I'm considering selling my RTX 4060 8GB and putting about $200 toward an RX 9060 XT 16GB, which would cost roughly $500 where I live. My system has a Core i5-12400F, an MSI H610M-E motherboard, 16GB of DDR5 memory, a 1TB NVMe drive, and a 750W power supply. I currently use a 1080p 120Hz monitor, but I'm also planning to spend around $200 on a 1440p monitor for games such as Cyberpunk 2077, Elden Ring, and Red Dead Redemption 2. Would the RX 9060 XT be a worthwhile upgrade at that price? Would the i5-12400F hold it back at 1440p, and is the 750W PSU sufficient? Or should I simply upgrade the monitor and continue using the RTX 4060?
4 Answers
Your processor and power supply shouldn’t be reasons to avoid the upgrade. At 1440p, the GPU is usually the limiting component in the games you listed, and the 12400F is still capable. Just verify the new card’s dimensions and power connectors before buying.
I’d be cautious about expecting the RTX 4060 to deliver a great 1440p experience in demanding AAA games. You can certainly test it, but you may need to lower settings or use upscaling. The RX 9060 XT’s additional VRAM should give it more breathing room over time, making the upgrade more attractive if you’re definitely moving to 1440p.
For 1440p AAA gaming, the i5-12400F should generally be fine and shouldn’t cause a serious bottleneck. A quality 750W PSU should also provide enough power. The extra 16GB of VRAM could be useful for newer games, so a $200 upgrade is reasonable if you want better 1440p performance. The main thing to check is whether the card physically fits in your case.
The upgrade makes sense, but compare prices carefully. A faster RX 9070 GRE would be a substantially bigger step up and may offer better value if it is only slightly more expensive. If it costs around $760 in your region and is outside your budget, the RX 9060 XT 16GB is still a reasonable option at about $500.
The 9070 GRE is unfortunately around $760 here, so it’s outside my budget. In that case, would you choose the 9060 XT or keep the RTX 4060?