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Advice on GPU for AMD APU system

T

Tom 8

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Mar 20, 2026
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Hello, I’m seeking advice on which GPU to pair with an aging AMD APU.

Main system specs:
  • Motherboard: Asrock B450 GAMING-ITX/AC - AM4
  • CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2400G 3.6GHz 4-Core
  • PSU: Corsair SF600, 600 Watt
Use case:
I do production illustration in Photoshop and Corel Painter, essentially 2D work. The system has served me well but it’s getting on in age and I imagine it will need replacing soon. It's beginning to show some limitations.


Considerations:
  • Would like to do light-to-moderate 3D modelling and rendering, and sculpting in Blender, EEVEE and Cycles, and character animation.
  • Would like more monitor connections with higher refresh rates and resolution support (4K/5K).
  • And would like to migrate the GPU into a new system, when the current needs replacing.

Requirements:
Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated – I’ve not kept up with developments in GPUs, except to note the meteoric price rise.
 
a rtx 5060 is about as good as that machine will support and will be transferable later.
 
Many thanks for the suggestion.

What about AMD? Could the Radeon RX 9060 XT also be an option?
And should I avoid the 8GB versions?

On a side note, would it be worth upgrading the CPU or is AM5 so far ahead that it's better to replace the entire system?
 
For those productivity tasks, I would think you would want more VRAM. But if you're coming from the IGP on that 2400G, I would think any modern dGPU would be a massive upgrade for you and would be fine. From what I see on Google with a cursory glance, Intel's GPUs seem to perform well in most of those apps and offer the most VRAM for the money right now.

So maybe consider the A770 or B570/580 with 16/12/10GBs VRAM respectively. But I would definitely research them yourself to see how well they'll perform compared to AMD and Nvidia in the same price ranges in those apps specifically, which they have virtually nothing right now below $300 and you can get Intel GPUs for considerably less than that at least.
 
Tom 8 said:
Many thanks for the suggestion.

What about AMD? Could the Radeon RX 9060 XT also be an option?
And should I avoid the 8GB versions?

On a side note, would it be worth upgrading the CPU or is AM5 so far ahead that it's better to replace the entire system?
Click to expand...
a 9060xt would work too, but what you named seems to work better with rtx cards.
i would want 16gb, but the psu is limiting that on the nv side, the 9060xt would be fine on it.
it would be board, chip and ram at minimum..
 
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Tom 8 said:
Many thanks for the suggestion.

What about AMD? Could the Radeon RX 9060 XT also be an option?
And should I avoid the 8GB versions?

On a side note, would it be worth upgrading the CPU or is AM5 so far ahead that it's better to replace the entire system?
Click to expand...
The problem with AM5 jump is the astronomical pricing on DDR5. You can still find AM4 CPUs which would give you a substantial lift over the 2400g. For example I recently sold a 5700x here. Check out the FS forums or maybe even ebay. Milk that DDR4 system until it's dry LOL. And yeah 5060 or 9060 flip a coin, or check the used market for 4060/4070 etc
 
There's nothing stopping you from installing any GPU you can afford, that the PSU will power, and that will physically fit. The CPU has very little to do with it, except in the case of the Intel B580/B570; those boards, or probably more correctly their drivers, don't run well with older CPU's.

You can also profitably drop in say a 5500 or (better) 5600 CPU and get a massive CPU boost. It won't match going to AM5 or recent Intel, but it will get you a big chunk of the way there. If you're running the old stock cooler, almost anything that physically fits would be better.
 
I'd grab a 3060 or Ti version and call it a day. No reason to buy anything more for that CPU.

If wanting to save for migration, then I agree a 5060 is probably best.
 
Thanks so much for all the good suggestions, you guys are most generous with your time.

Burticus’ comment truly made me laugh. Yes, I plan to milk this DDR4 system dry. Hopefully a full system upgrade can wait until after the AI bubble bursts, assuming it ever does. The system does run well, it’s stable, just seems to need a push here and there.

