My daughter has started to have some issues playing Baldur's Gate 3 when playing with her friends. Pretty sure she games at 1080p. The system is old, i5 7400, GTX 1060, 16 GB ram. I'm well out of the loop at this point in my life so not sure what would be a reasonable upgrade. Looks like the Intel options are not viable with this old of a system and was thinking maybe a RX 9060 XT? Or, is the system old enough that she needs to save up more and build an entire new system? I don't want her to spend $300 on a video card and it not make much of a difference if the cpu is still to slow or if the motherboard can't fully support it. I have a i5 7500 that I could swap in but didn't seem worth the effort. Thanks
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Budget gpu upgrade for old system
- Thread starter Sprtfan
- Start date
Could sound very non-hard here 
, but if she has good internet (low latency) and always available, do not use mods or have over 6 hours gaming sessions, could be worth trying GeforceNow.
For 1080p/60fps, Performance tier ~$10 a month (it is possible to try with a day pass / single month, to be sure everything work well)
For an computer upgrade, BG3 love cpu, love having more than 4 cores and it could limit what the 9060xt can do quite a bit, specially in that game.
I feel a strong cpu with a 1060 (6 or 3gb) could run it well at low details 1080ps, but no matter the GPU the 7400 would always have an hard time at any setting, with a very strong CPU it seem a 1060 6GB can do well:
https://gamersnexus.net/game-benchm...pu-benchmarks-best-video-cards-baldurs-gate-3
40 fps with ultra setting is really good and that was 2 years of patch ago (which is a big *, maybe it got better with lower end CPUs over time, at launch it was really cpu heavy).
Right now a 5700 + b550m wifi+ 16GB of DDR4-3200 CL16 can go for a bit under $300
PCPartPicker Part List
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700 3.7 GHz 8-Core Processor ($134.96 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus PRIME B550M-A WIFI II Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Silicon Power GAMING 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($52.97 @ Newegg Sellers)
Total: $287.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-10-20 12:28 EDT-0400
It is possible to go for a 5500/3600 instead, no wifi motherboard if its not needed to save a little bit.
Edit: The 7700/7700k proposed below is a great idea has well....$55 on ebay right now for a 7700,double the threads, +50/60% multithread raw performance.
, but if she has good internet (low latency) and always available, do not use mods or have over 6 hours gaming sessions, could be worth trying GeforceNow.For 1080p/60fps, Performance tier ~$10 a month (it is possible to try with a day pass / single month, to be sure everything work well)
For an computer upgrade, BG3 love cpu, love having more than 4 cores and it could limit what the 9060xt can do quite a bit, specially in that game.
I feel a strong cpu with a 1060 (6 or 3gb) could run it well at low details 1080ps, but no matter the GPU the 7400 would always have an hard time at any setting, with a very strong CPU it seem a 1060 6GB can do well:
https://gamersnexus.net/game-benchm...pu-benchmarks-best-video-cards-baldurs-gate-3
40 fps with ultra setting is really good and that was 2 years of patch ago (which is a big *, maybe it got better with lower end CPUs over time, at launch it was really cpu heavy).
Right now a 5700 + b550m wifi+ 16GB of DDR4-3200 CL16 can go for a bit under $300
PCPartPicker Part List
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700 3.7 GHz 8-Core Processor ($134.96 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus PRIME B550M-A WIFI II Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Silicon Power GAMING 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($52.97 @ Newegg Sellers)
Total: $287.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-10-20 12:28 EDT-0400
It is possible to go for a 5500/3600 instead, no wifi motherboard if its not needed to save a little bit.
Edit: The 7700/7700k proposed below is a great idea has well....$55 on ebay right now for a 7700,double the threads, +50/60% multithread raw performance.
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I5 7400 is pretty much EOL at this point. If I were to do an upgrade to that system, I’d throw a 7700 at it if it was cheap enough to make sense. A 1070 is not going to be fully utilized with that processor. The 1060 is kind of a sweet spot for it.
bigdogchris
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Drop the resolution down to see what type of max FPS you can get with that CPU. If you can't even get a decent FPS without a GPU bottleneck it won't matter what you put in it.
I would also highly recommend going with AMD GPU's as they do better with lower-end CPU's due to less "driver overhead" than you get on Nvidia.
