I'm putting together a gaming PC with a budget of roughly $1,500–$1,850 USD. Because of rising memory prices, I've already gone about $200 over budget, so I'm trying to cut costs where I can. For the graphics card, I'm deciding between a 16GB PowerColor Radeon RX 9070 Reaper and a 12GB XFX Radeon RX 9070 GRE, with the GRE costing about $100 less. I plan to play at 1440p and keep the system for around four years. Is saving the $100 a reasonable compromise, or will the lower VRAM and performance make the GRE a poor choice for long-term use?
3 Answers
The comparison is actually between the RX 9070 and the RX 9070 GRE, not two versions of the same card. The 12GB GRE is weaker overall, has a narrower 192-bit memory bus instead of 256-bit, and provides less memory bandwidth as well as less VRAM. It could still make sense if the price is substantially lower, but a $100 discount may not fully justify the performance and longevity tradeoff.
For a system in this price range, it’s worth checking the whole parts list before choosing the cheaper GPU. You may be able to save some money on the CPU, motherboard, storage, case, or cooling without giving up as much gaming performance. A 9070 XT would also be ideal, but regional pricing can make it poor value; in some places it costs close to $900, so it may not fit this budget.
I’m buying in Greece, where the 9070 XT is around $900, so it’s too expensive. The GPU is the easiest place for me to cut costs, although I may be able to reduce the CPU slightly.
For current 1080p and most 1440p gaming, 12GB can be workable, but high or ultra settings in newer games can already exceed that in some cases. Since you want to keep the card for roughly four years, the extra VRAM on the 16GB model gives you more room for future games and texture settings.
That’s my main concern. I’m staying at 1440p, but I don’t expect to upgrade the GPU for another four years.
If the GRE is well below $500, it becomes more appealing. Otherwise, I’d try to save money elsewhere in the build rather than downgrade the GPU.