Question What are my budget friendly GPU upgrade options?

[CParsons]

Currently running an ASUS Dual GeForce GTX 1060 3GB which works mostly fine for my usage but I'm looking to move beyond that 3GB. Ideally, I'd like to be in the 6GB to 8GB area. What's the next best option for me that's relatively budget friendly... let's say $300 CAD-ish. Doesn't have to be NVIDIA, open to AMD as well. Also open to Intel Arc if anyone feels strongly about their offerings. Doesn't have to be new either if I can find a used (but not abused) one for cheaper. Some options I was looking at:

GIGABYTE Radeon RX 6600 EAGLE 8G Graphics Card, WINDFORCE 3X Cooling

GIGABYTE Radeon RX 6600 EAGLE 8G Graphics Card, WINDFORCE 3X Cooling System, 8GB 128-bit GDDR6, GV-R66EAGLE-8GD Video Card

www.canadacomputers.com

EVGA GeForce RTX 3050 XC GAMING, 08G-P5-3553-KR, 8GB GDDR6, Dual-Fan, Metal Backplate

EVGA GeForce RTX 3050 XC GAMING, 08G-P5-3553-KR, 8GB GDDR6, Dual-Fan, Metal Backplate

www.canadacomputers.com

Intel® Arc™ A750 Limited Edition 8GB GDDR6 2050 MHz 225W 3x DP 2.0, 1x HDMI 2.1 Graphics Card 21P02J00BA

Intel® Arc™ A750 Limited Edition 8GB GDDR6 2050 MHz 225W 3x DP 2.0, 1x HDMI 2.1 Graphics Card 21P02J00BA

www.canadacomputers.com

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

I'd pick the RX 6600 out of those if it was just for gaming. Intel is improving all the time on their drivers but I'm not convinced yet. Saying that The A750 is maybe the best performing on average if theyre all the same price, and its probably going to get a little better over time.

The RTX 3050 is a tier lower than the other two, so I'd skip it unless you need CUDA for something work related.

For used stuff, an RTX 2060 Super or a Radeon 5700 is about the tier youre looking at above, if you can see one of those or higher cheaper or the same it may be worth a punt.

Is this the pinball machine with the 650 Corsair RM PSU? If so it should run any of the above easily.

 

[Colif]

RX 7600 beats all of those cards. I have no idea what price it will be in CAD. $USD 270.00

Price is only sticking point, and the 8gb VRAM. But then all 3 shown above have same amount.

Many reviews compare the 4060 TI to 7600 and that isn't a fair comparison as they not same tier cards. The 7600 XT more likely to compare to TI. We don't have a 4060 yet. So its comparing apples to pears. Have to make content I guess.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

I think the RX 7600 is a higher price tier. $270 is about 370CAD, I think you would then have to add tax to that as well.

An RX 6650XT or RX 6600XT basically around the same performance as that too.

 

[CParsons]

For used stuff, an RTX 2060 Super or a Radeon 5700 is about the tier youre looking at above, if you can see one of those or higher cheaper or the same it may be worth a punt.

Is this the pinball machine with the 650 Corsair RM PSU? If so it should run any of the above easily.

Yeah, same machine. I spent some time last night looking around and the 2060 really stood out in several ways for me. The price, performance and availability are all in line with what I'm thinking, so thanks for reaffirming that for me.

 

[CParsons]

RX 7600 beats all of those cards. I have no idea what price it will be in CAD. $USD 270.00

Price is only sticking point, and the 8gb VRAM. But then all 3 shown above have same amount.

Many reviews compare the 4060 TI to 7600 and that isn't a fair comparison as they not same tier cards. The 7600 XT more likely to compare to TI. We don't have a 4060 yet. So its comparing apples to pears. Have to make content I guess.

For the RX 7600, it's looking to be around $400+ so it's a bit beyond my preferred pricing., solid suggestion though if I had a bit more wiggle room.

 

[Colif]

i wasn't aware of conversion rate. i wouldn't have expected it to be so large considering you are neighbours. I wish our pricing was so close.

My card originally sold for $USD 900, sold for $AUD 1600. Can't get my model here at moment so PCPartpicker just shows it as zero. I seem to be good at picking cards that become impossible to get afterwards. Same applies to food too...

seems if I could get it, its price has dropped to match its converted price in US. Only 1500 now - https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product...-rx-7900-xt-20-gb-video-card-rx7900xt-20g-eoc

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

Yeah, same machine. I spent some time last night looking around and the 2060 really stood out in several ways for me. The price, performance and availability are all in line with what I'm thinking, so thanks for reaffirming that for me.

