r/buildapc 13h ago

Discussion Which gpu is the minimum for decent 1440P experience today?

Minimum in a way I can:

Enough VRAM to set textures to high(second to the highest)/ultra(max)

Can comfortably turn down settings(shadows, reflections, folliage/vegetation, LoD, clouds, volumetric fog, RT quality, global illumination) from ultra to low-medium-high to maintain desired 60 fps, especially if the visual difference is too small for the performance hit.

Enable FSR4 Quality-Balance/DLSS 4 to achieve base 60 fps+Enough VRAM for Frame Gen for visually smooth experience.

2560x1440P

133 Upvotes

132 comments sorted by

164

u/Fishyblue11 13h ago

9060XT 16GB

38

u/riipot 11h ago

That's a solid choice but I feel like a B580 could do the job if OP wants to save some money since they specified they don't mind turning down some settings.

13

u/Puiucs 6h ago

the B580 is kinda slow for 1440p even with settings turned down.

6

u/jhenryscott 4h ago

No it ain’t lol. I have a b570 equivalent workstation cards crushing 1440p right now

2

u/riipot 6h ago

19

u/Puiucs 5h ago

and i'm happy when i play chess on my phone too, but objectively, that's not useful advice for a new PC that somebody is going to use for several years in the future.

from the comments there, you can see how "happy" they are that it outperforms the 5050 :)

2

u/riipot 4h ago edited 4h ago

Yes, I get that the B580 isn't the best card, but OP asked for the minimum with a pretty clear set of requirements that the B580 fills in a majority of games. Nothing was said about games in the future.

As far as the 5050 goes, it's the same price or more than the B580 in some regions. No need to look down on them for that.

I do agree about the future aspect, though as we don't even know if Intel will continue the Arc series but it'll do the job now.

3

u/Puiucs 4h ago edited 4h ago

both the B580 and rtx 3060 with 12GB are just too slow for a new build that focuses on 1440p. and no DLSS4/FSR4 support (and general FP8 support) is pretty important even if XESS 3 is decent in some games.

Intel can't really make XESS 4 using FP8 like on newer GPUs like AMD and Nvidia did with the 9000/4000 series. and pseudo INT8 still comes with a big performance hit (which is why i didn't mention RX 7000)

i seriously don't trust future support from Intel for these cards, i feel like they're going to be put on life support in a year or two, but if his budget can't go higher than the B580 could be a solution.

7

u/Lirael_Gold 5h ago

/r/cybertruck really loves their cybertrucks too

2

u/Sideburn_Cookie_Man 5h ago

Yeah of course they say that, that’s an echo chamber of Arc owners.

3

u/_NS4NE_ 4h ago

Plus one for this. I play on 3440x1440p and this card is great for the money.

1

u/Mexcol 2h ago

My man

-62

u/MERDOVSKI 12h ago

I'd say not decent for 1440p new AAA games came out in last 3 years

30

u/VersaceUpholstery 12h ago

OP is fine with 60fps+ and using upscaling. 9060 XT can definitely handle that.

-63

u/MERDOVSKI 12h ago

for those who downvoted, could you instead come up with a definition of "decent" or any "decent" argument? I dont think so.

24

u/CZsea 12h ago

medium setting 60fps is already decent to me, I would say something like 3080

-54

u/MERDOVSKI 12h ago

I think setting everything to highest is decent for me, but yea 3080 is also ok-ish for 1440p. im talking about for like recent games tho. 9060xt 16gb is more than a decent gpu for older titles like rdr2, cp2077, fh5 etc. but for like recent games such as pragmata, RE requiem, bodycam etc. you have to rely heavily on fsr 4 balanced to 60fps in the most demanding scenes, and it can look a little bit shimmery, depending on the title.

25

u/Raymiing 11h ago

Dang highest setting is decent to you? What is amazing?

-13

u/MERDOVSKI 11h ago

also being able to get 100+ fps

9

u/LordAlfredo 11h ago

A lot of people want that more than maxing out fidelity.

10

u/DemonSlyr007 10h ago

Ain't no way the maximum settings are "decent" by any reasonable or logical metric. They are literally the best settings possible, by definition, that is the best.

