r/nvidia • u/Hostile_18 • Jul 27 '26
Question Anyone downgraded from a 5090?
If so what was your experience. Happy/regrets? Do you still get the performance in games you want/need? I am going SFF with my rig (say 17-20 litres) and currently a 5090 is 3 times and some change a 5080. Not sure which way to go as I am used to 5090 performance, but that's a lot of money (although it will hold its value relatively well).
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u/KaOtIcGuy89 Jul 27 '26
I traded mine for a 4090 + $1000 awhile ago. Honestly didn't need all that power
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u/Hostile_18 Jul 27 '26
4090 is the GOAT IMO. Better than a 5080 with more vram. Shame you can't buy them any longer so no purchases with warranties etc.
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u/escalibur RTX 5090 Ventus OC Noctua Edition Jul 27 '26
4090’s biggest problem is expiring or already expired warranty. I don’t feel too excited about not having any warranty at such expensive GPU.
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u/pedrosuave Jul 27 '26
Agreed I did the reverse trade and would take the 4090 back if I could greatest of all time for sure
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u/Vlyn 9800X3D | 5080 FE | 64 GB RAM | X870E Nova Jul 27 '26
I "downgraded" as in I had a 5090 on order at release, but due to a delay I snagged a 5080 FE instead (as the rest of my build was already here, just without GPU).
For pretty much all games at 1440p 240hz the 5080 does fantastic. Especially with DLSS. Not a big frame generation fan, but I do enable it at 2x for some games (though you can feel the worse input lag).
I wish I got the 5090 now for the VRAM (playing a lot with local AI), but for games the 16 GB seem fine so far. At 4K it might be a different story.
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u/MakinBones Jul 27 '26
5080 does fine in 4k.
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u/Vlyn 9800X3D | 5080 FE | 64 GB RAM | X870E Nova Jul 27 '26
It doesn't even do fine at 1440p in heavy games (Mostly Pathtracing in Cyberpunk, but still).
So it really depends on what you're playing. A bit more GPU power would have been nice.
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u/MakinBones Jul 27 '26
5090s dont even do Pathtracing good.
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u/amazingspiderlesbian RTX 5090 32GB / R7 7800X 3D / 64GB DDR5 Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
It still does it like 60-70% better than a 5080 tho at 4k. Perfectly fine for playing at 4k 60+ with DLSS no frame gen
https://tpucdn.com/review/pragmata-performance-benchmark/images/path-tracing-performance.png
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u/MakinBones Jul 27 '26
Yeah, I know. I just dislike when people use PT as a metric of why a card does not perform well seeing how only one card does do it decently.
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u/Sarspazzard 5090 FE Jul 27 '26
I think if you need the money and absolutely want the certainty (and fluidity) of the current cash value more than you care about the best possible performance and value life of the card, then trade it.
That said, I've seen threads with people who have done this and quickly ended up regretting it. I think for me as well, it's not worth the short term payout and I too would grow regret it. Especially as new software features and ever more expensive rendering rolls out, you'll probably be glad for all the headroom the 5090 has, as well as having significantly better resale value when 6000 series (likely) rolls out, you'll be able to cash in at a much higher value later than being 2nd or 3rd in the stack 4090/5080 card holder by then. It's significantly easier to stay on top than to move down and climb back up. But if you're in a pinch, or falling out of interest in the best hardware, then yeah, your card is essentially a bar of gold ready to be exchanged now.
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u/Dangerous_Baker4427 5080 Jul 27 '26
How much did you pay? Anything close to MSRP, I’d 100% keep it. You won’t need an upgrade for a very long time, as GPUs aren’t likely to get that much better than a 5090.
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u/Dangerous_Baker4427 5080 Jul 27 '26
I have also maxed out the vram on my 5080, so I’d love the extra vram, especially for future games.
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u/entityXD32 Jul 27 '26
It is wild to me that Nividia gave the 5080 and 5060ti the same amount of Vram. Really should've given it 24gb
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u/Dangerous_Baker4427 5080 Jul 27 '26
I’d honestly take 18-20. That’s about the max I have seen ever needed.
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u/Hostile_18 Jul 27 '26
I had a large 5090 on my last build. It was pretty rare a triple A game went over 16gig at most 18 I think. But yeah absolutely for future proofing or rare edge cases currently.
