Around mid-2022, I was fortunate to win a high-end PC with an RTX 3080. This meant I didn't have to deal with overpriced GPUs to score a long-lasting GPU. Since then, I've played some of the most demanding games on it, such as Cyberpunk 2077, Microsoft Flight Simulator, and Alan Wake 2. I also run Stable Diffusion on my PC, having fun with mage generation. Gaming and AI, however, aren't the only things I use my GPU for, at least not in the last two years.

Occasionally, I'll get the itch to stream my gaming sessions when some of my friends are online. I even edit videos that I need for my business, and use Blender to learn some 3D modeling and animation. Thanks to my Meta Quest 2, I'm also able to play demanding VR titles. All of these benefit from the power of a dedicated high-end GPU like the RTX 3080.

4 Streaming games, thanks to NVENC

The GPU does the heavy lifting

I'm not a competitive gamer nor do I play esports titles for fun. They just aren't my thing. I'm more of a single-player, story-driven experience guy, and love to get immersed in another world and memorable characters. Sometimes, I see a Discord DM from a friend who's somehow free at the same time, and I stream whatever I'm playing for them to watch. It could be Firewatch, Superhot, Alan Wake 2, or even GTA V (I'm still playing the campaign).

The RTX 3080, and its NVENC encoder, is a great GPU for streaming games without a big hit to the visual quality. The load on the system remains minimal, and the Nvidia app is simple to use. My streaming needs might be infrequent, but whenever I need the functionality, I don't have to think twice before using the GPU for it. The impact on gaming performance isn't large enough to be a concern. Besides, I don't need ultra-high FPS anyway in the games I prefer.

3 Editing videos for my business

4K videos are a breeze for my RTX 3080

Until recently, I was heavily involved in the shooting and editing process of the videos needed for the website and socials of my business. While I let the experts handle most of the workload, I tried my hand at editing some of the videos on my personal rig. Learning video editing wasn't easy or quick, but at least my GPU was more than capable of the job.

The raw power of the RTX 3080 and its 10GB VRAM are enough to cut through most 4K videos with ease. I mostly use CapCut or Filmora when I have the spare time to edit videos myself. When I traveled to Dubai last year for a family vacation, I found CapCut was easier to use than most other tools I had experimented with, and my GPU never felt slow editing the hundreds of 4K videos we shot during the trip.

2 Learning 3D modeling with Blender

My modeling career is off to a flying start

I've been a professional writer since 2020, and the transition from being a jack of all trades to writing solely about PC hardware and computing has been awesome. That said, I'm always trying to pick up new skills like video editing and 3D modeling. The latter, again, needs a capable GPU for efficient and fast rendering. To be honest, all I'm doing in Blender is creating simple animations and visual effects, but the Nvidia GPU on my system is uniquely suited to the task.

Nvidia graphics cards are known to perform better than the AMD options in Blender. The more mature software support, thanks to CUDA & OptiX, still makes Team Green better in almost every price segment. I'm excited about the gaming chops of the new RX 9070 XT from AMD, but the lagging performance in Blender, especially in ray tracing, has me in two minds.

1 Dabbling in VR

PCVR isn't pretty without a powerful GPU

I've almost given up on upgrading my PC, thanks to the insane prices of GPUs, minor generational gains, and ever-growing issues related to unfinished hardware. I decided to experiment with other technologies instead of sinking money into yet another PC upgrade. That's when I bought a cheap Meta Quest 2, so I could finally experience what VR was all about. For beginners, the Quest 2 remains one of the best overall VR headsets.

The Quest 2 is great as a standalone headset, and I loved playing Beat Saber, Resident Evil 4, Superhot, and Walkabout Mini Golf. However, with the added horsepower of my Nvidia GPU, I was able to enjoy many must-play titles to the fullest — Half-Life: Alyx, No Man's Sky, Resident Evil 7, and Star Wars: Squadrons. The insane number of VR mods available makes PCVR a treat, but you also need a high-end GPU for a great experience.

Making the most of my GPU

Of course, traditional gaming will consume the bulk of my free time on my PC. However, my GPU is capable of so much more. Whether I feel the urge to stream games for my friends to watch, or learn video editing and animation, I won't feel held back, thanks to a reasonably high-end GPU. It also helps me make the most of my VR headset, as standalone experiences are no match for PCVR, at least in the most demanding VR titles.