NVIDIA’s GTX 10-series (such as the GTX 1050 Ti, GTX 1060, 1070, and 1080 Ti) were game-changers in their time, but the tech landscape has evolved. Modern AAA games demand more VRAM, ray tracing, and AI-powered features like DLSS. Upgrading can unlock smoother frame rates, enhanced visuals, and future-proof your system. Still holding onto your old GTX 1050 Ti or 1080 Ti? It’s 2025, and NVIDIA has gone through four full generations—RTX 20, 30, 40, and soon, 50-series. If you’re unsure which card offers the best value and how your GPU compares today, this blog breaks it down clearly and practically. Best GPU For Upgrade, whether you’re a gamer, streamer, or content creator—here’s your Upgrade Path:
Best Upgrade Path (Card-by-Card)
GPU Comparison Chart – Entry Lvl Cards Across Generations (GTX 10 to RTX 50)
Feature / GPU
GTX 1070
GTX 1660 Ti
RTX 2060
RTX 3050
RTX 3060 (Laptop)
RTX 4060 (Mobile)
RTX 4060 (Desktop)
RTX 5050*
RTX 5070 (Mobile)*
Architecture
Pascal
Turing (no RT)
Turing
Ampere
Ampere
Ada Lovelace
Ada Lovelace
Blackwell
Blackwell
Release Year
2016
2019
2019
2022
2021
2023
2023
Late 2025 (est.)
Late 2025 (est.)
VRAM
8GB GDDR5
6GB GDDR6
6GB GDDR6
8GB GDDR6
6GB GDDR6
8GB GDDR6
8GB GDDR6
6–8GB (est.)
8–12GB (est.)
Ray Tracing
❌
❌
✅ Basic
✅ Basic
✅ Good
✅ Better
✅ Great
✅ (Next-Gen)
✅ (Next-Gen)
DLSS Support
❌
❌
✅ DLSS 2.0
✅ DLSS 2.0
✅ DLSS 2.0
✅ DLSS 3.0
✅ DLSS 3.5 + Frame Gen
✅ DLSS 4.0
✅ DLSS 4.0
1080p Performance
Good
Decent
Good
Slightly less
Slightly better
Better
Excellent
Good+
Excellent
1440p Performance
Low-Mid
Struggles
Low-Mid
Low
Moderate
Decent
Very Good
Moderate
Very Good
4K Gaming
❌
❌
❌
❌
❌
Occasional
Moderate w/ DLSS
Limited
Possible (w/ DLSS)
Efficiency (Watt/Perf)
❌ Low
✅ Better
❌
✅ Good
✅ Good
✅✅ Very Good
✅✅✅ Excellent
✅✅✅ (Expected)
✅✅✅ (Expected)
AV1 Encoding
❌
❌
❌
❌
❌
✅
✅
✅
✅
Real-World FPS Gap
~10% over 1660 Ti
Ref
Ref
~5% lower
~5–10% better
~20–25% better
~35–40% better
~Same or 10% up
~40–45% better
Best Use Case
Legacy 1080p
Budget eSports
Entry RT Gaming
Budget RT 1080p
1080p Gaming
1080p+ w/ DLSS
1440p Ultra w/ DLSS
1080p Mid-High
1440p+ High-Efficiency
Key Differences at a Glance
RTX 4060 Desktop is the best all-rounder for 1080p ultra or 1440p high with DLSS 3.5 and great power efficiency.
RTX 2060 and RTX 3060 Laptop perform very close, but newer cards offer DLSS + AV1.
RTX 5070 Mobile (Blackwell) will likely outperform RTX 4060 with DLSS 4.0 and better energy efficiency.
GTX 1070 & 1660 Ti are outdated in 2025 for new AAA games due to lack of RT/DLSS.
RTX 5050 is expected to be a modern version of RTX 2060 with DLSS 4, possibly launching under $250.
Ranking (2025 Perspective)
Tier
Cards Included
🔻 Low
GTX 1660 Ti, GTX 1070
⚖️ Mid
RTX 2060, RTX 3050, RTX 3060 (Laptop)
🔼 Upper Mid
RTX 4060 (Mobile), RTX 5050 (Est.)
✅ High
RTX 4060 (Desktop), RTX 5070 (Mobile, Est.)