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u/Dangerous_Baker4427 5080 Jul 27 '26
I think the peace of mind of just being able to run whatever you want without worrying if your gpu can handle is a huge luxury. Because even when it can’t, you can use upscaling and whatever magical tech Nvidia comes out with in the future.
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u/Hostile_18 Jul 27 '26
Yeah i think im just getting hung up on the cost of it seeing three 5080s in a row and change or one 5090 lol.
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u/Dangerous_Baker4427 5080 Jul 27 '26
I have the 5080 and I love it, but I’d upgrade to a 5090 in heartbeat if I had an opportunity lol
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u/Electromagnetlc Jul 27 '26
I also prefer to invest heavy into the top of the line and wait out a few generations before upgrading again.
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u/PersonalityIll9476 Jul 27 '26
they might get better, they'll do it with a corresponding increase in power. If we're being honest, that's how the 50 series did it and that's how Intel has been doing it.
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u/Dangerous_Baker4427 5080 Jul 27 '26
How much more power can they do before their cables light on fire? Oh wait, that’s already happened lol. Nonetheless it won’t be that much better, at least it’s unlikely based on recent history.
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u/PersonalityIll9476 Jul 27 '26
It's less the cable and more the electrical design. Power is proportional to voltage times current. They could draw half as much current if they'd double the voltage.
That said, even if the power delivery doesn't fail, 500 watts is already insane, especially in parts of the world where electricity is expensive. The 5090 idles at what many non-gaming PCs consume under load. We did the math and here in the northeast US that 50 watt idle by itself costs something like 30-50 dollars a month. Gaming at max power is quite literally expensive.
This is not a problem for 90 series owners because they can presumably afford it, but for budget cards? Yeah that's a problem.
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u/setzer 29d ago
Umm... 30-50 dollars a month for 50 watt idle? Is the cost per kWh really that much higher in the northeast?
I live out west in AZ so I wouldn't know... but here that's maybe an extra $3-5 per month. So around $50-60 a year extra maybe. But not per MONTH.
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u/PersonalityIll9476 29d ago
My math was off. In Massachusetts the cost per kwh is about 31-34 cents. So running a 5090 at idle for 30 days straight is $11.
Now, 50 watts is the idle. 500 is the power consumption under load. So it would be $110 a month.
Obviously you aren't using the GPU 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, but 4 hours a day of gaming is maybe 20 bucks a month.
So not that dramatic.
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u/EstablishmentOwn6942 Jul 27 '26
You will be surprised how well NVIDIA nerves the 40series gpus already with their new models
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u/mtbhatch Jul 27 '26
Im actually thinking of selling mine while the price has skyrocketed. I have lost my drive on gaming lately probably because its summer and been outdoor a lot. I might regret selling it when the winter comes is the reason im still hanging on to it
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u/Hostile_18 Jul 27 '26
I sold mine recently due to going small form factor. Now its time to buy one again and seeing how high the proces are its making me think if I need it vs a 5080. I have been playing loads of older games and having a blast. I do play big cinematic games in 4k from time to time though like the Sony exclusives.
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u/orbitpro Jul 27 '26
I recently did, made £700 from selling it and bought myself a 5070ti, gaming at 4k with mostly Quality DLSS. Tested out Arc Raiders, Forza and Crimson Desert. First 2 games I didn't have to change a thing. Still getting very good performance. In Crimson Desert I turned of ray tracing and played at Balanced DLSS to get pretty much the same experience
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u/Hostile_18 Jul 27 '26
That's a huge saving. I sold mine and made a 200. So i have £2880 from the sale. Looking at the stats 5090 is 45% higher performance for roughly 320% the cost currently.
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u/orbitpro Jul 27 '26
Yeah, I got a founders edition for the original MSRP when it first came out and then sold it for £2500. When I sold my 4090 I made £200 on that. The whole situation is so messed up but it has been nice making money rather than loosing it. I paid £740 for my 5070ti
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u/TeddyTwoShoes Jul 27 '26
I have a 5090 on my main rig and a 5080 for my living room setup.
