I recently picked up a budget PC from a friend, and I've upgraded the motherboard, RAM, and CPU. Here are my current specs:
- TUF Gaming B850 E Motherboard
- Ryzen 7 7800X3D
- 32 GB Gskill Flair DDR5 RAM
- 650 Watt 80+ Gold PSU (brand unknown)
The build came with an MSI RTX 2070 8GB. I'm considering upgrading my GPU since I feel a bit limited, especially with games requiring more VRAM these days. My goal is to boost my performance for future titles, with a budget of around $500 max.
I've been eyeing a few options in that price range:
- Gigabyte RX9060 XT 16 GB (Triple Fan) - $459.99 @ Micro Center
- ASRock RX9060 XT 16 GB (Dual Fan) - $419.99 @ Micro Center
- PNY 5060 Ti 16 GB (Dual Fan) - $499.99 @ Micro Center
- MSI Shadow 5060 Ti 16 GB (Dual Fan) - $499.99 @ Newegg
Right now, my RTX 2070 lets me run Cyberpunk 2077 and Space Marine 2 at 60 fps at 1080p with some decent ray tracing, which is fine, but I'd like to future-proof myself with more VRAM and a newer GPU. Any suggestions or insights on what to choose?
3 Answers
Your current setup is solid, but you're right; the GPU is the bottleneck. Upgrading from a 2070 to those options isn’t a massive jump—more of a sensible upgrade. The RX9060 XT 16GB gives you more VRAM for a good price, but it doesn't handle ray tracing as well. On the other hand, the 5060 Ti 16GB is better for ray tracing and DLSS. But if you're happy with 1080p and 60 FPS, you might not need to upgrade just yet. Getting a cheaper 9060 XT or holding off for a larger upgrade later could be worthwhile!
The 7800X3D is an excellent CPU, and it'll work great with any GPU you choose. Since you have 32 GB of RAM, you can go for a powerful GPU without worrying about RAM limitations. The 16GB cards you've listed are from trustworthy retailers, so any of them should be a good fit. If you want ray tracing, consider going with Nvidia. But if you’re looking for smooth frame rates, AMD is the way to go.
I recently got the PNY 5060Ti 16GB and it performs great at 1440p with all settings maxed out, so I think it's a solid choice if you want to push your gaming experience to the next level.
I get wanting to upgrade, especially since game requirements are climbing up to 8GB VRAM. Plus, if you're eyeing a monitor upgrade to 1440p, you'll want a stronger GPU.