If you need a cost effective card for compute and 1200p, you may consider a 3060 / 3060 ti with 12 gb of VRAM.

12 gb is reasonably enough for StableDifusion and other ESRGAN models; Ampere cards are fast enough in rasterizing / RTX. The 3060 power consumption is low and will run adequately most games.

For compatibility with old games, there's two concerns I would have:

1. Newer drivers introducing compatibility issues
2. Too much VRAM for old games to detect it properly

I think just about any upgrade will get you those issues, with the cards you considered, even if you're not actually forced to use the newest drivers, you probably want to and they have 4GB of VRAM, which is where old games start complaining.

There are compatibility tools that will fix any of these problems. The most important one, dgVoodoo2, has some problems with AMD hardware so I would go with a Nvidia card.

With the below 4gb vram requirement I think you are narrowed down to a 3gb Geforce 780ti, a 3gb gtx 1060, or a 2gb GTX 960 (should be really cheap on auction or local online marketplaces) or a 3gb Radeon card (HD and R series) depending on which drivers available and what not suit your needs better.

Honestly if you have the spare video input or monitor, PCIE slot and PSU power you could try adding a new (preferably NVIDIA for simplicities sake) GPU in combination with your old 560. Might give you the best of both worlds if you dont mind your GTX 560's performance in the games you are having compatibility issues with.

ratfink wrote on 2022-10-30, 10:54:

Looking for advice on a gpu upgrade. […]
Show full quote

Looking for advice on a gpu upgrade.

So, I am running this:

Ryzen 7 2700X
32gb ram
GTX56oTi
Windows 10 - eventually will shift to 11 but not in any rush

What would be a sensible gpu upgrade?

Gaming-wise my concern is less about FPS but compatibility with old games (have in the past had issues with AvP, Planescape Torment) - generally I buy from gog for this machine but also use WC3/D2 from CD, and sometimes use WoW vanilla (private servers).

The reason for the upgrade is I want to try Topaz Video AI which seems to prefer a 2GB/Dx12 card. And given the GTX560Ti is from 2011, maybe an upgrade is overdue. And while I'm at it, might as well have some expected longevity if I can manage it.

The CPU is from 2018, not really interested in upgrading that. My monitor is 1920x1200, not 1920x1080, not intending to buy 4k any time soon.

I'm thinking nVidia GTX 1650 or AMD 6500 XT, but the gpu market seems horrendously complicated, prices seem high for mid-range, many things are out of stock...

RTX 3060 is what I could recommend right now...

BEEN_Nath_58 wrote on 2022-10-30, 19:00:

ratfink wrote on 2022-10-30, 10:54:

Looking for advice on a gpu upgrade. […]
Show full quote

Looking for advice on a gpu upgrade.

So, I am running this:

Ryzen 7 2700X
32gb ram
GTX56oTi
Windows 10 - eventually will shift to 11 but not in any rush

What would be a sensible gpu upgrade?

Gaming-wise my concern is less about FPS but compatibility with old games (have in the past had issues with AvP, Planescape Torment) - generally I buy from gog for this machine but also use WC3/D2 from CD, and sometimes use WoW vanilla (private servers).

The reason for the upgrade is I want to try Topaz Video AI which seems to prefer a 2GB/Dx12 card. And given the GTX560Ti is from 2011, maybe an upgrade is overdue. And while I'm at it, might as well have some expected longevity if I can manage it.

The CPU is from 2018, not really interested in upgrading that. My monitor is 1920x1200, not 1920x1080, not intending to buy 4k any time soon.

I'm thinking nVidia GTX 1650 or AMD 6500 XT, but the gpu market seems horrendously complicated, prices seem high for mid-range, many things are out of stock...

RTX 3060 is what I could recommend right now...

Anything lower than a 3060 is likely to age pretty poorly. Especially when you have a decent 2nd Gen Ryzen chip paired with it. I helped a buddy find a $200 RX 6600 brand new. Not a great value, but when paired with his cheapo 1800x he isn't going much below 50FPS in Elden Ring with High/mixed settings. The vast majority of what he plays so far runs like a rocket ship and has been handling mods on Skyrim that he just couldn't do before.

Only a 60fps 1080p display anyways, so figured over his old 2gb GTX 660 from his old dead 2nd gen i7 it would do pretty well until he decides to upgrade the CPU, better GPU, and his display. I think he's into it like $350 total now with the 3600mhz ddr4 running at 3000mhz on a B450 board.

Thanks all, that's given me food for thought, interested in the idea of running two gpus in the same box.

Coming down to a choice between GTX 1660 (around £200) and RTX 3060 (about £400 for 12gb, or £450 for 8gb Ti).

Radeon RX 6600 should be a no brainer if you ware thinking about RX 6500XT. That said, I used that same budget to buy a used 6700XT and never looked back. The eth merge flooded the market with a lot of used 6700XTs, just ask around for the receipt and grab one that was bought within the last 6 months or so.

ratfink wrote on 2022-10-30, 10:54:

Looking for advice on a gpu upgrade. […]
Show full quote

Looking for advice on a gpu upgrade.

So, I am running this:

Ryzen 7 2700X
32gb ram
GTX56oTi
Windows 10 - eventually will shift to 11 but not in any rush

What would be a sensible gpu upgrade?

Gaming-wise my concern is less about FPS but compatibility with old games (have in the past had issues with AvP, Planescape Torment) - generally I buy from gog for this machine but also use WC3/D2 from CD, and sometimes use WoW vanilla (private servers).

The reason for the upgrade is I want to try Topaz Video AI which seems to prefer a 2GB/Dx12 card. And given the GTX560Ti is from 2011, maybe an upgrade is overdue. And while I'm at it, might as well have some expected longevity if I can manage it.

The CPU is from 2018, not really interested in upgrading that. My monitor is 1920x1200, not 1920x1080, not intending to buy 4k any time soon.

I'm thinking nVidia GTX 1650 or AMD 6500 XT, but the gpu market seems horrendously complicated, prices seem high for mid-range, many things are out of stock...

nvidia 16xx was more of a budget card, with some features removed (e.g. DLSS)... would suggest a 1660ti or super should you go that route, and not a 1650, which is significantly slower... Used prices have come down, may be able to get one for $150 or less, I think they all come with 6 GB VRAM. Advise getting a good brand (EVGA, Asus, Gigabyte)

FYI before the pandemic I bought one new for a 6700k build and it runs 1080 fine, and 1440 with tweaking depending on the game and your FPS sensitivity. Also very easy to overclock by 10% on both gpu and memory without a problem.

HOwever now I'm on the hunt for something better, would really like to score a 3070 for a reasonable price.