RTX -Class GPU Comparison
GPU
Avg 1440p FPS
Avg 4K FPS
DLSS Support
Ray Tracing
VRAM
Architecture
Notes
GTX 1080 Ti
~55–65 FPS
~35–45 FPS
❌
❌
11GB GDDR5X
Pascal
Powerful in its time, but no RT or DLSS
RTX 2080 Ti
~70–80 FPS
~45–55 FPS
✅ DLSS 2
✅ Basic
11GB GDDR6
Turing
Was the top card of RTX 20 series
RTX 3070 / 3070 Ti
~75–85 FPS
~50–60 FPS
✅ DLSS 2
✅ Good
8GB GDDR6
Ampere
Slightly under 4070, great value used
RTX 3080 10GB
~80–90 FPS
~55–65 FPS
✅ DLSS 2
✅ Very Good
10GB GDDR6X
Ampere
Still competitive, but hot & power-hungry
RTX 4070
~85–95 FPS
~60–65 FPS
✅ DLSS 3.5 + FG
✅ Excellent
12GB GDDR6X
Ada Lovelace
Best power/performance ratio in this class
RTX 4070 Super
~95–105 FPS
~65–70 FPS
✅ DLSS 3.5 + FG
✅ Excellent
12GB GDDR6X
Ada Lovelace
Better core count & performance uplift
RTX 5070 (Expected)
~95–110 FPS
~65–75 FPS
✅ DLSS 4.0
✅ Next-Gen
12–16GB GDDR7
Blackwell
Expected to match or beat 4070 Super
Relative Gaming Performance @ 1440p
GPU
Relative % vs 4070
Gaming Class
GTX 1080 Ti
🔻 ~65–70%
Aging, no DLSS
RTX 2080 Ti
🔻 ~85%
Still playable
RTX 3070
🔻 ~90%
Great 1440p choice
RTX 3080
🔁 ~95–100%
Equal in rasterization, worse in RT/DLSS
RTX 4070
✅ 100%
Baseline
RTX 4070 Super
🆙 ~110–115%
Slightly better
RTX 5070 (Est.)
🆙🆙 ~115–120%
Future-ready leader
Power & Efficiency Overview
GPU
TDP (Watts)
Architecture
Efficiency
GTX 1080 Ti
250W
Pascal
❌ Poor
RTX 2080 Ti
260W
Turing
❌ Low
RTX 3070 Ti
290W
Ampere
⚠️ Not great
RTX 3080
320W
Ampere
⚠️ Poor
RTX 4070
200W
Ada Lovelace
✅ Excellent
RTX 4070 Super
220W
Ada Lovelace
✅ Very Good
RTX 5070 (Est.)
~200–230W
Blackwell
✅✅ Top-tier
Summary: RTX -Class GPU Tiers
Tier
GPUs in Range
Recommendation
Entry 4070-tier
GTX 1080 Ti, RTX 2080 Ti
Only if cheap / used
Mid 4070-tier
RTX 3070, RTX 3080 10GB
OK if budget limited
Core 4070-tier
RTX 4070, RTX 4070 Super
✅ Best now
Next-gen 4070+
RTX 5070 (Est.)
