I received my first PC from my uncle, and it's a bit of a Frankenstein build. I mainly play DOOM, Minecraft with shaders, and Red Dead Redemption 2, but my RX 480 struggles with newer games such as DOOM: The Dark Ages. My current system has an Intel Core i7-7700, integrated Intel graphics, an AMD Radeon RX 480, and 24 GB of RAM. I'm mostly looking for a graphics-card upgrade rather than replacing the entire PC, with a budget of about $100–$250. What would be a worthwhile upgrade, and are there any power-supply concerns I should check first?
3 Answers
Before buying anything, find the exact model and wattage of your power supply. A stronger GPU may need additional PCIe power connectors, and older prebuilt or hand-me-down systems sometimes have weak or aging PSUs. An RX 580 would be an inexpensive option, but it isn’t a large enough upgrade to be very worthwhile. I’d save for an RX 6600 or RTX 3060 instead.
For this system and budget, an RX 6600 or RTX 3060 would be a sensible target. Both are strong 1080p cards and should be a noticeable improvement over the RX 480 without being excessively limited by the i7-7700. The 12 GB version of the RTX 3060 is especially useful for newer games, though pricing varies a lot on the used market.
I’d check the used market for an RTX 3060, RTX 3060 Ti, RX 5700 XT, or RX 6700 XT. The 3060 is probably the safest match for your CPU, while the 3060 Ti and 6700 XT offer more performance if you find a good deal. Just make sure the card is tested and that your power supply has the required connectors and enough wattage.
The faster cards may be held back somewhat by the i7-7700 in CPU-heavy games, but they can still help at higher settings or resolutions. I wouldn’t spend too much more than your budget on one unless you plan to upgrade the platform later.
Agreed—the RX 580 is only a modest step up from an RX 480. If the goal is to run newer games, it makes more sense to wait for a substantially faster card rather than upgrading to something only slightly better.