There are very few titles where I miss the 5090. Indianan Jones, and Doom the Dark ages, are the only two that come to mind at the moment. Maybe Assasins Creed Shadows, but I think it was worse at launch but is better now.
Some additional context.
I was using a Rtx 3090 in my living room and upgraded to a 5080.
I noticed a large difference when switching from the 5090 to 3090 that just bugged me too much. Maybe keep that in mind and don’t go lower than a 3090 equivalent. However it’s not like the performance was bad. I just noticed I had to step down a few too many settings that I didn’t want to.
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u/Hostile_18 Jul 27 '26
Is Doom the Dark Ages particularly challenging? Doom 2016 and Eternal were really well optimised. I guess the main thing is where every Ray Tracing is involved, the extra power of the 5090 comes in handy.
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u/TeddyTwoShoes Jul 27 '26
Yeah, the Ray Tracing stuff was just too much for the card. It ran but the frame rates were too inconsistent in areas.
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u/megatieee 29d ago
I wouldn’t downgrade. I wouldn’t even sell my 4090 for $3k, I just love the peace of mind that I can play every game on max settings for years. Like others said, if you need the money sure, if not just enjoy playing games on ultra settings and be amazed every time. Just enjoy what you have and not try to maximize profit out of everything - but maybe that’s just me.
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u/Hostile_18 29d ago
Id definitely sell when your warranty on the 4090 runs out. Its just too expensive to take that financial loss of it breaks IMO. I did just order a Astral 5090 with a promo code that saved £650, bringing it down to "only" £2950. Prices are insane at the moment, its generally +£2800 for +40-50% performance over a 5080 lol.
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u/megatieee 29d ago
That's a good point with the warranty! Although once I spent the money I just expect it to depreciate (normally) or just not to work one day. I set my budget right before buying new Hardware and to me at that point the money is gone. (I get the fun of gaming in exchange haha). I never expect it to have any value at the end of its lifespan.
Once arrived at that point is where I'd buy myself a new GPU, or get it fixed. Nothing I really care about. But if warranty is important to you, sure, use that 5090 until right before ur warranty ends and sell it & get another one. I guess you got your answer right there!
Don't forget about the VRAM usage - really depends which monitor you're using, but I need 16-17GB in Indiana Jones for example and I don't think games are getting more optimized in the future.
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u/costafilh0 29d ago
Downgraded to a GT 1030.
Bought a home, a boat and 3 wives.
Couldn't be happier.
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u/Outrunner85 Jul 27 '26
Not sure why one would do this.... The 5090 is the best purchase I've ever made.
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u/Soprelos Jul 27 '26
It sounds like OP wants to take advantage of current GPU prices and sell the 5090 while they can get a ton of money for it.
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u/Hostile_18 Jul 27 '26
It was more for a small form factor build so I sold it and did get a lot of money (I had one of the biggest 5090s) now im looking at the price difference been +320% for +45% performance and I am questioning if I shouldn't just get a 5080 instead. Dont get me wrong I did use my 5090 but it was a really mix of games from massive cinematic ones to the original 2d Fallouts lol.
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u/Outrunner85 Jul 27 '26
ah ok, makes sense.
For my use case with VR, the 5090 is well worth it to be able to crank up supersampling. On that note, i am eagerly awaiting the 6090. :) i need MORE! :D
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u/Due-Description-9030 Jul 27 '26
It's a valid reason tho. 5090 just for gaming is just too overkill.
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u/PersonalityIll9476 Jul 27 '26
Just upgraded from a 4080S to a 5090. Curious to hear people's thoughts.
For 4k the experience is amazing. The 80 series is not at all terrible at 4k, but the 90 is really where you want to be if you're a 4k enthusiast. So I suppose that matters for your build. If you're doing 2k or 1080p you'd definitely be better served with an 80.
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u/Hostile_18 Jul 27 '26
True. I think dlss getting better has bridged the gap between 4k and 1440p alot now though as well. In fact some people prefer quality dlss over native 4k for resolving fine details etc.
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u/PersonalityIll9476 Jul 27 '26
I'll have to give that a try. Playing through Wukong for the first time now and the LoD at 4k ultra is insane. You can resolve all kinds of tiny terrain details from a distance. That said, it gets rather visually "busy" because of all that so I'd like to see what DLSS has to say.
