Is it worth putting a RTX 2080 into an old computer

[vincent8814]

Hi Folks,

I used to be more active on the forum, but I can’t seem to find my account details so had to set up a new account.

I am currently really into CoD Warzone, and I would like to get into recording my games and uploading to YouTube. I can play the games fine with 60FPS average but when it records the game, it is very laggy and choppy even on the "Performance" setting in the software I am using.

My current set-up is as follows:
- i5 3970k
- 20GM ram
- SSD
- GTX 970
- dell ultrasharp 24" capped at 60hz

I recently updated the ram to be 8+8+4 but feel that for recording on OBS, my GPU is too old now (so is the CPU).

I am considering to upgrade from the 970 to the 2080 but not sure if would see the performance gains I need to record gameplay as my CPU is really old, my brother has the i5 10300 (?) which is more than double mine (not really sure what the numbers mean).

I'd like the opinion of the experts to see if it’s worth me getting the 2080 and adding it into my system. my board has PCIE-3 which I think will work with the 2080. I understand that the encoder uses a part of the GPU rather than the CPU which is why I think it may be better to upgrade the GPU.

[DemonAndrew]

You should see a performance improvement - but that's not to say that your CPU won't be bottlenecking the monstrous RTX 2080. IMO though, it's still not a bad investment since you can always use the RTX 2080 for a new rig when you get round to making one.

The only thing that would make me hesitate is that the RTX 3000 series will be coming out later this year, and it might be worth waiting for that (either for buying one of the new cards, or because the prices of the 2000 series might drop with it).

[DemonAndrew]

An RTX 2080 will definitely give you noticable performance gains, even in that rig. That's not to say it will be performing to it's full potential though, as it will probably be bottlenecked by it. The good thing about GPUs though is that they're easy to put into a new system when you come round to making one.

[s000m]

You'll likely love your upgrade but that old 4 core (especially with the Spectre and Meltdown security patches enabled) will bottleneck and hold back that GPU. If you can maybe get a 2070 or 2070 Super and use the spare money to upgrade the board, memory and CPU at the same time?

[squirrelz]

You might want to check your i5 model number, I don't remember a 3970K

Between the i5 3570K and the i5 10300 there isn't a massive difference:
https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compar...1316vsm1027882

I'm in a similar position, although my GFX card is a lot older (GTX660), but I don't do so much PC gaming at the moment, so I'm in a quandry as to whether to just upgrade the GFX card for now (and I'm considering a RX 5700 XT) or do a mainboard/CPU/Memory refresh first because I'm not using it much for gaming

[Ivanhoe123]

I agree with s000m, adding a 2070 or 2070 super would likely give you just the same boost, but for quite a bit less cash.
DemonAndrew also makes a good point about the new 3000 series. If you don't mind waiting a few months, it might well be either cheaper to buy a 2000 series card, or worth spending a bit more on a 3000 series card which could be moved to a new rig further down the line.

[FosterCB]

I currently have a 4690k and 970 both oc. And I am really starting to see where my CPU is letting me down. I would say if you don't want to spend a lot of money you can get pretty good mid level rigs for cheap e.g. AMD 3600 cpu, 1660s or second hand 1080ti, Ram is really cheap atm I feel you could almost replace everything for the price of a 2080 with a lesser GPU and see much better gains.

Hopefully I get my 3070 tomorrow. I have my new build all ready to go, just waiting on my 5600x (sigh) so I will put the 3070 in my current build. I will let you know how I get on! I can imagine my CPU crying already!

[pr3dato8]

For sure, an RTX 2080 is still a great card, though your CPU could be bottlenecking it to a degree if you're on 1080p.

[Norkay]

In simple terms - your CPU is too much of a bottleneck to spend money on 2080, unless it's a staggered upgrade, and you're planning to buy a discounted Zen2 or something alike within next year.

[FosterCB]

I currently have a 4690k and 970 both oc. And I am really starting to see where my CPU is letting me down. I would say if you don't want to spend a lot of money you can get pretty good mid level rigs for cheap e.g. AMD 3600 cpu, 1660s or second hand 1080ti, Ram is really cheap atm I feel you could almost replace everything for the price of a 2080 with a lesser GPU and see much better gains.

Hopefully I get my 3070 tomorrow. I have my new build all ready to go, just waiting on my 5600x (sigh) so I will put the 3070 in my current build. I will let you know how I get on! I can imagine my CPU crying already!

Not sure if you got anything yet?

So I can confirm, I got my 3070 and I suddenly could see everything in warzone ! However, I still got bad stutters, it was my 4690k letting me down. I eventually got my 5600x and woah. It's like playing a different game. Made a huge difference, I would dare say it, you would be better off updating your mobo + cpu before your GPU here as you are only running (I assume) a 1080p at 60hz which the 970 still does an impressive job.

Get a dirt cheap mobo and 3600/x and you will see huge gains.

If yours is anything like mine was, I couldn't even run discord and warzone at the same time!

[Froger007]

I agree. Updating motherboard and going for the cheapest new Gen CPU's is the way to go. Can do both for less than 300.