I'm fairly new to PC upgrades and would appreciate some beginner-friendly advice. My current system, built in 2021, has an Intel Core i7-10700F, B460M motherboard, 16GB of DDR4 memory, a GTX 1660 Ti 6GB, a 500W power supply, a 240GB drive plus a 1TB hard drive, and a 1920×1080 monitor. Games run well, but I'd like to use higher graphics settings and move up to 1440p gaming in newer titles. I'm considering increasing the memory to 32GB, replacing the power supply with something around 650W, upgrading the graphics card, and buying a 1440p monitor. My rough budget is about $1,500 for the complete upgrade. What would be the best order of upgrades, and which graphics cards would make sense?
3 Answers
The ideal card depends heavily on which games you play and whether you want high refresh rates or just better image quality. Some demanding modern games list much newer CPUs and high-end GPUs as recommended hardware, so your i7-10700F could eventually become a limitation. With a $1,500 budget, I’d upgrade the GPU and monitor first, add another 16GB of matching DDR4 if needed, and replace the power supply only if the new card requires it. Consider moving your operating system and frequently played games to an SSD as well; the hard drive will make loading times feel slow even after the graphics upgrade.
The graphics card should be your first priority. For 1440p, look for a model with at least 8GB of VRAM, although 12GB or 16GB gives you more room for newer games and higher texture settings. A 16GB Radeon RX 9060 XT would be a substantial improvement over the GTX 1660 Ti and should work with your current processor. Your 500W power supply may be enough depending on its quality and the card’s specific power requirements, so check the manufacturer’s recommendations before replacing it.
I’m thinking around $1,500 for everything. Is that enough for a graphics card, power supply, memory, and a 1440p monitor?
Your CPU is still reasonably capable, so you don’t necessarily need a full system replacement right away. A new GPU, 32GB of RAM, and an SSD for your main games would make the biggest practical difference. If you choose a more power-hungry graphics card, upgrade to a good-quality 650W or 750W unit rather than buying the cheapest option. The B460 platform limits future CPU upgrades, but it shouldn’t prevent you from getting a worthwhile GPU upgrade now.
That makes sense. I mainly want stronger graphics at 1440p, so I’ll focus on the GPU and monitor before considering a completely new build.