Build Advice Upgrading my GPU from a 6GB GTX 1060 for Cyberpunk and the future ?

[icemaster03]

Hello! So, I just bought Cyberpunk 2077 and I was shocked how ugly it was on my computer compared to what I can see from streamers on youtube. I knew I'd have to upgrade my graphics card at some point and I think now is the time, since I want to enjoy the game on ultra 1080p.

My aim for a graphics card isn't only Cyberpunk though, I have a few games in mind I'd like to run comfortably:

• Enshrouded
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Borderlands 4
• Outward 2

So...I'm aware there's no specifications for Outward 2 yet, because it's still early in development, and isn't likely to come out before at least 2 years but that's ultimately my goal.
I'm still not fixed on the budget I want to allocate, I'm not sure if I should just upgrade my GPU, or buy a whole new computer altogether. But I'd say 800€ for a GPU or 1800 for a computer feels like the very highest I'm willing to go.
I built this computer myself, but it's been so long I'm not confident anymore and if I go for a new one, it'll be already built and ready to use.

For now I have:
MB: MSI PRO B660-A DDR4 (MS-7D59)
CPU: Intel Core i5-12400F
RAM: 16,0 Go Dual-Channel DDR4 @ 1330MHz (18-18-18-43)
GPU: 2047MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB (ASUStek Computer Inc)
Display: BenQ GW2470 (1920x1080@60Hz)
Storage:
279GB Western Digital WDC WD3000HLHX-01JJPV0 (SATA )
931GB Western Digital WDC WD10EALX-009BA0 (SATA )
931GB Western Digital WD Blue SN570 1TB
PSU: CorsairTX650 V2 80PLUS Bronze
Casing: Fractal Design Define R3

So first of all, I had to dig into a very old document from 2012 to remember what my power unit is, and I don't have any idea about my power usage/needs and what kind of margin I have to upgrade. Is there an easy way to get all the relevants info summarized? Cause I tried to use softwares like Speccy and it doesn't even list my Power Unit. I don't remember about the cooling fans either.

I have a friend who adviced me to just buy an used RTX 3060 for cheap, that it would run the games just fine and don't worry too much for later as "building for the future is a scam"
I found this one for 155€
But I'd love to hear other opinions.
I'm a bit concerned about current proc requirement, like Clair Obscur which already has an Intel Core i7-12700K recommended for playing :-/
And I'm confused about wether to buy Nvidia or AMD too, because I heard a lot of bad reviews on Nvidia lately, people saying that DLSS is making games look super bad and they're cheating on the cards actual performances, that they've stopped caring about gaming and are now just an AI brand. But when I look into the benchmarks it looks like Nvidia is still winning on performance???

If you had any advice or could enlighten me on those topics, I would appreciate it a lot!

 

[punkncat]

Budget in a power supply of proper rating with that graphics card.

Cyberpunk '77 is a really tough game for specs. It has gotten more well optimized since release, for sure, but hard to run and especially with the eye candy up. I don't think a 3060 is going to get what you want.

 

[Eximo]

13 years is longer than I would trust a PSU, even the fine old TX unit. Time to replace.

RTX3060 would be a significant upgrade. But that is buying into a relatively old card at this point.

16GB of DDR4 2666 is a little slow these days, and 32GB is also the normal amount recommended for gaming.

12400F is still decent, but you could drop in a 13th or 14th gen CPU if you think those game requirements are going to be an issue. That would let you keep the OS and not have to re-install everything vs purchasing everything new. Even the 12700k is only $200 new.

Nvidia wins on 'performance' Not necessarily value/performance. (Though no one really offers good value) RTX 3060 is only really a decent option because of the 12GB of VRAM available. Intel B580 12GB is also a decent budget choice. 9060 XT 16GB is what I would take over the 5060 Ti 16GB today for the money.

PSU, GPU, CPU, and memory could all be done for under 1k.

 

[Lutfij]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

How old is the PSU in your build? That PSU was released about 14 years ago. If you do decide to go with an RTX 3060 that's been used, you should look at a 750W reliably built PSU as the RTX 3000 series was notorious for high transient load spikes. You could look into an RX 9070 XT but a PSU would be warranted.

If you're looking at recycling some parts from your build, you could think about a tight latencied DDR4-3200MHz dual channel ram kit but chances are they'll be the same cost of a DDR5-6000MHz ram kit, pair that with an i7 from the 14th Gen but you're already knocking on the doors of a new build at that point.

Looking through the URL you've passed, are you located in Belgium or France?

Moving thread from Graphics Cards section to Systems section.

