Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 review

Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 – nowadays this is a beast among graphics cards showing extreme power and efficiency. It includes 8K resolution playback in gaming and the highest speed in encoding and rendering. However, the price corresponds to the performance. So, we assume that the majority of players won’t be able to afford the card.

Pros:

• The highest performance among video cards
• Supreme cooling
• Ideal for professionals in graphics

Cons:

• Super pricey
• Extremely large in size

This card replaces two rivals at once. We’re referring to the specialized RTX Titan and the recent flagship, namely, RTX 2080 Ti. Our review item is a real graphics monster. It has a huge heatsink and proves supremacy in gaming, 3D rendering, and other tasks. It’s all thanks to GDDR6X memory with 24 GB.

Keeping in mind this card’s performance, we assume one thing. Even gamers who prefer playing at the highest settings are not the main target audience. This CPU is more likely to become the choice of 3D animation specialists.

Indeed, the company promotes the device in the professional segment of the graphics market. In this area, it can truly show its best. However, it doesn’t neglect an opportunity to provide steady 60 frames at 8K resolution gaming. At the same time, the product’s versatility gives way to certain discrepancies.

The object of the review – graphics card RTX 3090, which is the flagship of Nvidia company. And, just like in any other GPU generation, it’s supposed to eliminate the market competition. But the sky-high price point hides just a small performance advantage over the RTX 3080.

Therefore, it’s only an appropriate choice for real computer geeks, craving a super powerful GPU. Or else, the same small number of professional artists could be interested in such hardware.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 Price – Amazon

As of now, the video card retails for a pretty high price of $2,277 at Amazon. It’s the first time the company collaborates with the OEMs when producing the Titan-category GPU. As a consequence, there will be even more expensive versions.

Is the card cheaper or more expensive than the last generation? It’s hard to decide. If we compare it to the Titan RTX, it’s more expensive. The rare lucky few bought the Titan RTX for $2,063 at Amazon. On the other hand, there is the RTX 2080 Ti. In fact, it never had a successor and retailed for $1,199 at Amazon.

What do we have as a result? The review card is somewhere in between. The company claims that the GPU is targeted at the consumer market, primarily gamers. However, all the configurations and a price solution put it into the professional segment. Its audience demands rough power for rendering tasks. At the same time, it isn’t willing to shell out for Tesla or Quadro.

Main features: RTX 3090 specs

RTX 3090 vs RTX 3090 TI

The card is built on the same architecture as its predecessor, RTX 3080. They both use Ampere. The 3090 version, however, is upgraded with 82 stream multiprocessors (SM) and 10496 CUDA cores. In addition, it contains 82 RT cores and 382 tensor ones.

At first sight, this doesn’t look like a big difference with Titan RTX’s 72 multiprocessors. But the latter is built on the Turing architecture. So it didn’t provide 2 data channels on each SM that work with FP32 loads. CUDA cores efficiency doubles, making the card a colosseum in the raw rendering segment.

In addition to the doubled multiprocessor performance, we have 24 GB of memory. A bandwidth equals 936GB/s which is nearly 1 TB of data processed every second. Can you imagine that?

Such a combination of video memory speed and incredible volume allows the heaviest 3D rendering. If you work with Blender or Davinci Resolve, you’ll greatly appreciate the speed increase. After all, anything that shortens your working process eventually saves you money. Along with an accessible price (compared to Titan), it appears to be a gold nugget.

There’s one thing we already mentioned when reviewing the RTX 3080. Some serious updates of the RT and tensor cores took place in the series. The manufacturer quite improved them in the last generation. Thus, the RT core bandwidth doubled compared to the previous version.

In games with ray tracing, the multiprocessor passes to the RT cores ray emission calculations. They, in turn, determine the scene’s ray reflections and return the data to the processor. Ray tracing in actual time used to be viewed as almost impossible. It’s because the multiprocessor already had to rasterize the scene and couldn’t do the calculations.

RT cores do a huge part of the whole workload. Nevertheless, ray tracing keeps taking a great amount of processing power. So we can see a lot of wasted performance. For that reason, DLSS is becoming more important in both gaming and software environments.

Tensor cores of the third-generation Ampere GPUs have improved quite a lot. In regards to the Turing ones, speed doubled. But it doesn’t equal performance, since every multiprocessor applies one tensor core. Meanwhile, Turing used two units per processor.

Anyway, DLSS implementation is not the only responsibility of tensor cores. They’re also in charge of Nvidia Broadcast. We consider this feature as one of the most underrated in this generation of GPUs.

We’ve been utilizing it during video conferences and Discord gaming sessions quite a lot recently. So it’s hard to omit incredible microphone audio filtering. Also, with the help of this feature, you can hide the background behind your back.

