Nvidia's RTX 5000 GPUs are a confusing proposition for gamers like me

A man with a confused expression scratching his head.
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

So, Nvidia is definitely making another generation of desktop GPUs - currently bearing the codename ‘Ada Lovelace-Next’. The current generation of RTX 4000 cards has been a mixed bag, to say the least, and these new GPUs aren’t slated for release until 2025 - but I’m already a bit concerned about the whole situation, to be honest.

Before we get started, I’m going to make some key assumptions here. The ‘Next’ codename suggests that these new GPUs could potentially just be a hardware refresh of some description, hypothesized by some to be RTX 4000 Super cards - but given the 2025 release date, I’d be shocked if it doesn’t turn out to be a whole new generation: namely, RTX 5000.

Now, Nvidia has been ramping up performance pretty impressively with its current generation of GPUs - the RTX 4090 is, after all, the most powerful consumer graphics card on the planet right now, and the recently-released RTX 4060 offers a solid value proposition for PC gamers on a budget. But it does leave me thinking: where do we go from here?

Stepping up

Ultimately, no gamer really needs an RTX 4090. Even for 4K gaming, the RTX 4070 Ti is actually perfectly sufficient. It’s frankly unlikely we’re going to see 8K gaming become the norm in just two years’ time, especially when the Steam Hardware Survey shows that the majority of PC gamers are still using cards best suited for playing at 1080p.

Intel Arc A7 graphics card

Intel's Arc A770 GPU is - after several much-needed driver updates - a solid choice for 1080p gaming. (Image credit: Intel)

The best cheap graphics cards are far more appealing to gamers in the current economic climate - so the prospect of a potentially-even-more-expensive RTX 5000 series has me feeling doubtful. It’s partially because I don’t really see a concrete need for even more powerful GPUs, especially when so many gamers are still rocking older components.

It’s not a problem unique to Nvidia, of course; the tech hardware industry’s relentless march for progress means that just about everything gets superseded less than two years after its release. I often wonder if CPU and GPU makers could learn a little from the home console space, where generations last as long as five to six years before a new wave of gaming machines hits the market.

AI is the future (again)

Another big factor when it comes to my reluctance surrounding new GPUs is the current prevalence of AI-powered upscaling technology. Nvidia spearheaded the charge into this new arena with the incredible DLSS, which uses AI to render a game at 1080p before upscaling it to your target resolution in real-time.

With DLSS 3 available in RTX 4000 cards and offering new frame-generation capabilities for further boosting your framerates, it’s honestly hard to see why any new hardware should exist at all. If Nvidia instead holds off on next-gen GPUs for a while and pours money into improving its upscaling tech and ensuring that every major game has full DLSS 3 support, the need for new cards practically evaporates, at least for a few more years.

A man's hand holding up the Nvidia RTX 4060

Got an RTX 4000 GPU? Congrats, you have DLSS 3 - and that's a bigger deal than any new hardware. (Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

All of the best graphics cards offer some form of upscaling nowadays, whether it’s DLSS or AMD and Intel’s competing FSR and XeSS software. This tech just keeps getting better, too; odds are by the time we reach 2025, upscaling will offer even larger performance boosts than it does today, with more widespread support in PC games.

And quite frankly, I don’t want to feel obliged to buy a new GPU every two years. There’s been speculation that Nvidia might eventually get out of the consumer graphics market in favor of the big bucks offered by AI developers for machine-learning training hardware, which further erodes my confidence in the need for more gaming GPUs - though I wouldn’t begrudge Team Green in the slightest for making such a move, given the current boom in AI popularity.

In any case, my RTX 4080 probably isn’t going anywhere for the next four or five years. After all, I’m perfectly happy with it - I’ve got a 4K monitor and no plans to upgrade that either. As they say, if it ain't broke...

TOPICS
Christian Guyton
Editor, Computing

Christian is TechRadar’s UK-based Computing Editor. He came to us from Maximum PC magazine, where he fell in love with computer hardware and building PCs. He was a regular fixture amongst our freelance review team before making the jump to TechRadar, and can usually be found drooling over the latest high-end graphics card or gaming laptop before looking at his bank account balance and crying.

Christian is a keen campaigner for LGBTQ+ rights and the owner of a charming rescue dog named Lucy, having adopted her after he beat cancer in 2021. She keeps him fit and healthy through a combination of face-licking and long walks, and only occasionally barks at him to demand treats when he’s trying to work from home.

Read more
An Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 Super on a desk
What to expect from Nvidia in 2025
A graphics card on a wooden table in shadow
What I want to see from next-gen graphics cards in 2025
The RTX 5090 imprint on the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090
Sorry, AMD, Nvidia's price tags for its RTX 5000 GPUs could win me over
Acer Nitro V16
Rumor suggests Nvidia’s planned launch timeframe for laptops with RTX 5000 GPUs got pushed back - what does this mean for PC gamers?
A set of Nvidia RTX graphics cards next to a compact PC case.
Nvidia’s new next-gen GPU benchmarks cause concern among PC gamers, particularly with the RTX 5080 – but don’t panic yet
An RTX 5090 graphics card resting against its retail box with a closeup of the RTX 5090 branding
Forget the RTX 5090 – the RTX 5070 is the best gift Nvidia has given PC gamers in ages
Latest in GPU
An Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070
Nvidia RTX 5080 stock is so barren that retailers are holding competitions where you can "win" the right to buy one for MSRP
An Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 Ti
Nvidia could unleash RTX 5060 and 5060 Ti GPUs on PC gamers tomorrow, but there’s no sign of rumored RTX 5050 yet
An Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 on a table with its retail packaging
Nvidia RTX 5060 GPU spotted in Acer gaming PC, suggesting rumors of imminent launch are correct – and that it’ll run with only 8GB of video RAM
An AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT made by Sapphire on a table with its retail packaging
Want to buy an RX 9070 or 9070 XT but fed up of the GPUs being out of stock? AMD promises that “more supply is coming ASAP”
AMD RX 9070 GPU models
Modders do what AMD can't (or won't) by adding FSR 4 support to more games
Nvidia geforce rtx 3050
RTX 5050 rumors detail full spec of desktop graphics card, suggesting Nvidia may use slower video RAM – but I wouldn’t panic yet
Latest in Opinion
Voice cloning
I cloned my voice in seconds using a free AI app, and we really need to talk about speech synthesis
An image of network security icons for a network encircling a digital blue earth.
Why effective cybersecurity is a team effort
An AI face in profile against a digital background.
How to harmonize the complexities of global AI regulation
Person using a laptop.
The hidden costs of your on-premise software
A hand reaching out to touch a futuristic rendering of an AI processor.
Driving innovation and reshaping the insurance landscape with AI
AI tools.
I've tested all the best AI agents including ChatGPT Deep Research and Gemini - these are the 5 top automated artificial intelligence tools you can try right now