What is the difference between generations of graphics cards
Posted by Unit-287@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 20 comments
I'll be referencing NVIDIA because I understand that more than AMD's GPUs.
So basically, as the title says, what is the difference in performance between the GPU series? For example, the NVIDIA RTX 5050 only costs about 250. However, if we go a gen lower but look at the top of the line, the NVIDIA RTX 4090, this one costs 1500, much more than the 5050 or even 5070, 5070ti, or 5080. Does the difference in generations not directly contribute to performance, and therefore, when looking at buying a GPU for a build, I don't have to stick with the 50 series for a mid-top of the line build? Or could it be because the 50 series has better "features?"
Competitive_Owl_2096@reddit
Now this is an over generalization but on average the new generation is about one tier higher. For example a 3080 is similar to a 4070, or a 4070 to a 5060.
This_Suit8791@reddit
Was going to say this, the performance is stepped down a tier for newer gen.
Calm_Hedgehog8296@reddit
There are some features such as multi frame generation which are only available on the 5000 series cards. Other than that the same class of card (the second two numbers in the card's name; the 5060 is in the 5000 series and the 60 class) has modest performance improvements over the card in the same class and the previous series.
The 5060 is about 15% more performance than the 4060, which is about 15% more performance than the 3060.
Most people don't upgrade every generation.
However, since the new series replaces the old series, and usually at the same or a similar price, you should just buy a card from the most recent series which aligns with your price and performance expectations at that time.
Rule of thumb:
60 series - 1080p
70 series - 1440p
80 series - 4k
Unit-287@reddit (OP)
Do I have to get an 80 series for 4k? Is it possible to get 4k from the 70 series or even the 70ti?
Calm_Hedgehog8296@reddit
It depends on what you're doing; recent games? older games? CAD? Video? Older games will be just fine, newer triple A games might not. CAD and video will work, just slower - maybe run the rendering overnight or something.
It depends on what features you use - for gaming, if you turn on multi frame gen, 5070/Ti is going to perform much better at 4k than without it. However some people report significant ghosting on some games which makes it look worse than just playing with the lower framerate.
Overall, for the few edge cases where the 5070/Ti isn't sufficient, you can just drop the resolution for those few things.
The 5070, 5070 Ti and 5080 are all among the 10 most powerful consumer GPUs ever created.
I have a 5070Ti and play games at 3440x1440 resolution, which is higher than regular 1440p but lower than regular 4k. Every game I've ever tried I can play at high settings at 100fps or higher.
MagicPistol@reddit
https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/geforce-rtx-5050.c4220
Here's another site that shows the relative performance of each GPU. Scroll down to the relative performance chart. This page is specifically for the 5050, so it shows how other gpus stack against it. You can click on any GPU to go to that page.
Unit-287@reddit (OP)
Thanks!
aragorn18@reddit
In general, it's common to see somewhere around 15-30% performance improvement for the same model between generations. For example, the 5060 is about 25% faster than the 4060. But, the 4090 is over 3x faster than the 4060. So, even though the 5060 is faster than the equivalent from the previous generation, it still doesn't come anywhere close to the performance of the flagship GPU from the prior generation.
Unit-287@reddit (OP)
Ok, so the generation (for performance) only really makes a difference for diffirent gen but similar models, makes sense
Due-Adhesiveness-744@reddit
New tech and they're typically more energy efficient with each generation. So you get more GPU power, but need less power drawn from the wall.
Unit-287@reddit (OP)
Oh and I'm guessing this is the same for AMD's line
aragorn18@reddit
Yes, similar. You need to look up the performance of the specific product you're planning on buying. TechPowerUp has great relative performance graphs.
Hermesme@reddit
The simplified explanation is the graphics cards are within tiers in the same gen.
So a low tier, a middle tier, and a high tier
XX60 is low
XX70 is Mid
XX80 is high
So even if a card is a previous generation, it’s going to be better if it’s from a higher tier compared to a newer lower tier card.
Kind of like cars. You can get a new entry level car, or a 10 year old luxury model and the older high end car will probably still be better
Hrmerder@reddit
New mo fast but mo expensive
Conscious-Salt-1523@reddit
To be fair, the 4090 was wrongly designated. Its more like Titan line. Same with the 5090...
ucwepn@reddit
First 2 numbers is the generation so 50 series currently, second 2 numbers is the performance. 5050 is the lowest. Ti and super gives slightly better performance.
9okm@reddit
There's a balance to be had between picking a higher end gpu within a given generation vs picking a lower end gpu from a current generation. The most recent gen will usually have better features, but sometimes they lose features that may be needed for older games.
For example... I don't really care about 3-4x frame gen, which only the 50 series supports. But I need 16gb of vram, so I got a 4070 ti super. For me personally, 40 series has all the features I want.
Tocean@reddit
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gpu-hierarchy,4388.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=h5d&utm_campaign=h_th_00002&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23634983275&gbraid=0AAAABC3nCvifkMwuaXNXGUIfzk8L56Gix&gclid=CjwKCAjwzLHPBhBTEiwABaLsSnYL-4SLMg4eXuJVd5Ehwchzk_yxp0N-BdsM6B5BF1mNijhJuun7rBoCd3gQAvD_BwE#section-rasterization-gpu-benchmarks-rankings-2026
Unit-287@reddit (OP)
This is a great tool thank you!
Main-Tiger8537@reddit
new gen is not = generally better in all areas
5050 is somewhat like 4060
various new features are like gimmicks to allow them to charge more money...