I'm upgrading my PC and would like advice on how to spend two separate budgets. My current system has a Ryzen 5 5600GT using integrated Radeon graphics, 16GB of DDR4 memory, a Patriot P300 1TB NVMe SSD, and an ASRock A520M-HDV motherboard. I mainly play CS2. I have about $200 to spend on a second monitor at Micro Center, plus roughly $300 for a dedicated graphics card. What GPU would be the best fit, and what monitor should I consider? I may also replace my mouse later, but that is less important right now.
4 Answers
The Radeon RX 9060 XT with 16GB would be a strong choice around this budget and a huge improvement over integrated graphics. It should run CS2 well beyond what most mainstream monitors can display. You could consider a CPU upgrade later if you want to get even more performance from the system.
The monitor budget is for adding a second display, not replacing my current one. I’m mainly trying to find the best graphics card I can get for around $300, and I’m open to either AMD or Nvidia.
Your existing display may already be perfectly adequate for competitive CS2, so I’d prioritize the GPU unless the second monitor is something you specifically need. An RX 9060 XT 16GB or a reasonably priced used card should be enough to drive high frame rates without needing to replace the rest of the PC immediately.
A used GPU may offer the best value for about $300. Look for cards such as an RTX 3070 Ti or RX 6700 XT, and you might even find an RTX 3080 locally if pricing is favorable. Just check the card’s condition, power requirements, and whether the seller can demonstrate that it works.

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