My current PC has a Ryzen 5 5600, GeForce GTX 1660 Super, 16 GB of RAM, and a 600W power supply. I'm in Europe and have around €300–€400 to spend on a graphics card. I'm considering options such as the RTX 3070 or RX 7600 XT, but I'm unsure which model makes the most sense. Brand is not important to me. I'd prefer not to replace the PSU, and I want to avoid pairing the GPU with a significant CPU bottleneck. Would a new or used card be the better choice?
4 Answers
If you can wait and increase the budget a little, a future RX 9060 XT with 16 GB could be a better long-term purchase. Buying a card that is only barely faster than your current one can mean upgrading again sooner than expected.
It depends on your upgrade plan. A midrange card like the RX 7600 XT would work well with the Ryzen 5 5600 right now, but a stronger card could continue to serve you after a future CPU upgrade. At higher resolutions or refresh rates, the CPU bottleneck will usually be less noticeable.
A used RTX 4070 could be worth checking if you can find one near €350. It offers strong performance, good ray tracing, and better efficiency than many older cards, so your 600W PSU should generally be fine as long as it has the necessary connector or adapter.
For traditional rasterized gaming, look at used RX 6700 XT or RX 6800 cards. They offer excellent performance and plenty of VRAM in this price range. If ray tracing, DLSS, or lower power usage matters more, a used RTX 4070 is the more appealing option. Check the exact model’s power requirements and connector before buying.
Thanks, I’ll compare the extra cost against the performance and VRAM before deciding.