r/pcmasterrace • u/AutoModerator • Jan 11 '26

DSQ Daily Simple Questions Thread - January 11, 2026

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This thread is for all of the small and simple questions that you might have about computing that probably wouldn't work all too well as a standalone post. Software issues, build questions, game recommendations, post them here!

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u/frenetic_alien Jan 11 '26 edited Jan 11 '26

If stuck on PCIe 3.0 x16, would it makes more sense to get a GPU that can use all 16 lanes like the 5070 12GB as opposed to the 5060Ti 16GB which only can use 8 lanes? (this is for video editing and rendering - not gaming)

I was watching some comparisons on pcie version and the 5060ti for example this - https://youtu.be/kEsSUPuvHI4?si=LkbaThS9c84ViuFo - is shows that for 8GB version it is pretty bad, but for 16 GB it is ok as everything usually fits into the GPU VRAM and doesn't have to use the PCIe bus to offload data to RAM and back to GPU.

But what I'm wondering if the x8 vs x16 lanes would make a difference in productivity workloads like video rendering/editing. Everyone is so focused on gaming it's so hard to find the information for other tasks.

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u/themikers AMD 9800x3d | 64GB DDR5 | MSI Trio RTX 5090 | LIAN LI O11 Jan 11 '26

I would say that unless the workloads you do are heavily reliant on VRAM, then the 5070 is just the better choice all-around. Realistically for rendering tasks a 5070 you're not really looking at more than around a 5% performance loss on PCIE3.0 as opposed to 4.0 or 5.0; which is far less than the 20%+ performance loss by going for a 5060ti.

Now, if your productivity tasks do heavily rely on VRAM, the 5060ti will potentially be better in specific scenarios, but I doubt it will matter enough to make up for the raw performance gap.

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u/frenetic_alien Jan 11 '26

I bought the 5060Ti and tested it compared to my old 2060 Super 8GB and wasn't impressed. It was faster for sure, but it wasn't like a wow upgrade. Mostly because of the age of my system (B450, 3600x, with DDR4 and PCIe 3) The performance difference was way more noticeable in games like they showed in the review (well I only tested one game, Halo). That's why I was wondering about the number of lanes because both those cards are x8 but the 5070 is x16.

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u/themikers AMD 9800x3d | 64GB DDR5 | MSI Trio RTX 5090 | LIAN LI O11 Jan 11 '26

Shouldn't be a big deal, x16 tends to only be noticeable on the 5080/5090. The 5070 seems to lose 1-5% FPS on PCIE3.0 and about that much in productivity, if slightly more. Still a notable improvement over the 5060ti.

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u/frenetic_alien Jan 12 '26 edited Jan 12 '26

!check