It’s no secret that the graphics card (GPU) is the most exciting part of a gaming PC. The GPU is the key to high frame rates, and if yours is weak, you’ll be fighting low fps instead of enemies.
With that said, the GPU is not everything. It’s smart to allocate your budget in a way that gets you the best possible PC, not the best possible GPU. Here’s why you probably don’t need that beastly GPU, and which components are actually worth spending your money on.
The GPU is important, but you can get away with less
“Fake frames” go a long way
Credit: Ismar Hrnjicevic / How-To Geek
When I built my current PC, my initial goal was a much cheaper graphics card than what I ended up with.
I bought the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 Super almost as soon as it launched in 2024, but my initial plan was to settle for an RTX 4070. In retrospect, I know that I could’ve gotten away with the RTX 4070, and you might be in the same boat.
There are a few reasons not to go overboard with your GPU these days.
Frame generation tech really makes it easier to settle for a more modest GPU. In the case of Nvidia, Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) upscaling and frame generation come in handy and let you improve your frame rates tremendously. The downside is that DLSS is not available in every game. AMD has its own equivalent technology, FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR), but the adoption of FSR 4 has been slow due to hardware exclusivity. Meanwhile, Nvidia’s own data proves that DLSS is popular.
There’s a lot of discourse about so-called “fake frames,” but regardless of the terminology, DLSS and FSR can dramatically boost performance when used in the right games. There will still be titles where your GPU has to make do without this AI-based crutch, and that’s why it’s important to do your research before you buy.
Chances are that you can get away with a more mainstream GPU and put your money toward one of these other crucial components instead.
You need enough RAM
Trust me, you don’t want to run out of RAM mid-game
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Gamers used to be able to get away with using 16GB RAM, but that’s no longer the case. You never want to have the exact amount of RAM required — it’s important to leave some headroom.
Games like Microsoft Flight Simulator or Cyberpunk 2077 require lots of memory, and if you like to do something else on top of gaming, that number only goes up. If you play modded games, such as Minecraft or The Sims, you’ll also find your PC munching on RAM like it’s candy.
If your PC struggles with not having enough RAM while gaming, the end result isn’t going to be pretty. Windows will dip into your storage for backup, offloading data to a special file on your drive called the pagefile. This turns your SSD or HDD into temporary, fake memory. This is impossibly slow when compared to real RAM, and it makes gaming pretty much impossible. You’ll experience freezes, stutters, and massive frame rate drops.
Even having a fantastic GPU won’t save your performance if your PC runs out of RAM. As RAM is currently majorly overpriced, it might be smart to set a bit of your GPU budget aside to make sure you can get enough memory instead.
A better monitor matters more than you think
What’s the point in having a good GPU if your monitor isn’t ready for it?
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In my GPU-buying frenzy, I completely neglected my monitors. That’s how I ended up with a GPU capable of gaming at 4K and a pair of mismatched 1080p displays. (I rectified that error and now own two 1440p monitors instead.)
Having a high-end graphics card and a cheap 1080p monitor that maxes out at 60Hz is basically throwing money away. In a situation like this, the monitor becomes the greatest bottleneck, and all the extra frame rates that your GPU can produce are going to waste.
The opposite is true, too. A 4K monitor with a 1080p GPU will bring you nothing but frustration and low fps. Your best bet is to match your monitor to what your GPU is capable of. It’s a good plan to aim a little higher with refresh rates, as with frame generation, you’ll hit well above 60Hz in many games.
Still, much like GPUs, monitors also suffer from diminishing returns. Going from 60Hz to 144Hz (or higher) is transformative; you won’t see as much of a difference when you go from 144Hz to 240Hz, so don’t go too far in the other direction.
Screen Size
27″
Display Technology
Nano IPS
I own two LG 27GP850-B monitors, and I couldn’t be happier with them. This model is a good fit for any GPU that can comfortably play games at 1440p. I love the bright Nano IPS panel and decent color reproduction. It’s not the newest model anymore, but it’ll do the job for most gamers.
Don’t neglect your PSU and cooler
A beefy GPU with a cheap PSU is a recipe for disaster
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Modern GPUs consume a lot of power, and you never want to have just enough of it for your whole system to run. Getting a solid PSU is arguably the most important part of any PC build, as without it, you’ll be dealing with instability and crashes. Get a good enough power supply, and your system should be stable even if you decide to overclock your graphics card.
Proper wattage overhead means that you’ll have the most important part of your future-proofing sorted. Upgrades are easier when you don’t also have to spend money on a new PSU at the same time. And if you buy a PSU with a higher efficiency rating (for example, Gold instead of Bronze), you’ll find it runs cooler and quieter.
Keeping temperatures at bay is just as important as buying a good power supply. You want plenty of airflow inside the case and lots of cooling for the CPU. High-end GPUs dump a lot of heat into your case. A CPU cooler won’t fix that on its own, but good airflow and stable temps throughout the PC make everything run more smoothly.
Check whether you need a better CPU
Avoid CPU bottlenecks
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In most games, the GPU does the majority of the heavy lifting, but the lower your screen resolution, the more the CPU becomes involved. At 1080p and especially below, the CPU often becomes the limiting factor because the GPU can render frames so quickly. At higher resolutions, the workload shifts toward the GPU instead, making CPU bottlenecks less likely.
Because both components play such crucial roles in your PC performance, you want them to be roughly on the same level; one shouldn’t be wildly better than the other, or you’ll run into a bottleneck.
With that said, I don’t often recommend that gamers get high-end CPUs. It’s more about figuring out whether your favorite games are CPU-bound or GPU-bound and acting accordingly. Many esports titles are CPU-bound and are played at lower resolutions, for example.
Future-proofing makes sense, but only to some extent
You probably need less graphics power than you think
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There’s a lot of merit in getting the best GPU your money can buy, but only if it means you won’t be neglecting the rest of your build. An impressive GPU can only do so much for your PC’s gaming performance if one of the other components is subpar. Being careful with your budget is possibly the hardest part of PC building, and it’s easy to succumb to fear of missing out. You’ll be bombarded with advice to upgrade, but you don’t always need to.
Right now, with frame generation an inevitable part of PC gaming, you don’t need an overkill GPU. The only thing I recommend avoiding is graphics cards with 8GB of video memory (VRAM), as those will start showing their age a lot sooner. Aim for at least 12GB if you plan to play AAA games, and 16GB is a sweet spot.
Be realistic when you think about the games you usually like to play. Take me, for instance: I bought a high-end GPU, and then I proceeded to put 600 hours into a game that could be played on a PC from 2010.
If you’re not into AAA games or you don’t mind compromising on settings from time to time, aim for a balanced PC instead of a powerful GPU. You can always upgrade down the line.
