GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

Hey there,
I’ve been chewing on the idea of upgrading my GPU. Right now, I’m running a GTX 1650, but I’ve really had my sights set on an RTX 3060... The thing is, my processor is an Intel I3-9100F, and I can't help but wonder if that's going to cause a major bottleneck. I'm definitely no expert here, so I figured I'd ask for some advice... My budget is around $1667.

Here is what I'm working with:
ASRock H310CM-HDV S
Intel I3-9100F 3.600GHz
16GB DDR4 - 2X8 GB
Gigabyte P1000GM 1000W PSU

Brandon Green69 said:Hi there,
I'm thinking about upgrading my GPU. Right now I'm running a GTX 1650, but I was aiming for at least an RTX 3060. My concern is the processor, though, since I have an Intel I3-9100F. Is it worth it? Will I run into a major bottleneck? I'm not exactly an expert here, so I'd love some advice... my budget is up to $1667.

My current setup is:
ASRock H310CM-HDV S
Intel I3-9100F 3.600GHz
16GB DDR4 - 2X8 GB
Gigabyte P1000GM 1000W PSU

You basically have two paths. You could grab a 6700XT for $500 right now; you'll see a bit of a bottleneck in certain games, while others will be fine or barely affected at all.
The other option is to upgrade your CPU, motherboard, and RAM. With $1667, you won't be able to do both.

Alexander Moore67 said:You’ve basically got two paths here. You could grab a 6700XT right now for around $550 and deal with some bottlenecks in certain games—though in others, it won't be much of an issue at all.
The other route is investing in a new CPU, motherboard, and memory. With $1667, you can't really do both at once.

Thanks for the input.
If I decide to go the route of upgrading my CPU, motherboard, and RAM... what kind of combo would you suggest? Something that'll stay relevant for years to come... since I can always pick up a new GPU down the road...

Brandon Green69 said:Quick answer:
If I decide to upgrade my CPU, motherboard, and RAM, what combo would you recommend? I want something that will last me a long time, since I can always just grab a new GPU later on...

Newegg
Cougar | Forza 85 | 3MFZA85.0001 | Air Cooling | 85x135x160mm / Reflow / HDB fans / 1169g
Intel CPU desktop Core i5-13400F (2.5GHz, 20MB, LGA1700) box
GIGABYTE Main board desktop B760M DS3H DDR4
That set is about $460. You could stick with your current DDR4 RAM or pick up some new sticks for roughly $95 for 32GB.

This is $1500 and you could probably squeeze in an Asus B550M for about 5200$1767 total if you're looking for a major boost across the board (like an Asus B550M-A).
The GPU sits somewhere in the ballpark of an RTX 3060Ti, while the 5700X is pretty much on par with the 13400F in most ways (which is basically just a downclocked, locked 12600KF anyway—not exactly the latest Raptor Lake architecture).

The only real downside is the longevity of the platform, since AM4 is a dead socket now. That said, AM6 will likely be out by the time you're ready for your next upgrade, assuming the Intel I3-9100F and GTX 1650 have been cutting it for you so far.😬

16GB vs. 8GB VRAM: Radeon RX 6800 vs. GeForce RTX 3070—A 2023 Look Back

Hey everyone. Quick question for you all. Is there any chance my GPU or CPU could actually fry if I'm running something like a demo game that uses a lower resolution than my actual monitor settings? Basically, every time I launch the game, it forces my display to switch to the game's native resolution, and then once I quit, everything snaps back to normal. Is it possible that these constant shifts—which honestly look like my screen is having a bit of a seizure lol—could actually cause some hardware damage?

Nah, no way.

northernmarlin15 said:Hey everyone. Quick question—can my GPU or CPU actually die because of a game setting? Say I'm running some demo that uses a lower resolution than my actual monitor setup. Every time I launch it, the screen snaps to the game's native resolution, then jumps back once I quit. Could those sudden resolution shifts be causing hardware failure? It looks like the screen is having a bit of a seizure lol.

