I'm finally able to buy my first proper PC. I'll mainly use it for architecture work, including AutoCAD, Revit, Lumion, occasional Blender, Photoshop, and Adobe Premiere. In my free time, I'll mostly play casual single-player games rather than competitive titles.
My current build is:
- Intel Core i5-14400F
- ASUS Dual RTX 5060 8GB GDDR7
- MSI PRO B760-P WIFI DDR4
- 16GB DDR4-3200
- MSI SPATIUM M461 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD
- DeepCool CG530U 4F case
- GamerStorm P750W 80+ Bronze power supply
- DeepCool LM360 360mm cooler
The RTX 5060 fits my budget, and it would already be a huge upgrade from my GTX 1050. I could stretch another 100D for an RTX 5060 Ti 8GB, or about 200D for the RTX 5060 Ti 16GB, but the 16GB model would push me considerably over budget. Would either upgrade be worthwhile for my software and gaming, or would I be better off keeping the RTX 5060 and spending the extra money on more system RAM?
3 Answers
VRAM usage can vary a lot depending on the size and complexity of your projects. Even a card with 16GB can get close to its limit in some modern games or 3D scenes, so I wouldn’t choose the upgrade based on gaming alone. Since your current build only has 16GB of system RAM, upgrading that to 32GB should be the first step.
For this budget, it may also be worth checking AMD alternatives. A Radeon RX 9070 XT would be considerably faster than these cards, but it sounds like it is outside your budget. NVIDIA still makes sense if you specifically need its software support or features, but otherwise the RTX 5060 is reasonable for casual gaming and entry-level workstation use.
I’d prioritize system memory first. 16GB of RAM is likely to feel limiting with Revit, Lumion, Blender, Photoshop, and Premiere open, so moving to 32GB would probably give you a more noticeable improvement than spending everything on a slightly faster 8GB graphics card. If you still have money left afterward, then consider the 5060 Ti 8GB.
The 9070 XT is unfortunately over budget. After comparing the options, I’m leaning toward keeping the RTX 5060 and putting the remaining money into more system RAM instead of stretching for the 16GB Ti.