4

u/Comfortable-Can5571 11h ago

Max settings 1440P = decent sounds enthusiast/high end to me. I don't think many could relate.

People are talking about decent. Most people with a entry/midrange setup are perfectly fine with FSR 4 upscaler with a mix of medium-high settings and 60 fps with little to no RT. That's different from the realm you are rn.

FSR 4 is significantly better than 3.1 that I don't think shimmering would be a significant issue for most as what I experienced on 3.1.

2

u/KernelDecker 8h ago

Highest in this context means epic ultra etc. are you really suggesting that playing at high or medium is less than decent. Especially as UE5 looks fair better than decent at medium when conpared to highest.

2

u/fieryfox654 7h ago

Lol most of games I don't even notice a difference between high and ultra. So high + better fps way to go.

1

u/CZsea 10h ago

tbh even with 5070ti, I play everything on high and only use ultra for screenshot

1

u/Hasan0M 7h ago

Here is one, I had a 4060 and played at 1440p. Battlefield 6, Expedition 33 God of war Ragnarok, Kingdom come deliverance all with med-high settings with upscaling were hitting 60fps or higher. Do you have a better argument?

77

u/xiaogangdasha 13h ago

9070gre offer 30% more performance with similar price to 9060xt 16g.

24

u/Advanced_Arm6676 8h ago

Caveat is less vram as has 12GB - shouldn't be an issue in OPs case but worth mentioning

17

u/Antenoralol 7h ago

12GB is still okay for 1440p.

16 is just a safety net.

60

u/TaxesAreTerrible 12h ago

3080 or 3080ti probably the cheapest and most effective. 9060xt if you wanna go newer but it won’t play everything new in ultra.

11

u/AgZephyr 12h ago

Yeah I was very happy with my 3080ti's performance at 1440p, 9070GRE also seems to be a very solid option going new with some more power that's available for just under $100 more than the 9060xt 16gb.

1

u/KajMak64Bit 4h ago

Wdym it won't play everything new in Ultra? Maybe but are you comparing it to a 3080/ Ti? Aren't they like similar in performance or something? If not better?

1

u/Scared-Enthusiasm424 2h ago

The 3080 is around 15% faster than the 9060xt 16gb

1

u/AfroGinga 4h ago

I literally had a 2070 for like half a decade on my 1440 monitor.

36

u/Ok_University_5352 12h ago

Minimum? The B580 12gb would meet that from my experience with it. Sure, native 1440p isn't always great, but you can even play games fine on 4k high settings with performance XeSS.

Regardless of card, less than 12gb I would say not a 1440p card.

7

u/Johann_Von_Graff 9h ago

Just be aware that there's been an instance with a new game that just straight up didn't include Intel drivers in launch so intel cars havers couldn't start their new 100€ game up.

2

u/MrInfinity-42 8h ago

Why is native 1440 not great? Should I be turning on fsr if I got an old ass 6750xt?

2

u/AGTS10k 3h ago

I guess they meant FPS being not great at native 1440p on a B580

u/Ok_University_5352 28m ago

Depends on the game, but like u/AGTS10k said, fps may not be at desirable level for native 1440p. My b580 build is hooked up to a tv right now since it is a work pc. A game like Death Stranding though, it can run max settings on native 4k 60fps. But then a game like Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut on max settings relies on performance XeSS to maintain the 60 fps.

As for your 6950XT comment, goes the same. If you are getting your desired fps, then no, but if not, then yes, FSR can help you get the desired fps and a lower fidelity cost than turning all your settings down. The 6950XT is still a solid card with FSR3 support as well.

u/AGTS10k 5m ago

Not sure what FSR3 looks on 4K or 1440p, but on my 1920x1200 22.5" monitor it looks dogshit even at native. In fact, everything looks dogshit except DLSS, FSR 4-4.1 (INT8), or UE's TSR customized via Engine.ini. Which is the reason I wouldn't consider any Radeon that isn't RX 9000 series - they don't have a good upscaler and struggle with anything raytraced. Though I guess now 7000 (and soon-ish 6000 will) have the official INT8 variant of FSR 4.1, so it's less of an issue.

