I recently started playing the new Ace Combat game, and my current graphics card struggles unless I lower every setting. Performance is smooth at minimum quality, but the visuals look distracting enough that I'd like to upgrade. My system has an AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT, a Ryzen 9 5950X, and 32 GB of RAM. I built it about five years ago and haven't changed the GPU since. I also upgraded to a 1,200W power supply a couple of months ago. Is a graphics card upgrade all I need, and what would be the best option? I'd prefer to stay well under $1,000, though I'm willing to spend more for a worthwhile treat-yourself upgrade.
3 Answers
The Radeon RX 9070 XT is probably the strongest new-card choice in that price range. It offers excellent performance without being as heavily marked up as some competing models, and cards can often be found in the $700 range. Your 1,200W power supply is more than sufficient, so you shouldn’t need to replace it.
If you specifically want Nvidia features such as its upscaling and ray-tracing ecosystem, a used RTX 4080 or RTX 4070 Ti Super could be worth considering. For a new card and the best overall value, though, the RX 9070 XT is the safer recommendation.
I’d also recommend the RX 9070 XT. It’s a solid step up from the RX 6700 XT and should let you increase image quality substantially while maintaining good performance. It may be worth watching prices during upcoming sales, since a discount could bring it even further below your target budget.

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