I have a PC with an Intel i5-12400F, RTX 3060 12GB, MSI B660M motherboard, and 16GB of RAM. I mainly use it for Blender sculpting and rendering, along with lighter gaming such as Final Fantasy XIV, The Witcher 3, Total War: Warhammer III, and War Thunder. Since Blender is my main reason for upgrading, I would prefer an NVIDIA card. I found a used RTX 4070 Super locally in the Netherlands for €250. That seems unusually cheap, so I'm wondering whether it would be a good upgrade and how I can safely test the card before buying it. Should I buy it, upgrade my RAM first, or wait for another option?
3 Answers
For your current games, the i5-12400F is still a capable processor and shouldn’t be the first thing to replace. A CPU upgrade such as a 14600KF would make more sense for heavily CPU-bound workloads, but Blender GPU rendering and sculpting benefit more immediately from additional GPU performance and memory. The 4070 Super also gives you newer NVIDIA features and better rendering performance than the 3060.
A 4070 Super for €250 would be an incredible price if the card is genuine and working properly. It would provide a substantial performance increase over the RTX 3060, so I wouldn’t wait for a newer release at that price. However, the deal is suspiciously cheap compared with typical European prices, so make sure you can test it before handing over the money. Check that the system detects the correct model and VRAM amount, run a demanding game or benchmark for a while, and watch for crashes, graphical artifacts, overheating, or unusual fan noise.
The GPU is the more exciting upgrade, but 16GB of system RAM is a limitation for Blender and other serious creative work. Moving to 32GB should improve overall workflow, especially when working with larger scenes, textures, or multiple applications. Ideally, upgrade the RAM first or budget for both. If you do add memory, match the existing kit’s capacity, speed, timings, and DDR generation as closely as possible.
Animation, rendering, and video work can consume system memory surprisingly quickly. For a serious hobbyist, 32GB is a much more comfortable baseline, even if the 4070 Super remains the better performance upgrade.
The seller lives nearby and is selling parts from an old build after buying a new one. I’m just unsure how to check the card properly before buying it; this is in the Netherlands.