What GPU should I upgrade to for high-settings 1440p gaming?
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MellowPine47
I'm currently using an RTX 3060 12GB with a Ryzen 5 9600X. The CPU is considerably faster than the GPU, and in many of my games the 3060 is pinned near 99% usage while the CPU sits around 45%. I'm planning to play at 1440p with the highest settings, so I'm considering an RTX 5070 or RX 9070. I'm trying to keep the cost as low as possible—would either of those be a good choice, or should I look at used GPUs instead?
Answers
The best option depends heavily on the prices where you live. If a new RX 9070 XT costs about the same as an RTX 5070, I’d choose the 9070 XT. If you want to spend less, a standard RX 9070—or a discounted 9070 GRE where available—would still be a substantial upgrade from the 3060.
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The 3060 isn’t a bad card by itself, especially for 1080p. Your CPU being underutilized simply means the GPU is the limiting component in those games, which is normal. Since you specifically want high-refresh or maximum-quality 1440p gaming, I’d skip small upgrades and aim for at least an RX 7800 XT, RX 9070, RTX 4070-class card, or something faster.
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That’s what I meant by the 3060 being weak—it’s perfectly fine for 1080p, but it can’t keep up with the 9600X for the 1440p settings I want. In most of my games the GPU is at 99% usage while the CPU is only around 45%, so I’m looking for a meaningful upgrade rather than saying the 3060 is unusable.
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For 1440p, the RX 9070 generally makes more sense than the RTX 5070 if pricing is similar. It offers stronger raster performance, and current pricing can make the 5070 difficult to justify. If the RX 9070 XT is only around 15–20% more expensive, that would be worth considering too, since it gives you additional performance for high settings.
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Used could be a good route if the new-card market is too expensive. A used RX 7800 XT would be a strong 1440p upgrade, while a used RTX 3070 can sometimes be found for around $200 and is roughly 35% faster than the 3060 in raw performance. The 3070 only has 8GB of VRAM, though, so I’d favor a used 7800 XT if the price difference isn’t large.
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CloudyRaven34: That usage pattern confirms the GPU is the bottleneck, which is exactly what you want to see before upgrading. A 9070, 9070 XT, or similarly powerful used card should make much better use of your CPU at 1440p.