Idiotic tariffs, indifferent retailers, depraved flippers and AI mania are making the simple act of buying a graphics card the defining misery of PC gaming in 2025.
For years now the prices on this year’s latest cards are so high that I don’t know who buys them. I can afford to spend $1000 but I never would when I can probably get 85% of the performance for $250.
That was genuinely pulled out of my ass. Not a benchmark comparison. It’s just my perception that cards only get incrementally better each year, but “this year’s card” is always proportionally much more expensive for what you get. Few games actually demand the very latest and greatest, so I don’t know why people would ever pay the premium for the latest and greatest.
I didn’t say you “need a 5090 enjoy the other 5% of games,” the implication is performance. And no, I highly doubt your 3060 is not doing that. With lowered settings and no ray tracing on some games, sure. When we’re talking about flagship GPUs, the idea is that people buy them to be able to run at 1440p/4k, higher graphics settings, and maintain at least stable 60+fps.
There’s games right now that even a 4090 struggles to run on maxed settings at 4k and stay above 60fps at all times. However, DLSS 3+ and similar tech saves the day with frame gen and upscaling. Developers just need to optimize their shit.
And if you don’t care about graphics at all, then of course this is all irrelevant and participating in this discussion is completely pointless.
If somebody doesn’t need to play at 4k 60fps doesn’t mean they don’t care about graphics at all.
There are graphics settings in between maxed out and bare minimum for a reason. I guess whatever floats your boat. I couldn’t justify spending 2000 on GPU plus another 1000 on a CPU + monitor just so I can go from 1080p to 4k. Does that mean I don’t care about graphics? No, it just means I don’t value 4k over 1080p at a $3000 price tag. I’m “fortunate” (if that’s what you call wage labor) enough that I could afford it, but it’s just not a priority for me.
For years now the prices on this year’s latest cards are so high that I don’t know who buys them. I can afford to spend $1000 but I never would when I can probably get 85% of the performance for $250.
Out of curiosity, what GPU is getting 85% of a 5080’s performance at $250? Genuine question.
That was genuinely pulled out of my ass. Not a benchmark comparison. It’s just my perception that cards only get incrementally better each year, but “this year’s card” is always proportionally much more expensive for what you get. Few games actually demand the very latest and greatest, so I don’t know why people would ever pay the premium for the latest and greatest.
Ah, gotcha. I haven’t been looking for GPUs for a few years now, so I was low-key excited that there was actually a deal that good.
But yeah, I agree that the last couple gens of flagship GPUs are vastly overkill for 95% of games.
What games are the 5% that need a 5090 to enjoy? I can run any game on the market right now at a minimum 1080p 60fps on my 3060.
I didn’t say you “need a 5090 enjoy the other 5% of games,” the implication is performance. And no, I highly doubt your 3060 is not doing that. With lowered settings and no ray tracing on some games, sure. When we’re talking about flagship GPUs, the idea is that people buy them to be able to run at 1440p/4k, higher graphics settings, and maintain at least stable 60+fps.
There’s games right now that even a 4090 struggles to run on maxed settings at 4k and stay above 60fps at all times. However, DLSS 3+ and similar tech saves the day with frame gen and upscaling. Developers just need to optimize their shit.
And if you don’t care about graphics at all, then of course this is all irrelevant and participating in this discussion is completely pointless.
If somebody doesn’t need to play at 4k 60fps doesn’t mean they don’t care about graphics at all.
There are graphics settings in between maxed out and bare minimum for a reason. I guess whatever floats your boat. I couldn’t justify spending 2000 on GPU plus another 1000 on a CPU + monitor just so I can go from 1080p to 4k. Does that mean I don’t care about graphics? No, it just means I don’t value 4k over 1080p at a $3000 price tag. I’m “fortunate” (if that’s what you call wage labor) enough that I could afford it, but it’s just not a priority for me.
And the same applies to smartphones since a while ago.