GPU upgrade advice

[Bogica]

Hey all,

I am looking into upgrading my aging AMD RX 6600 8GB considering the upcoming Battlefield 6, Ghost of Yotei, GTA, etc.

My setup is as follows:

System

• CPU
  AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D
• RAM
  64GB - 4 x 16gb 3200MHz ddr4
• GPU
  AMD RX6600
• Display(s)
  LG 27" 4K
• Cooling
  Dark Rock Pro 4
• Operating System
  Mint + Win 11

 

When I run games I typically run them at 1440p instead of the screens max 4K resolution. So far the RX6600 has server me well and even managed to run the Battlefield 6 Beta at a comfortable frame rate. I am not obsessed with running everything maxed out, I am perfectly fine with running games at High/Medium, I would just not go for Low settings as they usually sacrifice too much.

The PSU is 700W but I forgot the brand, it is a good brand one and I do have 2x8 pin on it, so the power limit is not an issue.

I use Mint for day to day stuff and Win 11 for gaming and some software that is tied to Windows, so Linux compatibility is important to me as I want to phase Windows out entirely over the next 1-2 years.

 

I am waging between the AMD RX 9060 XT 16GB and the 5060 Ti 16GB, with recommendations for other GPUs welcome and also I would love to hear some brand recommendations. For AMD I usually used to get Sapphire and for Nvidia EVGA (I know EVGA no longer makes Nvidia GPUs).

There is also the pricing dilemma, I can get the 9060 for about 350-370 euro, as for the 5060 Ti I would have to spend 420-440e, which I don't think is worth the price difference, but I am always open to proving me wrong as I could be not considering things.

All advice is welcome and thank you!

[YoungBlade]

I think the RX 9060 XT 16GB and RTX 5060 Ti 16GB are the right cards to look at here. They'll give you roughly a 75-100% boost in most situations when GPU limited compared to the RX 6600, and are certainly capable at 1440p, and would let you do some limited 4K gaming, especially if you're willing to use upscaling.

 

The advantage of the RTX 5060 Ti is that you get DLSS support, which is much broader than FSR 4 support. That's the biggest thing you'd be paying the premium for. It's also better for ray tracing, which is sometimes usable on this class of card, but not always. And it has broader AI support if you want to dabble with that.

 

However, if you're willing to use Optiscaler, which is a mod that lets you run FSR 4 in unsupported games, you can somewhat nullify that advantage. You wouldn't be able to use it in multiplayer games, as it can trigger anti-cheat, but luckily Battlefield 6 is a game with native FSR 4 support.

 

I use Optiscaler on my own 9060XT in games like Alan Wake 2, Crysis Remastered, Control, and Death Stranding, and it works well. It only takes a few minutes to set up initially, but it is a step you don't really have to do for Nvidia cards.

 

For Linux compatibility, AMD cards actually have the advantage there. Nvidia is improving on Linux now that they've started to open things up a bit, but it's still not as smooth as AMD.

 

Personally, since you're interested in moving to Linux, I'd pocket the difference and go with the RX 9060 XT 16GB. However, if you want the convenience, better RT and better AI support, I think the 5060 Ti 16GB could be justified.

[DoctorNick]

Just now, YoungBlade said:

I think the RX 9060 XT 16GB and RTX 5060 Ti 16GB are the right cards to look at here. They'll give you roughly a 75-100% boost in most situations when GPU limited compared to the RX 6600, and are certainly capable at 1440p, and would let you do some limited 4K gaming, especially if you're willing to use upscaling.

 

The advantage of the RTX 5060 Ti is that you get DLSS support, which is much broader than FSR 4 support. That's the biggest thing you'd be paying the premium for. It's also better for ray tracing, which is sometimes usable on this class of card, but not always. And it has broader AI support if you want to dabble with that.

 

However, if you're willing to use Optiscaler, which is a mod that lets you run FSR 4 in unsupported games, you can somewhat nullify that advantage. You wouldn't be able to use it in multiplayer games, as it can trigger anti-cheat, but luckily Battlefield 6 is a game with native FSR 4 support.

