Nvidia's Flagship Graphics Cards Are Great, But The Smart Money Buys A Cheaper Option

When building a PC, the graphics card is one of the most important and expensive hardware components, with Nvidia's flagship GeForce RTX 5090 GPU being considered one of the best options on the market. With technologies like ray tracing, DLSS, and frame generation, it is easy to get caught up in the hype surrounding the manufacturer's premium models, like the RTX 5080 and 5090. Okay, these cards let you play games on Ultra settings with a stable frame rate, feature amazing specs, and can crush any benchmark; however, they are also sold at a higher price tag.

Still, while these Nvidia models are the best cards customers can buy, this doesn't mean these GPUs are worth the investment, especially for most gamers. Unless you're also aiming to use the GPU for other activities, like rendering complex scenes in 3D or running local artificial intelligence models, the RTX 5080 and 5090 are overkill for daily gaming. For those interested in building a PC for this end, other investments are a wiser use of money.

Nvidia itself offers more affordable graphics cards that combine better cost and performance for most of its users. Buying other Nvidia GPUs, like the RTX 5070, can cost significantly less than the other flagship models and won't compromise your gaming experience, making this model one of the best choices for a setup that aims to run games at 1440p or even 4K.

The manufacturer's suggested retail prices for both RTX 5090 and the RTX 5070 models when they launched were $1,999 and $549, respectively. This disparity is significant and can widen further, since demand for the RTX 5090 has increased due to its utility beyond gaming, especially for AI-related projects, making flagship Nvidia cards cost even more than their MSRP.

So, if you only want a GPU to play your games at High or Ultra settings, the smart way to save your money is to abandon the idea of buying an RTX 5090 and invest in an RTX 5070 for much less money, as it can also deliver a performance good enough for most gamers. These models can also handle features like ray tracing and DLSS, ensuring that you can play AAA titles while saving money to spend on PC parts or to get more games.

In this case, paying less for a product doesn't mean you are getting a bad GPU for your desktop. While the RTX 5080 and 5090 are amazing, they may also come with hidden costs due to performance bottlenecks that can arise if your other components are old. That bottleneck may force you to upgrade more parts and, consequently, lead to an increase in the total cost of an already steep investment.

While the hardware specifications of Nvidia's RTX 5090 are impressive and make it tempting to spend more to have one in a gaming PC, this level of power also raises the complexity of a setup. High-end GPUs demand stronger power delivery, robust cooling solutions, and often larger cases, which can increase the total investment required.

When it comes to gaming, the RTX 5090 requires a good 4K monitor with a high refresh rate to reach its full potential. So, even if the performance of the RTX 5070 is lower, the price gap between the two is the selling point. In games like "Cyberpunk 2077" at 1440p resolution, the flagship card reaches an average of 135 fps, while the RTX 5070 Ti can achieve 100 fps. The 35% gain at such high frame rates may not be worth the price for the premium graphics card.

In the end, the RTX 5090 and 5080 have amazing performance, but they are GPUs that aren't worth the price. The better choice is to stick with a budget option, since the RTX 5070 Ti is still a good upgrade if you're switching from the RTX 30 or 40 series (via PassMark Software).