I'm looking to upgrade my daughter's PC, which is currently running a GTX 970. It's an older setup with an i7-10700k and a 2TB NVMe SSD, and while it's great for games like Roblox and Minecraft, she's struggling with titles like Rust and Hogwarts. I considered eBay for the GTX 970, where it's going for around $340-$370, but I'm unsure about the best upgrade. Would a 3080 Ti be worth the extra $80-$100? I'm not keen on the latest 10 or 20 series cards; would a card from the 30 or 40 series be better, or should I look at AMD options? Any advice would be appreciated!
5 Answers
What’s your budget? If you’re looking to spend under $400, cards like the RTX 3070 or RX 6700 could offer a nice performance boost compared to the 970.
Have you thought about the RX 9060 XT? It's around $350 and delivers solid performance for modern games. It could be a great fit for her setup without breaking the bank.
If you want to stick with older cards, definitely look at Nvidia for better upscaling. The RTX 2080 Ti or 3080 series would be good choices. AMD is fine too, but their upscaling tech isn't quite as strong as Nvidia's DLSS for newer games.
Yeah, I agree! Nvidia really has the edge with features like DLSS, which can make a big difference in gameplay.
For a more budget-friendly new option, the RX 9060 XT and the 5060 Ti are excellent choices. They will deliver a solid performance improvement.
You can get used models like the 3060 Ti or 3070 Ti for about $200-$250. Maybe check those out if you don’t mind going the second-hand route! They’ve worked great for my second PC, and they’re a step up from a GTX 970 without the high price tag of the latest models.
I’d like to keep it as reasonable as possible while getting her something that really improves her gaming experience.