I'm choosing between an XFX Mercury RX 9060 XT 16GB for $529 and an XFX RX 9070 GRE 12GB for $569. I mainly play competitive FPS games rather than demanding AAA titles. Would either card be overkill for 1080p, and would both be suitable for 1440p at 120+ FPS? The rest of the system will have 32GB of DDR5-6000 memory and a 9850X3D processor. Which GPU offers the better value, considering the 9070 GRE has more performance but less VRAM?
4 Answers
The extra VRAM on the 9060 XT matters more in unusually demanding games or heavy texture settings, such as some simulators. For your actual use case, the GRE’s extra GPU performance is more valuable. Both should reach 120+ FPS at 1440p in competitive titles, so choose the cheaper 9060 XT only if you plan to stay at 1080p and want to minimize spending.
The RX 9070 GRE is the better buy at only $40 more. It has a substantial performance advantage, and the 12GB of VRAM should be plenty for competitive games. Both cards can handle 1440p at high frame rates, but the GRE gives you more headroom and should last longer.
It may be worth checking for discounts on the 9070 GRE before buying. Similar cards have recently been available closer to $500 with a game bundle, which would make the performance-per-dollar advantage even clearer.
For games like CS2 or Valorant, either card is more than enough at 1080p, especially with that CPU. The 9060 XT is already overkill for that resolution, while the 9070 GRE is the stronger choice if you want to move to 1440p or keep very high refresh rates.
Related Questions
Lenovo Thinkpad Stuck In Update Loop Install FilterDriverU2_Reload