Now that we spend much time at home, video conferencing is becoming more widely used. So anything that makes it better is of great value. The icing on the cake is the feature’s availability to all RTX card owners.

We’ve talked about the positive sides, now let’s discuss an unpleasant aspect. Power consumption reached 357W at the peak of testing. This is a high number, especially if paired with a strong processor. Nvidia’s recommendation concerning power supply is at least 750W. However, we suggest using a 1000W option. This way you can avoid any possible inconveniences. They can happen in case your power brick doesn’t reach its full capacity.

Founders Edition Graphics Card – layout and design

Just like the RTX 3080, this GPU can boast an amazing cooler design. Even considering the fact that it’s terribly bulky with 312.5 mm of length. In addition, the card is three-slot thick and really heavy. The company didn’t state the weight, but it definitely exceeds 3 kg (6.6 lbs).

Regarding visual aesthetics, we don’t see much difference from the Founders Edition of 3080. Gray and black tones represent the main theme. The cooling idea stays the same. The air is drawn through the card to get dissipated out of the case top. As for the radiator, it’s simply huge. On the other hand, its size is in charge of cooling efficiency.

In order to make the cooler construction lighter, Nvidia redesigned the PCB. The company’s engineers intended to direct airflow through the card’s backside. That’s why a new 12-pin PCle power adapter had to be implemented. It replaced the two 8-pin adapters that everybody expected.

Currently, the market doesn’t provide a power supply for the new adapter with native support. There are just several cables developing. You can find them among certain companies, such as Corsair. Fortunately, our card is packed with a 2×8-pin to 12-pin connector. So there’s no need to worry.

Nevertheless, we find this solution a bit inconvenient. It turns cable management into a more difficult process. However, there are third-party GPU manufacturers that keep using 8-pin connectors. That is to say, if you’d like to avoid complexity, you always have a choice.

The card is simply gigantic and three-slot wide, so you want to double-check the dimensions. That’ll help to avoid any regrets after buying the unit.

RTX 3090 Performance – Test rig specifications

We used the following system configurations in order to test the card:

• CPU version: AMD Ryzen 9 3950X (with 16 cores, up to 4.7 GHz)
• Fans: Cooler Master Masterliquid 360P Silver Edition
• Mother circuit board: ASRock X570 Taichi
• RAM: 64GB Corsair Dominator Platinum @ 3600MHz
• Electricity supply system: Corsair AX1000
• SSD applied: ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 1TB
• The case: Praxis Wetbench

Concerning gaming performance, the card shows only a 10-20% higher speed than the RTX 3080. Meanwhile, the price point is twice as much. Therefore, in this respect, it doesn’t make sense to overpay.

The unit is mainly designed for 8K resolution gaming and professional applications for 3D rendering. We just can’t talk about it outside the format.

Currently, 8K resolution is possible on pricey TV sets only. But they are not commonly used, just like the new video card. No doubt, the situation is going to change in the near future. However, nowadays, there are simply no 8K resolution monitors.

We didn’t have an appropriate panel to conduct the test. The closest available 8K monitor is located in a different country. And it’s involved in the process of complex computing components testing. Nevertheless, dynamic DSR by Nvidia was of great help here. Thanks to it, we reduced the 8K picture to the 4K gaming monitor we utilize today.

After the conversion, we experienced a 3-5% performance loss. In other respects, we get a proper representation of the card’s behavior in 8K games. The card doesn’t deliver 60 fps at 8K in the most challenging games. However, things are not that simple, it’s the other way round.

We chose the games that are designed to maximize the video card. It allows us to compare various models. Here we can see clear scenarios played out. And that, in turn, provides an even load on graphics chips.

We ran multiple well-known 4K and 8K DSR games with this card. So we observed the way it performed in different situations.

WOW, or Destiny 2 gives a smooth fps number of 60-70, even though the resolution is enormous. The quality settings remained high, which means the minor picture details weren’t used. Not a big deal, like 24GB of memory is enough to keep the best textures.

Nevertheless, the fps decreased to 40 as we entered the realm of visually impressive games. We’re talking about Control and Dark Souls III. Well, in terms of gameplay, 40 is an acceptable number. So while we can’t recommend 8K games yet, this card’s the first one that can. Similarly, GTX 980 Ti and Titan X were the first to run 4K in 2015.

And that’s all. This is the only interesting feature of the given GPU. The gameplay is not ideal at 8K resolution. You won’t be able to maximize graphic settings and just forget about the matter. As of now, the technology remains pretty crude.

And the review hero is the first to allow playing 8K games in acceptable conditions. Therefore, expecting a smooth performance in all games for today is a pipe dream. The fact that the card is capable of 8K is already impressive. But that’s it for now.