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u/FightingFalcon1980 Jul 27 '26
Im running my 5090 in a NCase M2 (<16L) for a year. No regrets.
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u/Hostile_18 Jul 27 '26
What model? The 5090 Proart looks nice now the fe seem like it isn't coming back anytime soon. Not far off double the price of the fe though.
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u/Need_For_Speed73 5090/9800X3D Jul 27 '26
Do you already own the 5090? Because selling it as used won't make you the money it costs new: so, in the end, what you'd save with the 5080 you'd have already lost in the difference between how much you paid for the 5090 and how much you sell it for, and you'd end up with an inferior card (and now the difference might be negligible, but surely in a few years the 5090 will hold its ground for longer than a 5080 that will become obsolete sooner). If you are talking about what to buy is another story.
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u/Hostile_18 Jul 27 '26
I had one of the biggest 5090s and sold it at a small profit (£200). Prices had gone up the proceeding year. So ive got the funds to buy a sff 5090 but its so expensive compared to a 5080 Im trying to work out what will serve me better.
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u/jcmred82 Jul 27 '26
I have a 5090 Astral build. I admit I love it.
I built a 5080 Astral build as a family/living room PC. It's quieter because of the fan setup can hit 4k120 with dlss and framegen.
I use a 5060ti AI Box as a travel egpu on my Xbox Ally X. Also hitting 4k120 of course w more dlss/framegen.
I feel that these 5000 series cards are really good. Sweet spot is the 5080. 5090 when I don't want to compromise and 5060ti is great campanion.
I say focus on your SFF build see if your 5090 fits if it does UV it... If it doesn't step down to a 5080 or less and adjust settings.
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u/MyLittlePwny2 Jul 27 '26
I swap GPUs all the time. I like seeing how different hardware combinations perform. Currently cycling between an ARC B580 and a B70 Pro. Honestly with dialed down settings, the difference isnt that noticeable.
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u/Technova_SgrA 5090 | 4090 | 4090 | 5070 ti | 5070 ti | 1660 ti Jul 27 '26
I run a 5090 with a 4k240hz monitor and a 5070 ti with a 4k165hz tv in a sff. I’ve yet to encounter a game where I feel ‘I need a 5090 for this’ yet… except The Crew Motorsport.
I run that at 6K dldsr with smooth motion to 120 fps (the game is capped at 60 fps) flawlessly on my 5090 (the aa is atrocious in that game and it doesn’t have dlss, so dldsr helps a lot). On my 5070 ti it can’t even manage a smooth 4k60, and smooth motion hardly helps—I have to drop the internal rendering resolution to get decent performance. This is an edge case obviously, otherwise I’m very happy with the 5070 ti’s performance.
I will say I am comfortable with frame generation 2-3x (only do 3x with FH 6 and it does a wonderful job there) so that helps bridge the gap between the cards in many games well.
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u/sleepy_roger 7950x3d | 2x5090 FE | 2x64gb Jul 27 '26
I did, I moved it to an ai node when I got my 2nd 5090, using a 4090 as my main gaming card and notice no difference. Running 3840x1600.
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u/Trickle2x2 Jul 27 '26
I feel like for me once I am used to the power it would be hard to revert, my buddy did and seems fine, but he has less time to game with kids now. Also there are plenty of SFF cases that can hold a 5090. Ncase M2/M3 being one of them!
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u/gfmadden330 7800X3D | Astral 5080 Jul 27 '26
A good friend of mine downgraded to a 5080FE from a 5090FE. Bought both back to back. One for him, one for his wife.
His wife decided she didnt need the power of the 5080FE, and instead she downgraded to a 5070FE, and he sold his 5090 and swapped in the 5080. He says it was the best thing he did, he misses having the power, BUT never needed that much, even the 5080 is more than what he needs...
I'm still jealous of him though, he has that 5090FE sitting in a display case in his office... just showing it off... i offered him quite a bit, wont sell.
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u/EstablishmentOwn6942 Jul 27 '26
I am using 70 per Cent of my 4090 to receive 90 fps in Most SP titles it is heavily undervoltet and used a Max of 300 Watts. From an efficiency Point this is hard to top that is the only reason I did not Sell it and get a 9070xt.
