As a 7900 XTX owner, if you can grab the RTX 4080 near the price of a 9070XT, buy that, otherwise the 9070XT and 7900 XTX are a wash, both will take wins in different games, the 9070 XT is faster with FSR4, the 7900 XTX has a copious 24GB Vram capacity, meaning if games do increase memory need in VRAM, it will outlive the 16GB cards.

You can use FSR4 on a 7900 XTX via optiscaler, it's slower due to using INT8. But FSR4 is still faster on it than native.

Just buy which benches best for the games you play then, FSR, DLSS is only any good if you're playing newer big titles really, as for how important the new features are, well it's the future we have for now till something new comes along, it's good tech though.

引用自 Anti-Sauron：

As a 7900 XTX owner, if you can grab the RTX 4080 near the price of a 9070XT, buy that, otherwise the 9070XT and 7900 XTX are a wash, both will take wins in different games, the 9070 XT is faster with FSR4, the 7900 XTX has a copious 24GB Vram capacity, meaning if games do increase memory need in VRAM, it will outlive the 16GB cards.

You can use FSR4 on a 7900 XTX via optiscaler, it's slower due to using INT8. But FSR4 is still faster on it than native.

Where I'm from, currently the 4080 Super is the most expensive by far (around 1250), followed by the RX 7900XTX at ~1100 and the RX 9070 XT is the cheapest at 720. So, from a money perspective, the RX 9070 XT is for sure the winner here, but I don't know if it's actually better overall, though I also don't know where the market prices are gonna be in 2026.

引用自 wing0zero：

Just buy which benches best for the games you play then, FSR, DLSS is only any good if you're playing newer big titles really, as for how important the new features are, well it's the future we have for now till something new comes along, it's good tech though.

Thing is, if the new Elder Scrolls game comes out, I'll obviously be jumping on that, same as I would for a new Red Dead game, Hogwarts Legacy sequel, etc. So, while I typically don't play games that make full use of DLSS/FSR, I can't be sure that heavy hitters like that won't require it to some degree in future.

引用自 Apollyon：

Thing is, if the new Elder Scrolls game comes out, I'll obviously be jumping on that, same as I would for a new Red Dead game, Hogwarts Legacy sequel, etc. So, while I typically don't play games that make full use of DLSS/FSR, I can't be sure that heavy hitters like that won't require it to some degree in future.

Probably better with an Nvidia GPU, FSR3 is poor vs FSR4/DLSS4, DLSS4 is better than FSR4 and supported in way more games, FSR4 support is mediocre vs DLSS4.

5070 Ti maybe? Similar to the 4080 Super but newer tech and less power draw.

Some newer demanding games like Hogwarts are pretty CPU heavy, you might find a i7 drop in might give a boost to FPS with a new GPU also.

引用自 wing0zero：

引用自 Apollyon：

Thing is, if the new Elder Scrolls game comes out, I'll obviously be jumping on that, same as I would for a new Red Dead game, Hogwarts Legacy sequel, etc. So, while I typically don't play games that make full use of DLSS/FSR, I can't be sure that heavy hitters like that won't require it to some degree in future.

Probably better with an Nvidia GPU, FSR3 is poor vs FSR4/DLSS4, DLSS4 is better than FSR4 and supported in way more games, FSR4 support is mediocre vs DLSS4.

5070 Ti maybe? Similar to the 4080 Super but newer tech and less power draw.

Some newer demanding games like Hogwarts are pretty CPU heavy, you might fine a i7 drop in might give a boost to FPS with a new GPU also.

I see what you're saying, but again, not entirely sold on the value of DLSS vs the raw frames a 7900 XTX would offer me and the 24GB VRAM looks really tasty to me, when I'm coming from an 8GB 3060 Ti.

As for CPU, as long as it doesn't bottleneck me, I see no reason to upgrade whatsoever. Hogwarts Legacy ran perfectly for me on ultra at 1080p with my current setup, anyway.

FSR4 via optiscaler can use DLSS inputs so FSR4 has to be added by yourself to be used in games only supporting FSR3, but you can also just use FSR inputs to get the same result.

引用自 Apollyon：

I see what you're saying, but again, not entirely sold on the value of DLSS vs the raw frames a 7900 XTX would offer me

Using DLSS up scaling isn't frame gen, DLSS is still "raw frames", just don't use frame gen if you don't like it although most just have bad opinions on it from conjecture vs experience.

引用自 Apollyon：

As for CPU, as long as it doesn't bottleneck me, I see no reason to upgrade whatsoever.

