Most GPUs lose around half their value within two or three years, especially when newer generations arrive offering better performance or lower power consumption. It’s a difficult cycle to beat, especially given the enormous focus on GPU performance these days; everyone wants the latest and greatest, and modern games, AI, and other applications demand it, too.
But one card has defied that decline. At least, mostly. Five years after launch, it still sells for a decent price, remains popular on the second-hand market, and regularly appears in budget-build discussions. But as you’ll see, value retention doesn’t automatically make them a great buy in 2026.
Why the Nvidia RTX 3070 still holds value
It’s a similar story for the RTX 3080
The RTX 3070 became an instant hit after its 2020 launch, as did the RTX 3080. These two GPUs delivered an enormous performance upgrade over the 2000-Series GPUs and completely blew the previous 1000-Series GPUs out of the water.
They were priced well, have 1440p and 4K potential, and arrived slap bang in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic when millions of folks were forced to stay at home, furloghed, or otherwise.
Pandemic politics aside, folks went wild for the arrival of the RTX 3070 and 3080 like no other GPU launch. 2020 was also a peak time for cryptocurrency mining, and the new GPUs were perfect for this. The combination of bored gamers stuck at home, people with extra cash, and the crypto mining boom quickly pushed RTX 3070 and RTX 3080 prices stratospheric, with the graphics cards retailing hundreds of dollars above MSRP.
But now, years after the mining collapse and after two new GPU generations, these GPUs continue to fetch surprisingly strong resale prices. Availability has shrunk, which keeps used pricing elevated, and Nvidia’s own product stack hasn’t delivered consistent leaps in mid-range performance. Many buyers still view a “3080” as a premium-tier badge—stronger than a modern mid-range card in marketing terms, even when the performance gap is smaller than expected.
Which PC Upgrades Will Improve Your Performance the Most?
Need a faster computer but aren’t sure what you should upgrade on your PC? Follow our PC upgrade checklist to find out.
They can still deliver 1440p and 4K gaming
You might have to fiddle with the settings a bit, though
A key part of why the RTX 3070 and 3080 retain value is that performance-wise, these five-year-old GPUs still pack a really decent punch. Those folks deeply immersed in ultra-high-tier gaming complain that they can’t actually focus on a game unless it’s running at 120 FPS on ultra settings at 120Hz.
But in reality, most gamers are actually trying to find value in their builds, and are happy to toggle down a texture setting from ultra to high to save some cash for the rest of the build. People aren’t tearing out their eyes because their GPU only delivers 80 FPS on high settings. The messaging around GPUs is heavily skewed by hardware reviewers, but the real metrics are there for everyone to see.
The chart above shows an RTX 3070 delivering 58 FPS at 4K Ultra in Horizon Zero Dawn, which is seriously impressive. The same test also saw the RTX 3070 deliver 79 FPS in Cyberpunk 2077 at 1440p, a game notorious for melting GPUs. Similarly, the video from which the still was taken, linked at the start of the section, shows just how versatile the RTX 3070 is.
It’s not just YouTubers confirming this theory, though. Towards the end of 2024, PC Guide re-reviewed the RTX 3070 and found the same outcomes: this GPU still packs a serious punch for 1440p and some 4K gaming.
By extension, if the 8GB RTX 3070 is still delivering, you know that the 10GB RTX 3080 does, too. (Note that the RTX 3080 first shipped with 10GB before being upgraded to 12GB in 2021.)
Good value, but how long can they hold up?
The RTX 3070 and RTX 3080 aren’t without issue
You can pick up an RTX 3070 on eBay for around $300, but sometimes even cheaper if you find a good deal. Heck, you can even find RTX 3080s for around $300 in the right circumstances. In that, these GPUs hold value, but they’re not super expensive anymore. The actual value they hold is in the fact that if your RTX 3070 or 3080 is still working, it’s better to keep hold of it until you absolutely need to upgrade.
With that said, the RTX 3070 and RTX 3080 aren’t without issues. These legendary GPUs are beginning to show their age, and in key areas.
|
GPU |
Typical Power Consumption (TDP) |
VRAM |
|---|---|---|
|
RTX 3070 |
~220W |
8GB GDDR6 |
|
RTX 3080 |
~320W |
10GB GDDR6X |
|
RTX 4070 |
~200W |
12GB GDDR6X |
|
RTX 4080 |
~320–340W |
16GB GDDR6X |
|
RTX 5070 |
~250W |
12GB GDDR7 |
|
RTX 5080 |
~360W |
16GB GDDR7 |
For example, both GPUs are butting up against VRAM limitations. It sounds a little absurd that 8GB and 10GB aren’t enough for modern gaming, but that’s where we’re at. 8GB from five years ago is starting to become a limitation. Then there is the power consumption. It’s not as black and white as saying older is less efficient and modern GPUs need more power, but the newer generations tend to deliver better performance per-watt.
Then there is the actual cash value proposition. You can pick up an AMD RX 7700 XT with 12GB VRAM for the same price as an RTX 3070, the former being three years newer. While the RTX model has better DLSS, the RX 7700 XT has better longevity and support. But again, this goes both ways. You could pick up the next-generation RTX 4060 for $300 at launch, but an older RTX 3070 is still going to deliver better performance for the same price.
Where it really starts to fail under pricing comparisons is looking at the RTX 3070 versus the RTX 4070, the direct next-generation card. You can find the more powerful and more efficient RTX 4070 for as low as $400 on eBay, which just makes so much more sense if you’re upgrading from a GPU generation prior to the 3000-Series.
In that, it’s not as simple as saying this GPU is cheap and delivers, and is therefore good. There are other factors at play, and you have to consider where you’ll get PC performance bang for your buck.
4 Ways to Check If Your GPU Was Modded for Crypto Mining
Buying a used graphics card? Run through our crypto mining GPU checklist first.
Buying an RTX 3070 or RTX 3080 still makes sense
Just make sure it’s ultra cheap and not been used for mining
There’s no denying that the RTX 3070 and RTX 3080 retained their value better than almost every other GPU from the past five years. They remain desirable, they still outperform many modern budget GPUs, and they continue to command surprisingly high prices on the second-hand market.
But that impressive retention doesn’t translate into strong value for buyers today. VRAM constraints, power consumption, diminishing efficiency, and stronger modern alternatives make them imperfect purchases at typical used prices. The 3070 and 3080 kept their value—but unless you find one well below market (I’m talking sub-$300, into the $250 area), the most value-retaining GPU isn’t necessarily the one you should buy.
