Since upgrading from Windows 10 to Windows 11, several games—including No Man's Sky, Coral Island, Cities: Skylines, and Kerbal Space Program—crash shortly after loading a save. This happens even with the graphics settings at their lowest. The error messages often mention insufficient graphics memory, although Task Manager does not show an obvious bottleneck: CPU usage is around 50%, GPU usage around 70%, and RAM usage around 40%. I mainly want to play at 1080p. Would replacing my graphics card likely solve the problem, and what should I upgrade first? My budget is about 1,000 CAD (roughly 700 USD). Current system: B450 Tomahawk motherboard, Ryzen 5 2600X, 16GB DDR4 RAM, GeForce GTX 1060 6GB, and a 500GB Samsung SSD.
3 Answers
A graphics card with 16GB of VRAM would provide plenty of headroom, if you can find one at a reasonable price. Something in that class paired with a Ryzen 5 5600 or 5600X would be a solid final upgrade path for this build. Also verify the power supply is adequate for the new card and check temperatures, drivers, and BIOS compatibility before purchasing parts.
The graphics card is the most obvious first upgrade. A GTX 1060 with 6GB of VRAM is getting fairly limiting for newer games, especially when crash messages specifically mention graphics memory. With your budget, you should have room for a substantial GPU upgrade, though the exact model depends on local pricing and your power supply. Before buying, it would also be worth checking that your NVIDIA drivers are cleanly updated and that the games’ files are intact, since the problem started after the operating-system upgrade.
Upgrade the GPU first, then consider the processor. A newer card with more VRAM should be a much better fit for 1080p gaming than the current 1060. After that, a Ryzen 5 5600 or 5600X would be a strong drop-in CPU upgrade for the B450 platform, assuming the motherboard BIOS supports it. That combination should give you a much smoother experience without needing to replace the whole system.
My total budget is around 1,000 CAD, or about 700 USD, so I should have some flexibility for the GPU.