about thanks to greedy influencers on YouTube and Twitch is around refresh rates.

 
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