Why owners of older CPUs should choose Radeon when upgrading GPUs

The authors of the Hardware Unboxed channel have published a new round of testing focused on the CPU bottlenecks of modern graphics cards. The experts compared three different GPUs paired with four distinct processors to analyze performance scaling.

Key highlights from the testing - The tests included GeForce RTX 5060, RTX 5070, and Radeon RX 9060 XT 8GB paired with Ryzen 5 5500, Ryzen 5 5600, Ryzen 7600, and Ryzen 7 9800X3D processors. - With budget or older CPUs, the high-end RTX 5070 loses to or ties with the much cheaper AMD card. - As CPU performance increases, Nvidia cards scale massively (up to 100% for RTX 5070), while the Radeon works consistently from the start.

The CPU bottleneck of Nvidia graphics cards Testing across 10 modern games demonstrated that pairing powerful GeForce cards with modest processors significantly limits their potential. When used with a modest Ryzen 5 5500, the RTX 5070 barely outperforms the cheaper RTX 5060, and both fall behind the Radeon RX 9060 XT 8GB. Upgrading to a Ryzen 5 5600 only allows the higher-end Nvidia card to match the significantly cheaper AMD alternative. It requires powerful modern hardware like the Ryzen 5 7600 or the elite Ryzen 7 9800X3D to finally let the RTX 5070 pull ahead and secure up to a 36% lead over the competing Radeon.

Stability and scaling of AMD GPUs Conversely, the Radeon RX 9060 XT 8GB handles standard workloads predictably right out of the box. Upgrading the baseline Ryzen 5 5500 to a top-tier 9800X3D yields only about a 30% performance uplift for the AMD card. In stark contrast, the RTX 5060 scales by 57% and the RTX 5070 scales by nearly 100% under the same CPU upgrade path. This indicates that AMD's architecture and drivers are far less prone to severe CPU bottlenecks on legacy platforms.

Practical advice for PC upgrades Experts conclude that gamers running older processors that cannot be easily replaced should lean towards AMD graphics cards when upgrading. Given the ongoing lifecycle of older platforms like AM4 and LGA1700, factoring in CPU dependency is crucial for maximizing system performance without overspending on unnecessary hardware.