Question Should I replace my AMD Radeon R9 200 / HD 7900 series for an RTX 3060?

[PTMagnum]

I’m wondering if I should replace my current graphics card for an RTX 3060? I mainly use my computer for gaming. My current card is over 8 years old, and my graphics card is almost incompatible with a lot of my games. Should I go for the RTX 3060, or something else?

 

[Shmee]

While the 7950/R9 280 and 7970/R9 280X are definitely aging and only have 3GB of memory, I think there is a possibility that your current i5 would bottleneck you in some games with a new card, depending on what games you want to play, what resolution, and how much RAM you have.

That said, something like a 3060 or 6700XT would be a big upgrade. What is the rest of your system and what OS are you running? Also, what is your upgrade budget and what games are you looking to play?

 

[PTMagnum]

Thanks for responding, my current OS is windows 10, and my budget is a little more than 500$. I am looking to play games like destiny 2, doom eternal, satisfactory, and Minecraft with shader packs.

 

[Shmee]

I see. a 3060 or 6600XT is likely the best you could do in that range. Do you already have at least 16GB of RAM? Something to consider, if you have only 8GB or less, would be to buy additional DDR3, as many modern games like more and more RAM as time goes by. Luckily used or refurb DDR3 is a pretty cheap upgrade if you need more of it.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Nothing wrong with getting the new card first, then upgrading the rest of the system behind it later.

Exactly what I plan to do. I keep teasing the idea of upgrading my aging 6600k, but without a new GPU I'm not going to be seeing huge gains in the games my current GPU is not up to snuff for anyhow.

Worried I'll end up with a core system that's already a year or two old by the time GPUs get to the point where I feel like buying one again.

 

[aigomorla]

my budget is a little more than 500$

Sorry to pop your bubble before its even formed but... 3060 will cost more then that at current market prices.
At best probably 599, to 650 dollars, and thats if your lucky and find a scalper wanting to unload it, otherwise they float anywhere from 700 dollars up.

And i dont see it coming down to that range anytime soon, especially since vendors have had a taste of what they can get.

At the current prices your only hope is in how Intel does its pricing and if it effects or make a dent in market share.
I think a better option or a most cost efficient solution is to look for a 6700XT, as you will probably get it for a little more then current 3060 prices, and it will offer greater performance, as well as be something miners really do not look at due to its dual 6/8 pin power requirements.

 

[igor_kavinski]

Even a 3050 would be a massive upgrade. And you save money.

 

[Shmee]

Sorry to pop your bubble before its even formed but... 3060 will cost more then that at current market prices.
At best probably 599, to 650 dollars, and thats if your lucky and find a scalper wanting to unload it, otherwise they float anywhere from 700 dollars up.

And i dont see it coming down to that range anytime soon, especially since vendors have had a taste of what they can get.

At the current prices your only hope is in how Intel does its pricing and if it effects or make a dent in market share.
I think a better option or a most cost efficient solution is to look for a 6700XT, as you will probably get it for a little more then current 3060 prices, and it will offer greater performance, as well as be something miners really do not look at due to its dual 6/8 pin power requirements.

6700XT would be a great option, but last I checked they were up in price closer to $1k. If he can get one for about the same as a 3060, however, it would be the obvious choice between the two.

 

[Leeea]

Yes

 

[aigomorla]

6700XT would be a great option, but last I checked they were up in price closer to $1k

gah... your right... a couple weeks ago i swear i saw one for 799.99 on amazon.
and a few others at 859.99.

it feels like gpu prices are floating like bitcoin prices.
highly volatile, and very unpredictable.

 

[PlanetLockdownFilm]

I think it pays to wait a bit longer if you can, you might get a pleasant surprise in the coming months. I'd say your best current options are the RTX 3060TI or the Radeon RX 6600 XT, the former being slightly better. The only risk is even bigger shortages, but personally I think it's best to be patient for now.

 

[Mopetar]

I'd hold off until the upcoming switch where Etherium goes to PoS which should lead to price drops across the market.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Card prices do appear to be trending downward, albeit slowly, suggesting the longer you wait the more you'll save.

This is unlike what we saw in late 2020 going into early 2021 where cards were either flat out unavailable or their price was rapidly trending upward, in which case it would have been a good idea to buy what you could get when you could get it.

Personally the market is a bit too rich for my blood still, but my 980Ti and my habit of patient gaming aren't putting the pressure on me the same way as you may feel.

 

[PlanetLockdownFilm]

I'd hold off until the upcoming switch where Etherium goes to PoS which should lead to price drops across the market.

I think some unpredictable things might happen as well. By this I mean government regulations might drive crypto prices down. This has happened before in history to currencies: the government steps in and all at once you lose a lot of money. I think it's highly unlikely that things will stay the way they are today with crypto, but sudden changes are impossible to predict. The only question is how much of in a hurry you are.

 

[aigomorla]

I think some unpredictable things might happen as well. By this I mean government regulations might drive crypto prices down. This has happened before in history to currencies: the government steps in and all at once you lose a lot of money. I think it's highly unlikely that things will stay the way they are today with crypto, but sudden changes are impossible to predict. The only question is how much of in a hurry you are.

not trying to get political here, but with the war in Ukraine, and Russia being kicked out of SWIFT, we may see a spike in crypto as there is very little way one can block a crypto transaction, especially if its like Binance, which is not regulated in any form of way from western regulators, and infact ban'd from US and UK, yet still remains to be a giant in the industry.

