Yeah, I’m starting to think the same. The recurring costs are slowly inching me out this hobby. I just wish DCS would actually use most of my current, multi-core, CPU. Then it wouldn’t be so hard to stomach the cost of matching CPU & GPU.
Bottom line is that if all you do is play a single game the hardware costs will seem out of balance.
Likewise if you only play an hour a week or something, like spending a ton on golf clubs and a course membership if you’re on the green only once every six months. Or buying a giant TV and sound system just to watch the Superbowl and then watching everything else on your tiny phone the rest of the year.
If you spend a few hours per day, though, on multiple titles, then the cost is split over them and it doesn’t seem so steep. Of course, CPUs age much slower, and you can easily get 4+ years out of one now. Not nearly so easy to go over 2 on a GPU, unless you bought the top-end one and are willing to see your performance drop over time so you can keep using it.
I have a 650w PSU, so I think that should be good enough for the 3070. If what we’re seeing here holds true for their release too, I can expect them to be in stock sometime around St Patrick’s Day.
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ars review talks also about VR performance…
no dedicated benchmarks tough!
This brings me to the way I prefer to summarize the RTX 3080 difference, as prompted by my Ars colleague Lee Hutchinson. I could practically hear the eager gasps through his keystrokes in an Ars chat session about my GPU tests when he typed four words: " Elite Dangerous in VR?"
Zero-G, 120fps
As of press time, this space-exploration game’s PC version is not optimized for DirectX 12 Ultimate or RTX-specific features. It’s just a damned hungry game set in an infinite universe—one where you can float through barren space one moment, then abruptly warp into an epic, spinning-all-around dogfight next to a geometrically dense formation.
It’s awesome stuff. It’s even better in VR. And that mode is even better when you can flip the 120Hz switch on a high-end headset like the Valve Index, put both hands on your favorite HOTAS rig, and lay zero-G, 360-degree hellfire upon anyone who might dare interrupt your cargo-shuffling mission… all without dropping frames. (Thanks to the game’s emphasis on high-speed rotation, the normal 90Hz VR standard isn’t enough for standard-issue stomachs. More frames in that game mean more comfort.)
To someone like Mr. Hutchinson, who has a high price ceiling for his gaming rig but not an infinite one, I can say this: with the RTX 3080, you can run Elite Dangerous at its “high” preset in VR, flip to 120Hz mode in Valve Index, and expect a nearly locked framerate. The same goes for Fallout 4 VR , a brutally unoptimized VR conversion of Bethesda’s RPG, which I can finally run at a locked 90fps (or hover in variable 100-110fps territory on Valve Index). Three years after that VR port’s launch, I actually want to play it that way.
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Since the reverb G2 is still not shipping i have time to check also AMD cards on CPU and GPU and then make a ponderated choice!
Even if cost and performance is great so far compared to previous gen!
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Lining up outside for 2 days??
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Being serious. How much are 2080ti going to be going for 2nd hand right now? I want to upgrade and this seems like the ideal way for me to do it.
This is a very good serious question. The real answer i think is Pi. You take the price I paid for my 2080Ti 18 months ago and deduct 40 %. That leaves us with 900 dollars. Minus hagle for a 20% discount and end up at about $750…
Now lets comparison shop and see what is it really worth.
RTX 3070 =$500 Outperforms 2080Ti and Includes a brand spanking new box and a warranty
RTX 3080 =$700 Crushes 2080Ti and Includes a brand spanking new box and a warranty.
So, given what we know now, if a 3070 outperforms a 2080Ti, and a new card with a warranty gives you a warm fuzzy feeling for about the same price as my worked hard card… The price of a 2080Ti this fall should be 
Thanks Nvidia!!!
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I just want to make it clear I wasn’t trying to upset anyone and realise that it might not of been the most tactful of questions to ask. I was only wondering if this could be a cheap way to boost my system.
Apologies for the people who feel like they have had a raw deal after an expensive purchase. I know how frustrating that can be.
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No offense taken, ever bro. We are all friends here. I was just stating the obvious. It is my opinion that if you really wanted to boost your system, a 3070 makes more sense than a 2080Ti at the momment. Some might but I would not feel right selling my Ti for 300 bucks to buy a 500 dollar 3070. But that is the sane thing to do at this time. That is just the reality of buying a video card. Todays Hero is tomorows Zero. And that is the bottom line. Nobody would give me 400 dollars for a used card when they can go get a shiny new 3070… (Uhhh look at that cooler, Uhh smell the box…) For 500 Bucks.
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IMHO, the price is what the market will bare. I’ve yet to see someone successfully order a 3080. Until the 3080 shows up in quantity, it seems premature to speculate on the value of available hardware.
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As much as I get annoyed at captcha human checks, this highlights it’s benefit. Too bad they didn’t use one.
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Ye gods Automated Bots or Autobots for short 
…they used to be the good guys!
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And now the tables have turned. People are writing bot scripts to bid up the scalper listings and never pay them! 
$50,000 for a video card!
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Oh thank you Jesus! My ship has finally come in. Been waiting for this moment all my life.
Ok 2080Ti only 18 mo of use $5000
My 1080 non Ti 3 year old $1000
And if you’re on a low budget 980Ti! First $500 takes it
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I guess if you sign up with a fresh account and you don’t mind burning it by not paying, then let 'er rip!
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