I recently upgraded to a Ryzen 5 7600 while still rocking a 1060 6 gig. My monitor caps at 1080/60 and don’t plan on changing that. I do have an old 350 watt Seasonic PSU I’d love to keep using, but realize it is unlikely. I try to be aware of power draws and would love to think something will still meet minimum specs an equal amount of time as my 1060 (2016 so 7ish years). Technically I don’t own anything that won’t run, but happen to have an opportunity to upgrade now.
I had asked about this a month or so ago and it sounded like the 6700 and 6700 XT were better overall buys than the 3060. I now feel more informed so I have different questions. We also have confirmed 4060 specs and it sounds like pretty solid 7600 details. In trying to stay under 200 watts for a GPU, <$350 US, it seems like the above are the best options. I know the 4060 is due in the summer, but has half the VRAM as the 3060 and less than the 6700. I do like the idea of the much larger cache pool offered by the 6700 and 4060, but it seems like VRAM might bring some headaches with all of the “extra” video settings, even at 1080. The leaks for the 7600 make it sound like the 7700 will both be more expensive than a 3060 is currently and increase power consumption. In trying to evaluate future functionality, it seems like we are clearly seeing smaller upgrades, but differences. Example, compared to my last two GPU purchases (Radeon 7750 and the 1060) I don’t recall cache being a selling point, VRAM growth is slowing, ray tracing is a thing, AI and such is aiding in visuals, bus speeds seem less important as a result of cache/architecture changes, etc.
Pros/Cons
3060 - most VRAM and DLSS compatible BUT slowest in non-RT games and smallest cache
4060 - likely the fastest overall, DLSS 3.0, lowest power demands, BUT least VRAM and what will it actually retail at
6700 - Middle of the pack in VRAM, cache, speed, and least expensive BUT worst RT, no DLSS, highest power consumption (XFX has one with a 175w TDP). Isn’t there an addd benefit with an AMD CPU, too?
Given I usually play “high demand” games a year or two behind, I think the VRAM might be fine - my understanding is there are only a couple games in 1080 that cap VRAM, but who knows in another five years (if I am finally playing in 6-7). Flip side, the 6700 would give more buffer in VRAM and likely be with a couple frame of the 4060 in non-RT games. While I would love to experience RT, I haven’t experienced it yet and hear we might be another of my upgrade cycles before it really will matter. My current list of games I would place over the rest of my backlog includes Miles Morales, Hogwarts Legacy, Bug Fable, Two Point Campus, and maybe Gotham Knights. I do usually get Madden or FIFA every few years for new rosters/teams. I would love to run things at max video settings for my monitor, but a fun game, I would honestly play on low in 720 - not a visuals snob, but I fully appreciate all of the eye candies!
In seems like this is probably for the 6700 to lose as it seems like the “all around choice”, but I upgrade so infrequently that it seems worth asking more educated people. I know enough to understand the lingo, but feel like I still lack knowledge to be confident in my decision. Also sounds like the 7600 and 7700 will cost more so no point in waiting except for a deal on a 6700 (or 3060 closer to July).
I had asked about this a month or so ago and it sounded like the 6700 and 6700 XT were better overall buys than the 3060. I now feel more informed so I have different questions. We also have confirmed 4060 specs and it sounds like pretty solid 7600 details. In trying to stay under 200 watts for a GPU, <$350 US, it seems like the above are the best options. I know the 4060 is due in the summer, but has half the VRAM as the 3060 and less than the 6700. I do like the idea of the much larger cache pool offered by the 6700 and 4060, but it seems like VRAM might bring some headaches with all of the “extra” video settings, even at 1080. The leaks for the 7600 make it sound like the 7700 will both be more expensive than a 3060 is currently and increase power consumption. In trying to evaluate future functionality, it seems like we are clearly seeing smaller upgrades, but differences. Example, compared to my last two GPU purchases (Radeon 7750 and the 1060) I don’t recall cache being a selling point, VRAM growth is slowing, ray tracing is a thing, AI and such is aiding in visuals, bus speeds seem less important as a result of cache/architecture changes, etc.
Pros/Cons
3060 - most VRAM and DLSS compatible BUT slowest in non-RT games and smallest cache
4060 - likely the fastest overall, DLSS 3.0, lowest power demands, BUT least VRAM and what will it actually retail at
6700 - Middle of the pack in VRAM, cache, speed, and least expensive BUT worst RT, no DLSS, highest power consumption (XFX has one with a 175w TDP). Isn’t there an addd benefit with an AMD CPU, too?
Given I usually play “high demand” games a year or two behind, I think the VRAM might be fine - my understanding is there are only a couple games in 1080 that cap VRAM, but who knows in another five years (if I am finally playing in 6-7). Flip side, the 6700 would give more buffer in VRAM and likely be with a couple frame of the 4060 in non-RT games. While I would love to experience RT, I haven’t experienced it yet and hear we might be another of my upgrade cycles before it really will matter. My current list of games I would place over the rest of my backlog includes Miles Morales, Hogwarts Legacy, Bug Fable, Two Point Campus, and maybe Gotham Knights. I do usually get Madden or FIFA every few years for new rosters/teams. I would love to run things at max video settings for my monitor, but a fun game, I would honestly play on low in 720 - not a visuals snob, but I fully appreciate all of the eye candies!
In seems like this is probably for the 6700 to lose as it seems like the “all around choice”, but I upgrade so infrequently that it seems worth asking more educated people. I know enough to understand the lingo, but feel like I still lack knowledge to be confident in my decision. Also sounds like the 7600 and 7700 will cost more so no point in waiting except for a deal on a 6700 (or 3060 closer to July).