I've been gaming at 1080p for more than 10 years and still enjoy it, although I may move to 1440p eventually. I'm looking for the most performance I can get without spending a ridiculous amount. Ideally, I'd like to reach 100+ FPS in games such as Battlefield while using a 165Hz display. I'm open to any brand or model, and I don't necessarily need upscaling features like DLSS. For context, I currently have an RTX 3060 paired with a Ryzen 5 5600X, but I'm sometimes unable to get more than about 90 FPS even on low settings, so I'm also wondering whether my current hardware or settings could be the problem.
5 Answers
I currently have an RTX 3060 and a Ryzen 5 5600X, but I’m struggling to get over 90 FPS even with low settings. I’m not sure whether the GPU is failing or whether something else is limiting performance.
An Intel Arc B580 is another option to investigate, especially if you want a newer card with a reasonable amount of VRAM. Just make sure your motherboard has Resizable BAR enabled and check benchmarks for the specific games you play, since performance can vary more by title than with AMD or Nvidia cards.
If you specifically want Nvidia features such as DLSS, the RTX 5060 or 5060 Ti would be worth considering. However, Nvidia cards are currently priced aggressively, and at 1080p I wouldn’t want to depend heavily on DLSS because native rendering usually looks better at that resolution.
I’m mainly aiming for at least 100 FPS in Battlefield on my 165Hz monitor, so I don’t really need DLSS if the card can hit that target natively.
The Radeon RX 9060 XT with 16GB of VRAM looks like the strongest value option here. It should provide a substantial upgrade over an RTX 3060, has plenty of memory for 1080p and future 1440p gaming, and doesn’t require you to rely on upscaling. It’s commonly priced around the mid-$400 range, depending on the model and market.
If you want more headroom for a future 1440p monitor and plan to keep the card for several years, the Radeon RX 9070 GRE may be worth the extra cost. It is somewhat more expensive than the RX 9060 XT 16GB, but the performance increase can make the price difference reasonable. It may be overkill for pure 1080p, though, so the 9060 XT is probably the better budget choice.
Before replacing it, check GPU and CPU usage, temperatures, power limits, background programs, and whether the game has an FPS cap or an unusual graphics setting enabled. A healthy RTX 3060 should generally manage more than 90 FPS in some competitive titles, but the exact result depends heavily on the game and CPU workload.