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300€ GPU for a long-life rig with light gaming?

jfrpm1985

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Jun 4, 2023
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Hello all.

I am building a competent rig for my parents, and I am deciding which budget-tier GPU to buy for it. I like building long-life rigs and I tend to "recycle" them into HTPC to extend its life cycle.

Gaming is close to none, just old/retro games and some light Overcooked, Tetris Effect, Moving Out.. and the such at 4K resolution. The components are basically an Intel 265K + 32GB DDR5 + 990 Pro 2TB + Seasonic Focus 750W. I would like the rig lo last at least 3-4 years in the PC form, and another 3-4 years on the HTPC form.

Budget would be around 300-350€, so in this range the options are (prices in Spain):

- nVidia RTX4060 8GB (300 €)
- Intel B580 12GB (310 €)
- AMD 7600XT 16GB (360 €)

I am leaning towards the ARC option, as the 265K will manage the overhead it produces to the CPU, and it is a bit more powerful than the other 2 options. The worst part is the lack of drivers in a near future and the high power consumption at idle. The other option I am thinking is going with the AMD one, maybe wait until the 9600/9600XT are launched (April/May?) to see if the 7600XT gets to 300€, at that price I would choose it before the B580.

Thanks in advance.
 
Maybe search second hand but from those options i would lean towards AMD for sure.
I dont trust intel for longevity and the AMD is superior to the nvidia in every way, especially if you want better linux drivers down the line of the htpc
 
Second hand RX 6800 fits your budget, isn't too power hungry and destroys old games at 4K. I'd pick it if you have a seller you can trust.
 
I would wait for 9060
We don't know when this silicon drops but we don't expect it to be very big, which means there's bound to be tons of supply once it hits shelves.
It will be some of AMD's lowest mid-tier silicon this generation which will snatch up sales from all the xx50 series and A series bottom feeders.
Not for nothing but it should be a fairly devastating impact on this horrendous market.
 
Something like 3070Ti would be my GPU of choice. Prices have fallen just to the right level. Heck, if you are patient enough, you could probably score a 3080 within that budget (the only issue is that it could be from a mining farm, which is why 3070/3070ti is much less risky).
4060 is meh... Barely competes with older 3060Ti.
RX6800 is also a good contender, but not all areas have adequate pricing for it on the used market.

Right now I use just a regular RTX 3070 in my rig. Scored it for ~$250, used but well taken care of. Purrs like a kitten, never overheats, PSU requirements are adequate (I have a very good 550W PSU), and it runs 90% of my steam library on High or Ultra on my new 2k Ultrawide monitor.

Also if you are not in a hurry, I'd wait for what AMD and NVidia will put out in the lower-end segment later on this year. Would'nt hold my breath for a super-affordable or adequately-performant 5060, but AMD showed us some hope.
 
Thank you all.

I will wait for 9600/9600XT to hit the shelves, then.

Hopefully once the supply is steady (1 or 2 months after launch?), 7600XT/9600 are below 300€ and maybe 9600XT at 350€
 
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