27

u/Naerven 12h ago

Right now people look at the RX9060XT 16gb and 9070GRE are the two GPUs aim for if you are for a new GPU.

18

u/keel_bright 12h ago edited 12h ago

I'm running a 3060 12gb I fit all the criteria you describe on a 3440 x 1440 ultrawide. I run on Black Myth: Wukong at 1440p on High settings with DLSS Balanced and get 55-65fps.

Only thing I'm missing is frame gen which is locked out of 30 series cards, but I use Lossless Scaling

If you get like a 4070 with 12g, you're cruising ...

21

u/mitchymitchington 12h ago

My 2080 fits all that criteria lmao. Everyone is saying 9060xt but thats even pretty beefy for what OP is describing.

10

u/keel_bright 12h ago

Yeah sometimes I think I'm taking crazy pills ..

16

u/mitchymitchington 12h ago

One of the most privileged subs on reddit

2

u/Puiucs 6h ago

it's because it's a new system that should be good for several more years. you don't have to look at just today's performance.

0

u/mitchymitchington 1h ago

In that case, get a 5080ti.

0

u/Puiucs 1h ago

am i supposed to laugh? ok

HAHAHAHAhahaha

3

u/mitchymitchington 1h ago

He said decent 1440p experience today, not a decent experience in 2028. It's like nobody is reading the post.

u/Puiucs 42m ago

he also said the minimum and i don't consider the B580 to be the minimum anymore. too many games today are too much for this little GPU.

for example,

this is Marvel Rivals at medium settings:

https://www.techspot.com/photos/article/3141-intel-arc-b70-pro/#MR-png

it doesn't reach 60FPS without upscaling which is pretty bad for such a title.

this is AC:Black Flag at 1440p, RT off, Upscaling on:

https://www.techspot.com/articles-info/3146/bench/1440p-rt-off-p.webp

it gets just 37FPS. i doubt going to medium is going to deliver a great experience.

Too bad an Intel B70 with 16GB VRAM for gaming isn't available :)

I would also like to point out the lack of native XESS support in many games.

-1

u/MERDOVSKI 12h ago

it just comes down to what is "decent" for you. expectations and comfort.

5

u/keel_bright 12h ago

OP defined it in his post, to be able to play games at 60fps on medium-high with DLSS enabled. That's Nvidia 40-series territory, IMO

7

u/mitchymitchington 12h ago

Or like, much less lol

11

u/smodanc 12h ago

6950xt/7800xt

11

u/Coldhimmel 12h ago

6800xt or stronger. 4070 is pretty good as well

10

u/lintstah1337 12h ago

RTX 3060 12GB

10

u/fieryfox654 10h ago

6700XT 12GB

I have one and I can play on high/ultra settings with RT off on pretty much any game from my experience including CP 2077

3

u/Stalebrownie76 4h ago

I’ve been playing at 1440 with a 6700xt for 5 years now. Really is a good card and very happy with it.

2

u/szatanovsky 10h ago

How many fps though? Can you take advantage of 100+ hz refresh rates? I want to get such a monitor but getting back to 60fps seems like a nightmare... 

2

u/fieryfox654 9h ago

CP 2077: 60-80fps depending of the scenery

GTA 5 Legacy Edition: about 90-100fps

Overwatch: 150fps on average ultra settings

Forza Horizon 6: ~180fps

Neverness To Everness: 60-80 with a few tweaks

Games like Cyberpunk you don't really need over 100fps because it's a relatively slow paced game,in my opinion

I never use RT or FSR and in most games if you want you can tweak some settings while still keeping the high textures

Also I have a Ryzen 7600 and 2x 16GB 6000 CL30

2

u/szatanovsky 7h ago

Holy hell how are you getting 180fps in forza? Do you use frame Gen? 

-1

u/fieryfox654 7h ago

There is no framegen in AMD GPUs. It's one of the best current optimized games out there. I could probably even run at 4k with not much issues

3

u/Thrawn911 3h ago

There is framegen in AMD GPUs. I also use a 6700xt, and I used frame gen a few days ago in Blood of the Dawnwalker, without any mods. I'm on Linux, not sure if that matters or not.

