Downgraded from an RTX 5070 to a 3070. I realized I was paying for performance I didn't need.
Posted by skinny_gator@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 54 comments
I recently made the decision to sell my RTX 5070, and honestly, it made me reevaluate how we justify hardware purchases.
Don't get me wrong, the 5070 is an incredibly capable card. For a $600 investment, it effortlessly pushed Battlefield 6 to my monitor’s 180Hz refresh rate at 1440p on Ultra settings, utilizing DLSS 4.0. But reality set in: between daily responsibilities and a lack of free time, I wasn't using the PC nearly enough to justify tying up that much cash in a single component. It was severe overkill for my actual use case.
I ended up selling the 5070 and found a solid deal on an RTX 3070 Aorus Master for $150 USD.
The result? I'm still hitting my 180Hz target in BF6 at 1440p. I had to drop the visual settings down to Low, but the core gameplay experience and framerate fluidity are identical. It turns out I didn't need a six-hundred-dollar GPU to actually enjoy my time in-game.
Has anyone else stepped back, realized their rig was massive overkill for the time they actually have to play, and downgraded? Curious to hear if others have been in a similar situation.
TheMinisterOChlorine@reddit
Here comes the nerds that think blowing 1k euro on a 5070 is a "sound investment" in a rapid inflation economy, or maybe people here are just more bougie than me.
I went from 560 > 970 1070 > rx 6700 xt, sold it after the rampocalypse for a good buck, back to 1070 > 3070, and it handles literally everything, I have a 1080p 240hz mini led monitor so I can enjoy high refreshrate and good visuals (cpu bound though)
I'd rather have that extra cash and not need it, than play games on one texture quality higher at 30 fps more, but hey, maybe i'm crazy.
skinny_gator@reddit (OP)
Hahaha I'm with you! I totally agree on all points. I don't dedicate my whole life to playing PC games so I really don't care about having the latest and greatest hardware. And if it comes to a point where I need to upgrade in the future, fine, I'll buy whatever I deem suitable at whatever price I find fitting.
I'm also not scared to buy from the used market either, I have gone through a lot of second and third hand components.
I also understand reddit is the very vocal minority, and that users here have a very abstracted opinion than the rest of the real world.
MrBeanDaddy86@reddit
I only recently upgraded from my 2060 Super. It still ran Cyberpunk acceptably for me. Only got some weird laggy spots in the DLC. But alas, I had to upgrade to a 5060 Ti 16 GB for non-gaming reasons.
Tbh, I wasn't super impressed in terms of gaming. I don't think it's wildly different from my old 2060, even though it is on paper. Like yes, some of my most demanding games run maybe... 15 - 20% smoother? But it's nothing that DLSS didn't solve. And I don't play that many insane graphics games anyways.
Leo9991@reddit
With the same settings, you'd get over double the amount of fps with a 5060 ti compared to a 2060S in cyberpunk..
MrBeanDaddy86@reddit
FPS doesn't really mean much to me past a stable framerate. Of course my FPS is higher, that doesn't mean anything if the game looks and plays nearly the same, which is what I'm saying.
It plays fine on the 2060 Super, and the difference in actual performance/visuals when you're actually playing the game is unimpressive considering it's 3 generations newer.
Leo9991@reddit
Okay, what do you consider to be a playable stable framerate? I want at least ~90+ personally at ultra settings. I love the look of ray traced reflections too, personally.
MrBeanDaddy86@reddit
If the gameplay is smooth, the actual number is irrelevant. It doesn't seem to be consistent across games, honestly. Some games run perfectly at 60 FPS, some have some stuttering issues and seem to benefit from higher, though not by much. I've even had smooth gameplay in titles dipping into the 50s. It really depends on the game.
Cyberpunk seems like past 70ish, as far as I can tell. But I'm also not very nitpicky about every little jolt because sometimes that stuff has nothing to do with framerate anyways, and I'm not one to go investigating every little performance hiccup when I'm gaming. Too many variables and I got shit to do, haha.
Ray tracing is cool, though maybe I'm just cynical in that I don't think the visuals are worth the huge performance hit.
skinny_gator@reddit (OP)
Preach brother. I hear you.
grapejuicecheese@reddit
I kind of disagree with this notion because games will eventually get more demanding over time and the 5070 will last much longer compared to the 3070.
Leo9991@reddit
His performance claims of 180 fps with a 3070 in bf6 isn't even possible
grapejuicecheese@reddit
He's playing on low
Leo9991@reddit
All low bf6 gets around 100 fps with a 3070
grapejuicecheese@reddit
Oh lol
skinny_gator@reddit (OP)
You're 100% right, the 3070 won't stand the test of time and things will be harder to run in the future.
But for right now and the foreseeable future, I can enjoy the one game I play at a decent frame rate. I'll eventually upgrade whenever that time comes.
grapejuicecheese@reddit
Well, you do you. For me personally, I'd rather upgrade once and not have to upgrade for a long time. Especially since we don't know how bad prices can get in the future.
anticapitalist69@reddit
Right but we’re kinda peaking in terms of performance gains for each generation.
They’re optimising software now instead, which makes a low level 5000 series card a very decent choice.
blak3brd@reddit
Yeah seems like massive cope…games are only going to get more demanding. And cost of components have only gone up.
GoatedGoatyGoat@reddit
Bro literally went from ultra to low and is trying to justify it lmao
Claptown420@reddit
Only reason to ever do that was because you initially overspent and are strapped for cash.
skinny_gator@reddit (OP)
There's literally a ton of reasons more but ok
Claptown420@reddit
Like what? There's no technical advantage for the 3070. 5070 is a better card in every single aspect and use case. You'll just have to upgrade sooner now if you plan to keep using pcs. Not the best choice in the long run. Only advantage is liquidity after selling.
