Upgrade advice

[Shibbyland]

My current specs are

i7 9700k, RTX 2060 super, 32Gb RAM, DCS on its own 1TB nvme. 750watt power supply.

I have an MSI Z390 motherboard.

At the moment, DCS is the only game I play that I’m not getting the performance I want in single player. 

I’d prefer not to upgrade the CPU for another year or two but I think it’s about time I upgraded GPU.

Heres my two options for the money I have where I live.

I can buy a second hand RTX 3090 or I can buy a new RTX 4070ti.

Can I even run a 4070 with my z390 board? I understand I’d need to upgrade to a 850 watt power supply.

When I do finally upgrade my CPU I’ll need to stick with whatever GPU I have for at least another year due to lack of $$$.

Any advice would be appreciated 

[kksnowbear]

I think it's generally accepted that a used 3090 is a better proposition than a new 4070Ti.   (Actually I'm pretty sure there was a thread recently about this same choice).

The price would be in the same range for either, the performance would be comparable...but the 3090 has 24G VRAM where the 4070Ti only has 12G.

Of course, you'd want to consider carefully where you get used hardware from.  Ask specifically about warranty, trade-in, and things like the history of the card (mining, and environment like smoking or pets).  If the seller can't (or won't) discuss these factors, I'd look elsewhere.  Also, check the seller's other clients...I wouldn't suggest buying from anyone without an established background selling components/systems.

And yes, you can use a 4070Ti on a Z390 board, though it won't run at PCIe 4.0 x16, as the Z390 board will only support PCIe 3.0 - but it'll still get 16 lanes, depending on your setup, and a 4070Ti wouldn't saturate 16 PCIe 3.0 lanes anyhow (means it won't alter performance at all).

Yes, you'll likely need to change power supplies, but if the GPU (either one) fits your chassis physically, then it should work.  (This does assume an otherwise properly set up and configured Z390 system with only one GPU and no other add-in PCIe cards except *possibly* small x1 boards like sound cards.)

Best advice I can give is to consult with a trained and experienced professional with demonstrated, verifiable credentials.  Internet forums are full of 'experts' who give inaccurate and misleading advice in a lot of cases.  Truth is there are a lot of details that would really benefit from further discussion, and I'd encourage that.

BTW you mentioned where you live, but didn't say where.  If you don't mind saying, that may help.

Good luck.

 

Edited March 18, 2023 by kksnowbear

[CptBligh]

750 watt is plenty for a 9700k and 4070ti