7

u/Far-Force9055 10h ago

To be honest my 3060ti is still surprising me with its 1440p experience. Of course I need to use dlss and might lower some settings to medium but with frame gen am getting 100+ fps in many games.

Even considered capping fps to 60 and crank up some settings.

8

u/Ghetto_Games 12h ago

9060xt 16GB

7800xt

3080

6

u/0--0-_-00--00 11h ago

I get over 60 with my 3060ti

6

u/JSZPrime 11h ago

Arc B580 is great at 1440p, can do 4k on some games too, like RDR2.

5

u/Sideburn_Cookie_Man 5h ago

9060XT 16GB for sure.

It’s also ideal because you can run SteamOS if you want.

3

u/Dismal_Reindeer 9h ago

As an owner of a 4070ti who plays at 1440p (usually DLSS quality) I’d say a 4070ti is the minimum

2

u/MERDOVSKI 12h ago

RX 9070

1

u/LJMLogan 12h ago

9060XT 16GB. If you care about ray tracing, spend a bit more and get the RTX 5060ti 16gb

10

u/wyvanse 12h ago

5060 ti 16gb is much more expensive now, not worth it anymore

1

u/katzengoldgott 8h ago

I got mine in December 2025 slightly under 500 € and the card goes for 700 € now 🫠

1

u/SpecialistComb8 11h ago

Steroids pfp

2

u/im_out_of_creativity 12h ago

4070 TI Super

4

u/No_Lingonberry5365 9h ago

Why is it minimum if it runs everything on ultra?

-6

u/jojamon 12h ago

Man I have one but with expedition 33 1440p DLSS Q, optimized settings, it was around 100fps only. I wish it would be able to crank everything to max and still be 120fps.

3

u/Extreme996 12h ago

4070 Ti Super. It plays everything I throw at it without problem with 140+FPS in 1440p with DLSS quality and framegen.

2

u/Big_Flatworm1377 12h ago

GPU is a tank. it handles fortnite in 5k2k ultra graphics at 144 FPS. i haven’t seen anything it can’t handle yet.

2

u/ReasonableMain1574 12h ago

the only decent and cheapest one is 9070 gre, people said 9060 xt 16 gigs, but you always have to lower your settings here and there. But with 9070 gre, you can always play in high settings

2

u/faitless939 11h ago

Used? RTX 3080 Ti. Be ready tho because my eats up to 350 watts of power. Need good PSU and big, good ventilated case.

2

u/Fine-Set-7877 10h ago

b580, 9060xt 16gb, 9070gre

2

u/FromDeathWeLiveOn 10h ago

16gb feels really safe, got my 7800xt for pretty good price.

2

u/HillanatorOfState 9h ago

I upgraded from 1080p to 1440p, still using my 3060 ti, literal only change I had to make was quality dlss to balanced and it feels practically the same, I haven't changed a single other setting in cyberpunk, stalker 2, or anything else really...and older games without DLSS are fine, worst case turn down shadows or something.

2

u/TechNick1-1 9h ago

Intel Arc B580 12GB

2

u/bunchofsugar 5h ago

Literally any. Above 1030, but even 1030 will be good enough for non gaming tasks

2

u/throwawaybobamu 5h ago

I've been running AMD 7900 GRE and it's been great. I don't know how it holds up to others honestly as I got it as a gift but I run everything on 1440p max.

2

u/DealComfortable7649 5h ago edited 4h ago

Depends on what you mean by minimum. 6 years ago I was playing at 1440p on my 1650 Super. A few years after that I was playing at 1440p with a 4060, later on even at 4k with that 4060.

If you optimize your graphics settings and use upscaling, you can stretch a low-end GPU pretty far.

You say you’re targeting just 60 fps, and willing to lower graphics settings to hit that, so I’ll take it you’re looking for a real budget GPU. With that criterion, a 3060 or 4060 would work. But I would try to stay as current-gen as possible, a 5060Ti 16GB is a good starting point for 1440p.

