GPU Buyers Guide: Nvidia GeForce RTX 30 Series vs. AMD Radeon RX 6000 - RPC Tech #1

Welcome to the first installment of RPC Tech, our new article series on the world of technology! Leading us off with an article on the latest GPUs from Nvidia and AMD is Randy, aka rKochi, the newest addition to the RPC family! He’s giving us the view from Hawaii on the most cutting edge graphics processing units known to mankind! Take it away, buddy!

Disclaimer: This is an opinion piece and is based only on the information that is currently available to the public, and on past events and launches. I am not privy to the minds behind either Nvidia or AMD. Even though this is purely my educated speculation, I hope that I can help you make a more informed decision on whether or not to buy one of their upcoming GPUs.

(Spoiler alert: yes, if you have the budget to do so!)

TL;DR:

• If you need the best of the best, buy the GeForce RTX 3090.

• If you are shopping mid-range, and you like Nvidia and/or have a G-Sync monitor, buy a 3080 or a 3070 based on your budget and your CPU choice. Same if you like AMD and/or have a FreeSync monitor. The competition will be heaviest in this range and the price-to-performance should be pretty close to identical.

• If you don’t know which one you want, wait to see independent reviews of both. More information leads to a better choice. Either way, both companies look to be launching awesome cards this year!

• Side note: some games will just run better on Nvidia and some better on AMD. It’s a mixed bag, depending on the individual game’s performance and developmental focus.

With all the buzz about GPU season this fall, I thought I would put everyone’s mind at ease. If you are thinking of buying or are going to purchase an upcoming GPU, you are going to get your money’s worth no matter what. And here’s why.

Both Nvidia’s upcoming GeForce RTX 30 series and AMD’s Radeon RX6000 series will be the second generation of their respective technologies. They will be more refined and are not likely to be held back by new processes or the early adoption of bleeding edge technologies. *COUGH* RTX 2000 *COUGH*

The RTX 3000 series will be equipped with Nvidia’s second generation ray tracing (or RT) cores and third generation Tensor cores (in addition to a slew of other upgrades). The price-to-performance increase will be a HUGE leap over the lukewarm RTX 2000 series. The fact that you will be able to buy what is essentially a 2080 TI with better RT and less VRAM for $500.00 is mindblowing (the 2080 TI launched for a cool $1200)! If you need any more reason to be hyped about these cards, just watch the video of Jensen Huang in his kitchen sporting his sweet leather jacket... Or wait until Wednesday, Sep. 16th, and watch the flood of reviews and benchmarks.

On the Radeon side, there is less information currently available. But, the Radeon RX6000 series is AMD’s second generation of RDNA-based graphics cards. Despite being the first Radeon card with RT, the RX6000 series is expected to be more refined and hopefully much more powerful than its predecessor. Radeon’s new GPUs are expected to have roughly twice the performance per watt over RX5000 (hence the nickname “Big Navi 2x”). That should assure you that AMD will be competing at least in the mid-range GPU battle against Nvidia, which is what they’ve done the last couple generations. Given what AMD has accomplished with the Ryzen series, it’s a safe bet that their Radeon RDNA 2 technology will mature and evolve in a similar fashion.

With all that said, Nvidia has come out swinging with competitively priced mid-tier graphics cards. This is most definitely their way to fight off whatever AMD has up their sleeve with RDNA 2. And whenever there is a price war, it is always good for consumers. Because of this, you can expect the cost-to-performance level among mid-range cards to be similar. If the leaked Radeon prices are to be believed, I think that AMD will slot one card somewhere between the RTX 3080 and RTX 3070 price range and a second card will compete with the RTX 3070 (of course, always take rumors or guesses with a grain of salt).

If you are the kind of person who needs the best of the best, I would go with the RTX 3090 as it doesn’t appear that AMD will be releasing a RTX 3090 competitor with RDNA 2, at least not at launch. You never know, though; they might surprise us. One major thing to note is that there is a large gap between the RTX 3090 and the RTX 3080, leaving a big gulf to fill with a card (or even two) that Nvidia could slot in between them. While they will release Super or Ti variants in the future, I would not put my money on them doing so anytime soon. Nvidia and AMD would be real scumbags if they tried to release “in-between” cards so soon after launch. But make no mistake, they will eventually launch them, and that will add even more options for patient consumers.

