I'm putting together my first PC in about 15 years around a Ryzen 9600X for general home use and casual gaming. I've accepted the cost of moving to DDR5, but I'm stuck on the graphics card because current prices are so high and don't seem likely to fall soon.
For the next one or two years, I'd like to play games such as The Witcher 3, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Baldur's Gate 3 at 1920×1200. Ultra settings aren't important; medium settings would probably be fine. In two or three years, I'll likely move to a 1440p monitor.
I'm considering an RTX 5050 as the least expensive current-generation Nvidia option, an RTX 5070 if it could realistically last three to five years, or a used card such as an RTX 2080 Super as a temporary solution. What would you choose for this kind of upgrade path?
4 Answers
If you strongly prefer Nvidia for its software and driver experience, the RTX 5070 is the more straightforward option if you can afford it. Otherwise, the RX 9070 series appears to offer more performance and VRAM for the money right now.
The Radeon RX 9070 series looks like the strongest value here. The RX 9070 XT is reportedly cheaper than an RTX 5070 while offering performance closer to an RTX 5070 Ti, along with 16GB of VRAM. The regular RX 9070 or 9070 GRE could also make sense if the XT is outside your budget.
For a card you hope to keep through a future 1440p upgrade, I’d avoid older or entry-level models with limited VRAM. A modern card with at least 12GB—and preferably 16GB—would be a safer choice. Besides the RX 9070 XT, the RX 9070, RX 9070 GRE, and RX 9060 XT 16GB are worth considering. On the used market, an RTX 3080, 3080 Ti, or 3060 12GB could work if priced attractively, but I’d be cautious about paying too much for older cards. I’d also skip the xx50-tier cards if possible, since they may age poorly at 1440p.
I’m using the same Ryzen 9600X platform and chose an RX 9070 XT. My plan is to keep it for roughly five years, so that seems like a better long-term fit than buying a cheaper placeholder now and replacing it soon.
My old card is Nvidia and has been trouble-free, so I’m hesitant to switch. Is AMD generally more likely to cause driver or software headaches, or are its current drivers basically a similarly reliable experience?