Is a GPU upgrade worth it?
Start from the card you own. For every upgrade we show the VRAM you gain, the models it unlocks, the speed change and the price per unlocked gigabyte.
Budget for the new card
Usable now12 GB
Models that fit74
8B speed26–50 tok/s
Best-value upgrade in budgetIntel Arc Pro B70
+20 GB of VRAM unlocks 46 more models, up to K2 Horizon MoVA 36B-A4B, for $949 at launch.
Price$949
VRAM gain+20 GB
New models+46
Speed+40%
Every upgrade from the RTX 3060 (12GB)
| Card | Price | VRAM gain | New models | Biggest unlock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intel Arc Pro B70 32 GB · 608 GB/s · 2026 · | $949 | +20 GB | +46 | K2 Horizon MoVA 36B-A4B · 25 GB |
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX 24 GB · 960 GB/s · 2022 · | $999 | +12 GB | +45 | Qwen 3 32B · 22.8 GB |
| AMD Radeon AI PRO R9700 32 GB · 640 GB/s · 2025 · | $1,299 | +20 GB | +46 | K2 Horizon MoVA 36B-A4B · 25 GB |
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT 20 GB · 800 GB/s · 2022 · | $899 | +8 GB | +29 | Nemotron-Cascade 2 30B-A3B · 19.9 GB |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 24 GB · 936 GB/s · 2020 · | $1,499 | +12 GB | +45 | Qwen 3 32B · 22.8 GB |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 24 GB · 1008 GB/s · 2022 · | $1,599 | +12 GB | +45 | Qwen 3 32B · 22.8 GB |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 32 GB · 1792 GB/s · 2025 · | $1,999 | +20 GB | +46 | K2 Horizon MoVA 36B-A4B · 25 GB |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti 24 GB · 1008 GB/s · 2022 · | $1,999 | +12 GB | +45 | Qwen 3 32B · 22.8 GB |
| AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB 16 GB · 320 GB/s · 2025 · | $349 | +4 GB | +6 | OLMo 2 13B Instruct · 15.8 GB |
| Intel Arc Pro B50 16 GB · 224 GB/s · 2025 · | $349 | +4 GB | +6 | OLMo 2 13B Instruct · 15.8 GB |
| NVIDIA DGX Spark 128 GB · 273 GB/s · 2025 · | $4,699 | +116 GB | +67 | Qwen3.8-Flash-Next · 109.7 GB |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB 16 GB · 448 GB/s · 2025 · | $429 | +4 GB | +6 | OLMo 2 13B Instruct · 15.8 GB |
| AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT 16 GB · 624 GB/s · 2023 · | $499 | +4 GB | +6 | OLMo 2 13B Instruct · 15.8 GB |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 16GB 16 GB · 288 GB/s · 2023 · | $499 | +4 GB | +6 | OLMo 2 13B Instruct · 15.8 GB |
| NVIDIA RTX A6000 48 GB · 768 GB/s · 2020 · | $4,649 | +36 GB | +52 | Llama 3.3 70B Instruct · 45.7 GB |
| AMD Radeon RX 9070 16 GB · 640 GB/s · 2025 · | $549 | +4 GB | +6 | OLMo 2 13B Instruct · 15.8 GB |
| AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT 16 GB · 640 GB/s · 2025 · | $599 | +4 GB | +6 | OLMo 2 13B Instruct · 15.8 GB |
| NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell 96 GB · 1792 GB/s · 2025 · | $8,565 | +84 GB | +66 | Mistral Medium 3.5 128B · 80.9 GB |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16 GB · 896 GB/s · 2025 · | $749 | +4 GB | +6 | OLMo 2 13B Instruct · 15.8 GB |
| NVIDIA RTX 6000 Ada Generation 48 GB · 960 GB/s · 2022 · | $6,799 | +36 GB | +52 | Llama 3.3 70B Instruct · 45.7 GB |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super 16 GB · 672 GB/s · 2024 · | $799 | +4 GB | +6 | OLMo 2 13B Instruct · 15.8 GB |
| NVIDIA L40S 48 GB · 864 GB/s · 2023 · | $7,499 | +36 GB | +52 | Llama 3.3 70B Instruct · 45.7 GB |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 16 GB · 960 GB/s · 2025 · | $999 | +4 GB | +6 | OLMo 2 13B Instruct · 15.8 GB |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Super 16 GB · 736 GB/s · 2024 · | $999 | +4 GB | +6 | OLMo 2 13B Instruct · 15.8 GB |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 16 GB · 717 GB/s · 2022 · | $1,199 | +4 GB | +6 | OLMo 2 13B Instruct · 15.8 GB |
| NVIDIA A100 80GB (PCIe) 80 GB · 1935 GB/s · 2021 · | $15,000 | +68 GB | +65 | Devstral-2 123B · 75.1 GB |