On the GPU, I’m waiting for a 4K IPS monitor and will test how things run when it arrives. Next year I would like to use it in a dual-screen setup with an OLED, maybe a 42” LG C6.

The Intel Arc looks like really good value for money. Unfortunately, as pendragon1 said, application support is a decisive factor. Nvidia is safe, AMD likely also, but Intel support seems patchy. That’s a shame. Need to look into each application individually.

On the CPU side, it’s incredible how cheap a 5500 is. If the stock cooler from the 2400G fits, that could be a great upgrade.

Once again I’m very grateful for all your replies.
 
As an interim solution you could get a 5700G for $223.00. That would help stretch the life of your AM4 system with better performance single thread wise as well as graphically for photoshop.
 
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Tom 8 said:
...
On the CPU side, it’s incredible how cheap a 5500 is. If the stock cooler from the 2400G fits, that could be a great upgrade.
Click to expand...

Yes, it will fit, and will be ... adequate, I guess. I really advise spending $20 on something like a Thermalright Assassin X or Assassin King, though; it cools much better and is much quieter than that stock cooler.

Some time back, I replaced the stock cooler on a 3200G build (the 3200G is a tweak of the 2200G CPU) with a puny little $25 Cryorig M9a - no longer available, alas - and load temps dropped by 10C with much lower noise levels. The stock cooler will keep the CPU from thermal damage but that's about it.
 
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5500 + used 3060 ti + peerless asssassin or something. dirt cheap and it'll do the job for a few years. If u want to stretch a buget a 5060 ti has a 16 gb version, same with 9060xt, there's always a 5700 too. The AMD 5000 cpus are plenty powerful still.
 
Hi guys, thanks again for the replies and the CPU cooler recommendation.
I have been looking for GPU deals and wonder how you go about accessing them.

Brand:
there are the known ones, Asus, Gigabyte ... then the lesser known, Inno3D for example. Is brand a criteria?

Fans:
some have 2 fans, some 3. Other than being more compact, is there any reason to pick one over the other?

Whatever one picks, I assume it’s mandatory to find reviews of any GPU you consider and research carefully. They may look alike but the devil is in the details.


Edit: I am looking at rtx 5060 ti 16 GB and rx 9060 xt 16 GB
 
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What is your budget for a new gpu? What resolution and refresh rate are you targeting. These are the basic questions that determine your best options.
 
Burticus said:
Hey OP I just saw a 2080ti on FS thread for $200, you should jump all over that

https://hardforum.com/threads/fs-ft...4-64gb-ddr5-sodimms-hp-victus-laptop.2046406/

He also has a B580 for 220, but honestly I'd take the 2080ti for $200 ALL DAY LONG
Click to expand...
Good price for the 2080ti, as slightly faster RTX 3070's are around $220 and up on eBay.

The B580 is no slouch, either, especially with overclocking. At stock, a RTX 3070 8GB is slightly faster than a RTX 2080 Ti 11GB, and they are both faster than a B580 12GB. The B580's are good overclockers, but stability in games while overclocked is hit or miss.

Tom 8 said:
Edit: I am looking at rtx 5060 ti 16 GB and rx 9060 xt 16 GB
Click to expand...
These are good choices, but overpriced for how they perform. At stock, a RTX 3080 10GB will perform 14% better at 1080P in gaming than a RTX 5060 Ti 16GB, and sells for as low as $315 at eBay. Otherwise, a RTX 5060 Ti 16GB will cost around $500.

For gaming, either the NVIDIA or AMD graphics cards are fine. However, for 3D modelling, you'll want to go for NVIDIA graphics cards.
 
I can access the secondhand forum. However, I’m based in Europe so I can only look upon the prices you quote with envy. :)

I plan to use the card for 3D work in Blender and maybe 3DCoat. Mostly I do 2D work, however, 3D is increasingly becoming part of the design process and I’ve begun to tinker with it. And I'd like better GPU real-time rendering and the performance to drive more polygons. I’m also intrigued by Voxel-based sculpting, as in 3DCoat. Currently I’m only using Blender.