 

[Eximo]

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-14600K 3.5 GHz 14-Core Processor (€206.08 @ Amazon Deutschland)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler (€43.89 @ Proshop)
Motherboard: MSI PRO B660-A DDR4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard (Purchased For €0.00)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory (€80.89 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Video Card: ASRock Challenger OC Arc B580 12 GB Video Card (€279.06 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Power Supply: be quiet! Pure Power 13 M 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (€106.90 @ reichelt elektronik)
Total: €716.82
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-07-07 21:47 CEST+0200

A little more GPU:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-14600K 3.5 GHz 14-Core Processor (€206.08 @ Amazon Deutschland)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler (€43.89 @ Proshop)
Motherboard: MSI PRO B660-A DDR4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard (Purchased For €0.00)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory (€80.89 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Video Card: Sapphire PULSE Radeon RX 9060 XT 16 GB Video Card (€376.39 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Power Supply: be quiet! Pure Power 13 M 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (€106.90 @ reichelt elektronik)
Total: €814.15
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-07-07 21:47 CEST+0200

A little more CPU:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i7-14700KF 3.4 GHz 20-Core Processor (€305.29 @ Amazon Deutschland)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler (€43.89 @ Proshop)
Motherboard: MSI PRO B660-A DDR4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard (Purchased For €0.00)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory (€80.89 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Video Card: Sapphire PULSE Radeon RX 9060 XT 16 GB Video Card (€376.39 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Power Supply: be quiet! Pure Power 13 M 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (€106.90 @ reichelt elektronik)
Total: €913.36
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-07-07 21:50 CEST+0200

 

[punkncat]

That Intel card is NOT going to cut the mustard for this. Otherwise, and as usual, strongly repeatable build recommends.

 

[icemaster03]

Eximo
Thanks for the feedback and the build recommendation.
Hmmm, for the website I use as reference (ldlc.com), the 9060XT is only 50€ cheaper than 5060 Ti 16GB., for such a minor price difference I'd prefer to take the better performing one. Is there something about the AMD that I'm not aware of ? userbenchmark.com makes the Nvidia look much better. Is the 9060 xt still decent with raytracing?

Sorry if I ask too many questions^^'
I appreciate your help a lot!

Lutfij​

Thank you!
The PSU is 13 years old. And yes, I'm located in Belgium! I used to go to the French forum of tom's hardware but it looks like it got scraped? So I came here instead.
So replacing my PSU in your opinion is needed for replacing the graphic card then if I understand correctly.
You talk about DDR5-6000MHz ram kit, but I think my current motherboard supports only DDR4, isn't that a problem?

punkncat​

Thanks for the feedback! You're 3 people to tell me to upgrade my power supply, so I guess it's gonna be a necessity^^
Is my processor that bad in your opinion? Back in my days I understood that it didn't play a big enough difference to care.

 

[thestryker]

I think getting faster memory with 3200 CL16 being probably the best option on the market and I'd suggest a 32GB kit (2x 16GB). While it would be better getting 3600 for long term you would have to manually tune it to 3200 unless/until you replaced the CPU.

As for the CPU I think it's largely fine and I don't think it's worth upgrading unless you're moving up to 8 P-cores for longevity sake. The 12700K is the budget option for that, but the 14700K is going to be the best long term option (personally I won't buy one of the F SKUs, but those do save money).

Also definitely get a new PSU.

 

[icemaster03]

Alright! Thank you, I'll definitely get a new PSU!
Quick question about the RAM, if I can buy 2 kits of 2x8GB RAM for cheaper than 1 kit of 2x16, is there a problem going for it? I always have 2 slots open and the next time I'll buy memory, I'll probably have to change everything anyway because of new latency.

 

[thestryker]

Quick question about the RAM, if I can buy 2 kits of 2x8GB RAM for cheaper than 1 kit of 2x16, is there a problem going for it?

Maybe. I hate giving an answer like that, but getting 4 sticks to behave at proper latency might be tricky (especially with the CPU you have now).

 

[logainofhades]

Totally new PC, with an upgrade path. I would not buy a 14th gen CPU.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor (€375.00 @ Mindfactory)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE ARGB 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler (€36.59 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Motherboard: Gigabyte B850 GAMING X WIFI6E ATX AM5 Motherboard (€179.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Memory: Patriot Viper Venom 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory (€94.90 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Crucial P510 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 5.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive (€109.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Crucial T500 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive (€149.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Video Card: XFX Swift Radeon RX 9070 XT 16 GB Video Card (€661.99 @ Cyberport)
Case: Montech AIR 903 MAX ATX Mid Tower Case (€76.90 @ Alza)
Power Supply: Super Flower Leadex III Gold UP 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (€110.89 @ Caseking)
Total: €1796.24
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-07-08 02:34 CEST+0200

