Best value for money out of these four AUD? Upgrade from a 2060

[Dovah88]

Looking to a future upgrade, but with prices all over the place and stocks limited it's hard to get a reading. All prices in AUD. I'm also running a pcie 3.0 motherboard, unsure if that makes a difference with the pcie 4.0 cards
Budget up to $800, but preferably $700 or under. On another note 2060s are around $500-$550
The candidates are:
6600 xt: $595
3060: $640
6650 xt: $695
3060 ti: $790
Cheers

 

[8BitZ80]

Honestly your 2060 already isn't far behind in performance to those cards and it wouldn't be a big upgrade. And the 7700K might start holding you back at that point anyway, so it's very likely you'll fall into a slippery downward slope of partial upgrades to prevent bottlenecks.

Assuming the GPU market doesn't all go to hell again, the smartest play would be to hold off for another year and build a completely new tower in 2023. Sell the old tower as a complete system to fund it.

Keep in mind too that Nvidia Lovelace and AMD RDNA3 are just around the corner this year, plus DDR5 is likely to be more sanely priced in due course.

 

[eidairaman1]

6600 or 6650

 

[DarkDreams]

6600 or 6650

How can you even recommend the 6650 when it costs 100$ more and gives virtually no improvement over the 6600 xt (2% according to TPUs GPU database) ?

As for OP, while the 6600 XT is definitely the best deal here, I agree with @PooPipeBoy that the uplift over your 2060 is pretty slim (~33%), but you have to evaluate whether or not that is worth your money.
Concerning the PCIe 3.0 interface: TPU has a test for this showing only a marginal 2% performance loss for the 6600 XT.

 

[Frick]

Not worth it IMO, especially not at 1080p 60Hz. I went from a 2060 to a 3060ti and whilst a nice upgrade for 4K I would never have done it if not for donating the 2060.

 

[zx128k]

The Best Graphics Cards Shortlist source

GPU	Performance Rank	DXR Rank	Value Rank – online (MSRP)
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 Ti	1 – 132.4 fps	1 – 84.4 fps	13 – $2,000 ($1,999)
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080	4 – 116.3 fps	2 – 66.3 fps	12 – $949 ($699)
AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT	2 – 130.6 fps	3 – 49.8 fps	11 – $1,020 ($999)
AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT	3 – 124.5 fps	4 – 46.1 fps	10 – $920 ($649)
AMD Radeon RX 6800	5 – 111.7 fps	6 – 39.3 fps	9 – $800 ($579)
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti	7 – 91.5 fps	5 – 43.3 fps	7 – $580 ($399)
AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT	6 – 96.0 fps	8 – 30.5 fps	6 – $515 ($489)
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060	9 – 70.2 fps	7 – 32.3 fps	5 – $390 ($329)
AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT	8 – 78.2 fps	9 – 23.6 fps	4 – $410 ($379)
AMD Radeon RX 6600	10 – 66.7 fps	11 – 19.7 fps	3 – $325 ($329)
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050	11 – 51.4 fps	10 – 22.8 fps	2 – $300 ($249)
AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT	12 – 30.4 fps	12 – 5.6 fps	1 – $210 ($199)

GeForce RTX 3060

Reasons to buy​

+Good 1080p/1440p performance
+Plenty of VRAM for the future
+Great value now

Reasons to avoid​

-Tied with the old RTX 2070
-12GB of limited benefit
-Only 192-bit bus

Radeon RX 6600

Reasons to buy​

+Power efficient
+Runs 1080p max settings and 60fps
+Generally available near MSRP

Reasons to avoid​

-Not good for ray tracing
-Can't match the RTX 3060
-Only 8GB VRAM

Radeon RX 6600 XT

Reasons to buy​

+Faster than 3060 and RX 5700 XT
+Power efficient design
+Good 1080p performance
+Actually available at MSRP

Reasons to avoid​

-Only 8GB VRAM on a 128-bit bus
-Poor ray tracing performance
-Expensive for 1080p

GeForce RTX 3060 TI

Reasons to buy​

+Beats the 2080 Super for $300 less
+Good overall value (fps/$)
+Great for RT at 1440p with DLSS

Reasons to avoid​

-Still very overpriced at present
-4K is a a stretch even with DLSS
-8GB might not be enough VRAM long term

Basically you are looking for a card that balances Raster and RT performance. The RX 6600 is only good if you are a DOTA or CSGO etc type of gamers. It cannot play AAA games at 1080p with DXR. Even in the techpowerup DXR performance is below the RTX 2060 and that card is just about at 1080p with DLSS. In Cyberpunk 2077 on techpowerup the RTX 3060 is just between the 6700xt and 6800 in RT at 1080p. Future games are going to support more and more RT. Take Deathloop the RX 6600 is bottom. The RTX 3060 beats the 6700xt in RT. In far cry 6 the RTX 3060 is 60fps at 1440p and the RT 6600 is 60fps at 1080p. Metro Exodus enhanced edition you 100% want the RXT 3060. Resident Evil Village with maximum settings, the RTX 3060 can do 1080p @ 60FPS, the RX 6600 cant. Watch Dogs: Legion you do enough FPS that DLSS will get you to 60fps with Ray Tracing.

