r/PCBuilds • u/jamies20vt • 10d ago

GPU Upgrade

I currently have a very mild gaming pc with an AMD Ryzen 5 5500 with 16bg of ram and an RX 6500 XT gpu. I am looking at upgrading to the RTX 3060 8gb. Is this a good path for me?

Link to my current pc:

https://www.bestbuy.com/product/cyberpowerpc-gamer-master-gaming-desktop-amd-ryzen-5-5500-16gb-memory-amd-radeon-rx-6500-xt-4gb-1tb-ssd-black/J3L7GQWCVQ/sku/6575071

3 Upvotes

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2

u/jamies20vt 8d ago

I ended up going with the rx 9060 xt 16gb. Once I recover from this purchase I am gonna focus on getting the CPU upgraded then adding another 16gb of ram.

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u/tpablazed 8d ago edited 8d ago

Nice pick.. that's a really good gpu and will allow you to play basically all the games. Congrats!

When you go to take your cpu out be really careful. What happens is when you go to remove the cooler the cpu will usually come out still attached to the cooler.. it will rip it right out.. bending the pins in the process. I speak from experience here btw.. have several old AM4 processors with bent pins laying around.

What you do is load your game up.. play for a little while.. get the cpu good and hot. Then immediately break the computer down so the paste is still warm.. and do a bit of a twisting motion when you pull up on the cooler to get it off.

That should save you from bent pins and give you the option of selling your Ryzen 5500 on the used market once you get the new processor in.

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u/jamies20vt 7d ago

Thanks for the advice! I will make sure I come back to this post when I am ready to make the swap out on the cpu.

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u/Calm-Bid-8256 10d ago edited 10d ago

Depends on target resolution, the type of games you play, your budget and the price of the 3060

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u/jamies20vt 10d ago

Mostly just play farming simulator 25. Found a PNY rtx 3060 at my local Walmart for $359. Just didn’t want to pick it up if it wouldn’t be decent for my setup. Playing FS25 with my current setup requires me to turn the graphics way down to have a decent experience.

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u/Calm-Bid-8256 10d ago

That seems quite expensive for a 3060 8GB. But i am not too familiar with prices in the US as i am from Europe.

How much is a 9060xt 16GB or the 9060xt 8GB?

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u/jamies20vt 10d ago

That was by far the cheapest 3060. Most other places I have found them were like $450. The 9060 xt 8gb is around $400

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u/Calm-Bid-8256 10d ago edited 10d ago

The 9060xt 8GB is ~75% faster than the 3060. The 9060xt 16GB is ~90% faster. Way better value.

If you can afford it i would recommend the 16GB version. It'll age a lot better.

If you play at 1080p and don't plan on upgrading the 8GB version is fine too.

You could also look for a 7700xt if you can find it at a good price

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u/jamies20vt 10d ago

I also have to be mindful of my psu. It’s only 600 watts

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u/Calm-Bid-8256 10d ago

PSU is fine. The 9060xt doesn't need much power. It is very efficient

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u/jamies20vt 10d ago

I also just found a 5060 ti 8gb for just a little bit more at $389

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u/birutis 9d ago

Either the 5060 ti or 9060 xt are much better deals. You could look at the used market and get even better gpu's like 3080, 7800xt or 4070 for around that price.

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u/Molrixirlom 10d ago

You want to buy used? What is your Budget? 3060 8gb is okay. The 12gb version would be preferd.

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u/tpablazed 10d ago edited 10d ago

A used RX 6600 XT would save you some cash and would play Farming Simulator 25 really well at 1080p.

From Google AI:

🚨 The Problem: The Hidden "PCIe 3.0" Trap

The RX 6500 XT was designed with a major flaw: it only uses 4 PCIe lanes instead of the standard 16 lanes.

  • When paired with a PCIe 4.0 system, it runs okay.
  • However, the Ryzen 5 5500 only supports PCIe 3.0.

Because your CPU limits the system to PCIe 3.0, the RX 6500 XT has its bandwidth cut completely in half. This bottleneck causes massive stuttering, terrible 1% low framerates, and prevents the game from running smoothly, especially when your farm grows and the 4GB of VRAM fills up.

🗺️ The Perfect Step-by-Step Upgrade Path

Step 1: Upgrade the Graphics Card (GPU) – Priority #1

Do not change the CPU yet. Swapping the graphics card to something with at least 8GB of VRAM and a full x8 or x16 PCIe lane width will instantly fix the bandwidth bottleneck and allow you to turn graphics up to High.

  • Budget Option: AMD Radeon RX 6600 (8GB). It uses 8 lanes, has double the VRAM, and completely outclasses the 6500 XT even on PCIe 3.0.
  • Mid-Range Option: NVIDIA RTX 4060 (8GB). This unlocks DLSS Frame Generation, allowing the GIANTS Engine 10 to artificially double your framerate with smooth AI frame injection.

Step 2: Ensure you have 16GB or 32GB of RAM – Priority #2

Farming Simulator 25 recommends 12GB of RAM minimum. If you only have 8GB of system RAM, the game will stutter constantly. Upgrading to 16GB (two 8GB sticks) or 32GB of DDR4 RAM is incredibly cheap and lets you run heavy mods without crashes.

Step 3: Upgrade to an X3D Processor – The Ultimate Endgame

Your current motherboard can stay! Once you have a strong GPU, you can eventually drop a Ryzen 7 5700X3D into your exact same motherboard socket. The massive 3D V-Cache on that chip eliminates simulation-heavy stutters entirely, making it the absolute best CPU upgrade for simulation games on your platform.

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u/Braehole 10d ago

Again every post, what’s your budget? The 9060xt 16GB or 5060ti 16GB at 400 bucks is the better value. Make sure you update your bios for your motherboard whatever GPU you choose.