Summary

• Overclocking older GPUs can improve performance and allow for a smoother gaming experience without needing to upgrade.
• Enabling Resizable BAR or SAM can improve the connection between your GPU and CPU, resulting in better performance.
• Upgrading to a more expensive GPU may not always be necessary, especially if you're gaming at 1080p or 1440p resolutions, as the difference in performance may not be worth the cost.

The graphics card remains one of the most expensive components you'll purchase for a PC. Whether upgrading the GPU or building a new system from scratch, you can expect to pay multiple hundreds on the lower tier GPUs with the flagship models from AMD and Nvidia costing nearly $1,000, if not more. I will put forward some reasons why you should consider canceling your GPU search and making do with the graphics card installed inside your system.

6 Overclocking your GPU can improve performance

Even older GPUs can work harder (and faster)

Graphics cards are incredibly powerful, even more budget-friendly GPUs. An Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 was a low-end GPU from that generation, but it's vastly more powerful than even the best GPUs from previous generations. Graphics cards have evolved over the last two decades, but progress has slowed somewhat as games and resolutions catch up. According to Steam survey results, the most popular resolution is still 1080p with 1440p coming in a loose second. Players are simply not gaming at 4K as much and this won't change any time soon.

1080p is excellent for more competitive play and 1440p is a sweet spot between Full HD and 4K, offering crisp and sharp images without requiring the very best GPU to enjoy a smooth experience. But with an older GPU, it's possible to push it further beyond what the manufacturer intended. The cooling solutions attached to aftermarket cards are usually over-engineered to allow the card to run cooler and quieter. This also allows for some GPU overclocking.

5 Make sure Resizable BAR or SAM is enabled

This BIOS setting alone can improve your gaming

The Resizable Base Address Register (Resizable BAR) or Smart Access Memory (SAM) are newer innovations for modern GPUs that improve the connection between your GPU VRAM and the CPU. Traditionally, the processor would access GPU memory in chunks of 256 MB at a time. With Resizable BAR or SAM enabled, the CPU can access the entire memory pool. As expected, this can prove vital to getting more from the GPU and improving the number of frames that can be rendered each second.

These technologies are available on select older GPUs. If your graphics card is eligible, enable Resizable BAR or SAM and enjoy a slight boost in performance.

4 VRAM isn't everything and you shouldn't chase it

More memory won't result in better performance

Yes, VRAM (or your GPU memory) is incredibly important for storing data and saturating the frame buffer to make everything just "work." Generally, the more VRAM available, the more the card can store locally and the more headroom is available for processing heavier workloads, so long as the GPU itself can keep up. Just because a graphics card may have more VRAM, it doesn't mean it will perform better in a test suite of games. An 8 GB RTX 4060 Ti will perform just as well as a 16 GB RTX 4060 Ti GPU in most games.

If your GPU seems like it doesn't have enough VRAM, try overclocking it and making the most of the available architecture, shading units, and clock speeds. By boosting how quickly the card can run, you can have it render more frames each second. If the VRAM is fully populated, that's when additional memory would make a difference, but this is an unlikely scenario as most GPUs come with ample VRAM. There are certainly outliers to this rule.

3 Modern GPUs are still overpriced

$1,000 for a mid-range graphics card?

This shouldn't come as a surprise. The cost of graphics cards has been covered in the news cycles within the last few years since the explosion of cryptocurrency drove the demand for graphics cards through the roof. Supply has since been able to keep up, but AMD and Nvidia still price their GPUs out of reach for many PC gamers. If you're using a GPU from the previous few generations, I'm talking about an Nvidia GeForce RTX 20 or Radeon RX 6000, your GPU should be capable enough even in today's age of gaming.

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 is the current flagship graphics card. No other GPU has come close ... but it costs $1,600 at MSRP. It's almost impossible to locate one for that price, resulting in listings that surpass $2,000. That's the price of an entire prebuilt system that's good for 1440p gaming. An AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT is considered low to mid-range, yet has an MSRP of $500. It's better than the previous-generation RX 6800 and the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 Ti, but not enough to warrant the price of a direct upgrade.

We've been blessed by some excellent graphics cards from not only this generation but those that came before it. I raved about the RTX 3060 Ti as one of the best value GPUs of its time, and it's still good for 1440p gaming with DLSS and some other settings configured. It's almost four years old, but I would recommend owners of the GPU to keep hold of it and see what the future brings.

2 Take advantage of DLSS/FSR

Software can help lessen the load on your GPU

Nvidia Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) and AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution FSR are black magic in the gaming world. Using the power of software, AMD and Nvidia can improve performance without sacrificing visual fidelity. With each generation of DLSS, the performance and number of supported games improve, but earlier versions of the technology are still excellent for getting more from your GPU. Simply activating DLSS or FSR on Linux or Windows will unlock additional performance otherwise locked away.

There is a notable difference in image quality if you analyze frames side-by-side, but for general gaming, especially at 1440p or 4K, you shouldn't notice anything out of the ordinary. Earlier iterations of this technology did have a few instances where tears and artifacts could be spotted, but this has all largely been addressed. DLSS and FSR are now considered a requirement for many to enjoy the very best performance available with their PC hardware.

1 The power of diminishing returns

Don't upgrade unless you have to

If you're using a QHD (2K — 1440p) monitor, a lower-tier graphics card would work fine. The same goes for more powerful older GPUs. It's only when you're moving up the resolution ranks would you need to consider upgrading the GPU. An Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti will struggle to control all the pixels on a 4K screen, but it's still good for 2K gaming. If you stick with the same display, buying a more powerful graphics card will only be able to provide additional frames per second.

This is important for smooth gameplay, but if your GPU is already capable of surpassing 60 frames per second at your desired in-game visual settings, I would not recommend the upgrade. This is diminishing returns whereby you won't see the full benefit of the shiny new component, but you will have parted with some serious cash for the upgrade to take place. 1080p and 1440p monitors can largely use the same graphics cards. 4K is where the load will easily overwhelm many GPUs.

Upgrade your GPU at the right time

I would only upgrade your GPU when you find it struggling to power your favorite games with your monitor. If you've stuck with the same screen and/or resolution, see how far you can push the GPU before buying a new one. Although you could recoup some money by selling the older card, you may find the improvement in performance not worth the hassle (and additional cost). I'm usually a generation or two behind the curve with my gaming rig. Right now, I've leaped a generation and upgraded to the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070.

This GPU is incredible and has no trouble powering my ultrawide display with a 2160 x 1440 resolution. My older RTX 2060 Super struggled with this display, which is why I had to use an RTX 3060 Ti, which was capable of driving the display with good results. If the 2060 handled the display, I would have stuck with the RTX 20 generation. I don't see myself upgrading from the RTX 4070 for many years. It simply offers so much performance that newer cards won't provide much to entice me to part with my cash.