Looking at the various cards, I’m very tempted by the B580 12GB – I’m not a dedicated 3D artist, only plan to use it in a supplementary role. The only thing that makes me reticent about Arc is application support. Blender should be fine, 3DCoat less so. Perhaps AMD is the better choice.

On Nvidia, comparing rtx 5060 ti with rx 9060 prices in my region, Nvidia consistently costs 20-25% more for similar performance, and although that buys me guaranteed application support, I'm not sure if it's worthwhile. Someone gave a technical explanation for why Nvidia is attractive in the 3D industry. I’ll include it here:

Zbrush is almost entirely CPU basedMaya/3ds Max - Doesnt matter if you are not doing renders.Unreal doesnt matter either as it supports both cards well but you will be missing out if you need RTX features for your project (DLSS, Raytracing acceleration)Now when it comes to bake software like substance or marmoset, NVIDIA RTX is amazing as it will cut your bake times to single digit seconds, even 8k texture maps.

In general you want cuda or RTX (optix) stuff for 3d work loads that involve rendering, but as far as modelling and engine implementations go it doesn't matter much if at all. I would go through the extra effort to go NVIDIA just so you have the extra features should you need/want to venture out on other things later.
...
If you doing texturing you also probably doing some baking which is rendering and it can benefit heavily from CUDA/OptiX depending on where you do that. You will see MASSIVE speed up in Substance baking on Nvidia GPU, AMD GPU doesn't work there for baking at all so it's done on CPU instead if that is case. Toolbag can use AMD card, but RTX cards get speed advantage.
...
Nvidia GPU is basically requirement for working in 3D and not shooting your self in the leg by limiting your tools options or speed with AMD.

Better and more frequent Studio drivers updates also perk for stability.

Gaming-wise, I’m an old Civ player (Civ I to IV). I love the old Baldur’s Gate and would like to try BG3. And now and then I play a bit of Mechwarrior Online or World of Warcraft. However, nothing very demanding.


Edit: clarity
 
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Tom 8 said:
I can access the secondhand forum. However, I’m based in Europe so I can only look upon the prices you quote with envy. :)

I plan to use the card for 3D work in Blender and maybe 3DCoat. Mostly I do 2D work, however, 3D is increasingly becoming part of the design process and I’ve begun to tinker with it. And I'd like better GPU real-time rendering and the performance to drive more polygons. I’m also intrigued by Voxel-based sculpting, as in 3DCoat. Currently I’m only using Blender.

Looking at the various cards, I’m very tempted by the B580 12GB – I’m not a dedicated 3D artist, only plan to use it in a supplementary role. The only thing that makes me reticent about Arc is application support. Blender should be fine, 3DCoat less so. Perhaps AMD is the better choice.
Click to expand...
You just have to check your apps and see. NV is the safe choice for pro 3D unless you're sure about what you'll be using. Pro apps basically come in 3 flavors: NV only, NV or AMD, or works on whatever. More consumer/hobbyist oriented stuff and free open source stuff like Blender tends to support whatever. FOSS devs tend to be allergic to NV CUDA. In other words you either figure out what you want to use and check the requirements or you go NV.

3DCoat looks like it ought to be ok on ARC & AMD. System requirements: https://3dcoat.com/system-requirements/ It works on Intel integrated, the top GPU mentioned is a 2060, and doesn't mention AMD in the hardware requirements but it "runs on a wide range of hardware" so I'd think AMD would be fine. I mean it works on Intel Integrated on HD Graphics 615. Intel HD graphics 6xx is from 7th gen, so 2017. Plus you have an AMD APU so you can just try it. They have a 30 day free trial. Or you could just email them and ask. https://pilgway.com/page/contacts

The presently messy bit with NV is it currently costs significantly more for the same amount of vram. A lot of pro apps are more sensitive to vram than GPU speed. That's what makes the Intel ARC B580 12GB and AMD RX 9060XT 16GB attractive. They both have more vram than anything else you can get new at their price point. So they're tempting if you want to go cheap.

