Is The RTX 4090 GPU Worth The Huge Price?

In the world of PC video gaming, graphics processing units (GPUs) are the holy grail of performance. There is, simply put, no substitute for having a powerful GPU. But although powerful GPUs are indisputably necessary, there is some debate as to whether the most powerful models are even viable. At least for the average gamer.

Enter the RTX 4090 24GB from Nvidia. Even a cursory glance at the cards stats is enough to induce fainting, with the monster being a bewildering 2.5 times faster than the next best model, the RTX 3090 Ti. To put this into perspective, the 4090 isn’t just ridiculously more powerful than a PlayStation 5, it is so much powerful that it could eat the console for breakfast. Keep in mind that the PlayStation 5 uses an RTX 2070 equivalent.

But then there is the other factor to take into account. The 4090 costs an equally as ridiculous $1,599.

Gaming Performance Stats

It is hardly even worth confirming but a $1,599 card chews up most games and spits them out. A notoriously demanding game like Far Cry 6 can’t even slow it down, running at between 117 and 164 frames per second. That is at 4K resolution with all the bells and whistles turned on.

But don’t get too excited. Bring in Cyberpunk 2077 and things start to get questionable. The new-fangled ray tracing technology is enough to fell even this absurdly powerful piece of hardware, a result that may just make a tech enthusiast throw back their head and guffaw. With high settings, 4K, and ray tracing set to ultra the performance plummets to between 39 and 45 FPS.

So does this mean the expensive hunk of hardware should be reserved for visiting Black Lotus online casino, and nothing more? Not at all. Bring in the new DLSS 3.0 rendering system and frames are boosted back up to between 84 and 113. Yes, DLSS is necessary even after forking out $1,599.

It’s All About The Price

For those not keeping track the GPU industry has just recovered from a bumpy road. Between the world health crisis and the cryptocurrency mining dilemma, GPU prices were at an all-time high. But these situations have mostly passed now, with the average gamer able to pick up an RTX 3060 for a fairly affordable price.

This begs the question; why would anyone even be interested in a 4090? The answer is that the card is hardly intended for casual gaming. A 3060 is more than capable of handling every game currently available, itself being dramatically faster than a modern console. The 3060 can also do a reasonable job of handling Cyberpunk 2077, assuming that DLSS rendering is enabled.

The 4090 is a workhorse, not a gaming GPU. It will serve its primary purpose in rendering intensive industries, such as 3D modelling, graphics design, and movie special effects. The 4090 can, technically speaking, be used for gaming, but it goes without saying that most will settle for the 3000 series.