In March 2022, amidst the Russian invasion on Ukraine, Binance's CEO Changpeng Zhao, refused refused to ban the users from Russia, citing "financial freedom."[

 

[GodisanAtheist]

not trying to get political here, but with the war in Ukraine, and Russia being kicked out of SWIFT, we may see a spike in crypto as there is very little way one can block a crypto transaction, especially if its like Binance, which is not regulated in any form of way from western regulators, and infact ban'd from US and UK, yet still remains to be a giant in the industry.

All the same, if your immediate concern is "will I be able to buy food tomorrow" it would make sense to liquidate your speculative holdings and turn them into something tangible fast.

Wo nder what the coin to bottle cap exchange rate is...

 

[aigomorla]

Wo nder what the coin to bottle cap exchange rate is...

well bottlecaps seem to work well in fallout. lol
In Metro they used bullets as both ammunition and currency.

 

[PlanetLockdownFilm]

not trying to get political here, but with the war in Ukraine, and Russia being kicked out of SWIFT, we may see a spike in crypto as there is very little way one can block a crypto transaction, especially if its like Binance, which is not regulated in any form of wttay from western regulators, and infact ban'd from US and UK, yet still remains to be a giant in the industry.

All the same, if your immediate concern is "will I be able to buy food tomorrow" it would make sense to liquidate your speculative holdings and turn them into something tangible fast.

Wo nder what the coin to bottle cap exchange rate is...

This shows how complex the market is right now. Third factor: energy prices might go way up. Going back to the main topic, my argument is that due to multiple factors it seems more likely that graphics cards prices might go down even more in the following months, even way more than expected and that this is more likely than them going back up or staying the same which wouldn't matter anyway if it happened. Conclusion: don't get your hopes up, but consider waiting if you can because it might be worth it.

 

[PlanetLockdownFilm]

While the 7950/R9 280 and 7970/R9 280X are definitely aging and only have 3GB of memory, I think there is a possibility that your current i5 would bottleneck you in some games with a new card, depending on what games you want to play, what resolution, and how much RAM you have.

That said, something like a 3060 or 6700XT would be a big upgrade. What is the rest of your system and what OS are you running? Also, what is your upgrade budget and what games are you looking to play?

Oh yeah, definitely! And I can give you an example. I actually have an R9 280x and I started to play the game Journey and had lots of stutter even on medium and even low settings. That on a 2nd gen Ryzen 3. Then I upgraded to a Ryzen 7 5800x and now the game runs perfectly on highest settings. So I had assumed that it was the graphics card but I had been the CPU all along.

I'd say your best option is to spend about $230 on a Ryzen 5 5600X and about $110 on a B550 motherboard. 12th gen intel is also very good but the motherboards you can get are somewhat more expensive, so depending on what you choose you might get somewhat more performance for a somewhat higher cost. But taking my example with the Ryzen 5600X as a reference, you'd see big improvements in many games and still have $170 saved up, then you could wait and save some more and get your graphics card for a lot cheaper if prices do happen to drop. Plus you'll se improvements in overall system performance. Even if the prices don't drop, buying just a graphics card will result in a CPU bottleneck, which would be pretty frustrating consindering the amount of money spent. I can gurantee that in any case you will enjoy a powerful CPU.

Also, how much RAM do you have? Nowadays 8GB can be a bottleneck in some games and with some other programs open, so 16GB is optimal. If you have 8 an extra * wouldn't be that expensive.

 

[blckgrffn]

I'd hold off until the upcoming switch where Etherium goes to PoS which should lead to price drops across the market.

Sorry but I had to laugh. I feel like that’s the same as waiting for the chip shortages to ease. A very mobile goalpost.

A 6600/6600xt/3060/2060 12GB are all huuuuuge upgrades. I mean, like a decades worth. The price might be stunted but his card is unreasonably valuable too.

I would stay AMD for the FreeSync ease, and aim for a 6600xt which is pretty clearly faster than the Nvidia options below the 3060ti.

I think the performance differences are arbitrary given the massive uplift, however. Just know you might be stuck with what you buy for a bit (this is how I talked myself into a 6800)

Lastly... I think things will be rough if you only upgrade the GPU OR do what others have mentioned and upgrade the board/cpu/ram. I used a 290X in the rig below between selling my 5700XT and getting my 6800 for about a month and while yeah, minimum frames were better it still was a noticeable and big step down from the 5700XT on settings I could run. I had to turn things down significantly and still deal with much lower frame rates.

On the flip side, I upgraded to to the 5700XT while staying with my trusty 3930K (Six core, sandybridge, extra memory bandwidth) that was pretty solidly overclocked. The highs were great, the benches solid... the gameplay meh. Huge frame dips on physics events, etc. really made me question the big at the time ($350! lol!) investment.

Getting to a mid-level platform sold in the 2020's is worth it!

If you could get to a 5600X/12400/3600/10400 you'd be that much happier with the GPU upgrade AND be W11 ready.