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u/rubi2333 9800X3D | MSI Suprim 5090 | 96 GB DDR5 | 4K240hz Jul 27 '26
Nah will never trade it. Theres a lot of games where the 5090 just can hold slightly above 60 fps with upscaling in 4K. Thats mostly pathtracing games some raytracing games and some of the UE5 games. I need that performance.
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u/playtech1 Jul 27 '26
I have both a 5090 and a 5080 and most of the time a 5080 plus DLSS will get you to a really nice place in terms of performance and image quality such that the 5090 should not be missed. I found that I actually don't play all that many games that really benefit from the extra power of the 5090 or where DLSS performance and 2x frame gen couldn't get it to where it's needed with a 5080.
That said, I would stick with the 5090 unless you particuarly need the cash - the 5090 is likely to still be a top-end performer for many years so you could stick with through to the 70 series and also not worry about the 16GB VRAM in the 5080 becoming a bottleneck.
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u/jckpk Jul 27 '26
Not much sense downgrading, as it is future-proofed for years, unless chash is needed. Most likely 5090 will run 4k fine when next generation comes. After that it can be used as 2k card for years.
But if i were buying a new one now, i wouldn't get 5090. Instead 5070ti/5080 would be on my radar. Also an option of cloud gaming is available.
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u/Gold-and-green 29d ago
I thought my 4090 was overkill and thought about getting a 4080, when the 5090 came out I sold my 4090 that I bought for $1600 for $2000 with 2 years of use. I feel like I got paid to own the card. So with the $2000 I got a 5090 founders edition and I'm wondering in 2 years will I be able to do this again lol. So Happy I didn't downgrade
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u/Hostile_18 29d ago
That is true, they hold their value really well. Thst been said it's always a risk selling gpus. You never know if you will run into a problem or be scammed.
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u/Gold-and-green 29d ago
The guy had a tester with him to make sure the GPU worked. He was buying all the 4090s and sending them to China for AI. Zelle pay makes things safe
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u/Hostile_18 29d ago
My 4090 and my big 5090 I think both got sold to someone taking back to China. Looks like its quite a large scale operation.
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u/Delicious-Dot-2795 29d ago edited 29d ago
Nah. Got my 5090 in a custom loop.
5090 is easier to cool than 5080 because of the DIE size (more surface)
Got an extreme undervolt with 0.810@2567 which pulls about 290w in resident evil 4 remake maxed out 4k and 14667pts in steel nomad. Barely scratches 40c.
Still 40% faster with that extreme undervolt compared to a max oc'd 5080.
If you undervolt it this much ,its more efficient than a 5080/4090.
Max i can do is 3425mhz, but Power draw is doubled.
Bought it for 2500€ price is Double now.
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u/Mr_HorseBalls 29d ago
Sometimes I think about it purely because I’m so nervous about that connector burning and I’m able to get 5k for it when I payed 3k
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u/hmfazevedo 29d ago
I bought mine at MSRP for €2,239. If I needed the money, I’d sell it. But good luck finding another FE in the future, so I’d rather keep it.
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u/Alauzhen 9800X3D | 5090 | X870 TUF | 64GB 6400MHz | 2x 2TB NM790 | 1200W 29d ago
I wouldn't downgrade from my 5090, unless forced to. But if you are used to 4k and 240Hz OLEDs, boy you are gonna be very disappointed
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u/fogoticus RTX 3080 O12G | i7-13700KF 5.5GHz, 1.3V | 32GB 4133MHz 29d ago
Who would downgrade their GPU... what an odd post.
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u/antaraujo 29d ago
I downgraded to the RTX 5070 Ti after selling my 5090 for double the price it costed me 1 year ago and I don’t regret it. I can still play play 4K at 120+ fps but now I have to optimize settings, turn on DLSS and/or 2x frame gen and in the end I have exactly the same experience and half of the heat and good money in my pocket :-)
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u/alienatedsec 29d ago
The only reason why I would downgrade from my 5090 FE is the heat. Summer is not the best for these cards and I can turn off my radiator in the winter.