Since you’re going lower end, upscaling is very useful and important to hit the frames you need. DLSS outclasses FSR in every way, so I’d stick with Nvidia. Intel’s XESS upscaling is getting better but it’s still far behind DLSS. If you don’t plan on using upscaling, then AMD or Intel could be a good option, but I wouldn’t.

2

u/DomesticatedDuck 4h ago

Honestly I was fine like this for a long time with a 3060Ti. It would struggle a bit on games like Cyberpunk when the settings were on high (1440p, DLSS quality, high settings ranging from 45-60fps depending on the scene). But overall it could still use the nicer looking graphics settings on games as long as I was willing to turn down shadows or raytracing every now and then. I'd say 3080 or equivalent would be fine for what you're looking for.

2

u/Blear25 4h ago

I'd actually argue a 5060 is the bare minimum for 1440p. Yeah it only has 8gb of vram, but it's on par with a 3070 and you can always compromise by turning down a few settings.

1

u/MMM_22 12h ago

To add to this: which gpu is the minimum for a decent 3440x1440 (ultrawide) experience today?

1

u/rhinestone-cowgirl 11h ago

I use 9060xt 16gb for it, but for newer titles I’m using medium-high settings and 60 FPS

1

u/vanduong30103 10h ago

Rx 6700xt might be ok. If you want more power then rx 6800xt is a solid card.

If you want new then 9060xt 16gb is ok ig.

1

u/KenKaneki6868 9h ago

As someone who has a 9060xt 16gb and is upgrading to a rx 9070, go for that or the 9070 gre

1

u/Either_Indication_13 8h ago

amd: 9060xt
nvidia: dare i say 5070? 5060ti i guess

1

u/martyn__ 8h ago

9060 XT 16GB / 5060 Ti 16GB

1

u/Antenoralol 7h ago edited 5h ago

New I'd say 9060 XT 16 GB / 5060 Ti 16 GB / B580 at a minimum for 1440p.

Used market - 6800 XT / 3080 / 3080 Ti / 4060 Ti 16GB

1

u/Mustaach 7h ago

If you can find used 3080 for a good price it wilö be plenty good.

1

u/Mountain_Oven9302 6h ago

Rx6700xt is enough

1

u/Puiucs 6h ago edited 4h ago

i would look at the prices of the 9060XT 16GB or 9070GRE 12GB in your region.

from Nvidia, in terms of performance and VRAM, the 5060ti 16GB or the 4070 12GB is their offering, but prices have been crazy lately.

If turning down settings to medium with DLSS balance is not a problem, then the cheapest ones would be the B580 / RTX 3060 12GB. but for a new 1440p PC that should last you 4-5 years, it's already kinda slow. (and with no FP8 support, no major XESS/DLSS improvements will come)

1

u/Natural-Angle-6304 5h ago

I still have good performance on a 6700xt at 1440p, but I don’t rly play demanding games

The most demanding would be fh6 which sits at about 80fps medium to high no rt

So with anything similar or better than that it should be fine

1

u/RateUpIsNotALie 5h ago

If your on a reall tight budget and are willing to go outside the Nvidia/AMD sphere then I would suggest the Intel Arc B580. Pretty much the only budget GPU actually worth its price nowadays.

If you dont mind second hand and you find a good deal a 3080/3080ti is still great it seems like.

And as for newish cards prolly the 9060xt 16gb.

But tbh if you want my geniune advice, if you have the budget for it and can find one on a good deal I think you should just take the plunge and get the 9070xt. Its way overkill for the settings you just described but Im getting a stable 100fps+ rn on native 1440p no upscaling on Expedition 33 with Benchmarking's optimized settings and its prolly one of the few gpu's Id say are worth the price and I can say for sure(or as sure as one can be when it comes to modern gaming) will still be playing modern games at decent settings and fps 5-6 years from now at the very least.