The other thing I'd do with your rig is look into a CPU upgrade once you get a vid card unless you feel you're short on ram. You have a B450 board and that can run a lot faster CPUs than a 2400G. It's another $ vs. speed decision, but I'm sure you can get a used proc that's much faster than what you have for not too much. Might be a burst of them coming. AMD is planning to re-release the 5800X3D. https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-to-bring-back-ryzen-7-5800x3d-as-am4-10th-anniversary-edition A whole lot of people have gone from thinking about building a new rig to wanting a CPU upgrade because of ram prices. That will result in a bunch of gamers upgrading and selling whatever they had on the used market. Bet there will be a lot of 5600X and 5800X getting replaced when the reissue happens.
 
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Thanks for this very detailed post, very helpful.

I found a deal on a 5060 16GB Ti OC priced nearly as a 9060, so I went with Nvidia. It’s a budget card, Inno3D.
Comparing the clock speeds and such, I see some differences with PNY, MSI and other brands, but hopefully the build quality, coil whine etc., won’t be an issue. Still haven’t opened the box as I have to do some cable management and move fans around, so there is yet time to reconsider.

Thanks also for providing the background for those CPU re-releases. It makes sense. Will keep an eye on CPU prices.

About CPU-heatsinks. My clearance is 135mm max, so unfortunately the Assassin likely will not fit unless I remove the side panel. Any recommendations on low'ish-profile heatsinks would be welcome.


zandor said:
You just have to check your apps and see. NV is the safe choice for pro 3D unless you're sure about what you'll be using. Pro apps basically come in 3 flavors: NV only, NV or AMD, or works on whatever. More consumer/hobbyist oriented stuff and free open source stuff like Blender tends to support whatever. FOSS devs tend to be allergic to NV CUDA. In other words you either figure out what you want to use and check the requirements or you go NV.

3DCoat looks like it ought to be ok on ARC & AMD. System requirements: https://3dcoat.com/system-requirements/ It works on Intel integrated, the top GPU mentioned is a 2060, and doesn't mention AMD in the hardware requirements but it "runs on a wide range of hardware" so I'd think AMD would be fine. I mean it works on Intel Integrated on HD Graphics 615. Intel HD graphics 6xx is from 7th gen, so 2017. Plus you have an AMD APU so you can just try it. They have a 30 day free trial. Or you could just email them and ask. https://pilgway.com/page/contacts

The presently messy bit with NV is it currently costs significantly more for the same amount of vram. A lot of pro apps are more sensitive to vram than GPU speed. That's what makes the Intel ARC B580 12GB and AMD RX 9060XT 16GB attractive. They both have more vram than anything else you can get new at their price point. So they're tempting if you want to go cheap.

The other thing I'd do with your rig is look into a CPU upgrade once you get a vid card unless you feel you're short on ram. You have a B450 board and that can run a lot faster CPUs than a 2400G. It's another $ vs. speed decision, but I'm sure you can get a used proc that's much faster than what you have for not too much. Might be a burst of them coming. AMD is planning to re-release the 5800X3D. https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-to-bring-back-ryzen-7-5800x3d-as-am4-10th-anniversary-edition A whole lot of people have gone from thinking about building a new rig to wanting a CPU upgrade because of ram prices. That will result in a bunch of gamers upgrading and selling whatever they had on the used market. Bet there will be a lot of 5600X and 5800X getting replaced when the reissue happens.
Click to expand...
 
I think I mentioned the 5500 CPU earlier; it would be a very definite advance, and it's not all that hard to cool. There's a Thermalright Peerless Assassin 90 at 110mm high that would work for that CPU, or one like it (e.g. a 5600). (In fact, I see a Completed Build on pcpartpicker with a 5500 and a PA90; the user seemed quite happy with the combo.)
 
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