I built my first gaming PC about a year ago, and it currently has a Ryzen 7 7800X3D, GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB, 32GB of DDR5 memory, a 2TB NVMe SSD, an MSI MAG B850 Tomahawk motherboard, and an RM850x power supply. I'm considering upgrading the graphics card and buying an OLED monitor. The main options I'm weighing are getting a Radeon RX 9070 XT now, or buying the OLED monitor first and waiting to see whether the RTX 5080 becomes more affordable. My current system performs well, but I'd enjoy higher frame rates. I also have a friend who may buy my 5060 Ti for his first build, and I have some extra money available now that might not be there in a year or two. What would make the most sense for a mostly gaming-focused upgrade?
3 Answers
Your system is already very capable, so waiting for a major sale could be smart. I’d prioritize the OLED if you find one at a good price, then hold off on the graphics card until there’s a meaningful price drop or a game you play actually needs more performance. OLED displays can be a noticeable upgrade even without replacing the GPU.
I’d start with the OLED monitor, then decide whether the GPU upgrade is still necessary. The 5060 Ti 16GB isn’t an ideal card to replace immediately if it’s already delivering the performance you want, and the new display may make a bigger difference to the experience. If you find a good sale, that could be the best use of the money right now.
That was my original plan. I mainly have some extra cash available now and thought it might be a good chance to gain more performance, but I’ll definitely look into OLED deals first.
If you want to upgrade the GPU now, the RX 9070 XT is the more straightforward value-focused choice for gaming. A future RTX 5080 would be a much larger jump from the 5060 Ti, but it may not be worth paying a premium unless you specifically want Nvidia features or need substantially more performance. Since you already have 16GB of VRAM, there’s no urgent memory-related reason to replace your current card.
The possible sale to my friend is part of why I’m considering it now, but I appreciate the warning not to upgrade just for the sake of upgrading. I’ll weigh the 9070 XT’s current price against waiting for a better 5080 deal.
That makes sense. I don’t think the 5060 Ti is weak, exactly—I’d just enjoy higher frame rates. I’ll compare current OLED prices and consider waiting for a seasonal sale.