 

[icemaster03]

thestryker​

Okay, I see, thank you for your answer.

logainofhades​

Thanks! I think I'll lean more into eximo's recommandations, but it's nice to have other opinions

 

[thestryker]

A couple of build choices using the two CPUs I mentioned while preserving what you have:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i7-14700K 3.4 GHz 20-Core Processor (€321.91 @ Amazon Deutschland)
CPU Cooler: ID-COOLING FROZN A620 PRO SE 58 CFM CPU Cooler (€27.89 @ Proshop)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory (€87.13 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Video Card: XFX Swift OC Radeon RX 9060 XT 16 GB Video Card (€359.00 @ Mindfactory)
Power Supply: Montech CENTURY II 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (€93.90 @ Alza)
Total: €889.83
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-07-08 04:51 CEST+0200

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i7-12700K 3.6 GHz 12-Core Processor (€240.14 @ notebooksbilliger.de)
CPU Cooler: ID-COOLING FROZN A620 PRO SE 58 CFM CPU Cooler (€27.89 @ Proshop)
Memory: Patriot Viper Steel 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory (€63.67 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Video Card: XFX Swift OC Radeon RX 9060 XT 16 GB Video Card (€359.00 @ Mindfactory)
Power Supply: Montech CENTURY II 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (€93.90 @ Alza)
Total: €784.60
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-07-08 04:55 CEST+0200

Some alternate video card options (the 9070 seems to be too close to the 9070 XT in price to consider):

Video Card: MSI VENTUS 3X OC GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16 GB Video Card (€806.99 @ notebooksbilliger.de)
Video Card: XFX Swift Radeon RX 9070 XT 16 GB Video Card (€661.99 @ Cyberport)
Video Card: Palit Infinity 3 GeForce RTX 5070 12 GB Video Card (€553.99 @ Mindfactory)
Video Card: MSI VENTUS 2X PLUS OC GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB Video Card (€422.99 @ Mindfactory)

It seems like AMD is offering better value with the 9060 XT and 9070 XT than their respective nvidia counterparts (5060 Ti 16GB/5070 Ti are within around 5% of them). Unless there's something you're doing which benefits from nvidia's software ecosystem I think AMD is the better buy.

 

[Why_Me]

Alright! Thank you, I'll definitely get a new PSU!
Quick question about the RAM, if I can buy 2 kits of 2x8GB RAM for cheaper than 1 kit of 2x16, is there a problem going for it? I always have 2 slots open and the next time I'll buy memory, I'll probably have to change everything anyway because of new latency.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU Cooler: *Thermalright Assassin Spirit 120 EVO DARK 70.4 CFM CPU Cooler (€21.90 @ Amazon Belgium)
Memory: *Corsair Vengeance LPX 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory (€62.55 @ Amazon Belgium)
Video Card: *Sapphire PULSE Radeon RX 9060 XT 16 GB Video Card (€382.15 @ Amazon Belgium)
Power Supply: *MSI MAG A650GL 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (€88.50 @ Amazon Belgium)
Total: €555.10
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-07-08 07:55 CEST+0200

https://www.msi.com/Monitor/G244F-E2

PCPartPicker Part List

Monitor: *MSI G244F E2 23.8" 1920 x 1080 180 Hz Monitor (€89.00 @ Azerty)
Total: €89.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-07-08 07:58 CEST+0200

 

[icemaster03]

Woaaa, thanks a lot!
It's way clearer what I should buy now.
I'm amazed that a 850W power unit supply is almost the same price as a 650W

 

[Why_Me]

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: *AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor (€389.00 @ Amazon Belgium)
CPU Cooler: *Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 Black 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler (€43.90 @ Amazon Belgium)
Motherboard: *ASRock B850 Pro-A ATX AM5 Motherboard (€167.90 @ bol.)
Memory: *Patriot Viper Venom 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory (€91.95 @ Amazon Belgium)
Video Card: *Gigabyte GAMING OC Radeon RX 9070 XT 16 GB Video Card (€729.00 @ Amazon Belgium)
Case: *Montech AIR 903 BASE ATX Mid Tower Case (€62.95 @ Bytes At Work)
Power Supply: *MSI MAG A850GL PCIE5 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (€104.49 @ Amazon Belgium)
Monitor: *Gigabyte GS27QA 27.0" 2560 x 1440 180 Hz Monitor (€159.90 @ Amazon Belgium)
Total: €1749.09
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-07-08 13:38 CEST+0200

https://www.tomshardware.com/software/windows/windows-11-free-or-cheap

 

[icemaster03]

Thank you! I've bought the video card, power supply and RAM for now, will upgrade the CPU if I see it's really needed.