Do Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 50-series specs live up to the hype?

Nvidia does one thing really well: it showcases its graphics cards beautifully. launch of a new generation of graphics processors. This is not bad in itself; after all, the fruit seller at the market also advertises his bright red apples as a real delicacy.

But Apple doesn’t cost $2,000 like Nvidia’s new gaming flagship, the GeForce RTX 5090. Let’s take a closer look at the specifications of the four new graphics cards – RTX 5070, RTX 5070 Ti, RTX 5080 and RTX 5090 – so you can make the right purchasing decision that suits your needs, without having to sift through all the marketing talk about DLSS 4 games that haven’t even released yet.

Of course, you’ll want to wait for independent benchmarks to be published just before the 5090 and 5080 go on sale at the end of January 2025. The launch of the 5070 and 5070 Ti will follow at the end of February.

From $2,000: Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090.

You are already accustomed to the fact that one hardware component one Now costs the same as a top-end gaming PC used to cost? Well, no, but that’s how a free market economy works, and Nvidia has a de facto monopoly video card market with a share of 88%. So should we be grateful that Nvidia is giving us the fastest graphics card in the world for “only” $400 extra over its predecessor, the RTX 4090?

Let’s put it this way: if computer games are one of your favorite hobbies and you have money, go for it.

According to the technical specifications, the RTX 5090 has almost 33 percent more shader units, and the FP32 processing power has increased by almost 27 percent. In addition, there is more than 33 percent more video memory with a wider memory interface (33%) and faster GDDR7 memory (33%). As you can see, the technical data alone promises a performance increase of about 30 percent. Added to this are improvements to the GPU architecture, which should also provide higher FPS, as well as the elephant in the room: DLSS 4.

It was predictable that at the launch of the RTX 50 series, Nvidia would run benchmarks almost exclusively with DLSS 4 and ray tracing enabled. However, the predicted performance increase of 100 percent or more should be taken with a grain of salt, as we don’t yet know what impact the additional AI frames will have on image quality. Not to mention, the seven gaming tests (chosen by Nvidia) only reflect a small portion of the gaming market.

The RTX 5090 is the best choice if you make money from AI development and can’t afford a professional card. Nvidia promises performance gains of up to 100 percent over the 4090 in this area.

From $999: Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080.

Unlike 5090, technical data Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 looks pretty modest. Compared to its predecessor, the 5080 only has about 10 percent more shader units, and according to Nvidia, FP32 processing power has increased by just under 20 percent.

The memory capacity and connection remain the same: 16 GB and 256 bits. However, the RTX 5080 benefits from faster GDDR7 video memory (33%), and the suggested retail price has been reduced by $200.

Due to the slight increase in processing power, the 5080 is not a leader in terms of price-quality ratio. For games that support DLSS 4, the situation may be different. But like I said, only a small portion of the gaming world supports DLSS 4, so it’s important to weigh things carefully. You should also be critical of Nvidia’s traditionally low-key memory configuration.

Nvidia uses various methods to artificially reduce memory requirements, but if VRAM becomes full, it can cause a significant drop in performance. And memory requirements for future games will tend to increase significantly, so you should also take a critical look at the RTX 5080’s promise.

So who should buy the 5080? Upgrading from the 4080 doesn’t make sense, but as an owner of a 20 or 30 series card, the 5080 is an attractive option if you’re willing to shell out over $999 for a graphics card.

From $749: Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070Ti.

In my opinion, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti currently offers the best value for money of the new 50 series – at least on paper. The RTX 5070 Ti already has almost 17 percent more shader units compared to its predecessor.

The decisive factor, however, is the memory capacity and the size of the memory bus, which has been increased from 12 to 16 gigabytes and from 192 to 256 bits. There is also GDDR7 video memory (33% more than its predecessor); and the price on the street is a little cheaper.

This makes the 5070 Ti one of the extremely rare Nvidia cards with a reasonable memory configuration. In my opinion, this could be the perfect Nvidia card for 1440p gamers!

From $549: Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070.

The worst offering in the new 50 series is the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070, which offers 4 percent more shader units and only marginally more FP32 processing power at 30.8 teraflops compared to its predecessor.

However, the RTX 5070 becomes a pipe-breaker only due to its inadequate memory hardware and connectivity, with 12 gigabytes and a 192-bit interface. Even faster GDDR7 video memory can’t compensate for this. Let’s face it: it’s pretty outrageous to equip a video card that costs over $500 with only 12 gigabytes.

Further reading: Best of CES 2025: PCs and home tech that blew us away