Upgrading GPU for Development Workstation

[The_DR]

Hi everyone,

I’m currently using a Ryzen 9 5950X, 128GB RAM, and an RTX 3070. My setup includes the following displays:

• 2x FHD
• 1x 4K
• 1x ultrawide (5120x1440).

I primarily use this machine for development and run Windows 10. In my typical workflow with multiple open apps/windows, the GPU runs at about 30% load. However, playing a 4K YouTube video bumps it to 50%.

The real issue arises when I use DaVinci Resolve for video editing. The GPU usage hits nearly 100%, and screen refreshes become painfully slow when I make changes. This has me looking for a GPU upgrade, but I’m unsure what to choose.

Would an RTX 4090 be overkill for my use case? Should I stick to the 3000 series and go for a 3090, or would a 4080 make more sense? Alternatively, should I wait for the 5000 series (e.g., 5070/5080) to launch and upgrade then?

Budget isn’t a major constraint, but I want to spend wisely and avoid overpaying for power I won’t fully utilize.

Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

[Jurrunio]

Not 4080 but 4080 Super since that's faster and cheaper

 

But back to the question, is your VRAM usage maxing out with the 3070? 4090 is definitely bad value now that price difference among 40 series has been corrected by the market (used to be 4090 best value of the bunch, it's the only one that got more expensive over time). Yet if you need more than 16GB VRAM (4K video editing?), you have no choice other than Quadros that cost way more.

 

5000 series is rumoured to be announced during CES 2025 which is in mid Jan. I would recommend waiting since you're aiming for the high end stuff.

 

Meanwhile, maybe drop the timeline resolution in Davinci during editing and see if that helps?

[The_DR]

9 minutes ago, Jurrunio said:

But back to the question, is your VRAM usage maxing out with the 3070?

I’ve attached a screenshot of my task manager while my workstation is idle – it’s using around 6GB of GPU memory. Based on this, I’d say 16GB of VRAM should be more than enough for my needs, especially since I’m not doing heavy video editing or rendering – just working with a few clips here and there.

Plus, I’ve seen others on YouTube with similar workflows, and I can’t imagine they’re using anything more powerful than a 4080 for this type of work.

[igormp]

1 hour ago, The_DR said:

the GPU runs at about 30% load. However, playing a 4K YouTube video bumps it to 50%.

Running a video should not increase GPU usage by that much. When you see those 30%~50% loads, what clocks are your GPU running at? It may just be in 2d mode with lower clocks and windows is misreporting the usage based on that. Another thing would be for you to actually check what's eating up most of the usage in your GPU.