I built my PC about four years ago, but my RTX 3050 is now struggling to maintain 60 FPS in newer demanding games unless I lower settings to medium or low. I mainly play at 1080p and would like recommendations at several price points. My budget is ideally under €300, though I could stretch to around €400 if the upgrade is worthwhile. My current system has an RTX 3050, Intel i7-12700F, 16 GB of RAM, and a Corsair CX650M 650W power supply. What GPU would be a meaningful upgrade, and should I prioritize features such as upscaling and ray tracing over raw performance?
4 Answers
Set the maximum budget first, then buy the fastest GPU that fits it. Your 650W power supply should be adequate for midrange cards such as the RX 9060 XT or RTX 5060, assuming it is healthy and properly connected. There is no obvious need to replace the CPU, since the i7-12700F is still plenty capable for 1080p gaming.
If you can find an RX 9060 XT 16 GB close to your €400 limit, that would be a sensible target. The 8 GB version can still be a good upgrade, but modern games are increasingly demanding more VRAM, so the 16 GB model should age better. A used 8 GB card around €300 is worth considering only if it is in good condition and the price is clearly below comparable new cards.
For 1080p, the GPU is clearly the limiting part of this system. An RX 9060 XT, RTX 5060, or Intel B580 would all be substantial upgrades over the RTX 3050. The RX 9060 XT is generally the strongest choice for raw performance, especially the 16 GB model, while Nvidia offers useful software features such as DLSS and stronger ray-tracing support.
If you are willing to spend considerably more, cards such as the RTX 5070 or RX 9070-class models can deliver well over 100 FPS in many 1080p games. However, that is probably excessive for your stated budget and may make more sense if you plan to move to 1440p later.
Do you think Nvidia’s features are actually worth choosing over a faster AMD card, or is the advantage mostly software-related?