A 9060 XT 8GB would be fine cheap option if it seems the system can crank out more FPS than you are getting now.
I would also highly recommend going with AMD GPU's as they do better with lower-end CPU's due to less "driver overhead" than you get on Nvidia.
A 9060 XT 8GB would be fine cheap option if it seems the system can crank out more FPS than you are getting now.
If it were me. I'd say it's time for an upgrade. the CPU itself is obsolete, 4 core 4 thread.
most modern games are expecting at least 8 threads, sometimes 12.
This is where the question comes in about price/performance and how long you want a replacement system to last.
Regardless for the budget, I'd first verify that your indeed running into GPU bottleneck in BG3. If so then I would recommend something with a minimum 12GB of VRAM.
Even at 1080p, we are running into vram limitations in modern titles, so I cannot recommend buying a GPU with only 8GB of vRam.
Unfortunately, that means for new parts, your best option would be something like a 9060 XT 16GB, which goes for around 350$
if you want to keep it in budget, you can go used and look for something like a 6700 XT
CPU is a bigger problem, your going to need a rebuild for it. Luke has a good breakdown for new parts on AM4. That could be a good option but its an EOL platform as well, still a lot better than what you have now though.
most modern games are expecting at least 8 threads, sometimes 12.
This is where the question comes in about price/performance and how long you want a replacement system to last.
Regardless for the budget, I'd first verify that your indeed running into GPU bottleneck in BG3. If so then I would recommend something with a minimum 12GB of VRAM.
Even at 1080p, we are running into vram limitations in modern titles, so I cannot recommend buying a GPU with only 8GB of vRam.
Unfortunately, that means for new parts, your best option would be something like a 9060 XT 16GB, which goes for around 350$
if you want to keep it in budget, you can go used and look for something like a 6700 XT
CPU is a bigger problem, your going to need a rebuild for it. Luke has a good breakdown for new parts on AM4. That could be a good option but its an EOL platform as well, still a lot better than what you have now though.
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bigdogchris
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- 19,066
Being 8 or 12 core aware doesn't mean that's what the titles need or require.
Hardware Unboxed has proven, as recently as a month ago, the fastest 6 core CPU you can buy is the best option for purely gaming setup.
Point is, when someone is on a budget don't steer them towards something they don't need.
Thanks, looks like building something new will be the best option. Can use old video card for a while if needed and upgrade it when the time comes. For the price, it might be worth trying the 7700 also. Not out much if it dosen't work out. I'll give her the options and let her decide. Thanks again.Could sound very non-hard here
For 1080p/60fps, Performance tier ~$10 a month (it is possible to try with a day pass / single month, to be sure everything work well)
For an computer upgrade, BG3 love cpu, love having more than 4 cores and it could limit what the 9060xt can do quite a bit, specially in that game.
I feel a strong cpu with a 1060 (6 or 3gb) could run it well at low details 1080ps, but no matter the GPU the 7400 would always have an hard time at any setting, with a very strong CPU it seem a 1060 6GB can do well:
https://gamersnexus.net/game-benchm...pu-benchmarks-best-video-cards-baldurs-gate-3
40 fps with ultra setting is really good and that was 2 years of patch ago (which is a big *, maybe it got better with lower end CPUs over time, at launch it was really cpu heavy).
Right now a 5700 + b550m wifi+ 16GB of DDR4-3200 CL16 can go for a bit under $300
PCPartPicker Part List
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700 3.7 GHz 8-Core Processor ($134.96 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus PRIME B550M-A WIFI II Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Silicon Power GAMING 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($52.97 @ Newegg Sellers)
Total: $287.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-10-20 12:28 EDT-0400
It is possible to go for a 5500/3600 instead, no wifi motherboard if its not needed to save a little bit.
Edit: The 7700/7700k proposed below is a great idea has well....$55 on ebay right now for a 7700,double the threads, +50/60% multithread raw performance.
I think so, and if it is not enough that would still make a good computer for lesser need,
and if you have any use for an older system... 7700 could still make a good HTPC (https://www.intel.com/content/www/u...are/1-1/overview.html#ENCODE-OVERVIEW-5-6-7-8, https://www.intel.com/content/www/u...tel-hardware/1-1/overview.html#DECODE-SUPPORT)
7th gen can play HEVC 10 bits and that a lot of CPU for an HTPC.
