I'm starting to plan a new gaming PC because upcoming games I'm interested in may be too demanding for my Steam Deck. I'd like to play Star Wars Zero Company, the next Witcher 3 DLC, and eventually The Witcher 4. I'm not chasing maximum settings—I mainly want smooth 1080p performance with the option to try 1440p. I'm also comfortable lowering settings, since I played through Cyberpunk 2077 on an RX 480 and have been using a Steam Deck since that card died.
I'm comparing these GPUs at local prices:
- Sapphire RX 9070 GRE 12GB: about $600
- Gigabyte RTX 5060 Ti 16GB: about $550
- Sapphire RX 9060 XT 16GB: about $500
Since each step up costs roughly $50, which card offers the best value? I've been leaning toward the RTX 5060 Ti, but I'm unsure whether it's worth paying extra over the RX 9060 XT. I'm probably pairing the GPU with either a Ryzen 5 9600X or Ryzen 5 7600X3D.
4 Answers
The RX 9070 GRE can be a very good deal, but $600 sounds high compared with some recent retail pricing. If you can find it closer to $480–$500, it becomes an especially strong choice. Also check standard RX 9070 prices; if one is only around $50–$75 more, that may be the better long-term purchase.
The RTX 5060 Ti 16GB is the most appealing option if you prioritize Nvidia’s upscaling and ray-tracing features. DLSS can provide excellent image quality at 1440p, and the 16GB of VRAM gives it some extra breathing room. The RX 9070 GRE is faster in raw performance, though, so I’d choose it unless you specifically value DLSS or Nvidia features.
The RX 9070 GRE is the clear performance winner among these three. At only $50 more than the RTX 5060 Ti, it makes the most sense as long as the price fits comfortably within your budget.
The RX 9070 GRE is the fastest option here and is roughly in RTX 5070 territory in many games. The performance gap between the xx60 and xx70 classes can be around 20–30%, so paying another $50–$100 may be worthwhile if you want the card to remain useful for longer. It’s also worth checking whether a standard RX 9070 is available nearby, since it offers more performance and VRAM.
That’s what makes the decision difficult. I don’t mind using upscaling, but I’m not sure the extra features justify giving up that much raw performance for only a small price difference.