Basically you will have to accept a reduction in image quality to play AAA games on the RX 6600 because ray tracing performance is too weak.

 

[Dovah88]

Okay, well I use a 1080p monitor but I do use the resolution modifier or dsr. Is the 3060 ti worth $200 more than the 6600xt?

 

[zx128k]

Okay, well I use a 1080p monitor but I do use the resolution modifier or dsr. Is the 3060 ti worth $200 more than the 6600xt?

The RTX 3060 TI is a better card overall that the RX 6600XT, its more a card that would face the RX 6700xt in performance. You have the same raster performance at 1080p and better ray tracing performance.

Raster 1080p, 50 games.

Performance below 5% overall is considered equal. source

When looking at our 50 game sample -- and that's a substantial number of games to test -- it's fair to conclude that in most instances there will be less than a 10% difference between these two GPUs.

Having said that, once you take the full picture into account, it's hard not to argue that the GeForce RTX 3060 is the better buy and is even worth a premium. This is because when you start to look at what each product offers beyond rasterization performance, there's not much to talk about when it comes to the 6600 XT.

Raster @ 1080p

Performance below 5% is considered equal. source

The advantages of the RTX 3060 Ti include superior ray tracing performance -- which personally I don't care for too much at this performance tier -- but still you can enjoy RT effects if you want, typically at much higher frame rates than you'll get with the 6700 XT. With rasterization performance essentially the same, we don't see many reasons for buying the 6700 XT over the RTX 3060 Ti, especially when the GeForce GPU costs the same or even a little less.

 

[wolf]

3060 or 3060Ti if you want even more headroom, the 6600XT and 6650XT are too close to them price wise, with fewer features and a narrower PCI-E interface. I don't see them ageing all that well.

 

[Vayra86]

Wait. Every choice right now is not only overpriced, but also just sub optimal. You pick between some semblance of bang/buck versus consistent performance across all games versus just hot and hungry monsters for power bill and wallet.

This gen is shit, and I say this is a performance-wise-equivalent 1080 owner. Wait for the next gen, you can always opt for something out of the current gen at that point, but the market will look a lot better by then, prices will shift.

 

[Bomby569]

Wait. Every choice right now is not only overpriced, but also just sub optimal. You pick between some semblance of bang/buck versus consistent performance across all games versus just hot and hungry monsters for power bill and wallet.

This gen is shit, and I say this is a performance-wise-equivalent 1080 owner. Wait for the next gen, you can always opt for something out of the current gen at that point, but the market will look a lot better by then, prices will shift.

i agree, even if prices seem better, they are still absurd. This generation (for nvidia and amd cards) will die as gracefully as the 2000 nvidia did when the new cards come out.

Especially for someone that already owns a decent cards. I would wait.

 

[Dovah88]

Ray tracing doesn't do much for me, but I agree, I know the prices are inflated, but are they going to get higher again? The 2060 is capable enough at the moment I'm thinking perhaps in the meantime I could invest some of that money into another CPU, as some have suggested.

 

[AlwaysHope]

With that budget, I'd seriously consider moving the cpu/mobo to an Alderlake based platform, you'll definitively notice a significant upgrade in fps without upgrading anything else in the whole system. Grab a low end Z690 DDR4 board because of its future proofing connectivity & your choice of i5 cpu. You'll be a happy chap for it guaranteed!

 

[AusWolf]

Like others said, upgrading the 2060 to any of these is a serious waste of money. Don't do it.

 

[eidairaman1]

How can you even recommend the 6650 when it costs 100$ more and gives virtually no improvement over the 6600 xt (2% according to TPUs GPU database) ?

As for OP, while the 6600 XT is definitely the best deal here, I agree with @PooPipeBoy that the uplift over your 2060 is pretty slim (~33%), but you have to evaluate whether or not that is worth your money.
Concerning the PCIe 3.0 interface: TPU has a test for this showing only a marginal 2% performance loss for the 6600 XT.

And who are you again 20220107?

Availability is a reason, either or doesn't matter.

Okay, well I use a 1080p monitor but I do use the resolution modifier or dsr. Is the 3060 ti worth $200 more than the 6600xt?