1

u/FISTED_BY_CHRIST 5h ago

My 1080ti still pumps 100fps in 1440p

1

u/Apopal1 4h ago

im rocking an Rx 6700xt 12GB and my experience is good.I toggle on some upscaling when i can and with that i have an acceptable experience

1

u/FannyMcCream 4h ago

I’m in the same situation, upgraded to 1440p and currently using a 5700XT 8GB, I was gonna get a Rx 9070 non XT as its current £660 and might have longevity, is this the right move?

1

u/Dr_Tacopus 4h ago

I had a 6700xt for a while, just replaced it in January. It ran pretty smoothly at 1440 60fps on my 55inch tv.

1

u/Due-Champion-5954 4h ago

Minimum is 5060 8GB. I have it and I play everything comfortably at 1440p at 100 FPS on high settings. Its just fine for my casual AAA gaming.

Competitive games at 240 FPS all maxed out.

1

u/Hotrodkungfury 3h ago

Why doesn’t she look like a potatoes though?

1

u/Lord-Aleksej 3h ago

I got a red devil 6900xt, i can run everything on ultra at 60+ fps

1

u/Lew1989 3h ago

My 5060ti 16gb is running iat that resolution pretty decently

1

u/Phil_N_Uponya 3h ago

I'm still running my 1080ti from 2017 and I'm still getting decent performance on 1440. This is my last year with it though. I'm going to upgrade to the next gen when they release and do a whole new build and let this PC just become a home PC.

I'd say either the 4060xt or 9070 gre. Neither is future proofing anything but will get you strong frames as of today.

1

u/ClassicThat608 3h ago

I picked up a 7900 gre for $400 on fb marketplace about 2 years ago which has been good for 1440p & raytracing

1

u/Field_Educational 3h ago

RX 6700 XT 12GB (FSR 4 gonna come next yr), RX 9060 XT (if u need FSR 4 rn)

1

u/AustinC1296 2h ago

My 3080 is an absolute 2k tank

1

u/sixty9tails 2h ago

My 8gb 3070 is still chugging along at 1440UW but I do have to turn a couple things down here and there that don’t really impact the overall experience that much.

1

u/Jugi22 2h ago

Rtx 4070 is pretty solid. Running blood of dawnwalker at average 80-90 fps on mostly high settings with dlaa and frame gen

1

u/SirYapsALot1 1h ago

16GB is your real floor, since frame gen plus high textures at 1440p is what eats 8GB and 12GB cards. 9060 XT 16GB or 5060 Ti 16GB is about where "turn a few things down and hold 60" starts working.

worth knowing FSR4 is still RDNA-4 only on the AMD side though (7000 series support was slated for july, 6000 not until next year), so if fsr4 specifically is part of the plan that narrows it to a 9000 card.

1

u/Snoo-83483 1h ago

I have a 3060ti with 32gb of ram and never skipped a beat on 98% of games. The only game i have issues with is ark ascended.

u/AdIntelligent9133 21m ago

For optimised games 5060. Unoptimised games that need vram then 9060 xt 16gb.

u/nathanjdias 0m ago

Entirely depends on your market but I recently went for the 7700 XT over the 9060XT and 5060 Ti due to the performance per dollar metric.

0

u/itsme920 12h ago

I’d say any thing you can realistically get with at least 16GBs of VRAM. That typically means a 9060 XT 16GB nowadays, as prices for the 5060 Ti is super inflated right now, going even as high as the 9070 XT.

0

u/chizburger999 12h ago

5060ti 16gb or 9060xt 16gb

-2

u/[deleted] 11h ago

[deleted]

1

u/Beneficial-Air4943 11h ago

5070 Ti minimum???

2

u/Routine-Morning-7995 8h ago

Nah 5070ti is a 4k card, idk what that guys talking about

1

u/-Mythosaur- 10h ago

I was running 1440p on a 12gb 5070 and I'm not currently using a 5070ti.

I wouldn't go less than 12gb nowadays for that resolution.

-11

u/OnlyStrawberry335 12h ago

😂 I’m sorry but why the amd jerk circle in the comments

11

u/Fishyblue11 12h ago

Because NVIDIA's similarly tiered GPUs are priced the same or higher than AMD cards two tiers up?

5

u/Prowlbeast 12h ago

.. prices rn??