Now, if you are intent on looking at the RTX 3080 to RTX 3070 range, that’s where it might be tricky. I would say that if you already like Nvidia’s products or have a G-Sync monitor, buy one of their GPUs. And, of course, if you’re a fan of AMD or have a Freesync monitor, wait for their RDNA 2 cards. Since this is looking to be the most competitive segment of the GPU battle, the price to performance ratings for both series will most likely be similar.

The bottom line is this: If you are brand agnostic, looking into the mid-range, or don’t need to upgrade immediately, then I would say wait. Ultimately, both companies look to be releasing great cards this year and it is unlikely that you will be disappointed in your purchase, unless you are never satisfied. If you are always waiting for the next big thing, guess what? You will always be waiting.

The best thing to do is research your purchase, think of your experiences with past graphics cards from either Nvidia or AMD, and make your decision after taking into account all of those factors. As Captain Planet used to say…

Bonus Content!

Tips on choosing the right components so you can get the most out of your money!

Here are a few tips that you should think about when shopping:

• Balance your CPU and GPU spending, which is the most important tip I can give you. Don’t buy a $1500 RTX 3090 and pair it with a $99 Ryzen 3100 CPU. A Ryzen 3700X (or the similar 4000 series CPU) would probably be a good pair with an RTX 3070. A good rule of thumb to keep in mind is that the GPU should cost around 40% of your budget and CPU should cost about 30%. The basic idea is “the less of a processing bottleneck you have, the less money you wasted.”

• If you set a budget for yourself, stick to it. It is SO easy to pick up a few extra dollars here and there, but keep your eyes on the prize. If you have a $1000 budget, don’t get a $300 case and $400 power supply! You will want to try to cut as much excess spending as you can. Look for that $50 case. Try to choose a motherboard somewhere in the $80 range. On the other side of the coin, don’t go TOO cheap. Don’t buy off-brand parts off of Wish (editor’s note: Please, please don’t do that). Rule of thumb: If your budget is tight, save on your case, motherboard, and CPU cooler. There’s no need to spend money on a $100 cooler for your $100 CPU. Side note: The AMD Ryzen stock cooler is pretty decent, while Intel’s stock cooler is not good.

• Don’t overspend on your motherboard. If you have a $100.00 CPU, you don’t need a $300.00 motherboard made for overclocking. Rule of thumb: A motherboard should always cost less than your CPU.

• BUY AN SSD (or an NVME if you can afford it). The reason to do so is that boot times and random tasks take really long on a conventional hard disk drive. Even if you buy a small SSD, you can pair it with a large hard drive on the cheap. Run Windows off of the SSD and maybe you’ll have space for one or two games that you play the most. (Don’t waste your time or money on hybrid drives). Rule of thumb: Don’t use a hard drive as your main storage.

• Surprisingly, the power supply might actually be the trickiest component to choose at this point in time. The reason for this is because the currently inflated prices due to a shortage. We do know when this shortage will end, but it is likely to go into 2021. That being said, you do not want to spend $400 on a 1200-watt titanium power supply if you do not need that much power. However, in my humble opinion, you do want to over-shoot just a bit, because a power supply’s most efficient range is somewhere between 60% -75% usage. If you get a power supply that barely meets your computer’s needs, it will often be running at 100% when gaming. Not only will it be using more energy than necessary, it will also be louder because the fan will constantly run. So, if you get a power supply that is constantly running at 60%, it will be running at its most efficient levels AND if it runs down to less usage, the fan might not even turn on. Also, a cheap power supply might ruin your entire computer if it shorts. Rule of thumb: Get a power supply that is at least bronze-rated and supplies twice as many watts as your computer can draw.

Thanks for all those tips, Randy, and welcome to the site and hopefully the podcast team in the future! Go follow him on Twitter! Let us know what you think of this article in the comments below, and check out the featured articles on the site, as well! Until next time, be safe and take care of each other, Renegades!