The "I might pay over £2k for GPU and here's why" self flagellation thread

[Alan McFall]

Why does anybody need to justify something they buy to strangers on the Internet?

Justify or Gratify ? Lol

 

[HangTime]

Every GPU I've ever bought has been well worth the money. I've never regretted a purchase for over 20 years.

I regret (in a small way, usually a couple of days later) a lot of my hardware purchases because it rarely makes that big a difference.

 

[Nirurin]

By request, a repost of something I said elsewhere -

I 'want' a 3090. Do I need it?

Well I mean I can continue working on my current GPU, and wait long times for renders, or I can get get 30xx card and cut my render times in half, or even to a quarter of their current times.

Wait 10 hours for a render, or wait 3 hours for a render. Get 3x more work done per day.

Feed myself without having to take a second job (which I can't do anyway due to an anxiety disorder).

But I mean... I don't 'need' it.

Funnily enough I barely get any time to actually play games, and the games I do play will run on my current GPU just fine.

I'd still rather the GPUs went to casual gamers than scalpers though.

Edit: Just to clarify, I can't actually afford scalper prices, but I do keep having to do the maths. When it gets to the point where I have to refuse a job due to not being able to complete my current jobs in time, then I'll probably have to just pay the scalper price and then hope I can recoup the loss within a few months.


... But with an update - I actually got a 3070 today in the OC voucher drop. With the money I saved, I am planning to put together a new build (mostly just a new case and PSU). So while it's not going to be a 3090, I'm still pretty happy with the result. Should get me through another year anyway!

 

[pp111]

Anyone spending that sort of money on a 3000 series card is just nuts and is feeding the "greed fire" that is NVIDIA and the scalpers. Graphics cards last an enthusiast about two years or so before the next, best card comes along. The 3000 series is now eight months old. That's 1/3 the way through it's life before it will want replacing.

 

[Skyrover]

To put things in perspective.

You would have to hand over your entire salary for 7 months to buy a graphics card at £2000 if you live in Ukraine, based on current average wage.

And this is a country in Europe.

 

[Robi_uk]

To put things in perspective.

You would have to hand over your entire salary for 7 months to buy a graphics card at £2000 if you live in Ukraine, based on current average wage.

And this is a country in Europe.

When you put it like that it sounds crazy!

However the same could be said for most things in life. The top end consumer goods is usually for wealthy to enjoy.
E.g. a budget car will get you from A to Z, same as a top end one, however you just travel in more luxury/speed.
Same with graphic cards, if the top end cards are out of your budget stick to something that is within your reach, will still let you play the new games, but obviously maybe not at the top settings and you will not have to regret spending a huge chunk of your salary on it.

 

[handyandy24]

Nobody needs to justify their choices, but its a free country and your peers can say and think you are an idiot for doing so.

Saying that, if your the chap that could basically get through 50% more professional work, the equates to real world income and efficiency then i think you could justify it and it would he hard to make a case against you. Its not for self gratification playing AAA in ultra 4k, jts to better your own and your families situation.

But your like 0.5% of people paying scalpers

 

[CuriousTomCat]

If someone's earning twice as much as we do each year then surely it cancells it out?

 

[handyandy24]

If someone's earning twice as much as we do each year then surely it cancells it out?

That assumes those people dont know or appreciate the value of their time/labour.

 

[Poneros]

Would've made more sense a few months ago while you could've mined more on it, as it is there's not much ROI left for 'em. Prices still haven't come down enough for it to make sense just from a gaming perspective, but then again it's also relative to your own income & the pleasure you derive from it.

 

[XeNoNF50]

You could've bought the LG 55CX OLED, Xbox Series X and PS5 and had change left over, giving you access to almost every game there is and unbeatable picture quality from your screen.

Instead you probably bought a £2k graphics card to pair it with a run of the mill edge lit high refresh rate monitor giving you an inferior image on screen?

 

[harmattan]

£2000 is bananas for a discretionary video game toy. There are so many things that have recently delivered more value (to me, at least) for that amount or less e.g. spanking home gym, several vacations, OLED TV, set of kayaks etc, etc. And this is coming from someone who has no problem dispensing large sums for frivolous stuff.

People can think how they like and spend money on whatever floats their boat, yes. But any way you cut it, that's a lotta clams to be able to play Cyberpunk 2077 at highest settings when a third of the cost will get you high-ish settings.

 

[Grim5]

You could've bought the LG 55CX OLED, Xbox Series X and PS5 and had change left over, giving you access to almost every game there is and unbeatable picture quality from your screen.

Instead you probably bought a £2k graphics card to pair it with a run of the mill edge lit high refresh rate monitor giving you an inferior image on screen?

But I already have a 55 OLED, PS5, Switch and Dolby Atmos 5.1.2 surround sound system

I suppose, to be fair, the PS5 was purchased after my RTX3090 pre order.

A lot of people forget about the audio, which is annoying. Sometimes people will spend 2k on the GPU, then post an image of their setup in which you can see they're using 20 pound logitech speakers that sound like a rattling tin can

 

[kevman]

£2000 is bananas for a discretionary video game toy.

Value is in the eye of the beholder - for instance there is no way I would ever spend any money on kayaks or a home gym.

 

[XeNoNF50]

But I already have a 55 OLED, PS5, Switch and Dolby Atmos 5.1.2 surround sound system

I suppose, to be fair, the PS5 was purchased after my RTX3090 pre order.

A lot of people forget about the audio, which is annoying. Sometimes people will spend 2k on the GPU, then post an image of their setup in which you can see they're using 20 pound logitech speakers that sound like a rattling tin can

Haha yes on the audio part too!

 

[Doctord]

But I already have a 55 OLED, PS5, Switch and Dolby Atmos 5.1.2 surround sound system

I suppose, to be fair, the PS5 was purchased after my RTX3090 pre order.

A lot of people forget about the audio, which is annoying. Sometimes people will spend 2k on the GPU, then post an image of their setup in which you can see they're using 20 pound logitech speakers that sound like a rattling tin can

100% agree, it's like spending money on good quality studio speakers and thinking that just throwing foam on the wall will make them sound amazing (like lots of YouTuber's).... or even worse, shove them on a desk to make your setup look good.... It's all about the RGB

 

[tyler_jrb]

I would never overspend especially by thousands unless I didn’t have any gpu to use at all. And even then I’d likely get something cheap and useable local and preorder something worthwhile. No way I’d pay anything other than £649 for a FE 3080.

One reason I always keep my last last gen cards so I’ve at least got something to use should my current card die or such as this launch end up with months and months of waiting.

 

[Kevin Tanton]

Makes me wince when I see the prices now and what the msrp was at launch of a 3080. Anything is worth what people value it at.

 

[turbot1984]

I have spent £2-3k on plenty of road bikes, but the thought of spending big money on a gpu makes me wince. Took a lot of self convincing to pre-order a £650 3080 when a £430 2070S was still a sensible option, now consigned to the history books of course.

 

[Missone]

If you are going to make use of it and it is going to do what you need it to then why not, it's your money.