ASUS TUF: 7900XTX or RTX 4080?

[HM-2]

Currently planning on upgrading my long-serving, but now long-in-the-tooth 2080 on a Watercool Heatkiller IV.

 

Current Specs:

• AMD 5900X @4.7GBz all-core PBO
• 32GB Trident Z 3600 CL16
• 3TB PCI-E 4.0 + 1TB PCIE-E 3.0 NVME drives
• EVGA RTX 2080 @2065MHz
• Corsair AX750
• O11D-XL
• Custom 360*2 loop

Will be replacing the PSU with something 1000-1500w anyway as it's super old (2011!) Probably 2023 HX1000i/1500i.

I'm currently leaning towards either an RTX 4080 or Radeon 7900XTX, both in ASUS TUF form. This is largely due to two factors:

• Decent value (the the ASUS TUF in both is one of the cheaper cards on the market here in the UK)
• Decent water block availability (for the RTX 4080, ASUS is the only AIB that Phanteks make the G40, my prefered choice of WB, for).

In terms of price, the RTX 4080 is ~£1200 and the 7900 XTX ~£950. So a pretty substantial difference.

 

I game in 1440p on a GSync 165Hz monitor (with the ability to do 2x 165Hz, though I seldom ever do), playing a mixture of stuff (v heavily modded Fallout 4, KSP2, bit of Cyberpunk, Starfield on release). I like RT but it's not a huge deal breaker for me (especially as I'm two generations back on it now). I do a bit of CAD as well, albeit not much these days.

 

For my use case the XTX is "feeling" like the better value proposition right now (although water block availability isn't great, I'd rather not use EK but that's pretty much the only option out there that will match the rest of the system), but keen to hear others' thoughts. 

[_Omega_]

If you need ray tracing 4080 if not 7900XTX

[CommanderAlex]

The RTX 4080 is a better choice if you want better raytracing capabilities than the 7900XTX, otherwise the 7900XTX may be the better option here for price point if RT is not your thing. 

[mMontana]

And probably... RTX 4080 is more energy efficient.

[DoctorNick]

10 minutes ago, HM-2 said:

Currently planning on upgrading my long-serving, but now long-in-the-tooth 2080 on a Watercool Heatkiller IV.

 

Current Specs:

• AMD 5900X @4.7GBz all-core PBO
• 32GB Trident Z 3600 CL16
• 3TB PCI-E 4.0 + 1TB PCIE-E 3.0 NVME drives
• EVGA RTX 2080 @2065MHz
• Corsair AX750
• O11D-XL
• Custom 360*2 loop

Will be replacing the PSU with something 1000-1500w anyway as it's super old (2011!) Probably 2023 HX1000i/1500i.

I'm currently leaning towards either an RTX 4080 or Radeon 7900XTX, both in ASUS TUF form. This is largely due to two factors:

• Decent value (the the ASUS TUF in both is one of the cheaper cards on the market here in the UK)
• Decent water block availability (for the RTX 4080, ASUS is the only AIB that Phanteks make the G40, my prefered choice of WB, for).

In terms of price, the RTX 4080 is ~£1200 and the 7900 XTX ~£950. So a pretty substantial difference.

 

I game in 1440p on a GSync 165Hz monitor (with the ability to do 2x 165Hz, though I seldom ever do), playing a mixture of stuff (v heavily modded Fallout 4, KSP2, bit of Cyberpunk, Starfield on release). I like RT but it's not a huge deal breaker for me (especially as I'm two generations back on it now). I do a bit of CAD as well, albeit not much these days.

 

For my use case the XTX is "feeling" like the better value proposition right now (although water block availability isn't great, I'd rather not use EK but that's pretty much the only option out there that will match the rest of the system), but keen to hear others' thoughts. 

Both should be able to run on that AX750 PSU. The AX750 is a godly PSU for its time. If it was me, I would just use it. 

[HorseBattery]

7900XTX is still good for RT even if not as good as the 4080.

[HM-2]

4 minutes ago, HorseBattery said:

7900XTX is still good for RT even if not as good as the 4080.

This is what my view was too- I'm fully aware that RTX is better supported but most games I'm interested in using RT on right now (namely CP2077) it seems to perform well enough in!

