I'm planning a major GPU upgrade for demanding, story-focused games such as Cyberpunk 2077, The Witcher 3, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Mafia. My current system has an Intel Core i9-9900K, 16GB of RAM, an RTX 2060 Super, and a 32-inch 1440p Alienware OLED display. I also have a 750W power supply.
I don't play competitive multiplayer games. Most of my time is spent in visually demanding single-player titles with ray tracing, DLSS, custom graphics presets, and heavy texture mods. The 2060 Super is frequently running at 100% usage, so I'm considering a Gigabyte RTX 5070 AERO. After trading in my old card for $90, the upgrade would cost me around $760.
I realize the 9900K could limit performance in some situations, but at 1440p with high settings and ray tracing, I expect the GPU to remain the main bottleneck. Would the RTX 5070 be a good upgrade now, or would it make more sense to wait and replace the CPU and motherboard as well? I'm also open to alternatives if another GPU offers better value or more VRAM for modded games.
5 Answers
A 9900K can bottleneck a fast GPU in CPU-heavy areas, crowded cities, and when targeting very high frame rates, but that matters less at 1440p with maximum settings. You can upgrade the graphics card first and replace the CPU, motherboard, and memory later if monitoring shows the processor limiting performance.
For heavily modded games, I’d be cautious about buying a 12GB card. It may be adequate today, but demanding texture packs can already push 12GB cards to their limit. A 16GB RX 9070, RX 9070 XT, or RTX 5070 Ti would give you more headroom and should age better.
The jump from an RTX 2060 Super to an RTX 5070 should still be very noticeable, even with the older 9900K. CPU limitations will vary by game, but demanding 1440p titles with ray tracing generally put most of the load on the GPU. You don’t necessarily need to replace the platform before upgrading the graphics card.
The RTX 5070 can deliver high frame rates in games like Cyberpunk at demanding resolutions, but path tracing at 1440p may still require aggressive upscaling. If you specifically want path tracing with heavy mods, spending more on a 5070 Ti or a higher-tier card would be safer. Otherwise, an RX 9070 XT is likely the stronger overall purchase at this price.
At roughly $760 after the trade-in, the RTX 5070 looks like poor value. Radeon RX 9070 and especially RX 9070 XT cards are usually faster for the money, include 16GB of VRAM, and tend to have lower CPU overhead. That extra memory is useful for high-resolution texture mods.
The RTX 5070 still has an advantage in some ray-tracing and path-tracing situations, but the difference may not justify the price. If ray tracing is your top priority, compare the 5070 Ti or RTX 5080 as well.