Wait if you can
High-end Crads Comparison Table
GPU
1440p Ultra FPS
4K Ultra FPS
VRAM
DLSS
Ray Tracing
Architecture
Power (TDP)
Release
GTX 1080 Ti
~65–75 FPS
~35–45 FPS
11GB GDDR5X
❌
❌
Pascal
250W
2017
RTX 2080 Ti
~80–90 FPS
~45–55 FPS
11GB GDDR6
✅ DLSS 2
✅ Basic
Turing
260W
2018
RTX 3080
~100 FPS
~60–70 FPS
10GB GDDR6X
✅ DLSS 2
✅ Better
Ampere
320W
2020
RTX 3080 Ti
~110 FPS
~65–75 FPS
12GB GDDR6X
✅ DLSS 2
✅ Better+
Ampere
350W
2021
RTX 3090
~115 FPS
~70–80 FPS
24GB GDDR6X
✅ DLSS 2
✅ Strong
Ampere
350W+
2020
RTX 4080
~130 FPS
~80–90 FPS
16GB GDDR6X
✅ DLSS 3
✅ Excellent
Ada Lovelace
320W
2022
RTX 4080 Super
~135–145 FPS
~85–95 FPS
16GB GDDR6X
✅ DLSS 3.5
✅ Excellent+
Ada Lovelace
320W
2024
RTX 4090
~160+ FPS
~100–120 FPS
24GB GDDR6X
✅ DLSS 3.5
✅ Best-in-Class
Ada Lovelace
450W
2022
RTX 5080*
~145–165 FPS
~90–110 FPS
16–20GB GDDR7
✅ DLSS 4
✅ Next-Gen
Blackwell
~300–330W
2025*
RTX 5090*
~180+ FPS
~120–135 FPS
24–32GB GDDR7
✅ DLSS 4
✅ Next-Gen+
Blackwell
~450–480W
2025*
Relative Performance vs Each Other (4K Ultra Gaming)
GPU
Relative Performance (vs peers)
GTX 1080 Ti
🟥 35–40% of RTX 5090
RTX 2080 Ti
🟥 45–50%
RTX 3080
🟧 ~60%
RTX 3080 Ti
🟧 ~65–70%
RTX 3090
🟨 ~75%
RTX 4080
🟨 ~80–85%
RTX 4080 Super
🟨 ~90%
RTX 4090
🟩 ~95%
RTX 5080*
🟩 ~95–100%
RTX 5090*
🟩 100–110% (Top Tier)
Who Should Get What?
User Type
Best Choice
Budget 4K Gamer
RTX 3080 / 3080 Ti
Creative & AI Workloads
RTX 3090 / 4080 / 5080
Future-Proof 4K/VR
RTX 4080 Super / 5080
No-Compromise Gaming
RTX 4090 / 5090
Still Good in 2025?
RTX 3080+ and up
🔵 RTX 5090 is expected to take the crown in late 2025 with a massive uplift in DLSS 4, ray tracing, and power efficiency thanks to GDDR7 + Blackwell.
🟢 RTX 4080 Super and 5080 will offer the best price-to-performance for high-end 4K gamers.
🟡 3080 / 3090 / 4080 are still excellent options in 2025 if prices drop.
⚡ Power Efficiency Comparison — High-End GPUs (GTX 1080 Ti to RTX 5090)
GPU
TDP (Watts)
Approx 1440p FPS
Efficiency (FPS per Watt)
Architecture
Notes
GTX 1080 Ti
250W
~70 FPS
0.28
Pascal
High power use, older 16nm process
RTX 2080 Ti
260W
~85 FPS
0.33
Turing
Improved efficiency over Pascal
RTX 3080 (10GB)
320W
~100 FPS
0.31
Ampere
Powerful but power hungry
RTX 3080 Ti
350W
~110 FPS
0.31
Ampere
Higher power draw for moderate FPS gain
RTX 3090
350W+
~115 FPS
0.33
Ampere
Great VRAM, power hungry
RTX 4080
320W
~130 FPS
0.41
Ada Lovelace
Much better efficiency thanks to 4nm node
RTX 4080 Super
320W
~140 FPS
0.44
Ada Lovelace
Slightly better perf/watt than 4080
RTX 4090
450W
~160 FPS
0.36
Ada Lovelace
High power, great performance
RTX 5080 (est.)
~300–330W
~150 FPS
~0.45–0.50
Blackwell
Next-gen node & efficiency, expected boost
RTX 5090 (est.)
~450–480W
~180 FPS
~0.38–0.40
Blackwell
Extreme power use, but improved perf overall
Drop a Comment!
Tell us your current GPU and monitor resolution — we’ll recommend the perfect upgrade for your system!
Don’t upgrade just for the sake of it if your current GPU handles your games well at your preferred settings.
Wait for RTX 50 series if you want next-gen features and best future-proofing.
Consider power efficiency and cooling especially if you game on laptops or small form factor PCs.
Best GPU For Upgrade *The information provided above is not entirely correct. There is always the possibility of making an error when adding information. In general, we gather information from the manufacturer’s website and other
I’m a tech content writer who makes sense of confusing specs and turns tech talk into human language. I don’t fix your Wi-Fi, but I can explain why it hates you. From gadgets to geeky guides, I write it all — with a dash of humor, because even tech needs a personality. Typos fear me. Coffee fuels me.
