3090 or 4090

I have an RTX 2080ti.

I still play in 1080p 60Hz, and the 2080 is plenty. But I'm looking to train some ML models, and the 11GB VRAM is limiting for that.

Thus, I plan to buy a new one. Also I don't want a ML only GPU since I don't want to maintain two GPUs.

Since I'm upgrading, I need to think of future compatibility. At some point I will move to at least 2k, although still I'm not bought into 4k as any perceivable benefit.

Given all these, I wanted to check with folks who have either card, should I consider 4090?

KingRandomGuy,

How much ML training will you do, and what kind of models? Are you just a hobbyist, or are you a student or researcher in ML?

If the former, you may be better served by renting a machine for training instead. Vast.ai is one such service for this and you can rent machines with a 4090 for something like 50 cents an hour. For hobbyist stuff this usually ends up cheaper than buying a whole card, especially if you find out that you need multiple GPUs to train the model effectively.

If you're a researcher though, a 3090 might be a good buy. IMO the gains from a 4090 won't be too crazy unless you're doing specific mixed precision stuff (the newer gen tensor cores support more data types). Be aware that the large models that necessitate 24GB of VRAM usually require many GPUs to train them successfully in a reasonable amount of time, so having a large VRAM GPU is moreso useful for quick development and debugging rather than training large models, in which case the 4090 wouldn't be all that much better.

acedelgado,
acedelgado avatar

I game at 3440x1440 ultrawide, and upgraded from a 3090 to 4090. 4090 is significantly faster and smoother. And DLSS3 frame interpolation is no joke- in Hogwarts Legacy with every setting cranked up and max ray tracing, turning on DLSS3 jumped me from around 80fps with noticeable 1% low stutters and now pegs it at the 144fps limiter I set in game. Smooth as butter.

Also I mess around with some AI things like stable diffusion, and it's much faster for that as well. As much as I hate the term "future proof", the 4090 is more worth it in that regards, IMO.

Saintzillla,

Dying 1080 noises.

Thurgo,

I just went from a 3570k to a 12600k and will run this 1080 till it can't run no more.

fiah,
@fiah@discuss.tchncs.de avatar

upgrade your monitor

of all the possible choices out there, the 3090 is pretty ass but the 4090 is actually one of the best. But not on 1080p, you ought to have ditched that back when you got that 2080

Awwab,
Awwab avatar

Monitor upgrades are one of the big reasons why I'm still rocking a 1070ti. If I buy an expensive new video card then I also need to upgrade my ultra wide and I'm not ready for that yet.

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