I currently have a GeForce RTX 2060 and am considering an upgrade. My budget is about $400, and I'd like a card that can handle 1440p gaming at over 120 FPS if possible. I play demanding games, including mil-sim titles, so I'm also wondering whether upgrading the GPU alone will be enough. What new or used graphics cards would offer the best value, and how much would I need to compromise on settings or frame rate?
5 Answers
For roughly $400, the used market is probably your best option. Look for an RTX 3080, RTX 3080 Ti, RTX 4070, or Radeon RX 7800 XT, depending on local prices and condition. These cards can provide a substantial improvement over the RTX 2060, but check the power supply requirements and test a used card before buying.
Keeping the RTX 2060 as a backup is sensible. You could buy the best used card available within budget and use upscaling or frame-generation features where supported, but don’t expect every modern game to run above 120 FPS at maximum settings. High-refresh 1440p usually requires balancing image quality, latency, and performance.
The RTX 2060 is definitely worth replacing, but 1440p at 120 FPS depends heavily on the game, graphics settings, and your CPU. In demanding games, even much faster cards may need reduced settings or upscaling to maintain 120 FPS. A used RTX 3080 Ti or RX 7800 XT would be a reasonable target, while a 16GB card is preferable for long-term use.
If Squad is one of the games giving you trouble, the processor may be part of the problem. That game can be CPU-limited, so a graphics card upgrade alone might not solve low frame rates. Check your CPU, RAM capacity, and utilization before deciding; also consider lowering settings that have little visual impact but cost a lot of performance.
If you can stretch the budget a little, a 16GB Radeon RX 9060 XT would be a strong choice. For newer games at 1440p, 8GB of VRAM can become limiting at high or ultra texture settings, so the 16GB model gives you more breathing room and should age better.
That makes sense. I’ll check my CPU and RAM before buying anything, since I mainly want smoother performance in CPU-heavy games as well as better 1440p graphics.