I recently made the decision to gift my friend a pre-built gaming PC from Cyberpower, but I didn't do my homework beforehand. It came with the RX 6500 graphics card, which seems to be widely disliked. It's paired with a Ryzen 5 5500 processor. I'm now wondering what graphics card I could swap in that would significantly improve performance? Would it also make sense to upgrade the CPU at the same time?
3 Answers
You might want to consider upgrading to a 5600X CPU along with something like the 9060 XT 16GB GPU. The total cost for that would be around $420. If you originally bought the PC for about $700, you'd be looking at over $1,120 after upgrades. Honestly, returning it might be your best bet. You could find some better options on the AM5 platform with a 5060 Ti or 9060 XT that are better for that price range.
The power supply will be a deciding factor here. Since you’ve got a Ryzen 5 5500 and an RX 6500, it's likely a 400W PSU, which really limits your upgrade options. If you’re thinking about changing both the GPU and CPU, it might be a good idea to just return the setup and go for something new altogether.
Another solid option would be the RX 6600. It’s a decent upgrade without going overboard!
Actually, the power supply is 600W, so you might have a bit more flexibility in terms of upgrades.