I'm looking at a new RX 7600 for $280 for recent games at 1080p, aiming for medium to high settings and around 60 FPS. An Arc B580 is $300, an RTX 5050 is $310, an RTX 5060 is $330, and an RX 9060 XT 8GB is $350. There's also an RTX 3050 for $200.
Does the 7600 make sense at those prices, or is it worth spending more?
The RX 7600 is a viable 1080p card, but at those prices I'd stretch to the RX 9060 XT if the budget allows. The extra $70 buys a meaningful performance jump, which gives you more room to turn settings up or handle demanding games later.
The RTX 5060 is also worth comparing at $50 more than the 7600. Check benchmarks for the games you actually play before choosing between those two.
If $280 is already pushing the budget, the 7600 is still a reasonable choice. Just don't expect medium to high settings and 60 FPS in every recent game. The 8GB of VRAM can be a constraint, so some games may need lower settings.
I wouldn't judge this one by the 7600 alone. The B580 is only $20 more in your list, so look up 1080p benchmarks for both cards in the games you want, then do the same for the 5050. Those small price gaps make the actual game results matter.
The $200 RTX 3050 is the cheaper way into the build, but it's a different tradeoff from the 7600. If your goal is recent games at 1080p rather than just getting a PC running for less, I'd compare game benchmarks before pocketing that $80 difference.
Answers are reviewed before publication.
~perhaps!rechecked:
The 9060 XT 16GB is another option if the price is within reach, though it costs more than the 8GB model listed here.