As of September 24, Nvidia has officially released their RTX 3090 cards into the GPU market, and people are scramming left and right to get their hands on the latest and greatest graphics available. On top of that, reviews of the RTX 3090 and professional opinions are also sparking left and right, with people comparing the last generation’s RTX 2080ti.
However, any smart buyer would recommend to wait and give it some time before jumping into any conclusions or making significant purchases. And on that note, we will be answering the question, does your workstation need Nvidia’s latest RTX 3090?
What Makes It So Good?
To start, let’s clarify the specifications of Nvidia’s “BFGPU” and why people are making it out to be the bridge for super high-end graphics. So let’s take a look at what this beast is packing according to Nvidia’s website:
- 10496 CUDA Cores
- Boost Clock of 1.70 GHz
- Base Clock of 1.40 GHz
- 384 bit Memory Interface
- 24 GB GDDR6X Memory
- Ampere Architecture
And for comparison, here are the specifications for the 2080ti, the previous generation’s top of the line GPU:
- 4352 CUDA Cores
- Boost Clock of 1.635 GHz
- Base Clock of 1.35 GHz
- 384 bit Memory Interface
- 11 GB GDDR6 Memory
- Turing Architecture
As you can see, the RTX 3090 nearly doubles all the specs that the RTX 2080ti can offer and even more. And that’s not even accounting for the newer architecture, faster memory, and better ray-tracing support.
However, what things should you consider before getting one?
#1 Not So Much For Gaming
While the RTX 3090 is being marketed as a graphics card capable of gaming at 8K resolution and 60 fps, we strongly do not recommend getting one if you’re only going to use it for gaming. Most titles are still played at 1080p, and not to mention only a few people have made the jump to 1440p. You’ll be losing out on a lot of value, and it isn’t going to offer much of a performance boost if you play at lower resolutions.
The RTX 3090 is much suited for workstation loads, 3D rendering, and video editing at 4K and 8K resolutions as this graphics card has been proven to cut down render times significantly.
#2 Other Components Might Be Affected
Even though you’re upgrading a workstation, that doesn’t necessarily mean you can throw out your current graphics card into the trash bin. And that’s because the RTX 3090 will affect all your other components that need an upgrade like:
- PSU: This “BFGPU” os rated at nearly 350w consumption and recommends at least a 750w PSU. So it’s a no-go for anything below that.
- Case: The RTX 3090 is massive, and it even dwarfs the previous generation’s Titan series cards. So if you’re rocking a small-form-factor build, then it might not be a good time to upgrade.
- Processor: If you can’t pair the RTX 3090 with a beast processor, then you’ll be severely bottlenecking its performance and prevent yourself from getting the full value of the GPU.
#3 Limited Availability
Lastly, the RTX 3090 immediately went out of stock the second it went live online, and brick and mortar stores like Microcenter didn’t fair as well either, with people lining up four days early from the release date. So getting your hands on any of the GPUs might take some time because you’ll have to wait for the next restock.
Weigh Your Options
In the end, our advice is to weigh your options before upgrading your workstation. You’re not the only one looking to upgrade, and everyone else will be trying their best to get one. On the plus side, RTX 20-series cards are getting price cuts and won’t be obsolete any time soon, so weigh your options!