If it is not an SSD in that machine that an other things that could be cheap and massive bump in the game and overall experience.
The game was optimised a lot since launch, in 2024 a 7700k ran it quite well:
View: https://youtu.be/XgAZrAqi9As
taht a 7700k and a 1070 so do not expect to run it has well, but 70-90 fps in an heavy part of the game at 1080p medium that excellent.
If the 1060 is the 3GB one, it could be an issue (has the game minimun they recommended at launch was 4GB, but that was a lot of optimization ago) but the 6GB should be good enough for sure.
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A quad-core with no HT is not very tenable anymore for any current games. 6-cores (with SMT/HT) are minimum now and 8 is standard. So I would def consider a platform upgrade before dropping a GPU in it.
Luke's suggestion above is solid; any Zen 3 CPU and platform would be a major upgrade and still be good for the foreseeable future. At least me and my son are still on Zen 3 (5800X3D and 5600X) and are still happy with performance on them. Then upgrading to a 9060 or even a B580 or something would be really solid for her and Boulder's Gate 3 for sure.
Luke's suggestion above is solid; any Zen 3 CPU and platform would be a major upgrade and still be good for the foreseeable future. At least me and my son are still on Zen 3 (5800X3D and 5600X) and are still happy with performance on them. Then upgrading to a 9060 or even a B580 or something would be really solid for her and Boulder's Gate 3 for sure.
Thread, not core.
At no point did i say anything about core. That was the point.
An 8 thread CPU is what is needed (minimum), that is a 4 core with hyperthreading/ SMT, 6 core with hyperthreading/smt, or 8 cores with no hyperthreading/smt (my issue with 'core ultra' Iintel CPU's).
Theoretically they could drop in a Kaby Lake 7700 into the system. Thats like 75$ on ebay.
But here is the problem. Windows 10 is dead. Given this is thier kid and they want them to be able to run current games and SAFE at the same time. They need an OS upgrade as well and thus that means they need a socket/mb upgrade.
Their current RAM is DDR4 based on what their system is as a kaby lake part.
to reuse as much as possible, the latest they could go to would be something on AM4 or an Alder Lake CPU, neither of which I would recommend buying new.
Regardless, I did not want to get into this arguement but you forced it.
In short, do not confuse threads with cores.
The 1060 is the 3GB unfortunately. I upgraded it to a SSD a while back. The computer is a prebuilt HP so I double checked that it would support the 7700 and it looks like it will. Realized that the power supply probably wouldn't have supported much of an upgrade for a new video card anyway. I'll probably give the CPU upgrade a chance. If it doesn't work out, I can upgrade the CPU in my Plex server with it.
Good point on Windows 10, I was able to get extended support but that is only for 1 year. I have an AM4 system that is a prebuilt that I could try to upgrade but I don't think it supports any of the better CPUs and the power supply is probably proprietary. Might check the used local market to see if anything looks reasonable. Really appreciate all the help from everyone, been about 7 years since I built a computer and a lot has changed in that time.
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you can get that system up to win11, if you want. there are several ways posted around here.
mentioning that its an oem HP sooner would have helped though, you might not even be able to put a new gpu in it, depends on the the psu it has.
mentioning that its an oem HP sooner would have helped though, you might not even be able to put a new gpu in it, depends on the the psu it has.
bigdogchris
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You're right you did say threads, I misread that, I'm sorry.
The issue talking just threads though is that some CPU's no longer have SMT, or some have it on on some cores but not others, etc.
But the point stands that a CPU with 6 physical cores (regardless of SMT or not) is the best option for gaming if you need to factor in value and only buying what you need.
CPU without SMT that would be considered will tend to be recent Intel and those have pretty much all high core count only options, even a core ultra 3 205 has 8 cores, N200 type of cpu and other more niche affair maybe.
14100F could be nice has well 4/8, even the 12100F sem to do really well in battlefield 6 low details versus say a 5600 / 10700k, start to see issues at higher but the 14100F would do a bit better. At $90 new not a bad choice
Sorry about that, should have mentioned it before. That computer has a 300 watt standard power supply and I have extra 500 I could put in if needed. Was confusing it in the above post with a different computer I have with a proprietary one.