With say a 4080Super/5070Ti/7900XTX that CPU will be the bottleneck in some scenarios for sure, but you just cap the FPS for a smooth frame time and it's good, it will only be the bottleneck at high FPS and probably good for 120 FPS in most games.

引用自 Apollyon：

Hogwarts Legacy ran perfectly for me on ultra at 1080p with my current setup, anyway.

Often subjective, your version of perfect might be the same as my version of just passable.

引用自 Skyblue：

Well in 2026 there will also be 5070 Super, 5070ti Super, 5080 Super and apparently AMD will release higher end, 9080XT? Likely on par if not better than 7900xtx but with FSR 4.

VRAM wise for future proof you want 24 yeah, but the 5070ti Super could be the one there, depending on price. 4080s was very nice (my previous card) but that 16GB VRAM, eh.

So if this isn’t until 2026, you’d be best waiting and seeing what new ones come out. Could even be December actually, we know they’re coming and will boost all VRAM amounts by 50%, so even the 5070 Super will be quite a nice card with 18GB.

RT is amazing in some games but depends, it’s eventually just completely replacing traditional lighting as well, so I suspect yeah HL2 will use it that way. In older titles you get nicer looking lighting but the baked in lighting still looks good.

Excellent points, I think this is probably the wisest course of action, though I still wanted to get an early impression of where these 3 options stand.

Would say only cards worth buying currently are RX 9070 XT and RTX 5070 Ti.
Especially if you can find good deal on RX 9070 XT, prices have been kinda reasonable lately.

引用自 Apollyon：

I already ordered a new 1440p monitor so I'm looking to get a new GPU in 2026, something that's top of the line right now and will be future-proof for the next 5-8 years.

There's no way you can guarantee this, because (up to) eight years is a long time.

The need for newer and/or higher levels of hardware performance are loosely tied to the console generations, and this is important here because the PlayStation 6 (and the next Xbox, if that actually happens since rumors seem all over on if it will or not?) is rumored to be coming 2027 and it/they may be some shakeups in terms of what's needed for games up to eight years out from now. After all, eight years is nearly 2034, so that's a tall ask to expect hardware today to still be meeting 1440p at whatever level of standards you have by then. As an example, the GTX 1080 Ti was the highest end card eight years ago, and it's more of a 1080p/60 FPS card now at best. Expecting options that are well below the best of today, and from one or two years ago, to do better than that... might be a tall ask.

What I'm saying is, pick the best that you can afford today and that will be your best option regardless. But making plans that it has to last X amount of years, with all the variables involved, may just setting yourself up for being disappointed if it doesn't happen.

引用自 Apollyon：

My current research has led me to 3 options: RTX 4080 Super, RX 7900 XTX and RX 9070 XT.

- RTX 4080 Super: The pros are that it's a NVIDIA product and I've always been a NVIDIA user. I'm not completely sold on its main selling point, though, being Ray Tracing. I'm not sure if Ray Tracing is all it's hyped up to be, especially for the types of games I usually play (RPGs, Strategy/Total War games, maybe some Fighting games).

- RX 7900 XTX: This is the one I'm currently leaning towards, mainly because of the excellent frames (not fake frames) and the extremely future proof 24GB VRAM it comes with. I can't find any fault with this GPU other than the fact it's lacking AMD's FSR4 technology, that comes with the next option. Not sure how important FSR4 currently is or how important it'll be in the next 5-8 years.

- RX 9070 XT: I've heard great things about this GPU and as mentioned above, it comes with the apparently coveted FSR4 technology. Still not sold on how important FSR4 is going to be, so I would need someone to explain and sell me on it, if it's actually as important as people claim it to be.

Personally, I think the RX 7900 XT and XTX lost a lot of appeal after the release of the RTX 4080 Super happened. This is because those Radeons were a good value BEFORE that point (because the vanilla RTX 4080 was an infamously terrible value), but after the RTX 4080-same-performance-with-a-price-cut-but-called-a-Super launched, and the Radeons didn't get cheaper... they lost their appeal.

On top of that, now that new generations on both sides are out, and since AMD's new generation has improved upscaling and ray-tracing performance... I wouldn't bother with the higher end of RDNA3 anymore is what I'm saying. But... it does depend on price.