[ImWilly]

Since  you have a super cool water cooler setup, RTX 4080 water cooled might be nice for a ‘ecosystem integration’

 

Radeon 7900XTX is an obvious better bang for the buck / frame per cost value, plus you may get free Starfield premium by purchasing it (still depending on AMD in your country)

 

In my opinion, if you’re not tight on budget, going for RTX 4080 is an obvious choice

[PDifolco]

Had the same dilemma a few months ago (but all prices were a bit higher then in Europe, esp. on AMD cards ), opted for the 7900XTX finally out of curiosity (as I didn't own an AMD GPU since ages back when they were ATI  ), and because NGreedia really got on my nerves with theit sh#t-on-customer policies, high prices, low amount of VRAM, 4080 12GB sketch, etc... 

Didn't really consider getting a 4080, was more hesitant about either the "cheap" 7900XTX or the expensive 4090... but it's really too expensive for a gaming GPU imo

 

Ended up with the 7900XTX ASUS model eventually, which is quite good, but think I should have gotten the NItro+ rather , a bit better quality for same price

Also the price difference with a 4080 is now enough to get a full waterblock for the 7900XTX (there aren't much available, I know Alphacool do some Asus compatible ones)

Didn't put my card on a block yet, as it's cool and silent enough if not on a crazy OC, which is unnecessary as even at non boost speeds it maxes out my 120Hz monitor in nearly all games...Plus any GPU watercooling tends to suffocate my case and make the CPU hotter (due to front rad blocking the airflow, that was my experience with my previous watercooled 3080).

Energy efficiency is a bit worse than a 4080 but not that much, 355W to 320W TDP, but it can be OCed +15% power to reach 2.8GHz (on air) and you end up with a full TBP (full board power) close to 450W, which is huge

OCing and undervolting do work well, even if undervolting is rather limited, more than 5mV decrease (1.1V) end up being unstable at least in some games

RT is unspectacular, it's ok in "light RT" titles (Farcry, HL..) , tested it in CP2077 and it's then on par with my previous 3080 (in rasterisation 7900XTX it's 150% of the 3080...), pathtracing is fully unplayable even with muddy "performance FSR" giving 25FPS...  But RT is more of a gimmick than a really important feature, not present or not impactful in most games

 

I was happy to not experience any drivers issues/crash, only big issue I had with early drivers was the super high idle power consumption of the card , at 90-100W, but they fixed it since a couple upgrades (still took them 6 months...), and Adrenalin is miles better than NVidia GeForce Experience that don't even allow OC, requiring Afterburner that's now more abandonware than anything else...

 

So if you can't/won't get a 4090, save some money and get a 7900XTX

 

 

 

[HM-2]

@PDifolco thanks- it sounds like your experiences have gone very much the same way as my current thinking.

 

Out of interest, was there a reason you dismissed the 4080 given the (approximate) parity in most titles and the RT advantages? Presumably the price/performance?

 

-Edit

 

Another option is to go for something like the Powercolour Liquid Devil 7900XTX https://www.overclockers.co.uk/powercolor-radeon-rx-7900-xtx-liquid-devil-24gb-gddr6-pci-express-graphics-gx-1av-pc.html which works out about the same price as buying the ASUS card and a WB. 

[HM-2]

Okay, one factor I haven't considered which I think will probably sway me towards NVidia...

 

My 1440p monitors are GSync (ROG Swift PG279Q). That means, if I'm correct in my thinking, that I won't be able to use adaptive frame rates without buying replacement monitors.

 

Hmm.

[Dedayog]

3 minutes ago, HM-2 said:

Okay, one factor I haven't considered which I think will probably sway me towards NVidia...

 

My 1440p monitors are GSync (ROG Swift PG279Q). That means, if I'm correct in my thinking, that I won't be able to use adaptive frame rates without buying replacement monitors.

 

Hmm.

If your monitors are G-Sync only, like my AOC, then you'll get screen tearing again, as I am with my 6900XT.

 

I am looking for another 1440p UW w/ FreeSync to replace mine, as I'll give mine to one of my kids then.

[PDifolco]

34 minutes ago, HM-2 said:

@PDifolco thanks- it sounds like your experiences have gone very much the same way as my current thinking.

 

Out of interest, was there a reason you dismissed the 4080 given the (approximate) parity in most titles and the RT advantages? Presumably the price/performance?

 

-Edit

 

Another option is to go for something like the Powercolour Liquid Devil 7900XTX https://www.overclockers.co.uk/powercolor-radeon-rx-7900-xtx-liquid-devil-24gb-gddr6-pci-express-graphics-gx-1av-pc.html which works out about the same price as buying the ASUS card and a WB. 

