Hey everyone! My trusty 6900 XT, an ASRock Phantom Gaming 16GB OC, is finally giving up on me. I've done all sorts of troubleshooting, but it just can't handle heavy loads anymore. It works fine for low-end gaming, but as soon as I push it, my PC shuts down or reboots. I've tried undervolting and tweaking settings to get 4K 60 fps on high/ultra for the last three years. I'm considering a 9070 XT, but I've read it only offers around a 30% performance boost in some games. I also thought about the 5070 Ti or 5080, but they're out of my budget since I don't use ray tracing. What do you guys think? Is the 9070 XT my best option, or are there other GPUs I should consider? For reference, I have 32 GB of RAM, a Razer Taichi B550 motherboard, and an A 5700 3X3D processor.
1 Answer
Before you rush into replacing your GPU, it's worth checking some other stuff first. Rebooting or shutting down under load isn't normal. Check your temperatures while gaming; if they're too high, maybe the thermal paste has dried up, and a repaste could help. Make sure your power supply connections to the GPU are solid too. A new GPU is pricey, so ensure it's not some simpler issue like overheating first! A broken GPU is worth less than one that still works, and if it’s your PSU causing the problem, you might face the same issues with a new GPU.
I've already repasted the thermal paste, and it helped bring down temperatures by 5 to 7 degrees Celsius, but I still hit around 75 to 88 degrees Celsius under load while undervolted. My PSU is an MSI MPG A850GF, and I've checked all my power connections. I haven’t swapped out the PSU yet, but I’ve done a clean Windows install and set everything back to default settings.