One other upgrade option, I also have a oem HP with this mother board https://support.hp.com/hk-en/document/c06418627 . It can support up to a AMD Ryzen 7 3700x which looks to better cpu than the 7700 and is around $90 on ebay. I could then move the 1060 over to it. The power supply is only 300 and is proprietary.
Yeah its kinda the bare minimum though, if your getting new or even gently used parts, would you go for absolute bare minimum thats going to be outclassed?
Think of it this way, the xbox series X and the PS5 are 8 core 16 thread zen2 processor.
all games now are being designed with the idea that they will have at least 6 cores and 12 threads available. (given that usually 1-2 cores are reserved for OS and background tasks)
So yes you can get away with a 4/8 processor now, but it would be the absoloute minimum, normally even for a budget system id recommend one step up from minimum if the budget allows as its generally not that more expensive and buys a little bit of time to worry about whats the next upgrade.
the second problem is that its raptor lake. its the reason I suggested alder lake 6P core and above chips. All Raptor lake chips prematurely die... at least in the high end due to their voltage issues. I'm not aware of the lower parts of the tech stack, but I am concerned recommending anything raptor lake due to the voltage, heat, stability, and well documented death. I simply dont know how deep the rot goes on those parts so I keep to 12th gen or core ultra, and the latter is primarily recommended for office use.
I had a look at the used market, a good 12600K you can get for like ~120$ used. LGA 1700 DDR4 boards are like 80-100$ used. so for like 200$ you can have a 10 core (6P + 4E)/16 thread system that would be plenty good enough for a kid that coudl take windows 11 and keep up with modern consoles Sprtfan if you want this route then just make sure you find a DDR4 supporting board, LGA 1700 supported either DDR4 or 5, if you stay with 4 you dont need to get new RAM and can reuse what you have. I'd be cautious of power usage though, 500w is rather small.
That being said, i did a quick look on ebay and found entire old systems for sale that was interesting finding a few like these
Example 1
Example 2
Example 3
I cannot endorse any of the sellers and advise to do your own research, but it looks like there are some good deals on the used market if you want to look for whole systems and not just individual parts.
If you were looking to get a GPU and slot that in... I would recommend parts by these price brackets.
RTX 3060 - ~220 used
RX 6700 XT - ~250 Used
RX 6800 - ~300 Used
RX 9060 XT 16 GB(new is best, 350ish)
RTX 4060 Ti 16GB - ~380ish Used
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as others already stated the cpu is gonna have to be upgraded regardless of GPU choice. And if that’s the case either look for the best zen 3 / 12th gen Core and newer deal you can find and pair it with something with 12gb min vram.
The reasoning for the parts mentioned above? Basically due to the longevity of PlayStation 5 for now and the future, as the cross platforming of PS5 to PS5 will be around as long as PS4 has been to PS5
Since PlayStation dominates the game industry so much almost all games that are usable on PS5 will be ported to PC at some point. And due to elongated platform support newer PS6 games will also have their PS5 / PC versions as well
-PS5 as mentioned has equivalent of a zen 2 cpu, so anything above that will be ok to run almost any game at decent fps given no GPU bottleneck
-Also the VRAM usage in PS5 is thought to top out around 12gb give or take, as it has 24gb of total shared memory
Now mind you that with a moderate budget card (less than $500) the GPU core and VRAM amount might not be enough for 4K with crazy Ray/Path tracing, but with some setting adjustment it should still plays and be good enough looking for most eyes.
The reasoning for the parts mentioned above? Basically due to the longevity of PlayStation 5 for now and the future, as the cross platforming of PS5 to PS5 will be around as long as PS4 has been to PS5
Since PlayStation dominates the game industry so much almost all games that are usable on PS5 will be ported to PC at some point. And due to elongated platform support newer PS6 games will also have their PS5 / PC versions as well
-PS5 as mentioned has equivalent of a zen 2 cpu, so anything above that will be ok to run almost any game at decent fps given no GPU bottleneck
-Also the VRAM usage in PS5 is thought to top out around 12gb give or take, as it has 24gb of total shared memory
Now mind you that with a moderate budget card (less than $500) the GPU core and VRAM amount might not be enough for 4K with crazy Ray/Path tracing, but with some setting adjustment it should still plays and be good enough looking for most eyes.
applegrcoug
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With prebuilts and proprietary this and proprietary that, you may be best off to look for some way for a fresh slate. There are ways to do upgrade proprietary bits, but there is some jank involved.