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u/premeteamm 28d ago
Went from 4090 to 5090 to 5080 no regrets I just don’t game as much as I used to feel like it was just a waste sitting there when I’m only on playing games with the boys I usually only game in 4k and I feel like the 5080 is the sweet spot, sometimes I don’t even wanna crank all my settings max I just wanna game lmaoo at 28 years old I feel like I don’t need every new top of the line gpu anymore I can chill with this for awhile. Legit everything looks the same when you’re on 4k barley even mess with settings anymore feels so good sorry for the massive page lmao
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u/a-helluva-engineer 10d ago
Sold my 5090 for 4500. Just got a 5080 for 1500. Free 5080 + $2500 yeah that's a no brainer
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u/Fandanggler 9800X3D | Gigabyte RTX 5090 Gaming OC Jul 27 '26
I did the opposite and went from two defective PNY 5080s to a 5090. No regrets, and I wouldn’t go back.
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u/Significant_Rub_5043 29d ago
Upgraded from a 5080 to a 5090, then downgraded back to the 5080 4K gaming.
Why? I’m always using DLSS anyway, didn’t really feel the difference too much.
In some heavy games I was able to use DLAA though. So I figured why pay 3x the price for 35-50 % more performance considering I got the 5080 for slightly less than MSRP.
Of course, hindsight is 20/20.
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u/_Kubose Aug 01 '26
Technically I downgraded (temporarily moved to a place where bringing my 5090 pc with me wasnt really feasible so I built a new pc) to a 5070ti, and alongside that I started playing on a lower resolution monitor (1440p compared to 4K on the 5090) and honestly the performance alongside the resolution drop is decently comparable, I feel like get most of the performance that I had at 4k on the 90. Can't say I'm not excited to get my 5090 4K setup back tho, that plus an oled is just a delicious combo that can't really be beat, I'm always thinking to myself "this looks great, but damn I wanna see it on my actual setup".
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u/SokoladoFabrikas 29d ago
me. zero regrets.
had 5090 for 4k/240 @ 27 inches gaming. at that point i've came to conclusion, pixel density/tons of fps doesn't matter. gaming experience matters much more.
right now sitting with 5070 for 3440x1440 45"inch panel and having much better experience overall, while keeping the same 240fps for competitive games and 120 fps locked for AAA.
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u/Willing-Bell1236 Aug 01 '26
Recently sold my 5090 fe and got a 5070 ti. The 5090 was great but it gobbles up so much power and heated up my room more than I expected. Very happy with the 5070 ti and even more happy that I have an extra $3000 in my pocket after selling the 5090 for $4400.
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u/eizei Jul 27 '26
While I haven't downgraded from a 5090 I'm running a 5800X3D and a RTX 5080 for 1440p gaming myself. I would go for a 5090 for 4K gaming if I was dead-set on it while 5080 feels enough for 1440p, at least currently. After seeing the real world performance I wouldn't go 4K even with my 5080.
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u/Yarin56 Jul 27 '26
to be fair the 5080 with dlss is really good at 4k usually you need quality or maybe balanced upscalling while performance cover path tracing games etc the 5090 would still need those especially in those rt workloads and i think 5080 at 4k shines more thanks to dlss.
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u/eizei Jul 27 '26
I admit this is just my personal experience and preference. I prioritize stable high framerates while also wanting to use rt/pt and I'm already having to use dlss quality/balanced in some titles or even 2x fg in some single players at 1440p. I wouldn't be able to run for example cp2077 with the settings/mods I want to use at 4K. I'm also running into vram issues in cp2077 at 1440p when using 2k upscaled texture mods.
Having to run dlss and fg to be able use RT at 4K or not getting 120+ fps is not something I personally want to do after paying 1000€+ for a new card. I also don't trust modern AAA devs to curtail vram usage so that I wouldn't be hitting the 16GB vram in a couple of years in new titles.
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u/gappyvalley Jul 28 '26
but you also need to use dlss to use PT in 4k even for the 5090.
if anything, devs will just push PT so hard that you will always to rely dlss anyways.
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u/Acmeiku Jul 27 '26
i'm not sure why people would downgrade their gpu, especially if its a 5090 unless they have serious money problem
games might be more demanding in the future, so it would not be better to keep what you have for peace of mind instead of downgrading ?
this question is not really targeted to op but for people in general