GPU Upgrade for i5 6600k

[Crypt1c]

So I'm currently running a core i5 6600k with an rx480 and I'm looking to upgrade my gpu. What would be the highest end gpu I could get away with before the bottleneck becomes too unreasonable?

[Hairless Monkey Boy]

If you don't plan to upgrade the CPU anytime soon, I wouldn't go much faster than GTX 1080/RTX 2060/RX 6600 of course depending on your resolution ( I assume 1080p).

 

But there is no harm in running GPU bottlenecked with the intention of upgrading the CPU later.

[Crypt1c]

8 minutes ago, Hairless Monkey Boy said:

If you don't plan to upgrade the CPU anytime soon, I wouldn't go much faster than GTX 1080/RTX 2060/RX 6600 of course depending on your resolution ( I assume 1080p).

 

But there is no harm in running GPU bottlenecked with the intention of upgrading the CPU later.

Thanks for the reply. I actually have a 1440p monitor (with the ability to downscale from 4k) for my ps5, so I might do some medium settings 1440p gaming if possible. I was actually planning on getting a new system altogether, but life happened and I'm probably going to get a new system in two or three years instead, so this new gpu will probably be stuck with the 6600k until it dies. 

[pauloforte]

I feel I have to throw my 2 cents in here.

I have a i5 4690k and just recently upgraded from a R9 270x 4GB to a 3070. I have definitely seen some bottlenecking in CPU intensive games (mostly Anno 1800), but it has been perfectly fine for other, more graphics-intensive games. The bottlenecking also becomes less pronounced once the graphics settings are ramped up, since the CPU has more time to keep up if the GPU is also being pushed. Also: you're gaming at 1440p, which will push your card more than my 1080p, so your bottleneck will be even less noticeable.

I don't agree with the rationale of buying an old card just because the rest of your system is old: buying a more recent card allows you to spread the costs since you won't need to buy a new card once you upgrade the rest of your system in the relatively near future. And even if you didn't plan on upgrading your system: why buy a card which will start struggling in a year or 2, instead of buying a current generation one which will last you much longer?

 

There are videos on Youtube of systems using old processors and 30-series cards, and the performance in very recent games is quite acceptable.

[Queen Chrysalis]

4 hours ago, Crypt1c said:

Thanks for the reply. I actually have a 1440p monitor (with the ability to downscale from 4k) for my ps5, so I might do some medium settings 1440p gaming if possible. I was actually planning on getting a new system altogether, but life happened and I'm probably going to get a new system in two or three years instead, so this new gpu will probably be stuck with the 6600k until it dies. 

CPUs don’t die.  Settings have almost no effect on the CPU, pretty much all of that stuff is handled by the GPU.  At 1440p you could definitely get a 6600xt and have no issues.  I would not buy the old stuff at this point with how well RDNA2 does at price point, especially in newer games.  The age of the CPU doesn’t matter nearly as much.  
 

But yeah, get a 6600xt:

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/QRwypg/msi-radeon-rx-6600-xt-8-gb-mech-2x-oc-video-card-rx6600xt-mech2x-8goc