Should You Upgrade To The NVIDIA RTX 30x Series?

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NVIDIA has recently launched the newly anticipated line of graphics cards and their performance blows away its predecessors. Although the specifications for their new line up is impressive the question still remains, should you upgrade? Well if your wallet is limitless then by all means grab 2 of them and anything else that’s top of the line, but if it’s not then it depends, and here is why.

Hardware Considerations

Monitors

You could shell out your finances on their new line up and still not get the full benefits of their technology by various factors. One of which is your monitor. Many standard computer monitors still have a maximum resolution of 1080p. This means that even if you had the computer hardware to run 4k resolution you wouldn’t be able to notice the advantages due to the lack of your monitors capabilities which means you’ll need to upgrade your monitor too. Today most 4k monitors run at an average refresh rate of 60hz which will not utilize the full potential of an RTX 3080 due to the monitors 60FPS limitation. If you are still currently using a 1080p base monitor I recommend upgrading to the BenQ PD3200U. A 4k monitor capable of 75 frames per second.

Display Specifications
Panel Type IPS Maximum Resolution 3840x2160
Brightness 350 Refresh Rate 60Hz
Response Time 4ms(G2G) Aspect Ratio 16 : 9
Display Colors 1.07 Billion Color Gamut 100% Srgb
Dynamic Contrast Ratio 20M:1 Color Bit 10 bits
Other Specifications
Built In speaker 5W x 2 Headphone Jack Yes
VWSA Wall Mount 5W x 2 Audio Line In Yes
Flicker-free Technology 100 x 100 mm Low Blue Light Yes
Eye Protector Yes Display Screen Coating Anti-Glare
Connectivity Yes Display Port DP 1.2 x 1
USB 3.0 x 4 Mini Display Port DP 1.2 x 1

Computer Processing Unit

The AMD Ryzen 3900x

This CPU boast a solid 12 cores with multi-threading capabilities and is the one I currently use for my setup after a recent upgrade. After upgrading I noticed a boost in performance when gaming, working in digital design, rendering videos, and rendering assets using Unreal Engine. It just about cut the time it takes to process tasks in half. There is no doubt that this CPU would be a solid companion to the RTX 30x series. Here are the specifications below:

AMD Ryzen 3900x Specifications
CPU Cores 12 Threads 24
Base Clock 3.8GHz Max Boost Clock 4.6GHz
Total L1 Cache 768KB Total L2 Cache 6MB
Supported Socket AM4 PCI Express Version PCIe 4.0 x 16
System Memory Specification Up to 3200MHz System Memory Type DDR4
Max Temperature 95 c Memory Channels 2
Default TDP 105W

Intel i7 10700K

While I can’t personally speak for this CPU, but if you’re looking for a price matching alternative the i7 10700K beats the i9 10900K being around $200 cheaper with about the same performance of the AMD Ryzen 9 3900X. While it may have less cores and fall a tad bit behind with rendering tasks through game engines or video editing software the difference is almost unnoticeable. If gaming is your focus this outperforms the AMD alternative in that area. If I had to choose a budget intel CPU other than the i9 10900K this would be it.

I7 10700K Specifications
CPU Cores 8 Threads 16
Base Clock 3.8GHz Max Boost Clock 5.1GHz
Cache 16 MB Bus Speed 8 GT/s
Supported Socket FCLGA1200 PCI Express Version PCIe 3.0 x 16
Max Memory Size 128 GB System Memory Type DDR4
Max Temperature 100 c Memory Channels 2
Default TDP 125W 4K Support Yes, at 60Hz

Hard Drives

Now that we’ve looked at the display, and computer processing unit we’ll briefly go over the last important factor to consider when upgrading. The hard drive type. Within the last recent years the standard disk drive is becoming obsolete while SSD’s (Solid State Drives) are the new norm for good reason. The price on this fairly new technology has gone low enough to justify upgrading especially considering the massive benefits one could gain from it. Faster load times, faster data transfer speeds, and better overall efficiency while having a longer lifespan. If you’re going to be playing video games or working with a 4k environment then without an SSD you’ll find that load times could reduce your productivity. The point is, if you’re going upgrade to an RTX 30x series you’ll want to upgrade your storage space too. For this I recommend the Samsung T5 Portable SSD 1TB.

Random Access Memory (RAM)

There’s not really much to discuss here since RAM isn’t that much of an integral component for any given build. So long as there’s at least 8Gigs of RAM in the system it should be fine. I do recommend having at least 16Gigs of RAM since that should meet or exceed the minimum requirements for just about every program. I myself use 32Gigs of ram for my needs. If you don’t have 8Gigs of ram or are looking to upgrade to 16Gigs then I recommend the Corsair Vengeance RGB PRO. It comes with 2 8GB DDR4 sticks that leaves room for another 16GB worth of expansion should you need more.

Corsair Vengeance RGB PRO Specifications
Memory Capacity 16GB (2 x 8GB)
Number of Items 2 x 8GB
Memory Clock Speed 3200 MHz
Memory Speed 3200 MHz
RAM Memory type DDR4 SDRAM

Conclusion

Now that we’ve gone over the hardware considerations it’s time to answer the long-awaited question. Should you upgrade? That depends on the resolution that you want to work with and the current hardware you have. If you’re fine with 1080p the clear answer is no. If you have an RTX 20x series 2k is not impossible to achieve, and upgrading right now would be a generation too soon. If 4k is an experience you must have, then yes. You’ll want to upgrade as well as upgrade your other hardware too that could cost you upwards $1,500 to replace your main components that will support 4k.

The Honest Truth

It’s too soon for 4k to be considered the new standard. Technology is just around making 2k the norm. The truth is that even though the RTX 30x series is capable of 4k the rest of what’s needed to utilize it just hasn’t caught up yet. Not to mention the price point of their new series costs as much as the next gen console. It could be more cost efficient to buy a Play Station 5, or X Box Series X since you will not have to replace all of your other components.

At this moment in time I can’t recommend upgrading if you currently have a RTX 20x series. It’s just not cost effective and your RTX 20x could last you until Nvidia’s 40x release. If you are still using a GTX 10x series then upgrading may be worth your while since it may be too difficult to run next gen games in desired resolutions. I myself will be waiting for Nvidia’s 40x line up, or decent holiday sales. Maybe in the next 5 years 4k will become the next affordable standard. I hope this article has helped you decide on whether or not an upgrade is for you as well as some other hardware you may find for any necessary replacements. If you have any alternative recommendations be sure to discuss in the comments below!

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