No

 

[Dovah88]

With that budget, I'd seriously consider moving the cpu/mobo to an Alderlake based platform, you'll definitively notice a significant upgrade in fps without upgrading anything else in the whole system. Grab a low end Z690 DDR4 board because of its future proofing connectivity & your choice of i5 cpu. You'll be a happy chap for it guaranteed!

Okay, well that's something to consider at least, I definitely don't want to do a major overhaul, I'd rather keep everything else, but a motherboard change and cpu wouldn't be too bad. So any 12gen i5 cpu would be a noticeable upgrade over the 7700k? What about an earlier generation 10? Even some used ones are cheaper

 

[Vayra86]

Ray tracing doesn't do much for me, but I agree, I know the prices are inflated, but are they going to get higher again? The 2060 is capable enough at the moment I'm thinking perhaps in the meantime I could invest some of that money into another CPU, as some have suggested.

Never worry about price hikes in GPU. Time is our friend, because every new gen is bound to at least keep the perf/$ figure similar while improving the number of GPUs on the market. It can't ever get worse and if it does, only temporarily because the market is overheated as it did during crypto boom combined with pandemic etc.

Never make a deal that doesn't feel great to you in this space

Okay, well that's something to consider at least, I definitely don't want to do a major overhaul, I'd rather keep everything else, but a motherboard change and cpu wouldn't be too bad. So any 12gen i5 cpu would be a noticeable upgrade over the 7700k? What about an earlier generation 10? Even some used ones are cheaper

You can easily get an older -past gen CPU. I'm running an 8700K and it slaughters everything without breaking a sweat, I prefer high refresh over top graphics most of the time too (heavier on CPU). Its underclocked to 4.5

If you get a newer gen, get a non-K or go Ryzen.

 

[AusWolf]

Okay, well that's something to consider at least, I definitely don't want to do a major overhaul, I'd rather keep everything else, but a motherboard change and cpu wouldn't be too bad. So any 12gen i5 cpu would be a noticeable upgrade over the 7700k? What about an earlier generation 10? Even some used ones are cheaper

Getting the newest and shiniest tech is overrated, imo. 10, 11 and 12th gen i5 have 6 cores with HT which is plenty. You could also get something like a 8700 non-K which could be a good deal depending on the price.

 

[tussinman]

Getting the newest and shiniest tech is overrated, imo

It can be but in his situation isn't not since both AMD and Intel have both released more cost effective chips in the last 6 months (5500, 5600 non-x, 12400F). Even something like the dirt cheap 12100F rivals the previous gens upper-mid tier performance wise and allow access for a future 13th gen drop in upgrade.

In his situation last year would of been a better example of "newest and shiniest tech is over-rated/overpriced" (Ryzen didn't have a single non APU-CPU under $300USD and the 11th gen intel was overpriced and underperformed).

 

[Why_Me]

Ray tracing doesn't do much for me, but I agree, I know the prices are inflated, but are they going to get higher again? The 2060 is capable enough at the moment I'm thinking perhaps in the meantime I could invest some of that money into another CPU, as some have suggested.

https://www.mwave.com.au/product/gi...ax-ddr4-lga-1700-microatx-motherboard-ac50738
Gigabyte B660M AORUS PRO AX DDR4 $199.00

https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/B660M-AORUS-PRO-AX-DDR4-rev-1x#kf

https://www.bpctech.com.au/product/...00f-6-core-lga-1700-2-5ghz-cpu-processor.html
Intel Core I5-12400F $255.00

Intel® Core™ i5-12400F Processor (18M Cache, up to 4.40 GHz) Product Specifications

Intel® Core™ i5-12400F Processor (18M Cache, up to 4.40 GHz) quick reference guide including specifications, features, pricing, compatibility, design documentation, ordering codes, spec codes and more.

ark.intel.com

Total: $454 AUD

 

[Dovah88]

https://www.mwave.com.au/product/gi...ax-ddr4-lga-1700-microatx-motherboard-ac50738
Gigabyte B660M AORUS PRO AX DDR4 $199.00

https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/B660M-AORUS-PRO-AX-DDR4-rev-1x#kf

https://www.bpctech.com.au/product/...00f-6-core-lga-1700-2-5ghz-cpu-processor.html
Intel Core I5-12400F $255.00

Intel® Core™ i5-12400F Processor (18M Cache, up to 4.40 GHz) Product Specifications

Intel® Core™ i5-12400F Processor (18M Cache, up to 4.40 GHz) quick reference guide including specifications, features, pricing, compatibility, design documentation, ordering codes, spec codes and more.

ark.intel.com

Total: $454 AUD

It can be but in his situation isn't not since both AMD and Intel have both released more cost effective chips in the last 6 months (5500, 5600 non-x, 12400F). Even something like the dirt cheap 12100F rivals the previous gens upper-mid tier performance wise and allow access for a future 13th gen drop in upgrade.