Thanks  !

I've dismissed 4080 partly because of NVidia hate  but also because I didn't feel the price difference was justified, the 4080 has better RT but it isn't important to me, I don't use DLSS/upscaling/fake IA frames, I buy such hi end cards to avoid it not use it !!, and then it even has 8GB VRAM *LESS*  !

 

The LiquidDevil card seems a good option for a watercooling loop, yet it's pretty expensive, £1200 is $1500, that's more than an aircooled 7900XTX $1000 + block $150 + rad $100+ fans $60 + tubing/fittings/whatever  

 

23 minutes ago, Dedayog said:

If your monitors are G-Sync only, like my AOC, then you'll get screen tearing again, as I am with my 6900XT.

 

I am looking for another 1440p UW w/ FreeSync to replace mine, as I'll give mine to one of my kids then.

Seems a rare case afaik most GSync monitor support Freesync as well, at least unofficially, and my Alienware AW3420DW does it

Screen tearing is also panel dependent and not that noticeable on recent good ones, or its my poor view and my non FPS gaming that makes me not notice any difference   

 

[Bagzie]

2 hours ago, HM-2 said:

This is what my view was too- I'm fully aware that RTX is better supported but most games I'm interested in using RT on right now (namely CP2077) it seems to perform well enough in!

If it helps i can hold 65-75 FPS with cyberpunk at 1440p with Ultra RT on a 7900XT and Intel XESS on quality ( XESS gets rid of the shimmering i got with FSR Quality in cyberpunk).

 

I really couldn't see a noticeable difference between native and XESS Quality but you might i guess.

 

A 7900XTX would obviously do better than that.

 

It's a perfectly reasonable fps for a single player game like cyberpunk but you might want more.

 

it's also important to note does your monitor also support freesync? The newer monitors tend to do G-Sync and freesync but i think some older G-Sync monitors dont support freesync.

 

My GPU is undervolted and +15% power limit which puts it at 355w which is the same as a stock 7900XTX in terms of power draw and i get on fine with a HX750 so i imagine your AX750 would be fine aswell.

[HM-2]

27 minutes ago, Bagzie said:

it's also important to note does your monitor also support freesync? The newer monitors tend to do G-Sync and freesync but i think some older G-Sync monitors dont support freesync.

2017 era ROG Swift PG279Q, so pretty early in the history of GSync monitors. Fairly sure it hasn't got Freesync compatibility. 

[Bagzie]

14 minutes ago, HM-2 said:

2017 era ROG Swift PG279Q, so pretty early in the history of GSync monitors. Fairly sure it hasn't got Freesync compatibility. 

I would definately factor that in to your purchase decision , It's a good monitor and personally I'm quite sensitive to screen tearing.

 

To buy a similar model now with freesync you might end up reaching the purchase price of the 4080.

 

You could always sell your gsync monitor but that's more hassle.

[HM-2]

3 hours ago, Bagzie said:

I would definately factor that in to your purchase decision , It's a good monitor and personally I'm quite sensitive to screen tearing.

 

To buy a similar model now with freesync you might end up reaching the purchase price of the 4080.

 

You could always sell your gsync monitor but that's more hassle.

Plus, I have a matching pair of them, so I'd need to buy two...

[Bagzie]

4 minutes ago, HM-2 said:

Plus, I have a matching pair of them, so I'd need to buy two...

Yeah I think at this point you just pony up the extra money for the 4080.

 

You are UK based right? Have you thought about CEX? 

 

They have an MSI Gaming trio 4080 for £1000.

 

It's used but unlike buying privately they give you a 2 year warranty with it.

 

I got a 7900XT from them for £750 when they where still selling at £900 and couldn't be happier.

[HM-2]

16 minutes ago, Bagzie said:

Yeah I think at this point you just pony up the extra money for the 4080.

 

You are UK based right? Have you thought about CEX? 

 

They have an MSI Gaming trio 4080 for £1000.

 

It's used but unlike buying privately they give you a 2 year warranty with it.

 

I got a 7900XT from them for £750 when they where still selling at £900 and couldn't be happier.

They also have a ROG Strix for £1100 which would enable me to use the Phanteks G40 block I want to.

 

But, then again, that's only marginally more expensive than buying a new TUF.

[HM-2]

Well just to round this one off...TUF 4080 ordered.

I'll need to look at interim options for GPU cables for my AX750 whilst I source a new power supply. Will likely run it on air at first until I can get the GPU block I want.