I considered it. I considered it for like 20 minutes. I looked up price (2000€ since I also need a new PSU) and my actual build value. I checked that it was pretty much everything I could need for 5 years or more.
Then I came down from the bullshit and just said out loud to my monitor "I don't need a fucking GPU that is more expensive than my entire build and an extra screen combined, I just need decent 4K gaming".
The 4090 came off as the ultimate upsell to me.
I have 0 interest in a 4080 at this price, but I also have 0 interest in a 4090 as a product. I just don't need this shit. I want a decent card, with enough RAM to run all my needs, and a good power draw/performance/price. The 4080 is perfect, it's just that the price is wrong. The 4090 is a literal monster that I don't need and won't need anytime soon.
Actually I wonder how much of my logic departs from the common high end buyer :
- 7900 xt
It's nice and sufficient, more ram than needed, but it's on basically the same price to performance ratio as the XTX, and is 1000€.
If I buy this for a grand, and it proves insufficient on something, am I not investing in a sick donkey here? Maybe I should buy the XTX just to be sure, especially since I lose next to nothing in price /perf.
- 7900 xtx
It's the best AMD has to offer and has enough ram and power to handle anything. The problem with it is that it's not ready at all. Performance is unequal, power draw somewhat poor at load and abysmal at idle. Because it's AMD, you can expect that it'll FineWine itself over it's life cycle but it's just plainly inferior to Nvidia right now. Even if you count that the XT may also FineWine into a slightly worse 4080 while the XTX FineWines into something closer to a 4090 than a 4080, if it happens in a year from now, that just means that you pay full price for a product that'll be properly enabled for one year less. Nvidia meanwhile has everything that works, here, now.
- 4080
Perfect ram, power draw, performance, raytracing, 3rd party app and AI support, everything about it is ready and able, so where do I buy?
Oh.... 1369€.
On a card that has 33% less ram and less raw power than an xtx... And unlike the XTX has basically no shot in Finewining. You pay more, a ton of money actually, for a card with no flaws but no sparkles. If this card was 1000€ I'd just buy and go. I'd tell everyone to buy it. It's perfect for 4-5 years of usage. But it seems Nvidia is trying to train us to accept a volcanic level inflation, and I don't want to be trained into good boi begging for his treat.
It's truly ironic that Jensen decided to go for the Become the Scalper timeline after the 3000s, because this is honestly brilliant in terms of balancing. 3080 with 10Gos was debatably meh for the PS5 era. 4070 Ti is even worse. 3090 was too much and wouldn't ever justify its price over 4-5 years (as the 4090 proved as soon as it arrived). But the 4080? You get exactly what you need, in a neat package, with some of the best perf/power/ram/all around packaging. I see it as a truly excellent card for 99% of high end buyers. But if the price isn't right, everything else loses its value.
- 4090
Much more powerful, much more worthwhile, much more satisfying to own, incredibly capable... This is a masterpiece of power for gaming and productivity. It's honestly one of the best Nvidia has ever made. Even its price is justifiable. If you're using it for gaming, it's going to be extremely solid even for years to come. It's arguably just too much for it even, and works better as a monster productivity card.
But do I need a monster productivity card? Do I need 24Gb? Do I need to spend 2000 flipping euros for this? I CAN spend it, but I can also buy a ton of things with the extra 800€ that I'd save by taking an xtx. The 4090's problem is that like all highest end products, it lacks value. I just want a card that'll do me good, not a monster. And I don't wanna pay monster prices for something that'll mostly show that I bought more than I needed.
Oh and for kicks:
4070 Ti:
A total scam. Yes, the card is capable. Yes, 12Go will be argued to be "sufficient". I'll completely disagree on that one, but let's assume that it'll be "sufficient" for most cases.
I don't want to have a "sufficient" level of VRAM for a card that I can't find under 980€. Plain and simple. The 6700 xt can be a lovely little card with a "sufficient" 12Go because it's a 400€ card. The 4070 Ti is trying to both be stingy with such a basic thing as having enough RAM and demands what was flagship prices last gen. Heck, you can find a 6950xt for 700€ in some places right now. Fuck off Ngreedia.
This is the situation from my seat. I have money to burn. Even 2000€ may not be unrealistic for my wallet. I don't want ultra strong 3rd party app support, but I'd rather have it. I don't want turbo power, but I don't want to spend over a grand for something disappointing. I just need to power 4K gaming and be able to dabble in AI/video montage without thinking "should've bought the other one".
And when I look at the XTX, I think that even though it'll take probably over a year for the red fucks to get the card in full swing, they'll eventually do it and reach the performance targets the promised. It'll be a really strong card with worse rt and worse productivity, and that's enough for me.
When I look at the 4080, I think it's perfect. I look at the price and literally lose all desire to buy. If you're gonna spend this much on an item of fun, shouldn't you at least WANT it, rather than feel compelled to buy it?
