I'm gearing up to build my first gaming PC and I've found a solid deal on a system with a Ryzen 3 2300X CPU and a GTX 1050Ti GPU. The setup includes 16GB of Corsair DDR4 3000MHz RAM, an A320M-A Pro Max motherboard with an M.2 slot, and I have a spare SSD to add. I'm planning to eventually upgrade both the CPU and GPU - eyeing the Ryzen 5 3600 for the CPU. Given the current GPU shortages, I'm wondering if I should upgrade to a GTX 1660 Super/Ti now or spend a bit more on an RTX 2060 Super, especially since some games like Doom The Dark Ages are starting to require ray tracing. Until I can upgrade the CPU, how do you think the RTX 2060 Super will perform with the Ryzen 3 2300? Will it be a tough experience? Also, are there good AMD alternatives to the RTX 2060 Super? And I still need to check if my PSU can handle any upgrades I decide to make.
2 Answers
You might get better value with an RX 6600, 6600XT, or even a 6650XT instead of the 2060 Super. They cost around $150 and while ray tracing with these isn’t as strong, they perform well enough for non-RT games. But don’t overlook second-hand options like a 2070 Super or 2080 Super; they can often be found at similar prices and would outperform the 2060 Super and most Radeon cards.
Totally feel you on that! It's like some studios are just trying to force upgrades. Hopefully, you'll find a good deal soon.
Yes, the Ryzen 3 2300X will bottleneck the RTX 2060 Super in several games since it’s a quad-core without hyper-threading. However, if you get that 2060 Super now, you can wait until you have enough funds to upgrade the CPU later, like a Ryzen 5 5500 or 4500, which are affordable options right now.
I get what you mean about ray tracing; I just want the 2060 Super for the minimum requirements for Doom TDA. But I also don’t want to miss out on a price drop either. It’s frustrating, especially since some games are pushing for specs that feel excessive for how they look.