I'm currently using an i7-14700F, 32GB of DDR4 RAM, and a GTX 970 from 2014. I want to upgrade my graphics card for AAA gaming and photo editing, but GPU prices are unusually high. I'm considering the Intel Arc B580, which is around $329, or spending roughly $300–400 more on a GeForce RTX 5060 Ti or Radeon RX 9060 XT. I'm targeting 1440p at 120Hz and would like to know whether the B580 is good enough or if the more expensive cards are worth it.
4 Answers
The B580 would be a massive upgrade over a GTX 970 and should be perfectly usable for 1440p gaming, especially given how fast your i7-14700F is. Its 12GB of VRAM is useful, and it should handle photo editing without trouble. Just make sure your motherboard and CPU support Resizable BAR, since Arc cards rely on it for proper performance.
Intel’s drivers and game support have improved, but Arc cards can still have more compatibility quirks than AMD or Nvidia. If you want the least hassle and find an RX 9060 XT at a reasonable price, that would be the safer all-around choice. Otherwise, the B580 is still a good budget upgrade and is far faster than your GTX 970.
The B580 is a reasonable value if it’s around $329, but pricing is the deciding factor. It competes more directly with the RTX 5060 than with the 5060 Ti or RX 9060 XT. If those cards cost several hundred dollars more, the performance increase may not justify the price. An 8GB card can still run modern games, but you’ll likely need to reduce textures or other settings sooner at 1440p.
For photo editing, any of these modern GPUs should be sufficient, so choose based mainly on your games and monitor. At 1440p and 120Hz, the B580 or RX 9060 XT can work well with sensible settings, but neither will maintain 120 FPS in every demanding AAA game. A higher-tier card such as an RX 9070 or RTX 5070 would be a more substantial step up, though it may be difficult to justify if your budget is limited.
Related Questions
Lenovo Thinkpad Stuck In Update Loop Install FilterDriverU2_Reload