This most recent GPU generation has been a major letdown for gamers and PC enthusiasts, specifically with regard to how difficult it's been to get hold of new hardware, as well as prices way above MSRPs. With graphics cards now coming down in price, a trend that's expected to continue, there's hope on the horizon that people will start to be able to purchase Nvidia and AMD products again with relative ease. Alongside that, there's still the matter of the RTX 3090 Ti, and recent reviews are showing that team green's latest offering may not be worth it after all.
According to a number of sources, it appears as though the new card from Nvidia has been a little underwhelming. Although it utilizes the full potential of the GA102 chip and does seem to have slightly better performance, the fact that the RTX 3090 Ti is so big, not to mention the lofty price, has left many unable to recommend this graphics card, even for those who can afford one.
According to the YouTube channel Hardware Unboxed, the new beastly GPU is nothing short of Nvidia "milking buyers' wallets," with benchmark tests showing that there's just a 10% average increase in performance, while being sold at 30% above the retail value of its 3090 predecessor. Testing 12 games at 4K resolution at high to ultra settings, titles such as Resident Evil 3 were 11% faster on the SUPRIM X version of the card, while something like Far Cry 6 was only 5% faster than the Founders Edition of the 3090.
While recent leaks suggested that the RTX 3090 Ti would cost around $4,000, it actually comes to around $2,000. However, while that's half of what was expected, the consensus is that Nvidia's latest card is probably not worth the additional cost given the low performance margins when compared to previous hardware. Tech Radar said that the GPU has "excellent gaming performance" but is "expensive" and "heavy," and, overall, the extra price may not be fully justified for what potential buyers will be getting.
On top of that, the next generation is due to launch later on this year. With AMD announcing its RDNA 3 architecture and Nvidia looking to release its 40-series in September, the industry is moving on to the next era in graphical technology. As a result, team green may have been able to squeeze out one more enthusiast product in its ampere range, but gamers may be better holding off until Ada Lovelace or team red's next-gen equivalent.
Source: PCGamesN, Tech Radar, Gamers Nexus