I'm upgrading a very old gaming PC. I recently replaced my Ryzen 5 3600X with a Ryzen 7 5800X3D, while keeping an ROG Strix B450-F motherboard and 32GB of DDR4-3600 memory. My current GTX 1660 Ti is starting to struggle, so I'm now looking for a new graphics card.
My realistic options are:
1. Radeon RX 9070 GRE — $570
2. Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB — $520
3. Radeon RX 9060 XT 8GB — $400
4. GeForce RTX 5060 8GB — $350
5. GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8GB — $450
The 16GB RTX 5060 Ti and RTX 5070 are outside my budget, and I originally hoped not to spend more than $500. I use 1080p 144Hz monitors and don't mind using upscaling or frame generation when appropriate. The games I play most heavily include Final Fantasy XVI and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, and I'm also interested in upcoming JRPGs.
How limiting is 8GB of VRAM in current and upcoming games at 1080p? I'm especially concerned that spending $450 on an RTX 5060 Ti 8GB could still require low or medium textures and settings, making the upgrade feel less worthwhile. I also noticed that my B450 motherboard uses PCIe 3.0, which may matter for cards with an x8 interface.
5 Answers
The RX 9070 GRE looks like the best performance-focused choice if you can stretch to $570. It offers substantially more GPU performance and VRAM than the RTX 5060 Ti 8GB, so the system should age more gracefully. Since you have a PCIe 3.0 motherboard, it also avoids the concern of pairing an x8 graphics card with a slower PCIe connection. Your 5800X3D is a sensible choice for games such as World of Warcraft, so it isn’t necessarily overkill for your overall use.
The RTX 5060 and 5060 Ti 8GB should handle 1080p versions of the games you listed, but you may need to drop textures one step and avoid heavy ray tracing. Upscaling can help performance, although frame generation also consumes some memory and may push an 8GB card closer to its limit in demanding scenes. I wouldn’t call 8GB unusable, but I would avoid paying a premium for it when a 16GB alternative is available.
Your old motherboard is worth keeping in mind. Because the RTX 5060-series cards use an x8 PCIe interface, PCIe 3.0 can reduce performance more than it would on a PCIe 4.0 system, particularly when VRAM is full and the card has to move data over the bus. That makes the x16 RX 9070 GRE or the 16GB RX 9060 XT more appealing in your build. I’d choose the 9060 XT 16GB for value, or the GRE if you can comfortably afford it.
For this price range, I’d strongly favor the RX 9060 XT 16GB over an 8GB model. The extra memory gives you more room for future games, higher-resolution textures, and frame-generation overhead. If you’re already considering spending $450 on the RTX 5060 Ti 8GB, putting a little more toward a 16GB card makes more sense for long-term value.
At 1080p, 8GB is still generally usable. Most games should run well at medium-to-high settings, and you can lower texture quality or a few VRAM-heavy options if necessary. It becomes much more restrictive at 1440p and above, especially with ultra textures, ray tracing, or poorly optimized ports. The main drawback is longevity: an 8GB card may remain playable, but you’ll have to adjust settings sooner than you would with a 16GB model.
That’s the important distinction: 8GB doesn’t automatically make a card unusable, but it can prevent the rest of the GPU from running at its full potential in newer games.
I’d probably choose the GRE too if the extra $70 is manageable. The 9060 XT 16GB is the safer budget option, but the GRE should provide a more noticeable upgrade from the 1660 Ti and give you more headroom.