I'm building a new PC in Spain with about €950–€1,000 available for the graphics card and memory combined. My main priority is AAA gaming on a 1440p 120Hz monitor, although I'm comfortable lowering settings or playing at 1080p. I also do audio production and may do some light video editing.
The two combinations I'm considering are:
- RTX 5060 8GB for about €493 plus 32GB DDR5-6000 for about €468
- RX 9070 GRE 12GB for about €630 plus 16GB DDR5-6000 for about €352
Because memory prices are high, I probably won't be able to upgrade for the next two or three years. Is 8GB of VRAM likely to become a serious limitation in upcoming AAA games, even at 1080p, or would 16GB of system RAM cause more problems with gaming, multitasking, audio work, and occasional video editing?
3 Answers
For your priorities, I'd choose the RX 9070 GRE. It's dramatically faster than the RTX 5060, and its 12GB of VRAM is a much healthier amount for 1440p gaming. Sixteen gigabytes of system RAM is still usable today, especially for gaming, while 8GB of VRAM is already becoming restrictive in some newer AAA titles. You may need to close background applications or reduce texture settings, but the stronger GPU should give you a much better experience overall.
Before committing, check whether a 16GB RX 9060 XT can fit alongside 32GB of RAM. It is slower than the 9070 GRE, but it should handle 1440p reasonably well with sensible settings and upscaling. That combination would avoid both of the biggest compromises: only 8GB of VRAM and only 16GB of system memory. If the price difference is too large, the 9070 GRE plus 16GB is still the better gaming choice.
I'd also compare the local prices of a regular RX 9070 or 9070 XT. If one is only slightly more expensive, it could be worth stretching for, especially since you're keeping the build for several years. Conversely, don't overspend on a premium 32GB memory kit just to pair it with an RTX 5060; for AAA gaming, the GPU is the more important part of this decision.
That makes sense. I was mainly worried that 16GB of system memory would make the entire PC feel outdated faster than 8GB of VRAM, but finding a 16GB graphics card with 32GB of RAM would probably be the ideal compromise.
The caveat is that 16GB of system memory can cause stuttering or limit performance in some newer games when background apps are open. It isn't ideal, but adding memory later is generally easier than replacing an underpowered graphics card.