| NVIDIA H100 80GB (PCIe) 80 GB · 2000 GB/s · 2022 · | $25,000 | +68 GB | +65 | Devstral-2 123B · 75.1 GB |
| Intel Arc B570 10 GB · 380 GB/s · 2025 · | $219 | −2 GB | 0 | Nothing new |
| Intel Arc B580 12 GB · 456 GB/s · 2024 · | $249 | Same | 0 | Nothing new |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 8 GB · 320 GB/s · 2025 · | $249 | −4 GB | 0 | Nothing new |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 8 GB · 448 GB/s · 2025 · | $299 | −4 GB | 0 | Nothing new |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 8 GB · 272 GB/s · 2023 · | $299 | −4 GB | 0 | Nothing new |
| AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 8GB 8 GB · 320 GB/s · 2025 · | $299 | −4 GB | 0 | Nothing new |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8GB 8 GB · 448 GB/s · 2025 · | $379 | −4 GB | 0 | Nothing new |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8GB 8 GB · 288 GB/s · 2023 · | $399 | −4 GB | 0 | Nothing new |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti 8 GB · 448 GB/s · 2020 · | $399 | −4 GB | 0 | Nothing new |
| AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT 12 GB · 432 GB/s · 2023 · | $449 | Same | 0 | Nothing new |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 8 GB · 448 GB/s · 2020 · | $499 | −4 GB | 0 | Nothing new |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 12 GB · 672 GB/s · 2025 · | $549 | Same | 0 | Nothing new |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Super 12 GB · 504 GB/s · 2024 · | $599 | Same | 0 | Nothing new |
Launch prices, not street prices. “New models” counts catalogued variants that fit at Q4_K_M with 8K context on the new card but not on yours. Speed compares 8B decode estimates from memory bandwidth. Cards with no added VRAM only get faster; they unlock nothing.
Compare one upgrade in detail
Net of resale, with the PSU it needs and what it adds to the power bill. Prices are yours to correct.
Worth itWorth it — NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 (12GB) → Intel Arc Pro B70 unlocks a bigger model class.
- +20 GB moves you from ~17B to ~45B models at Q4_K_M.
- $42 per GB gained is good value for a capacity jump.
- Budget for a PSU too: 550W recommended, up from 450W.
- Resale is a depreciation estimate for a 5-year-old card — check completed listings for a real figure.
- Net cost
- $834$949 new − $115 resale
- Cost per GB gained
- $42+20 GB usable for models
- Speed change
- +40%26–50 tok/s → 35–72 tok/s on Llama 3.1 8B (estimated)
- PSU needed
- 550WUp from 450W — budget for a new unit
- What you can run
- ~17B → ~45BLargest dense model at Q4_K_M, holding back 15% of usable memory for the KV cache and framework overhead.
- TDP change
- 170W → 225W
- Extra electricity
- +$9/yearAt 4h/day and 15¢/kWh, assuming decode draws ~75% of TDP (token generation is memory-bound, so cards rarely hit their power limit).
- New card, $/GB at your price
- $30
Best VRAM value at launch price
Launch price per GB of memory a model can use. Cards not sold on their own are left out.
| GPU | Memory | MSRP | $/GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intel Arc B580 | 12 GB | $249 | $21 |
| AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB | 16 GB | $349 | $22 |
| Intel Arc Pro B50 | 16 GB | $349 | $22 |
| Intel Arc B570 | 10 GB | $219 | $22 |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB | 16 GB | $429 | $27 |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 (12GB) | 12 GB | $329 | $27 |
| Intel Arc Pro B70 | 32 GB | $949 | $30 |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 | 8 GB | $249 | $31 |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 16GB | 16 GB | $499 | $31 |
| AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT | 16 GB | $499 | $31 |
| AMD Radeon RX 9070 | 16 GB | $549 | $34 |
| NVIDIA DGX Spark | 128 GB | $4,699 | $37 |