My current PC has an RX 6600, an i3-12100F, and 24 GB of DDR4 RAM. I mainly play at 1080p and am not especially interested in moving to 1440p yet. I'm considering either upgrading to a Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB or replacing the CPU with an i5/i7 to make the system more suitable for future games. I mostly play RPGs, soulslike games, and shooters, including Pragmata and possibly Crimson Desert. My budget is around $600, although GPU prices are high where I live. Which upgrade would make the most sense?
4 Answers
At 1080p, the i3-12100F’s four cores can become a limitation sooner than they would at 1440p or 4K. I’d lean toward a CPU upgrade first, but you don’t need an i7. An i5-12400F, i5-12600K, or possibly an i5-14600K/14600KF would be more sensible, depending on your motherboard and BIOS support. The RX 6600 is still capable of delivering around 60 FPS at 1080p in many games, so you could upgrade the GPU later when prices improve.
I wouldn’t buy an i7 solely for future-proofing. Older high-end chips on the same socket can still become poor value, and gaming performance depends heavily on the individual title. A modern six-core i5 is usually enough for this class of system. If you eventually move to 1440p, the GPU will matter more, so the best plan is probably a modest CPU upgrade now and a stronger graphics card later.
A graphics card upgrade would give you the most obvious immediate increase in average FPS and visual quality. The RX 9060 XT 16GB makes sense for 1080p, but not if it costs close to $700 in your region. With a budget around $600, it may be better to keep the RX 6600 for now, upgrade to a midrange CPU, and wait for a better GPU deal rather than overpaying.
The more powerful cards are even more expensive where I live, so the 9060 XT is already near the top of my budget. I’m mainly wondering whether it could remain useful for several years, rather than needing another upgrade soon.
For your resolution, upgrading the CPU first is probably the safer choice, especially for newer RPGs and shooters that can use more than four cores. An i5-12400F would already be a meaningful improvement, while an i7 would cost more without necessarily giving you a worthwhile gaming benefit. Just check your motherboard’s compatibility before choosing a 13th- or 14th-generation chip.
I mostly play RPGs, soulslike games, and shooters. Pragmata is what I’m playing now, and Crimson Desert may be next, so newer CPU-heavy games are part of the reason I’m considering the upgrade.
That was my thinking too. The RX 6600 is aging, but it still handles my current 1080p games reasonably well. If I upgrade the CPU now, I can save for a stronger graphics card later without worrying about a major CPU bottleneck.