In his situation last year would of been a better example of "newest and shiniest tech is over-rated/overpriced" (Ryzen didn't have a single non APU-CPU under $300USD and the 11th gen intel was overpriced and underperformed).

Okay, well thats something I'll definitely look into, so would the 11th gen or 12 gen i5 be a decent improvement over the 7700k? Ot would it be best to go an i7? If I could get an improvement through the motherboard and cpu between $400-500$ then its considered.

 

[eidairaman1]

Okay, well that's something to consider at least, I definitely don't want to do a major overhaul, I'd rather keep everything else, but a motherboard change and cpu wouldn't be too bad. So any 12gen i5 cpu would be a noticeable upgrade over the 7700k? What about an earlier generation 10? Even some used ones are cheaper

Don't bother on the cpu upgrade, make it when DDR 5 is full swing then jump, because you cant just drop a skt 1700 into a skt 1200 or 1151...

 

[AusWolf]

Don't bother on the cpu upgrade, make it when DDR 5 is full swing then jump, because you cant just drop a skt 1700 into a skt 1200 or 1151...

I think a PC upgrade is more of a matter of "is your current system OK for what you want from it?" Whether or not DDR5 is in full swing is kind of irrelevant, imo. Just because socket 1700 is out, you can still be happy with an 11th or 10th, or even 9th gen platform, and the release of AM5 won't make AM4 any worse. You can also get some good deals on outgoing platforms. Bottom line: you can't always wait for the next platform to be released - if you've got to upgrade, you've got to upgrade.

Okay, well thats something I'll definitely look into, so would the 11th gen or 12 gen i5 be a decent improvement over the 7700k? Ot would it be best to go an i7? If I could get an improvement through the motherboard and cpu between $400-500$ then its considered.

A Core i7 on 11th gen gives you two extra cores (edit: compared to i5), which may come in handy in the future, or when multitasking, doing work, etc. On 12th gen, it also gives you extra "efficiency" cores which are again, useful when multitasking. Just be careful with the Core i5: anything up to the 12600 is 6-core, but the 12600K has E-cores as well. Also, motherboard choice is more important than ever, as these CPUs can ask for quite a lot of power in full usage when "multi-core optimization/enhancement" is enabled.

 

[Why_Me]

Okay, well thats something I'll definitely look into, so would the 11th gen or 12 gen i5 be a decent improvement over the 7700k? Ot would it be best to go an i7? If I could get an improvement through the motherboard and cpu between $400-500$ then its considered.

That board and cpu I posted comes in at $454 AUD. Intel 12 gen, 6 cores / 12 threads. Take a good look at the benchmarks in that post.

 

[Dovah88]

https://www.mwave.com.au/product/gi...ax-ddr4-lga-1700-microatx-motherboard-ac50738
Gigabyte B660M AORUS PRO AX DDR4 $199.00

https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/B660M-AORUS-PRO-AX-DDR4-rev-1x#kf

https://www.bpctech.com.au/product/...00f-6-core-lga-1700-2-5ghz-cpu-processor.html
Intel Core I5-12400F $255.00

Intel® Core™ i5-12400F Processor (18M Cache, up to 4.40 GHz) Product Specifications

Intel® Core™ i5-12400F Processor (18M Cache, up to 4.40 GHz) quick reference guide including specifications, features, pricing, compatibility, design documentation, ordering codes, spec codes and more.

ark.intel.com

Total: $454 AUD

I think a PC upgrade is more of a matter of "is your current system OK for what you want from it?" Whether or not DDR5 is in full swing is kind of irrelevant, imo. Just because socket 1700 is out, you can still be happy with an 11th or 10th, or even 9th gen platform, and the release of AM5 won't make AM4 any worse. You can also get some good deals on outgoing platforms. Bottom line: you can't always wait for the next platform to be released - if you've got to upgrade, you've got to upgrade.


A Core i7 on 11th gen gives you two extra cores (edit: compared to i5), which may come in handy in the future, or when multitasking, doing work, etc. On 12th gen, it also gives you extra "efficiency" cores which are again, useful when multitasking. Just be careful with the Core i5: anything up to the 12600 is 6-core, but the 12600K has E-cores as well. Also, motherboard choice is more important than ever, as these CPUs can ask for quite a lot of power in full usage when "multi-core optimization/enhancement" is enabled.

Okay, well I'll look into it, definitely, and for the time being it does all that I need it to, I just add small upgrades here and there. Just a question in regards to storage, I've just bought a samsung evo 970 1tb m.2 nvme, to replace my hdd which is getting very slow and migrate my os onto it. Will it fit into my motherboard? It says it has a m.2 socket