No, definitely not. That’s just standard behavior for how GPUs and monitors handle resolution handshakes.

If you had to pick one, which way would you go?

https://www.amazon.com/vga-as-tuf-r...10525/product/

https://www.newegg.com/msi-video-card...+OCV1/product/

Jeffrey Cook82 said:Which one would you pick if you had to choose?

https://www.newegg.com/vga-as-tuf-r...10525/product/

https://www.amazon.com/msi-video-card...+OCV1/product/

If you're plugging this into a rig without PCIe 4.0, they're both equally bad. If you actually have PCIe 4.0, then the 6500XT has a slight edge.

Honestly, try to stretch your budget to an RX6600. It’s significantly better—like twice the performance—and has double the VRAM of either of those options. Or just grab something used.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=rx6600

I'm hunting for a GPU in the $190-$210 range.

Feel free to drop some recommendations if you've got them.

Jeffrey Cook82 said:I'm looking for a GPU in the $200-$225 range.

Recommendations are welcome.

Right now, it’s tough to suggest anything worse than an RX6600 for $270 because anything cheaper just has a pathetic price-to-performance ratio.

What kind of PC build are we talking about here?

wiredotter14 said:Right now, it’s honestly tough to suggest anything less than an RX6600 for $250 because if you go lower than that, the value for your money is just tragic.

What kind of PC setup are you even putting this in?

i3 8th gen
asus h310 m-k
8gb ddr4

Basically, I ran into some issues a few months back, so I'm swapping in a new GPU and a power supply. Since I'm upgrading anyway, I'm thinking about grabbing another 8GB of RAM and popping in an SSD.
I don't really game much, maybe a little bit here and there just for fun, but I mostly want to tidy up my PC. I'm looking at picking up all four of those things for around $350.

Jeffrey Cook82 said:i3 8th gen
asus h310 m-k
8gb ddr4

Basically, I had some issues a few months ago, so I'm installing a new GPU and a power supply. Since I'm upgrading anyway, I'm planning to grab another 8 GB of RAM and install an SSD.
I don't really game much, just the occasional title for fun, but I want to tidy up my PC, so I'm looking at getting all four of those things for $350.

That thing doesn't have PCIe 4.0, only 3.0. That makes the 6500XT crippled since it only uses 4 PCIe lanes instead of 16—plus, it’s a mediocre card to begin with.

For $250, you buy a GPU—honestly, the only real choice among new cards is the RX6600.

Grab a power supply and the rest for a stick of RAM for about $70-80.

Anything less than an RX6600 is just throwing money away.

Of course, used hardware is an option too, which opens up way more choices.
If you don't need massive performance, you can snag an RX580 for $100; it performs similarly to the 6500XT and beats the GTX1650.

P.S.

Just realized an SSD fits into that budget too.

Damn, in that case, try going with used hardware—it's best to get the GPU used.

Either grab a cheap 250GB SSD and an RX6600 (around $280).
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=250gb+ssd+sata
Get used RAM or the cheapest stuff available, and you can find a power supply for $60.

Just watch out—I think that motherboard doesn't even have an M.2 slot for an SSD, so you'll have to use a standard SATA connection.

Looking back through the last few pages, if I'm eyeing an Asus X99A/USB 3.1 setup paired with a 5820k @ 4.2, an RX 580 seems like the sweet spot. Which newer cards would actually make sense to jump to from there?

The best value you can find right now is a brand new RX 6600 for roughly $270.

Alexander Moore67 said:The absolute best move right now is grabbing a brand new RX 6600 for about $270.

Yeah... prices have definitely tanked lately. I'm thinking it might actually be a pretty sweet deal right now

Alexander Moore67 said:The best move is grabbing a brand new RX 6600 for about $270.

Is it actually worth stepping up to the XT version?

Christian Torres3 said:Would it be worth stepping up to the XT version?

The RX6600 is about $270
The RX6600xt is roughly $380, and you're only getting about 10% more power, so just do the math...