You may be able to find a a good deal on some combos. Check the for sale here. Post a WTB. You may want to buy a case new though; shipping on those sucks.
Like others said, an AM4 like a 5600x would do well. I seem to remember amazon selling brand new 5800xt for a pretty reasonable price recently. You could pair that with many of the above cards mentioned. I'd also throw in the 3060ti or 3070 into the mix.
You may be able to find a a good deal on some combos. Check the for sale here. Post a WTB. You may want to buy a case new though; shipping on those sucks.
Like others said, an AM4 like a 5600x would do well. I seem to remember amazon selling brand new 5800xt for a pretty reasonable price recently. You could pair that with many of the above cards mentioned. I'd also throw in the 3060ti or 3070 into the mix.
She decided on getting a new motherboard+CPU and moving parts over. I have a power supply and case already, and can take the video card and ram from the old system. Was looking at getting a ASRock B550M Phantom Gaming 4 Micro ATX and a AMD Ryzen 5 5500 unless anyone sees any issues with those choices. $80 for mobo and $75 for cpu. Next step in cpu was a big jump in cost it looked like. Thanks
The 5500 has limited cache which will hurt gaming performance, I would get 5600 instead as a minimum.
Would a Ryzen 5 3600 be a reasonable option? More cache and PCIe 4.0 support? I'm going to be pairing it with a 3 GB 1060 but would give an upgrade path for a better card.
The 3600 is more a side-grade from a 7000 series intel cpu IMO though it has a lot more threads. I mean it is faster but not a lot faster, the i8-8300 is basically the same cpu as yours (200MHz faster) and is 9% slower than the 3600 on TPU's relative performance gaming chart and the 3600X is 14% slower than the 5600 on the same chart in its review (granted probably different titles). Actually looking at the chart again, the i3-9100F is on both and is at 7% slower on the 3600 chart and 26% slower on the 5600 chart, it is 2% faster than the 8300 on the 3600 chart.
If you can I would save up for the 5600.
3600 review:
3600 100%
9100F 93.1% (4.2GHz)
8300 91.3% (3.7Ghz)
7400 3.5GHz
5600 review:
5600 100%
3600X 86% (X is 200Mhz faster than non-x).
9100F 74.7%
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Performance wise it isn't much different from a 5500. AMD didn't pass Intel on single thread until the 5000 series, and a 5500 is a weak 5000 series. It's Cezanne, not Vermeer, so it's basically an APU with the graphics disabled. So a budget proc not really intended for use with a discreet GPU in a gaming rig.
Unfortunately, the 5500 is probably the best in that price range that you can get new and can use DDR4 aside from maybe a cheap LGA 1700 board with an i3. Fewer cores & threads (4c/8t), but faster single core than a 5500. That pretty much leaves you looking around the used market for something better or spending more. AMD has slowly been turning AM4 into a budget platform since AM5 came out and rather than cutting prices on the higher end models they've been discontinuing them and releasing cheaper models with lower clocks. 5800X3D & 5700X3D are gone, and it seems like the supply of a lot of the original models has dried up too.
I guess the first big decision to make is jump to AM5 or keep it cheap. The big problem with AM5 is it needs DDR5, and ram prices have really gone up lately so getting new ram is a significant increase in total cost. For cheap I'd go used. Buying new parts I'd bite the bullet, buy the DDR5, and do an AM5 build. I'd also consider LGA1700 builds over AM4 if for some reason it has to be new proc & board with the existing DDR4. LGA1700 boards are available new for ~$100 and CPUs are widely available from i3 to i9. i5-14600K can beat a 5800X3D, and costs less new than a 5800X3D does used (~$200 from a reputable retailer vs. $300+ on eBay), and there are cheaper i5 models. It's the old top chip for the platform + discontinued thing.
