I currently have an RTX 3050 and want to upgrade to something noticeably faster without spending more than about $500. My system has an Intel Core i5-12400F, 8GB of DDR4 RAM, and I'd like to play ARK: Survival Ascended at decent graphical settings. What GPU would offer the best value, and should I upgrade anything else first?
3 Answers
With a budget below $500, compare the prices of a used RTX 3070, RTX 3070 Ti, and newer cards such as the RTX 4060. The 3070 Ti is faster than the 3070, but it also uses more power and may not be worth a large price premium. For ARK, getting 16GB or preferably 32GB of RAM should be part of the upgrade plan.
A used RTX 3070 around $250 can be a strong value if you’re comfortable buying secondhand. It should be a substantial improvement over the 3050, although ARK: Survival Ascended is demanding enough that you may still need to use upscaling or lower some settings. Also, upgrade to 16GB of RAM—adding another matching 8GB DDR4 stick would help a lot with stuttering and general performance.
The exact budget matters because GPU prices vary a lot, especially for used cards. An RTX 4060 is a reasonable newer option, but don’t overlook a well-priced used RTX 3070. Whichever card you choose, 8GB of system memory is likely to hold the rest of the system back in a demanding game like ARK: Survival Ascended.
I can afford a 3070 Ti. Would that be a better choice?