Just to be sure you know, the 2060 Super is a little different to the plain 2060. 8GB RAM vs 6GB and a faster chip overall. I would want to pay quite a bit less for a 2060 compared to the other cards that have been mentioned here as its slower than all of them, and maybe more so going forwards with the increase in VRAM demand for games. Still faster than a 3050 though.

 

[Slasken]

Have you considered buying used?

 

[CParsons]

Have you considered buying used?

Oh yeah, for sure! That's where most of the 2060's are coming from. It doesn't seem there is many available in my area new, they all are on the used market.

 

[Slasken]

Oh yeah, for sure! That's where most of the 2060's are coming from. It doesn't seem there is many available in my area new, they all are on the used market.

Where I am, for $300 Canadian, you would be looking at an RTX 2070. Seem to go for 270

 

[CParsons]

Where I am, for $300 Canadian, you would be looking at an RTX 2070. Seem to go for 270

Yeah, I've spotted a few in my area (Nova Scotia) for around that as well.

 

[CParsons]

Just to be sure you know, the 2060 Super is a little different to the plain 2060. 8GB RAM vs 6GB and a faster chip overall. I would want to pay quite a bit less for a 2060 compared to the other cards that have been mentioned here as its slower than all of them, and maybe more so going forwards with the increase in VRAM demand for games. Still faster than a 3050 though.

I wish there was logic to these numbers. Like why is a 3050 worse than a 2060. I guess that's asking too much. 😂

 

[CParsons]

I'd pick the RX 6600 out of those if it was just for gaming.

I can pick one of these up for $200 right now, provided the dude selling it doesn't disappear on me.

 

[Lutfij]

I wish there was logic to these numbers. Like why is a 3050 worse than a 2060. I guess that's asking too much. 😂

Be glad that you're not looking at RTX4000 series offerings at this moment of time. Nvidia's throwing a lot of it's brand rep under the bus, IMHO.

In fact the RX6600 is a good buy, a better buy over what Nvidia's got.

 

[Brian Boru]

why is a 3050 worse than a 2060

My understanding is a lot weaker than the other guys, but for what it's worth:

The first 2 numbers—eg 30, 20—are simply the series, and barring accidents, higher is newer and better.

The last 2 numbers—eg 50,60—reflect the 'power' of the card in steps of 10 from as low as 50 to as high as 90, with again higher being better, at least in theory.

50 to 90 applies to the 30-series cards, which go from 3050 to 3090 Ti. Didn't I mention "Ti"? Or "Super"? Silly me, totally my fault, no way is Nvidia marketing to blame

The 20- series you're looking at goes from 2060 to 2080 Ti, with 3 Supers thrown into the mix—but hey, only that one lonely Ti for 2080… marketing probably ran out of labels or printer ink when shipping the 2060s and 70s.

 

[Colif]

That and Nvidia been reducing the amount of gain you get each series to point the 3060 TI & 4060 TI are pretty much identical. And many think it should really be called the 4050 since historically the 60 card would match the power of the previous gen 70 card, not equal its previous version. So a card = to last years 60 should be a 4050... not a 4060.

40 only better now as it has new features. Its not better in any other sense... less power draw on some, silly high on others. Only 4090 offers an upgrade. Rest are there to make you want to buy a 4090.

Super cards muddied it all. The 2060 Super was actually closer to being a 2070, than it was a 2060. The 2070 Super falls somewhere between 2070 and 2080. Closer to top one. 2070 Super is really hard to find now - mine is my spare. Not sure where the 2080 Super fell, probably still under TI but closer than base 2080.

6 Reasons the Nvidia RTX 2060 Is Better Than the RTX 3050

It's a much older GPU, so surely it can't beat out the shiny new offering from Nvidia?

www.makeuseof.com

2060 on average 11% faster than 3050.
they built on different architectures so its not just the same thing sped up like they do inside a family.

RTX 3050 Vs 2060: Does Cheaper Equate Better? - Tech4Gamers

Our RTX 3050 vs RTX 2060 battle is here to help you choose the right GPU for your rig by conducting in-depth gaming benchmarks.

tech4gamers.com

 

[Brian Boru]

historically the 60 card would match the power of the previous gen 70 card

Yeah, that was my in-practice experience when I moved from 970 to 1060—didn't notice any diff.

Rest are there to make you want to buy a 4090

That's a standard marketing ploy. Price inferior product high so the top one—the one marketing really wants to sell—seems like a good deal in comparison.

 

[Colif]

Hard to make a 1600 USD card look like a bargain, no matter how hard Marketing try.