Otherwise, I'd narrow it down to the RX 9070 XT or RTX 4080, and since you say the latter is the most expensive "by far", I'd probably discard considering it and instead look at the RTX 5070 or Ti in its place. So ultimately I'd be looking at the RX 9070 or XT, or the RTX 5070 or Ti, and picking the best performer that fits your budget. The RTX 4080 or 7900 XTX would need to be much cheaper than them to get my attention.

引用自 Rumpelcrutchskin：

Would say only cards worth buying currently are RX 9070 XT and RTX 5070 Ti.
Especially if you can find good deal on RX 9070 XT, prices have been kinda reasonable lately.

I think the current price for RX 9070 XT is more than reasonable and a lot of people are making a strong case for DLSS/FSR4 being crucial for future gaming. From what I've heard, I'm now leaning more towards the RX 9070 XT over the RX 7900 XTX, but I'm not in a rush to upgrade right now and as Skyblue said above, the possibility of a 9080XT sounds appealing.

But yeah, as it stands, if I upgrade within the next 6 months and there's no 9080XT, I'll likely be going for the 9070 XT, since the price difference compared to something like the 4800 Super is massive. The 5070Ti is also quite reasonable in price, though slightly pricier than the 9070 XT at the moment. Will have to see where the market prices are in 6 months, I suppose.

引用自 Illusion of Progress：

Personally, I think the RX 7900 XT and XTX lost a lot of appeal after the release of the RTX 4080 Super happened. This is because those Radeons were a good value BEFORE that point (because the vanilla RTX 4080 was an infamously terrible value), but after the RTX 4080-same-performance-with-a-price-cut-but-called-a-Super launched, and the Radeons didn't get cheaper... they lost their appeal.

On top of that, now that new generations on both sides are out, and since AMD's new generation has improved upscaling and ray-tracing performance... I wouldn't bother with the higher end of RDNA3 anymore is what I'm saying. But... it does depend on price.

Otherwise, I'd narrow it down to the RX 9070 XT or RTX 4080, and since you say the latter is the most expensive "by far", I'd probably discard considering it and instead look at the RTX 5070 or Ti in its place. So ultimately I'd be looking at the RX 9070 or XT, or the RTX 5070 or Ti, and picking the best performer that fits your budget. The RTX 4080 or 7900 XTX would need to be much cheaper than them to get my attention.

Thanks for the input. I hear ya on the long term planning, but I'd rather not buy a new GPU after this for the next 5 years at least, if possible.

I'm definitely leaning more now towards the RX 9070 XT after doing some more research online and reading the replies here, including yours. Price is very reasonable atm and the only thing that might sway me is a possible 9080 XT drop within the next 6 months.

Would you say the 5070 Ti has any real advantages over the 9070 XT, other than DLSS being considered superior to FSR4 by some? Strictly 1440p gaming.

By 2026 many more current GPUs should come down in price and by then we'll have the RTX 50 Super cards for sure.

9070 non-XT was just on sale on Amazon for around $560

RTX 5060 Ti 16GB and 5070 have come down quite a bit too.

With GTA6 delayed until Fall 2026 and that meaning 2027 sometime for PC... I don't see the big rush. Games like Wukong, Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 and Battlefield 6 run perfectly fine at 1440p on RTX 3080 / 3080 Ti... so for a new build then I'd aim for at least a 5060 Ti 16GB or better. AMD 9070 and 9070 XT are good too but still plenty of driver issues to work out. They have come up in performance since launch though.

FSR 4 actually isn't too bad but it of course varies game by game.

Just be sure to use DLSS Updater so you can update your game bundled DLSS and FSR files to the latest versions with ease.

引用自 Bad 💀 Motha：

By 2026 many more current GPUs should come down in price and by then we'll have the RTX 50 Super cards for sure.

9070 non-XT was just on sale on Amazon for around $560

RTX 5060 Ti 16GB and 5070 have come down quite a bit too.

With GTA6 delayed until Fall 2026 and that meaning 2027 sometime for PC... I don't see the big rush. Games like Wukong, Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 and Battlefield 6 run perfectly fine at 1440p on RTX 3080 / 3080 Ti... so for a new build then I'd aim for at least a 5060 Ti 16GB or better. AMD 9070 and 9070 XT are good too but still plenty of driver issues to work out. They have come up in performance since launch though.

FSR 4 actually isn't too bad but it of course varies game by game.

Just be sure to use DLSS Updater so you can update your game bundled DLSS and FSR files to the latest versions with ease.

I agree that there's no rush, which is why I may end up just waiting for the RX 9080 XT to drop (assuming it ends up happening). I'm just exploring options at this point.