My TITAN X, purchased in 2016 directly from NVIDIA for $1200, has served me exceptionally well over the years. Running on a custom water-cooled overclock, it has consistently delivered strong performance on my 3440×1440@120Hz ultrawide monitor—a resolution that sits between 1440p and true 4K. While I initially considered upgrading to the 5090, current market conditions and its $2300 price tag, plus an additional $300 for a water block, make the total cost hard to justify.
Instead, I’m leaning toward the 5080, available at its $999 MSRP, with a water block costing around $275. At roughly half the total investment of the 5090, it presents a much more reasonable option. I’ve also looked at the 5070 Ti, priced at $850 with the same cooling block, but the modest performance gain of the 5080 seems worth the extra $150. Reviews from Hardware Unboxed and Gamers Nexus, along with 3DMark benchmarks, suggest the 5080 offers strong real-world gaming efficiency compared to the 5090, making it an appealing choice for someone upgrading from a 10-series-era card. Given that NVIDIA’s feature set remains my preference, the 5080 appears to be the most balanced option for performance and value.
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Your point about the 5080 hitting that sweet spot between performance and cost really resonates—I’m also on a 3440×1440 monitor and have been weighing a similar upgrade from my 2080 Ti. The fact that you’re getting strong real-world gaming efficiency for roughly half the 5090’s total cost makes the 5080 sound like the smarter play. What games are you planning to test first with the new card?
It’s great to hear you’re also gaming on a 3440×1440 monitor and considering the 5080—that resolution really does demand a thoughtful GPU choice! I plan to test Cyberpunk 2077 with full path tracing first, as it’s a perfect benchmark for next-gen features and will push the card’s capabilities. Let me know what games you’re most excited to try, and I’d be happy to share my performance findings once I’ve run the tests!
The benchmark score seems off, as the 5090 should significantly outperform the 5080 and 5070 Ti. In real-world usage, the 5090 is roughly 50% faster than the 5080. There might be a CPU bottleneck, but I’d question the accuracy of this chart.
Your GPU choice depends on your use case. The 5070 Ti is available for around $750, while the 5080 costs about $1000. The 5080 offers 10-20% more performance for 33% higher cost, so the 5070 Ti provides better value. I personally use a 5070 Ti with a 3440×1440 165Hz monitor.
If the 5070 Ti or 5080 meets your gaming requirements, either is a solid option, and you can upgrade to future 70 or 80 series cards later. However, if you need the extra performance and VRAM for AI work or potential 4K ultrawide gaming, the 5090 would be the more logical choice.