Bruvvimir@reddit
Such as what? You’ve lost money on selling the card (unless there’s some weird market dynamics where people are paying a premium for used GPUs), and you’ve also got a used GPU that you haven’t got warranty on.
I don’t get the point of that unless you really need the cash diff between the two.
Dead_Eye_Donny@reddit
I mean for the sake of 450 dollars it's hardly worth the effort is it?
If you needed the money fair enough, but if you didn't that's fairly mental as you're just going to have to upgrade later on (and GPU prices may be more expensive in the future)
Aggravating_Bids@reddit
Copium
Leo9991@reddit
Like what?
CoreyPL_@reddit
A while ago (before 5000 series release) I downgraded from RTX4090 to RTX 4070 Super. I had the same reasons as you - not having enough time to play demanding games anymore and my productivity workloads don't rely on the GPU. Money I got from the swap went to my new NAS/VM box, bought few months before the RAM, SSD and HDD armageddon (now worth around 3 times as much).
Next step is to downgrade from full desktop build to a miniPC with Oculink dock (for the RTX 4070 Super when I need it). Already got the miniPC, but now I need time to actually transfer all the stuff there :)
skinny_gator@reddit (OP)
Absolutely. That was a great investment into the NAS/VM box. Easy trade-off, and since prices shot up, I'm sure you're glad you did.
CoreyPL_@reddit
Yeah, super happy about the timing :)
Furthermore, when I did buy the 4070 Super, I thought it would be a temporary GPU and I will upgrade to something like RTX 5070/Ti in a few months. But the RTX 4070 is really more than enough for everything I need and after prices going up, I decided to just stay with it.
I'm stoked about the miniPCs getting better and better integrated GPUs in them. I think in a few years I will ditch the eGPU dock completely.
skinny_gator@reddit (OP)
Yes! Integrated graphics are only going to get better. What kind of mini PC do you have?
CoreyPL_@reddit
Aoostar Gem12+ (Ryzen 8845HS, 64GB of Crucial RAM and 1TB Crucial P3 Plus SSD) paired with Aoostar eGPU dock.
It's stupid fast for the size. Got it for the normal price as well (around 540 USD, RAM and SSD included in price). 2-3 months later RAM alone was worth more then the whole miniPC with RAM and SSD when I bought it.
skinny_gator@reddit (OP)
Damn that is awesome
Aecnoril@reddit
Oof.. by the time you'll practically need to upgrade it'll be entirely unaffordable.. I think it would have been better to keep that 5070 looking at the fact you got it for a reasonable price
Tribe740@reddit
If you are broke and needed the money, just say that bro.
ReikoKairo@reddit
I built my first pc last year, i did the opposite. I got a 7950x & 5070ti so i can hopefully not have to upgrade anything for the next 5+ years.
skinny_gator@reddit (OP)
That is a sick set up. You'll enjoy it for years to come.
hereforpewdiephy@reddit
reads like a cope post written by ai
skinny_gator@reddit (OP)
Ok.
Coady54@reddit
Guys, is there a word for where you see someone do something that doesn't make a lick of sense but they've convinced themselves it actually made a ton of sense? I feel like there should be a word that. German probably has a word for that.
Seriously OP, all you've done is garuntee you'll need to upgrade your GPU in 2-4 years instead of 5-8.
skinny_gator@reddit (OP)
Ok. Thanks for your input my friend.
NiteVision4k@reddit
So he can upgrade to a 5070 later and it will cost far less.
Lonely_Platform7702@reddit
Upgraded my 4070 for a 5070Ti and very happy with the upgrade. I can now play all AAA games on my 4K TV as well. So nope not really.
skinny_gator@reddit (OP)
Very nice enjoy friend
Dead_Eye_Donny@reddit
I don't think you're really saving any money there mate you'll have to upgrade that 3070 sooner than a 5070. You don't even get frame gen with 3070 right?
Leo9991@reddit
How are you getting 180 fps with a 3070? As far as I can see a 3070 gets around 100 fps at best in battlefield 6, on the lowest settings.
Al-Azraq@reddit
I just did the opposite.
Just bought a 5070 for 520 € with a Resident Evil Requiem code as a gift (which I will sell for 30 €), coming for a 3070 Ti whose 8 GB of VRAM was destroying my performance in BF6 when setting textures to HIGH (I had to play on low which is quite annoying).
skinny_gator@reddit (OP)
To each their own brother. I'm glad you are enjoying your system!
tarnishedspiderz@reddit
You better have a good reason for what your doing with that extra money
skinny_gator@reddit (OP)
Drugs and hookers, mostly
GoatedGoatyGoat@reddit
Sounds like hookers and cocaine to me. Should have kept the 5070
Interesting-Big1980@reddit
So I go from a different direction. I stayed with 1060 until 2023 since there was no game that I actually wanted to play that required more. But then Alan Wake 2 came out and I just bought a secondhand 3070. Buy out of necessity, not desire to see bigger numbers.
skinny_gator@reddit (OP)
You're totally right! I'm glad you bought what you needed and are enjoying it
Horror-Papaya6053@reddit
Yes I did and then it was two years later and I'm glad I have my 7800XT.
skinny_gator@reddit (OP)
Not sure how much of a downgrade a 7800XT is haha that's a beast of a card
Horror-Papaya6053@reddit
I mean: two years ago it was a bit much for me, I could've gotten a cheaper card and play all my games just fine. Now two years later I'm glad I have the card for the exact same game you mention and more.