I mainly play Counter-Strike 2 at native 1920×1080 and currently use a GTX 1080 Ti. My CPU is already a Ryzen 7 9800X3D, and I have about £600 to spend on a graphics card upgrade. What GPU would make the most sense for this setup?
3 Answers
If you mostly play CS2 and other competitive shooters, a used RTX 3070 could be a good value option. It should be plenty for 1080p high-refresh gaming, although the newer RTX 5070 or RX 9070 will give you more performance and longer-term support.
Almost any current gaming GPU will outperform the 1080 Ti by a noticeable amount. The RTX 5070 and RX 9070 are the more sensible options near £600, while a cheaper card could still be enough if CS2 is your main game.
The GPU chip matters much more than the brand. Compare price, cooler reviews, noise, warranty, and return policy, and avoid paying a large premium for factory overclocking.
With a budget around £600, the RTX 5070 or Radeon RX 9070 would both be strong choices. They perform fairly similarly overall, and either one would be a major upgrade over the GTX 1080 Ti. For CS2 alone, though, you may not need to spend the full budget unless you also play more demanding games.
Does the specific manufacturer version matter, or should I just buy the cheapest model from a reputable UK retailer?