What Should I Upgrade Next for 1440p Gaming?
Asked by
MellowPine47
I'm looking for advice on whether my current gaming PC has any meaningful bottlenecks or obvious upgrade opportunities. I mainly play Path of Exile 1 and 2, Factorio, and other games at 2560×1440, with future AAA titles such as GTA 6 in mind.
My current system is:
- CPU: Ryzen 7 5800X3D
- GPU: GeForce RTX 4060 8GB, running at PCIe 3.0 x8
- Motherboard: MSI A520M-A PRO
- RAM: 64GB (2×32GB) Kingston DDR4-3200 CL16
- Primary SSD: 1TB Verbatim Vi5000 NVMe
- Secondary SSD: 512GB Samsung 850 PRO SATA
- CPU cooler: Cooler Master AIO
- PSU: Thermaltake TR2 S 750W
- Operating system: Windows 11 Home 64-bit
- Monitor: LG UltraGear 2560×1440
The Ryzen 7 5800X3D and second 32GB memory module were recent upgrades from a Ryzen 5 5600X with 32GB running in single-channel mode. The system generally performs well, and I don't want to replace parts unnecessarily. I'm mainly wondering whether the graphics card, power supply, motherboard, storage, or anything else deserves attention first. What would you upgrade, if anything?
Answers
You don’t have to upgrade immediately if the RTX 4060 is currently delivering the performance you want. However, when you do upgrade, prioritize the graphics card and choose something with at least 16GB of VRAM. A card around the RX 9070 XT would make the system much more balanced for 1440p without requiring you to replace parts that are already performing well.
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The RTX 4060 is the clear weak point for 1440p gaming, particularly because it only has 8GB of VRAM. The 5800X3D is already one of the best gaming processors available on the AM4 platform, and moving beyond it would mean replacing the platform with something newer. I’d keep the CPU, memory, and other components for now and make one substantial GPU upgrade when current performance starts bothering you.
For a strong 1440p upgrade, an RX 9070 or RX 9070 XT with 16GB of VRAM would be a good target. The RX 9060 XT 16GB is a more affordable option if you don’t need maximum settings in every demanding AAA game. Used cards such as an RX 6800 XT, RX 7800 XT, or RTX 3080 can also offer good value, although older cards may use more power and lack some newer upscaling features. Your 750W supply may be sufficient on paper for some upgrades, but its quality and age should be checked before pairing it with a much more powerful GPU.
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The CPU upgrade was worthwhile, and the move to dual-channel 64GB memory also fixed a much more obvious limitation than the current motherboard or SSDs. For gaming, replacing the 5800X3D with a Ryzen 5 5600X would be a step backward, not an improvement. The main upgrade path here is a stronger GPU; otherwise, keep the system as-is until you have a specific performance problem.
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MellowPine47: Would a Gigabyte RX 9070 Gaming OC 16GB be the right kind of card to buy? The 9070 XT doesn’t seem dramatically faster for the extra cost.