 

I use Optiscaler on my own 9060XT in games like Alan Wake 2, Crysis Remastered, Control, and Death Stranding, and it works well. It only takes a few minutes to set up initially, but it is a step you don't really have to do for Nvidia cards.

 

For Linux compatibility, AMD cards actually have the advantage there. Nvidia is improving on Linux now that they've started to open things up a bit, but it's still not as smooth as AMD.

 

Personally, since you're interested in moving to Linux, I'd pocket the difference and go with the RX 9060 XT 16GB. However, if you want the convenience, better RT and better AI support, I think the 5060 Ti 16GB could be justified.

I agree unless you can spent 100 euro more and get a rx 9070.

[YoungBlade]

2 minutes ago, DoctorNick said:

I agree unless you can spent 100 euro more and get a rx 9070.

If the RX 9070 is available in the OP's area for around 500-550 euros, I do think that would definitely be worth considering.

[Bogica]

7 minutes ago, YoungBlade said:

If the RX 9070 is available in the OP's area for around 500-550 euros, I do think that would definitely be worth considering.

Exactly, which is outside my planned budget, I see you have a 9060 XT, what is your experience like?

[Dedayog]

16 minutes ago, DoctorNick said:

I agree unless you can spent 100 euro more and get a rx 9070.

 

12 minutes ago, YoungBlade said:

If the RX 9070 is available in the OP's area for around 500-550 euros, I do think that would definitely be worth considering.

The cheapest 9070 I see is 599 Euro from France, 589 from Germany, etc.

 

5 minutes ago, Bogica said:

Exactly, which is outside my planned budget, I see you have a 9060 XT, what is your experience like?

I too my 5600X3D + 6650XT machine to a 9060XT and was very impressed.  It's even pushing 3440x1440p pretty well In Roblox, Apex Legends, Minecraft, Enshrouded, and now Phasmophobia.

[YoungBlade]

6 minutes ago, Bogica said:

Exactly, which is outside my planned budget, I see you have a 9060 XT, what is your experience like?

Overall, it's been good. I game at 1440p. The hardest game to run for me is definitely Alan Wake 2, but I can keep it above 60fps at High settings without ray tracing using Optiscaler to mod the DLSS Quality mode into FSR 4.

 

Anything 2020 or older I can generally max out and, albeit with upscaling in the toughest titles, get a high refresh rate experience.

 

I have found a few situations where I'm actually CPU limited with my 5900X. For example, in Metro Exodus Enhanced, I have trouble consistently staying above 150fps in graphically light sections due to an apparent CPU bottleneck. That's not really a problem in practice. That game absolutely doesn't need framerates above 100fps, let alone 150. The same in an old game called Abzu, where my CPU seems to limit me to about 130fps average at 1440p max settings.

 

Your 5700X3D shouldn't have that issue as often. It's about 20% faster for gaming on average compared to my Ryzen 9. And since you have a 4K panel, a CPU limited situation would just allow you to turn up the resolution for free.

[tkitch]

13 minutes ago, Dedayog said:

I too my 5600X3D + 6650XT machine to a 9060XT and was very impressed.  It's even pushing 3440x1440p pretty well In Roblox, Apex Legends, Minecraft, Enshrouded, and now Phasmophobia.

That's hilarious, a PC I built and a friend is using is that exact same hardware.  (5600x3d & 6650 XT)

[Dedayog]

1 minute ago, tkitch said:

That's hilarious, a PC I built and a friend is using is that exact same hardware.  (5600x3d & 6650 XT)

It's a fantastic 1080p setup!  I was hoping it would last longer but my kids bio dad gifted her a 3440x1440p monitor and I was stuck with making it work   

 

But I have a 5600 and that 6650XT on my shelf begging for a return to gaming!  May spec a full build out and use them.

[OddOod]

6 hours ago, YoungBlade said:

I have found a few situations where I'm actually CPU limited with my 5900X

I actually ran into this while playing Division 2 at 4K with my trusty 5950X. All core load was 93%. I was kind of floored

[ewitte]

I have a 9060xt on my mini PC I've been surprised what is decently playable at 4k so 1440p would probably be fine.