Used? Whole world of good stuff. I'd be aiming for at least 6 cores & 12 threads. I saw this video a while back where they tested like 40 games on a 14700k or 14900k - forget which - while turning hyperthreading & e-cores on and off. Mostly it didn't make a huge difference but a few games really, really hated both off, so 8 cores & 8 threads. At any rate 8 threads is starting to get dodgy and will only get worse.
Vermeer (AM4 / Ryzen 5000) stuff is good as a used option. Ryzen 5 5600 & higher and no "G" in the model number basically. Just no castrated Cezanne APUs with the graphics disabled. Those are limited to PCI-e 3.0 and half the L3 cache.
Intel 10th & 11th gen is almost as quick, good enough. i5-10600k or better for 6c/12t+ should still be decent. Vs. AMD it's kind of one notch down, so 5600X ~= i7, 5800X ~= i9. AMD didn't really get ahead of Intel on gaming performance until the 5000 series. Workable if the price is right. 10th gen is limited to PCI-e 3.0, 11th has 4.0.
Intel 12th-14th gen can use DDR4, so for a cheap upgrade any proc + DDR4 board + i5 or better combo would work for recycling DDR4 ram.
And, of course, if you find some DDR5 + proc + board setup used for a good & workable price there are lots of good options there. Pretty much anything with 6 cores & 12 threads or better.
Looks like the AMD Ryzen 7 5700 is a little cheaper than 5600 atm and might end up going that route. Will probably hold out and see what is available on Black Friday to see if I can find a deal. Thanks
Will check out the used market here and will see what is available on Black Friday if I don't find something used that looks good before then. Not much on Facebook marketplace in my area right now and try to avoid ebay when I can. Thanks for the help
The 5700 is the same as the 5500 in that it is PCIE Gen3 and a low cache cpu so I would skip that cpu as well. (they are 5700G and 5500G APUs with the graphics disabled)
For 5000 series you want a "vermeer" not a "cezanne" cpu which are the apus and suck.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_AMD_Ryzen_processors#Vermeer_(5000_series,_Zen_3_based)
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Thanks, I missed that. Explains why it was cheaper. I expected the bigger number to be better.
Yeah, this is solid advice overall. You’re right—Geforce Now can be a lifesaver if her connection is stable, and skipping mods/long sessions makes it realistic.Could sound very non-hard here
For 1080p/60fps, Performance tier ~$10 a month (it is possible to try with a day pass / single month, to be sure everything work well)
For an computer upgrade, BG3 love cpu, love having more than 4 cores and it could limit what the 9060xt can do quite a bit, specially in that game.
I feel a strong cpu with a 1060 (6 or 3gb) could run it well at low details 1080ps, but no matter the GPU the 7400 would always have an hard time at any setting, with a very strong CPU it seem a 1060 6GB can do well:
https://gamersnexus.net/game-benchm...pu-benchmarks-best-video-cards-baldurs-gate-3
40 fps with ultra setting is really good and that was 2 years of patch ago (which is a big *, maybe it got better with lower end CPUs over time, at launch it was really cpu heavy).
Right now a 5700 + b550m wifi+ 16GB of DDR4-3200 CL16 can go for a bit under $300
PCPartPicker Part List
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700 3.7 GHz 8-Core Processor ($134.96 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus PRIME B550M-A WIFI II Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Silicon Power GAMING 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($52.97 @ Newegg Sellers)
Total: $287.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-10-20 12:28 EDT-0400
It is possible to go for a 5500/3600 instead, no wifi motherboard if its not needed to save a little bit.
Edit: The 7700/7700k proposed below is a great idea has well....$55 on ebay right now for a 7700,double the threads, +50/60% multithread raw performance.
I’d personally lean more toward the 5700 build; that CPU is a beast for BG3, especially since it loves cores. The 7700 deal is tempting for cheap performance, but I’d worry about future-proofing and motherboard compatibility.
Also, your note on 1060 vs 9060xt is spot on—BG3 is way more CPU-bound than people realize. Even a modest GPU won’t save a bottlenecked CPU.
If she’s okay with medium settings at 1080p, the 5700 + 16GB DDR4 is probably the safest, smoothest experience.