However, when it comes to 4K, the GPU is different. Here you can max out the settings to the utmost and just forget about it. Every single game we launched worked incredibly well at 4K on the new GPU. Final Fantasy XV depicted in detail? Easy! Constant stuttering haunted it everywhere before. But our card offered 70 fps and a perfectly smooth picture.

The situation is similar with Control, as much as Metro Exodus. They caused the RTX 2080 Ti to display stuttering at 4K not so long ago. Now they provide great picture quality at maxed-out graphics settings.

Of course, the new card offers just a 15% boost compared to the RTX 3080. But if you buy it for gaming, you’ll appreciate it as the most modern model. A premium experience is a guarantee here. Even though the price is too high for no reason and unacceptable for most users.

Reviews of other Nvidia GeForce models:

Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 review

Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 review

Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti review

Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 review

Encoding and rendering performance

There’s one area where the video card absolutely stands out and outperforms everyone. It’s 3D rendering and coding tasks. And that’s what makes it a worthy purchase for professional artists. It’s a perfect option for those who seriously need performance at this level. And yet, they’re not ready to spend thousands of dollars on Tesla or Quadro.

We find it important to note one thing. The new card uses NVENC, and the 2080 Ti features the same encoder. So there’s no significant change after the previous generation. However, Adobe Premiere supports the encoder.

Besides, the whole process of video production becomes accelerated at the level of GPU. That makes the encoder a very handy feature in terms of video editing. Replacing encoding software with NVENC reduces the time by half. Remember, we utilize a 16-core processor. It involves 64 GB of RAM and a clock speed of 3,600 MHz.

Although both generations use the same encoder, there is a difference in processing effects. They improve depending on which video card you’re using. While working with the 3090, you can easily edit and playback the video simultaneously.

3D rendering applications reveal the card’s true power. Autodesk Maya or, for example, Blender show its supremacy. In fact, it’s around 50% faster than the 3080 Ti in games. In addition, it’s nearly two times faster than Ti in Blender. The latter one closed the test in 438 seconds. Meanwhile, the new card only spent 229 seconds on it. The gain of 91% is mostly because of FP32 and video memory performance.

The company could sell the card at the price tag of Titan. Instead, the company decided to lower it to $1,499. This move brings Nvidia towards the democratization of performance in professional areas like 3D rendering. That, in turn, urges more people to explore 3D animation. The reason for that is digital creativity becoming accessible.

Will the next generation of xx80 cards be able to provide the same rendering performance? If so, then classic users will have an opportunity to accomplish complex 3D tasks. In any case, nowadays, the video card has the most affordable price. In our opinion, it’s quite an achievement.

Summary

You should certainly consider buying the card in case you meet the following conditions:

1. You wish to act as a trailblazer in 8K gaming. This is the first GPU ever that can offer 8K resolution gaming performance. It’s not a flawless solution. However, currently, 3090 is the only choice that won’t turn the picture into a slideshow.

2. You belong to professional graphics creators. If a decent part of your work involves 3D rendering, you need it. Respective applications unveil the card’s capability to the utmost. An incredible amount of video memory makes the working process faster and more convenient.

3. You’d like to forget about performance issues when playing 4K games. The new card allows you to max out the settings and just enjoy playing. With 3090 you have access to the full list of graphics features. Most users would have to put them down, while this GPU makes them fly.

On the other hand, for some users, it’s pointless to buy the review unit. Keep reading to find out if it’s your case as well.

1. You are strapped in budget one way or another. Apart from being one of the fastest GPUs in the world, it’s also incredibly expensive. The performance boost, as in the RTX 3080, doesn’t justify the price increase. So the 3090 will only reach those who seek the best with no financial limitations.

2. You normally play at resolutions below 4K. The review unit is extremely powerful. The games under 4K simply won’t be able to reach the card’s full potential.

3. You’re not interested in having the best item on the market. Don’t buy it if you need a stable gaming performance without having to overpay. The GPU is just 15% superior in games to the 3080 model. Even the manufacturer itself calls the latter one the flagship of the series.

Final judgment

Nowadays this is a beast among graphics cards showing extreme power and efficiency. It includes 8K resolution playback in gaming and the highest speed in encoding and rendering. However, the price corresponds to the performance. So, we assume that the majority of players won’t be able to afford the card.

Read more:

Best Gaming Graphics Cards

RTX 3090 Founder’s Review – 1080p, 1440p, 4K and 8K Benchmarks

Gaming Graphics Card Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090

Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 review - RTX 3090 specs. This is a graphics card of extreme power and efficiency. It is capable of playing 8K resolutions in games

Product SKU: RTX 3090

Product Brand: Nvidia

Product Currency: $

Product Price: 1499

Price Valid Until: 2023-06-11

Product In-Stock: InStock

Editor's Rating:
9.6